Post by PA Hillbilly on Nov 9, 2008 9:13:17 GMT -5
October 12
Area men asked to track big cat
Luzerne County hunters called in after report of mountain lion attack on man in Lancaster County.
Two hunters from Luzerne County were called upon to track an alleged mountain lion in Lancaster County on Friday.
According to reports, a Lancaster County man was attacked by a mountain lion on Thursday after he shot and wounded an animal and tracked it into the woods. Pennsylvania Game Commission officials responded to the scene and DNA samples were collected for testing.
Believing the alleged mountain lion may be wounded, Pittston resident Ed Grasavage and Chip Sorber, of Dallas, were summoned by the game commission to take their tracking dogs to the scene in an attempt to locate the animal.
Grasavage said several hours of hunting Friday night and Saturday morning failed to turn up a mountain lion.
“There was blood all over the place, but we didn’t see any cat sign,” Grasavage said.
“We didn’t find any scat or tracks.”
Grasavage and Sorber hunted a three-mile circumference around the scene of the attack. Grasavage and Sorber each took two dogs to the scene. The dogs are Walker hounds that are trained to hunt bobcats and will chase mountain lions, Grasavage said.
“I was on my way to the store on Friday when the Game Commission called at noon. We dropped what we were doing and headed right out,” Grasavage said. “The entire Amish community out there is deeply concerned about this.”
Jay Delaney, PGC Commissioner for the Northeast Region, said he was proud of the way the agency responded.
“I would not ask that this be handled any differently, from the quick response to the agency not taking anything for granted,” Delaney said. “We haven’t had cougars for 100 years that we know of, but still the agency utilized all resources available and actually reached out to the private sector. I’m proud of the fact we had people from our area assist the Game Commission with this.”
A PGC Wildlife Conservation officer in Lancaster confirmed there was an animal attack, but couldn’t confirm that a mountain lion was responsible.
The person attacked, Samuel Fisher, was transported to a Lancaster hospital for wounds and released.
Grasavage said he and Sorber will return to Lancaster County if any new leads develop.
- Tom Venesky
Area men asked to track big cat
Luzerne County hunters called in after report of mountain lion attack on man in Lancaster County.
Two hunters from Luzerne County were called upon to track an alleged mountain lion in Lancaster County on Friday.
According to reports, a Lancaster County man was attacked by a mountain lion on Thursday after he shot and wounded an animal and tracked it into the woods. Pennsylvania Game Commission officials responded to the scene and DNA samples were collected for testing.
Believing the alleged mountain lion may be wounded, Pittston resident Ed Grasavage and Chip Sorber, of Dallas, were summoned by the game commission to take their tracking dogs to the scene in an attempt to locate the animal.
Grasavage said several hours of hunting Friday night and Saturday morning failed to turn up a mountain lion.
“There was blood all over the place, but we didn’t see any cat sign,” Grasavage said.
“We didn’t find any scat or tracks.”
Grasavage and Sorber hunted a three-mile circumference around the scene of the attack. Grasavage and Sorber each took two dogs to the scene. The dogs are Walker hounds that are trained to hunt bobcats and will chase mountain lions, Grasavage said.
“I was on my way to the store on Friday when the Game Commission called at noon. We dropped what we were doing and headed right out,” Grasavage said. “The entire Amish community out there is deeply concerned about this.”
Jay Delaney, PGC Commissioner for the Northeast Region, said he was proud of the way the agency responded.
“I would not ask that this be handled any differently, from the quick response to the agency not taking anything for granted,” Delaney said. “We haven’t had cougars for 100 years that we know of, but still the agency utilized all resources available and actually reached out to the private sector. I’m proud of the fact we had people from our area assist the Game Commission with this.”
A PGC Wildlife Conservation officer in Lancaster confirmed there was an animal attack, but couldn’t confirm that a mountain lion was responsible.
The person attacked, Samuel Fisher, was transported to a Lancaster hospital for wounds and released.
Grasavage said he and Sorber will return to Lancaster County if any new leads develop.
- Tom Venesky