Jane Bernick was the first to see them, on March 6. She described the two animals as young panthers: black, long-tailed, sleek, feline, and about the size of a large dog. They were in her backyard, at the top of Lamont hill, and she watched them for ten to 15 minutes with binoculars. On March 14 her neighbor Grace Knowlton and three guests saw one of the panthers at a distance. Grace informed the police, who were unable to find any evidence of the panther. A Journal-News story appeared suggesting that the witnesses might have been mistaken.

Unaware of the other sightings, on March 15, Jay Larkin and his two boys saw “a large, pitch black animal loping into the woods” beside the Palisades Parkway between exit 3 and exit 4. Then on Tuesday, March 17, Palisades resident Dorian Tunnell and his son Evan were riding their bikes in Tallman State Park near Woods Road and got the shock of their lives when they came upon the two panthers, playing in the underbrush. Tunnell said, “They were right in front of us, 25 to 30 yards away. They didn’t see us. We high-tailed it out of there.” He described them as being waist-high, larger than a German Shepherd dog and probably weighing about 150 pounds. Tunnell called the Orangetown police, who came immediately but again found no evidence. There may have been another sighting at the end of February, in this same area, by Shelly Cohen.

The Palisades Parkway Police, who have jurisdiction over Tallman Park, sent helicopters and trackers, but to no avail. No warning signs were put up and the park was not closed, suggesting that there were still doubts about the existence of the panthers. Orangetown police have suggested that the witnesses saw a black fox, a coyote, a bear or a fisher (a foxlike marten). Wendy Rosenbach, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation, suggested that the witnesses could have seen a large dog. She doubted that it was a panther because they haven’t been around here for 100 years. “Panther” is just a generic name for numerous wild felines, including mountain lions, jaguars, cougars and pumas. Although they were once common here, these animals disappeared as woods and farmland gave way to houses, towns, and office buildings.

In a bizarre turn of events, responding to a rumor that someone living in Palisades had an exotic cat collection, the police came twice to one Palisades residence and searched it for black panthers. They also had a lead from 2006 that someone on Clausland Mountain was keeping exotic cats in their basement, but they were apparently unable to follow it up.

In the meantime Carol Baxter set up a Panther Hot Line to keep residents informed. Many Palisadians were becoming concerned about the fate of the animals, whatever they were. Carol called the Bronx Zoo, Safari Jungle, N.Y. Fish and Wildlife and the DEC for assistance and guidance. Joan Salomon called her contacts at various wildlife sanctuaries to help secure a home if captured. Milbry Polk contacted Allan Rabinowitz of Panthera, the largest wild cat conservation organization. Larry Bucciarelli got advice from hunters. Annie Gerard took photos of prints and passed them on for identification. A number of people contacted both Orangetown and Bear Mountain authorities and urged that the creatures be tranquilized and removed instead of being shot.

After ten days without panther sightings, on March 27 at 10 pm Milbry Polk spotted a black feline (the size of a large dog) with a very long tail as she pulled into her driveway on Route 9W, across from Tallman Park. As the car headlights shone on it, the animal moved away slowly into the woods behind their house. Milbry called the police, who came and searched with flashlights but found nothing.

On March 28, Nancy Bucciarielli sent a very strong letter to Thom Kleiner and the Councilmembers requesting an immediate plan for dealing with the panther threat. Carol Baxter also contacted Thom with a memo outlining community concerns. On March 31, Carol, Milbry and David Gottleib met with representatives of the Orangetown Police, DEC, Palisades Interstate Park (PIP) Commission, Animal Control, and Tallman Park Director at the Orangetown Police Department.

Carol reported, “A number of things were accomplished with the main goal being improvement in communication between departments. Up until then, the Police Dept only handled residential sightings and Tallman sightings were only handled by the PIP." The Palisades representatives were given a main number that eyewitnesses could call, 786-2781. Other issues discussed included signage in the parks to alert hikers, and whether traps could be set ­— the answer was no, since the kind of animal is unknown. The use of tranquilizers runs into the same problem, since they are a controlled substance and can’t be used randomly. Unfortunately the first responders will have guns.

Scott Forman of Piermont put Carol in touch with a group of independent trackers trained by renowned tracker Tom Brown Jr. Shane Hobel and Donna Brickwood of Mountain Scout Survival in Beacon, NY came down on April 8 and concentrated on the location of Milbry’s sighting and along the gas-line. They found scat, fur and big cat evidence on Milbry’s property and across the street which is being analyzed, some of it for DNA.

Then, on the night of April 8, Grace Knowlton let her two dogs out at 3:30 am, expecting them back shortly. When they didn’t return she went out and called them. One raced past her and into the woods, but neither returned. The next morning at 8:30am Debbie Sears heard their barking and located them stranded high on a rock ledge at the end of Lawrence Lane, possibly chased there by a panther. They were rescued by David Gottleib and Grace. That same day, at 1:30 pm, Ben Bonart, who lives two houses away from Grace, saw a panther in his backyard. A tracker came and collected samples, which are still being analyzed. He also showed Grace large, deep claw marks on a tree near her house, and more on a tree on the way to the ledge where the dogs had ended up.

The panthers seem to have split up. On April 14 two workers at Rockland Lake State Park said they saw a large, dark-colored animal that resembled a cat near the clubhouse at the north golf course a little before 6:30 am. The animal spotted some deer and ran into the woods before police got there. When the Clarkstown police investigated, along with state park police, they didn’t find anything unusual. The park police suggested it was a bobcat or a fisher and declined further comment.

Where does this leave us? In spite of sightings by at least ten reliable witnesses in Palisades, the authorities are still not convinced that anyone saw a panther. It will take positive results from the DNA tests, a photograph of the animal, or a sighting by a law enforcement officer to convince them. Representatives of the Orangetown Police Department have stated that the police are taking this seriously but are unable to proceed without a sighting. Eyewitnesses are encouraged to take a photo or video first and then call 786-2781. The most important thing is the photo.

In the meantime, many residents have been inspired to write verses about panthers. There is even talk of a Panther Relief party. To be added to the panther hot line, e-mail Carol Baxter at carolbaxter7@gmail.com. Breaking news will also be listed on our web site, www.palisadesny.com.