Even More People Report Mountain Lion Sightings In New Jersey

For a state that doesn’t officially have any mountain lions, a lot of people are seeing mountain lions.

Dozens report mountain lion encounters in New Jersey

Over the past few years, I’ve written numerous articles about people in New Jersey seeing mountain lions.

It all started when a woman in Galloway Township, Atlantic County,  told me she was walking her dog one evening when she encountered a cougar – or mountain lion – on her walk. (Her story from 2022 can be found here.)

Since then, I’ve written a number of articles describing other witness accounts as shared to me throughout New Jersey.  (Find many of those stories here.)

While many of the accounts have come from the southern part of New Jersey, most of the sightings have occurred in the northern part of the state.

Since my last article in mid-October, I’ve received dozens of emails detailing other encounters in New Jersey. Many of those reports are below.

New Jersey says there are no mountain lions in the state

Regardless of how many people claim they’ve seen mountain lions in New Jersey, the official New Jersey Wildlife position remains, “There are no mountain lions in New Jersey.”

Personally, I don’t like that statement. Even if there are no animals native to the state, they may have migrated in from other areas, or they may be animals that escaped from captive situations.

Finally, the words “mountain lion”, “cougar” and “panther” are pretty much interchangeable. Different words are often used in different parts of the country.

Please read on and check out these reports. If you’ve seen a mountain lion in New Jersey, I’d love to hear your story. Photos and videos are great too. I can be reached at joe.kelly@townsquaremedia.com