Police search for possible mountain lion in Manalapan

MANALAPAN — When people hear the word cougar nowadays they may think of an older woman on the prowl for a younger man, but in this case there appears to be a real cougar roaming the Manalapan and Marlboro area.

On March 11 a male driver called the Manalapan Police Department at about 7:30 a.m. to report what he described as a mountain lion stalking a deer across Robertsville Road, in the area of Taylors Mills Road.

The area is near the border of Manalapan and Marlboro, in the vicinity of the Greenbriar adult community.

Police officers from Manalapan and animal control officers from Marlboro and Manalapan responded to the scene. An initial search failed to turn up the feline.

According to police, Marlboro animal control officer Anthony Lena was subsequently on Robertsville Road and observed what he described as a large feline with a long tail in a wooded area traveling along a creek bed.

Officers from Manalapan responded back to the scene and established a perimeter around the block of woods.

Also on scene were Monmouth County SPCA Chief Victor Amato and New Jersey Fish and Game Officer Shannon Martiak.

A helicopter from the Monmouth County Shade Tree Commission was called in to conduct aerial surveillance of the area but the big cat was not found. Officers on the ground swept the area on foot and did not locate the feline, according to a press release from the Manalapan Police Department.

During a check of the area a feline track was discovered in a muddy creek bed. The track was photographed and is being analyzed by a wildlife biologist to determine its origin.

Mountain lions — which are also known as cougars, pumas or panthers — are commonly found further west, but Amato did say the animals were known to roam New Jersey at one point.

Amato did not see the animal, only the evidence of something that was apparently in the area. It was clear from the track that the animal was feline, but Amato said the officers were unable to determine what type of animal made it, which is why Fish and Game officials are now analyzing the track.

Amato noted that reports of sightings of these animals come in at times over the years.

Having seen the tracks that were found in the area and hearing Lena’s description, Amato said he believes it was likely that there was something in the vicinity.

“Anthony Lena is very reputable and knowledgeable. If he says he saw it, then he saw it as far as I’m concerned,” Amato said on the morning of March 12.

If the feline turns out to be a mountain lion, Amato said the most likely reason for the cat being in the area is someone having purchased an illegal exotic pet.

Amato said animals of this type could be illegally purchased as cubs outside of New Jersey and smuggled into the state as an exotic pet.

“If it got too large for them to take care of and they discarded it, that’s a possibility, a very strong possibility,” Amato said.

He said if the animal turns out to be an exotic pet it is also possible that it escaped from the owners.

“There are a lot of possibilities,” Amato said.