It's been 10 months since I first reported about New Jersey residents reportedly seeing cougars or mountain lions in the Garden State.

That first story, in March of 2022,  was about a woman in Galloway Township who claims she was walking her dog in her neighborhood when she came face to face with a cougar. It frightened both her and her dog.

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Since then, I feel like I've become the "Mountain Lion Whisperer" as dozens of people have reached out with their details of their own mountain lion or cougar stories. (The terms "mountain lion" and "cougar" are pretty much interchangeable, meaning the same animal. Other names for the animal include panther, and puma.) These stories have been sighting from all around the state, although the most prevalent location seems to be Sussex County.

The most recent story I did was back in December.

Now, I share with you reports of a sighting from a couple in Dennis Township in Cape May County. The couple - described as "older" by their friend wish to remain anonymous, as does their friend who reached out to me. She wrote me the following:

"My neighbor and her husband called me the other day saying that they saw a cougar in Dennis Township. The one said 'I know that I sound crazy because we don’t have cougars around here, but I saw a cougar. I grabbed my binoculars and it was a cougar.' She said she’s seen bobcats before and it wasn’t that. It was big, had a thicker tailed cat - a cougar."

 

 

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While the person who reached out says the sighting was in Dennis Township, we don't know exactly where in Dennis Township this took place. Dennis Township is close to another sighting - on Route 347 - that I wrote about in early September.

Officially, the State of New Jersey says there are no cougars in New Jersey.  The reports that I keep getting don't stop. I have received some photo and video, but nothing that would be termed "solid evidence." Yes, I've also received photos and video from folks looking to pull a joke on me.

So, have you seen a cougar or mountain lion in New Jersey? Do you have photos or video? If you care to share, my email is joe.kelly@townsquaremedia.com.

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