Big Cats; 'Panther' precaution from '09 defended (Via Paul Cropper)

Big Cats; 'Panther' precaution from '09 defended
By Akiko Matsuda
26 April 2010
The Journal News (White Plains, NY)
(c) Copyright 2010, The Journal News. All Rights Reserved.

A little more than a year has passed since sightings of black, large cat-like animals started being reported in Orangetown. Despite the effort by police, town officials and residents, the identity of the creature remains unknown. The mixture of fear and excitement over the existence of mysterious animals once dominated the community. But some residents recently said the "panther" frenzy has long subsided and no one really brings up the topic anymore.

"I really have no thoughts about it because I don't think about it really," Dorian Tunell said last week.
Tunell said in March 2009 that he saw two large black cats as he was riding a bike on a bike trail in Tallman Mountain State Park in Sparkill. Tunell's experience was one of numerous sightings reported in the area around that time. Some residents said they saw panthers in their backyards, and others said they saw a large, black cat-like animal lying in their driveway or slinking along a building. Parents were concerned about their children's safety.

In July, in response to the public outcry, the Orangetown Town Board held a special meeting to allocate $3,500 to purchase six surveillance cameras and hire Tracker Search and Forensic Investigation, a New Jersey nonprofit providing tracking services.

In August, Bill Marple, director of Tracker SFI, told the Town Board that although he and his colleague found tracks and claw marks that indicated the existence of a large cat in the area, it was unclear what species it was.
Orangetown Finance Director Charlie Richardson said last week that the town paid the tracking company $1,750 in total. Six surveillance cameras and one memory card viewer were purchased for $1,244 from a company in Missouri, he said.

Orangetown Detective Peter Maher said the police haven't received any recent reports on panther sightings.
The cameras installed in the woods recorded coyotes, deer and foxes, Maher said, adding that the equipment has been taken down.

Former and current town officials said last week that they believed their votes for allocating the money were legitimate because the town had to address residents' concerns, although each member has a different take on what the town got for the money.

Town Board member Nancy Low-Hogan said she believed that it was prudent for the town to take that action.
"There was a great deal of community concern and fear. I supported that at the time, and even looking back, I still support the fact that we did it," Low-Hogan said. "Whatever became of it, whatever happened, who knows? We really don't know to this day. We don't know if it was real, but we do know there was a great deal of community concern. And you know what? For $3,000, it was worth it to investigate."

Town Board member Denis Troy agreed with Low-Hogan about the board's motivation to spend the money.
"Whether the panther was real or not, I don't know," Troy said. "But the concern was real, and that's why we did it." Troy, however, said he was not satisfied with the New Jersey firm's service.

"They were supposed to follow up," Troy said. "I never got a report back."

Former Supervisor Thom Kleiner, who was in charge at that time, echoed Troy.

"The town was placed in a difficult position because clearly, many residents were upset about this. At the very least, it affected their quality of life, and we wanted to address the problems," Kleiner said, adding that he was never satisfied with the service that Tracker SFI provided for the town.

"I was never that comfortable with Tracker SFI. But that's really all we had," Kleiner said.

A woman who answered the phone at Tracker SFI told a reporter to call Marple's cell phone. Marple did not return three messages left Friday on his cell phone.

Though he didn't get any confirmation of what he saw through the investigation, Tunell said he was certain that what he saw was something out of ordinary. "If I see a tree, do I see a tree? I don't doubt my senses. I know what I saw," Tunell said. "I just think that these are very elusive animals."