A giant roar rattled residents in Rochester and hit a bit too near dwelling.
A doable mountain lion sighting within the upstate NY city, prompted a shelter-in-place order this week, alarming native officers and sending fearful residents right into a panic.
Curtis Jones got here face-to-face with the fearsome feline — which was final documented in New York state in 2011 — whereas strolling down the road on Wednesday.
“And it mentioned ‘rawr,’ and I simply stored strolling,” he advised the ABC affiliate in Rochester.
“I seen it, seeing me, see it, so in my head I’m like, ‘Nah, I obtained to go man, I’m out’. … I’ve by no means seen nothing like that … solely on motion pictures.”
Rochester police obtained wind of a social media video that appears to indicate the good huge cat. Cops additionally obtained a flurry of calls from involved residents who feared they too had noticed it.
A shelter-in-place order was promptly issued — however later lifted since police couldn’t confirm the big lion.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Workplace helped the investigation by flying an aerial drone across the space, however to no avail.
The Seneca Park Zoo, which is positioned in Rochester, mentioned none of its animals had escaped.
The state Division of Environmental Conservation was additionally probing, and in a press release to the ABC affiliate, mentioned based mostly on doorbell video and the measurements taken on the website, the animal does seem to presumably be a mountain lion.
“DEC is actively investigating experiences of a giant cat in a Rochester neighborhood and figuring out if there may be proof to validate the pictures,” the DEC mentioned in its assertion. “Extra data will likely be offered because it turns into obtainable. DEC reminds the general public to deal with an encounter like some other with a big, probably harmful wild animal or unfamiliar canine.
“Preserve a protected distance, and slowly again away. Solely take pictures from a really protected distance and instantly report it to legislation enforcement.”
