Cougars again making tracks, residents say

[Lionel]

Naaman Smoker knows the wild.A hunter and outdoorsman since age 12, he can name every animal, bug and bird put in front of him. And at 59, he boasts that he is one of the best fly fishermen around.He knows his animals.He also knows that the one he saw in his backyard in Kennett Square on Nov. 10 - the animal that made him tremble as he tried to hold his video camera steady - is a beast that officially does not exist around here: a cougar."I know it is unbelievable, but I know what I saw," said Smoker, a retired building contractor.Over the last decade, hundreds of other residents of the Philadelphia region have also claimed to have seen the big cat. Now a part of the region's culture, cougar sightings resurface every few years, and alleged glimpses of the animal have recently been surging.

Weeks before Smoker's report, about a dozen residents reported sightings in Northampton Township and Yardley Borough in Bucks County.

In October, there were sightings in Hockessin, Del., near the Pennsylvania border.

And every few years over the last decade, there has been a flurry of sightings of the wild cats:

In January 1995, dozens of residents of Yeadon and the Cobbs Creek Park area, including a police officer, reported a long, tan feline roaming the woods and streets.

In May 1998, a Thornbury, Delaware County, couple reported seeing a cougar in their backyard after a Memorial Day pig roast. It was feasting on the remains.

In May 2001, students at Chatsworth Elementary School in Woodland Township, Burlington County, were kept inside during recess for months after three sightings in the area.

View: Full Article | Source: philly.com