# Couger Spotted



## Woodsman1 (Nov 7, 2009)

Homepage > Local News > Woman reports seeing a cougar 
Sighting on state Route 303 east of Peninsula leaves Ohio wildlife official with some doubts 

By Bob Downing 
Beacon Journal staff writer


Published on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 

An Akron motorist claims that she saw a large cat cross a highway in northern Summit County over the weekend. 
''It looked like something that belonged in the zoo or in a circus,'' said 62-year-old Nan Bartlett. ''It was huge. That's what got my attention. . . . It was not something I expected to see in the Cuyahoga Valley.'' 
She was traveling east on state Route 303 east of Peninsula and about a quarter-mile west of the Happy Days Lodge in Boston Heights when the gray-colored cat bounded across the highway about 4:45 p.m. Saturday. 
The cat was four to five cars lengths away and moved quickly across the road in just two leaps, said Bartlett, who said she was traveling about 40 miles per hour. 
The cat's most distinctive feature was a long tail that was nearly as long as its body, Bartlett said. 
She described the cat as being 2 to 3 feet high with a thick, muscular body. It was significantly bigger than a German shepherd and weighed more than such a dog, she said. 
At first, Bartlett said she was unsure what she had seen. She went home, got on her computer and started an Internet search. Her conclusion: a mountain lion, also known as a cougar. It is a large, reclusive, nocturnal predator. 

She reported her sighting to officials in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. 
Proving that such a cat is in fact roaming the Akron area is ''just so tough,'' said Lisa Petit, chief of resource management for the national park. 
Park officials had not yet spoken to Bartlett and might check the area to see if there is any additional evidence, she said. 
The Cuyahoga Valley park has gotten three similar reports of a large cat in the Cuyahoga Valley area over the last four years, including two from along state Route 303 in Peninsula and Boston Heights, she said. 
There were also reports of mountain lions in August 2008 in the Sharon Township-Copley Township area and two months later in Richfield Township. 
There are no mountain lions in this part of the United States, said Damon Greer of the Ohio Division of Wildlife. 
People who claim to see a mountain lion don't know what they are really seeing, he said. 
If such a cat was really spotted, it is highly likely that it is an escaped pet or an animal that escaped from captivity, he said. 
Bartlett, however, remains convinced that she saw a mountain lion. 
''It was pretty cool,'' she said.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or [email protected]. 
An Akron motorist claims that she saw a large cat cross a highway in northern Summit County over the weekend.

''It looked like something that belonged in the zoo or in a circus,'' said 62-year-old Nan Bartlett. ''It was huge. That's what got my attention. . . . It was not something I expected to see in the Cuyahoga Valley.''

She was traveling east on state Route 303 east of Peninsula and about a quarter-mile west of the Happy Days Lodge in Boston Heights when the gray-colored cat bounded across the highway about 4:45 p.m. Saturday.

The cat was four to five cars lengths away and moved quickly across the road in just two leaps, said Bartlett, who said she was traveling about 40 miles per hour.

The cat's most distinctive feature was a long tail that was nearly as long as its body, Bartlett said.

She described the cat as being 2 to 3 feet high with a thick, muscular body. It was significantly bigger than a German shepherd and weighed more than such a dog, she said.

At first, Bartlett said she was unsure what she had seen. She went home, got on her computer and started an Internet search. Her conclusion: a mountain lion, also known as a cougar. It is a large, reclusive, nocturnal predator.

She reported her sighting to officials in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Proving that such a cat is in fact roaming the Akron area is ''just so tough,'' said Lisa Petit, chief of resource management for the national park.

Park officials had not yet spoken to Bartlett and might check the area to see if there is any additional evidence, she said.

The Cuyahoga Valley park has gotten three similar reports of a large cat in the Cuyahoga Valley area over the last four years, including two from along state Route 303 in Peninsula and Boston Heights, she said.

There were also reports of mountain lions in August 2008 in the Sharon Township-Copley Township area and two months later in Richfield Township.

There are no mountain lions in this part of the United States, said Damon Greer of the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

People who claim to see a mountain lion don't know what they are really seeing, he said.

If such a cat was really spotted, it is highly likely that it is an escaped pet or an animal that escaped from captivity, he said.

Bartlett, however, remains convinced that she saw a mountain lion.

''It was pretty cool,'' she said.


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## Fishin' Coach (May 19, 2004)

I took my wife to the Bryan Adams concert in Tiffin Last night... Many cougars were spotted.... on the prowl


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## ouflyboy9 (Aug 12, 2008)

I thought cougers were tan in color? My guess is a dog -or a huge squirrel


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

I wonder if that was the lady who reported the cougar last year? I remember the Holiday Inn Cougar psots....


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## Woodsman1 (Nov 7, 2009)

Thought everyone might get a kick out of this, posted it on another site. Everyones fighting over what caliber it would take to bring it down.lol


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

Woodsman1 said:


> Thought everyone might get a kick out of this, posted it on another site. Everyones fighting over what caliber it would take to bring it down.lol


Caliber? A magnum would do the job .


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## I_Shock_Em (Jul 20, 2008)

PA released a few (I believe 5) mountain lions to help control coyote populations, 3 have been killed by cars so far


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## jcustunner24 (Aug 20, 2007)

Mushijobah said:


> Caliber? A magnum would do the job .


Zing! Thumbs up on that effort Mushi. I actually laughed out loud on that one.


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

If you only knew how many cougars were out there you probably wouldnt go outside after dark. There arent a lot but definately more than you would think. They can be in an area undetected for years before being seen. They normally avoid contact with humans which is good for both them and us. But occasionally they make mistakes or get hungry and then there can be trouble. I havent seen any in Ohio but I seen one in Georgia. We also spotted some people milling through the parking lot where I worked down there and after asking what they were doing we found out that a few were released wearing radio tracking devices and the people were following one that was passing through the parking lot.


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## The Zodiac (Apr 10, 2010)

Me & my best friend had an incident where we was fishing a private pond located only a few feet from the Shenango Wildlife Area about 4 or 5 years ago. We was night fishing & nearly had a stroke from the "growls" of what we both felt sure was a mountain lion. It sneaked up behind us in a deep ravine that was about 10-15 feet below the area we was fishing & let out that unmistakable growl twice. I have never ran so fast in my life.

I know that a lot of people doubt such claims, but the only other cat that would come close is a bobcat & their "growls" are not the same. When we got back home we checked online for cougar & bobcat sound samples, & it clearly was a lion growl that we heard.

Just like YonderFishin stated, there is more out there than you would think. They easily can stay far ahead of human contact if they so wish which is why they are hardly seen. Just be careful.


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

Zodiac buddy, I gotta ask where you were when you heard these growls. I've been hunting and canoeing the shenago wildlife area from orangeville to rt 88 for more years than I Can remember and I've never heard or seen anything out there that resembles a cougar. Ive Had some hen turkeys scare me ths spring, but that be all. My Uncle has a house in burghill and has seen bear, but no cougar unless you count my cousin.lol

not that I don't believe you, I just want to know where to stay away from.


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## The Zodiac (Apr 10, 2010)

No problem EZ. The location we were at was not even a half mile north of Rt. 87. I will PM you the the exact GPS coordinates, so you can survey the area on Google Earth. After the incident I did some Google research locally & found out that there have been a lot more reports about lions in Ohio than I would of expected, with nearly all cases being on the extreme eastern side of Ohio from north to south. According to what I have learned a single cougar's "home" range can be up to a 700 mile area, which only adds credence in my mind to the reports that cover the eastern side of Ohio from north to south. Whether or not these lions are escaped pets or naturally occurring are of no real importance in my opinion, as a lion is a lion & that could be a seriously dangerous situation to anyone that is unaware of the potential of running into one. Which is why I mentioned my experience, because it is better to be safe than sorry....or in this case....devoured.

That is funny you mention Burghill, as I also have an Uncle & cousins that live there.


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## SMBHooker (Jan 3, 2008)

Someone just needs to put some catnip out there and we'll know soon enough whats prowling out there


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## Kelman (10 mo ago)

The Zodiac said:


> No problem EZ. The location we were at was not even a half mile north of Rt. 87. I will PM you the the exact GPS coordinates, so you can survey the area on Google Earth. After the incident I did some Google research locally & found out that there have been a lot more reports about lions in Ohio than I would of expected, with nearly all cases being on the extreme eastern side of Ohio from north to south. According to what I have learned a single cougar's "home" range can be up to a 700 mile area, which only adds credence in my mind to the reports that cover the eastern side of Ohio from north to south. Whether or not these lions are escaped pets or naturally occurring are of no real importance in my opinion, as a lion is a lion & that could be a seriously dangerous situation to anyone that is unaware of the potential of running into one. Which is why I mentioned my experience, because it is better to be safe than sorry....or in this case....devoured.
> 
> That is funny you mention Burghill, as I also have an Uncle & cousins that live there.


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## Vinnyt (Feb 15, 2018)

Wish there were more so they could eat those ppl talking about what caliber would take it down. Yuck


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## jackal_727 (Feb 16, 2010)

While there is no breeding population of lions in ohio, the idea of one simply passing through isn't out of the question. Here's a story of a tagged young male traveling from South Dakota to Connecticut. Had to get there somehow.



https://www.livescience.com/15307-record-breaking-cougar-trend-wildlife.html


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## ruffhunter (Dec 10, 2005)

there was one on trail cam in the vinton/jackson line a couple years ago. cam was set up facing a series of caves on a ridge


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## "chillin" (Apr 20, 2012)

That wildlife officer is full of it. I saw one about 30 years ago in Knox County.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## noahdoak (Nov 26, 2019)

About 7 or 8 years ago a guy I worked with showed me a trail cam pic of one in Noble County. Being that I'm from there, I thought he was full of $hit until he pulled up the pic. Sure enough, that's exactly what was on the cam. Only ever seen bobcats on my family's land but Noble is mostly deep forest so I wouldn't be too shocked if there's a few more of those big cats in the area.


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## Southernsaug (May 23, 2019)

I ran into mountain lions two or three days last week, while turkey hunting. Oh yeah, I was in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Never mind.


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