Mountain Lion Reportedly Spotted in Pleasantville

A mountain lion may be roaming the streets of Pleasantville.

Mount Pleasant Police Chief Louis Alagno confirmed the department received calls "just before 5 p.m." today reporting, "a large cat—possibly a mountain lion" walking around a village neighborhood in the vicinity of Heritage Drive.

"Patrol officers have checked that area with negative results," Alagno reported. "They have not observed anything."

The first caller reported seeing a large cat in the street near 60 Heritage Dr., while a second caller said an animal that appeared to be a mountain lion was spotted climbing a tree nearby.

"When officers got there, there was nothing to be found," said the chief, though he added officers are still at the scene interviewing the second caller.

A Heritage Drive resident, who declined to provide her name, told Patch, "I saw two police cars outside my house around that time. There were two officers sort of looking around at the house across the street from me, but that was it."

"We have notified the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation," said Alagno, "to let them know there was a reported sighting."

While Alagno said he doesn't recall ever receiving a report of a mountain lion in the town in the past, "It's not as uncommon as you would think," he pointed out, referencing in nearby Greenwich, CT.

That mountain lion, later killed on the Wilbur Cross Parkway, was traced back to South Dakota. That discovery was "pretty phenomenal," said Alagno.

If you see a wild animal in your neighborhood, "Get to safety, get inside and call police," advised the chief.