Mountain lion makes an appearance on campus

32

Jordan Cuddemi

News Editor

 

The Keene community along with students and staff at Keene State College are urged to be aware of their surroundings as an animal near the top of the food chain, the mountain lion, has allegedly moved in on campus.

“The body, five feet long; tail, two to three feet long; standing 18 to 24 inches tall and dark brown in color,” is the description Emergency Management Director for the town of Swanzey, Bruce Bohannon, gave of the cat.

On Thursday, August 18, Bohannon said when he crossed Route 101 on the Ashuelot Rail Trail, right through the gate he spotted the alleged mountain lion.

“Holy cow, that’s a big cat, I mean a big cat,” Bohannon said.

Bohannon got off his bike near where the mountain lion went into the woods, just to take a peek, he said.  After realizing that stopping to get a better glimpse was not the best idea, Bohannon returned to his bike and reported the sighting to the KSC Assistant Director of Physical Plant, Bud Winsor.

“He came in, white as a ghost and he reported that he had believed to see a mountain lion,” Winsor said.

Winsor said he then notified Campus Safety of this sighting.

Exactly one week later, on Thursday, Aug. 25, the second documented sighting came through dispatch. This time, the report came through by Campus Safety’s own Michael Kocsis, an avid hunter of 36 years.

Around 9 p.m. Kocsis said he was locking up the maintenance shed near the KSC Stadium when he spotted the alleged mountain lion “20 to 25 yards” from where he stood.

“It looked at me and didn’t know what to do. It double-taked then took off down the back road by the baseball field and the lacrosse field,” Kocsis said.

Kocsis described the cat as “fairly small, young, 35 pounds and two feet in height.” Kocsis said the cat was light tan in color with a darker face.

Immediately after the encounter, Kocsis said, he notified Campus Safety who in turn called Keene Police and the game warden.

Kocsis said the NH Fish and Game Dept. did check the area after his sighting and found nothing. Due to the terrain of where the supposed mountain lion was spotted, finding tracks are not easy. “It’s grass and pavement,” Kocsis said.

Southwestern N.H. Wildlife Biologist Ted Walski said, “You need to have some more conclusive sightings by a number of people over a day or two and to spend a couple of hours looking for some droppings or tracks.”

Walski explained, “If you don’t see that long two-and-a-half foot rope tail, you could mistake a big bobcat for a mountain lion.”

Until a track is identified, Walski said the supposed mountain lion could be just a bobcat. “A big bobcat and a young lion are similar in size,” Walski said.

In fact, Walski said a bobcat was sighted near the junction of Route 9 and Route 12, recently.

Walski explained a track must be found or an abundance of people must report the animal in order to determine what exactly is lurking around the KSC campus and the Keene community.

Until then, Walski said, if anyone is to come in contact with the animal to stay still rather than run. “Depending on how you’re dressed, it might mistake you for a deer or another animal.”

Walski said mountain lions don’t typically bother humans in the western states where they are most frequently seen, but it depends on where you are and the circumstances.

As for the number of recent sightings, Walski said there is “no exact number.”

All on and off campus sightings should be reported to either Campus Safety at 352-2228, the NH Fish and Game Dept. at 271-3211 or the Keene Police Dept. at 357-9813.

 

Jordan Cuddemi can be contacted at jcuddemi@keene-equinox.com

 

 

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