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They're convinced they've seen mountain lion. Authorities say it is unlikely
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008
SHARON TWP.: Charles and Helen Robertson are convinced they've seen an adult mountain lion three times on their property just west of the Medina-Summit County line.
They describe the animal as a large, long-tailed tawny cat, with rounded ears and body about 3 feet long from chest to tail. It weighed ''75 pounds . . . maybe a little more,'' Charles Robertson said.
Helen Robertson said she saw the cat twice from their house off Medina Line Road north of state Route 162: about 4 p.m. just before Memorial Day and at 7 p.m. June 25.
The cat was about 175 feet away on large sawed trees waiting to be turned into lumber at the family's sawmill. Both sightings were brief, with the cat moving off into the woods.
''All I can tell you is it was a big cat,'' she said.
Charles Robertson said he spotted the cat about 5 p.m. around July 1. The adult animal was with a baby cat.
He first thought the smaller animal was a groundhog, but then it bounced over to the larger cat and the
two disappeared into the woods together.
The Robertsons, both 55, said in June they found a large number of catlike tracks — both adult and baby ones — in the mud and on sawed wood.
''It was like a highway with all the tracks,'' Charles Robertson said.
The Robertsons have been trying to get a photograph of the cat using two cameras with strings that trip the shutters. So far, they've captured shots of deer and coyotes.
Their son, Eric, made a nighttime video that shows a brief glimpse of a shadowy catlike creature.
The Robertsons, who don't go outdoors at night now without turning the floodlights on and making a lot of noise, contacted the Ohio Division of Wildlife about the sightings. They've warned neighbors with small children.
There have been recent reports of a mountain lion sighting on Pin Oak Drive and of unknown animal droppings off Ridgewood Road, Charles Robertson said.
Unable to confirm
The Medina County Sheriff's Department is aware of the Robertsons' sightings and other reports and is keeping a watch on the area, Lt. John Detchon said.
''We're aware of the reports . . . but we have nothing we're able to confirm,'' Detchon said. ''There may be something out there. We're checking.''
Most of the reports are coming from a 21/2-square-mile area in Sharon Township and it's puzzling that the reports are not more widespread, Detchon said.
Females cougars typically range from 35 to 50 square miles, Detchon said. Male cougars range even farther.
Also, there have been no reports of pets or domestic animals in the neighborhood being killed or missing.
Mountain lions are predators and are most active at dawn and dusk.
People living in the area ''don't have to be alarmed, based on what we know right now,'' Detchon said. ''We're not discounting it, although we're not totally believing that we have mountain lions. We don't plan on having a major dragnet for a cougar right now.''
Two Medina sheriff's deputies went into the woods in Sharon Township with infrared thermal-imaging devices after a 27-year-old neighbor of the Robertsons reported being attacked by an animal at 2 a.m. Monday.
Detchon said the deputies didn't find anything, and the investigation concluded that the neighbor had been bitten on the hand by a raccoon.
Damon Greer, an assistant wildlife management supervisor for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said there are no confirmed wild mountain lions in the state and the nearest ones are probably hundreds of miles away in the Appalachian Mountain.
Greer said he has doubts about the reports of mountain lions in Sharon Township and if there is one there, it is probably an escaped pet and may well have had its claws and fangs removed.
Such a cat might be able to live through a spring, summer and fall in Northeast Ohio, but would have a difficult time making it through a winter, he said.
It is possible that the pet was pregnant when it escaped or was turned loose, he said.
A pet would be more accustomed to being around people and should not pose a big threat, he said.
''You're not dealing with a predator,'' Greer said. ''You're dealing with a domesticated animal that has been raised in captivity. No, people should not be afraid.''
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
SHARON TWP.: Charles and Helen Robertson are convinced they've seen an adult mountain lion three times on their property just west of the Medina-Summit County line.
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