State officials say they’re unable to conclude definitively what animal left large paw prints in a New Canaan backyard after a woman who saw the animal that made them claimed it was a mountain lion.
Photo of a paw print said to be a mountain lion’s by one New Canaan woman claiming to have spotted a cougar passing through her neighbor’s backyard. Photo published with permission from its owner
According to Dennis Schain, communications director for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, wildlife experts examined the photos from Fox Run Road and would “consider further photos or other evidence—scat, fur—if anyone is able to provide that.”
In fact, residents of a property nearby on Valley Lane told local officials that they also had photographs of similar-looking paw prints and those have been forwarded to the state, according to Officer Allyson Halm of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether those photos would help the DEEP Wildlife Division reach a conclusion or what direction the animal in question appeared to be traveling, if it’s the same one.
Halm said that while it’s not “panic mode” at this point for New Canaanites, they should be aware.
Residents should absolutely avoid the big cat if they see it, and report sightings to Animal Control, Halm said—as they should with any bear sightings, which she’s expecting soon.
Mountain lions have been known to travel through Fairifeld County in the past.
Mountain lion for sure
Inconclusive. Hmmm. So at least they did not say it was not. So what woman saw very well could be cougar. You would expect them to be able to tell by size if it was another animal. Cougars are here