It’s not every day a city finds itself tiptoeing along the fine—if not slightly furry—line between an escaped apex predator and, well, an unusually plus-sized tabby. Yet here we are: Rochester, New York, transformed into a game of “Wild Kingdom: Suburban Edition.” As UPI reports, state environmental officials are currently puzzling over whether a sizable feline caught on a home security camera is, in fact, a cougar.
The Case of the Midnight Meanderer
It all kicked off at the Baez home, where Stephany Baez’s surveillance camera recorded a large animal wandering through her family’s backyard at about 4 a.m. Wednesday. Footage reviewed by UPI reveals what Baez described in her Facebook post as, “It doesn’t look like a normal cat. It is something scary and I don’t want anyone to get hurt.” Not quite the typical contents of a porch cam highlight reel.
Investigators from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) later arrived on the scene, taking measurements that, according to the outlet, suggest there truly might be a mountain lion on the loose. Measurements being what they are—prone to hand-waving and the occasional “hold your shoe up for scale”—the resulting uncertainty feels particularly apt for this kind of suburban whodunit.
Once Extinct, Now Appearing on Camera?
Of course, cougars aren’t supposed to roam these parts anymore. As detailed by UPI, New York was home to the eastern cougar, a mountain lion subspecies declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2011, after the last confirmed sighting back in 1938. This makes any putative big cat cameo especially tantalizing. Is it possible that Rochester is about to host a feline Lazarus moment?
The DEC, though, tempers imaginations with a distinctly human explanation. In a statement provided to the Democrat & Chronicle and cited in UPI’s coverage, officials remarked that if this really is a cougar, “given the location within city limits, it is most likely not a wild cat that arrived to the region on its own, but rather a cat that was previously captive, possibly as an illegal pet.” One wonders how many city ordinances specifically forbid “mountain lion ownership” and whether anyone in Rochester is currently regretting a rather ambitious pet adoption.
When Pets Go Plausibly Denied
Exotic pets on the lam may sound like an urban myth, but recent headlines cataloged by UPI paint a different picture. Their round-up includes bears reportedly queuing up with humans outside Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater and, in another recent escapade, a horse found jogging along a Maine highway. The menagerie of modern suburbia is, apparently, more varied than most neighborhood associations would care to admit.
What exactly compels certain individuals to look at a 150-pound predator and think, “Living room companion?” Certainly no manual of responsible pet ownership recommends this. The DEC’s suspicion of a previously captive animal seems more routine than remarkable at this point—a reminder that even in places where the chicken ordinance is a hot-button issue, someone might be indulging in a secret big cat hobby.
The Thrill of the Not-Quite-Normal
As residents scan their yards a bit more nervously and leash up for especially alert morning walks, the question lingers: “Cougar or just a big cat?” Is this a case of nature throwing a wild curveball, or yet another illustration of humanity’s unquenchable urge to attempt the improbable—often with feline sidekicks?
The story, wild as it is, feels right at home alongside UPI’s other featured curiosities—a Japanese racehorse celebrated for losing every race, or a literal blueberry-induced “traffic jam” outside Vancouver. Maybe it’s the era of security cameras, maybe it’s just the enduring unpredictability of life, but it seems there’s always something pawing at the boundaries of the routine.
In the end, whether Rochester’s elusive prowler proves to be a wayward mountain lion, a bored ex-pet, or an extraordinarily photogenic Maine Coon with Olympic leaping ability, it’s a helpful reminder of how thin the membrane between the everyday and the extraordinary can be. Reality, as catalogued in your home security footage (and apparently, every UPI “Odd News” round-up), is always ready to elbow its way into your morning coffee—claws and all. Anyone else half-expecting a kangaroo next? Because frankly, at this point, it feels plausible.
