Woman Witnesses Mountain Lion on Road Near Denville, NJ

"I had to hit my brakes because a huge mountain lion slowly and powerfully and confidently crossed the road in front of me."

Those are the words of CB, who says she came very close to a mountain lion while driving from Boonton to Denville, New Jersey, recently.

Her eyewitness account is the latest of dozens of such reports I've received from around New Jersey from people who claimed to have seen a mountain lion or cougar in New Jersey.

Are there mountain lions or cougars in New Jersey

Despite people like CB who say they've seen mountain lions in New Jersey, the official position of New Jersey Fish and Wildlife is that there are no mountain lions in the state.

That's a pretty straightforward statement, but the more eyewitness accounts that are shared with me, the tougher I find it to believe.

While I can understand that for years there were no mountain lions native to the state, I also believe it's possible that mountain lions have "ended up here." Maybe a few have migrated here from elsewhere. Maybe exotic pets were released by people who could no longer care for them. Perhaps a couple escaped from a private zoo and were never reported. Anything is possible, right?

No photo, no proof

Understandably, many don't believe there are mountain lions in New Jersey. "No picture, no proof", they say.

Over the last 20 years, I've had dozens of deer run in front of my car. I don't have a single photo - does that mean it didn't happen?

New Jersey has over 7,000 square miles of area. One or two - or even 6 mountain lions could certainly live here undetected, couldn't they?

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Sighting near Denville

CB says she was driving near Mountain Lakes at about 5 p.m. when she had to hit the brakes on her truck to stop for a "huge mountain lion" crossing the road in front of her. She says it "slowly and confidently" crossed the road.

"He looked about 6 feet long, and his tail was just about as long as his body. He walked with such confidence, and I freaked out and started to look for my phone to capture it on camera, and by the time I found my phone, he was back into the woods."

CB says she used to live in Tennessee and is very familiar with bobcats and coyotes, and she's sure this was a mountain lion. "This animal was almost it seemed as long as my truck! He was huge!"

CB says "without a doubt", what she saw was a mountain lion.

Have you seen a mountain lion in New Jersey? I'd love to hear your story. My email: joe.kelly@townsquaremedia.com.

Read more about mountain lion sightings in New Jersey here.