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TOM VENESKY

The dogs offer enough proof of a lion hoax TOM VENESKY OUTDOORS

A dog’s nose doesn’t lie.

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That’s why I don’t believe Lancaster County resident Samuel Fisher’s claim that he saw three mountain lions, shot one and was attacked by another on Oct. 9.

Over the last few weeks enough facts have come out to poke more holes in the story that those that Fisher claims he inflicted in the attacking mountain lion.

First there were the field tests conducted on the alleged blood trail left by the mountain lion Fisher said he shot.

Those tests, which were conducted by law enforcement personnel, determined that the substance wasn’t blood. Samples tested later at a state police lab also determined the substance wasn’t blood.

Then there’s the state police helicopter that flew over the area looking for the cats with a FLIR Infrared Thermal Imaging Camera. Nothing can hide from that. No mountain lions were found.

And consider that officers at the scene found no mountain lion tracks, scat or hair. Also, the shirt Fisher wore when he said a mountain lion jumped on him and began to attack was torn, but was devoid of any blood or dirt.

No blood on the shirt? That’s odd considering Fisher was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for his wounds.

The knife that Fisher said he used to stab the attacking mountain lion three times in the abdomen did have blood on it, but lab tests conducted by East Stroudsburg University found the blood was human, not mountain lion.

Lastly, photos of the alleged blood trail left by the cat Fisher said he shot show a thick stream of something poured in a straight line.

Pretty fishy.

But what convinced me the most that this alleged attack is just a hoax is the dogs.

The day after the alleged attack, local hunters Ed Grasavage and Chip Sorber were summoned out to Lancaster to track the mountain lions with their specially trained hounds.

The only thing that turned up was a housecat.

I’ve hunted with Sorber and his dogs for bobcats. They can find a hot trail as easily as a cold one, and if there was a single mountain lion – or three, in the area the dogs would’ve struck a trail.

When asked about the test results by a local newspaper, Fisher said he is not changing his story.

And I’m not buying it.

Despite field and lab tests that showed the trail wasn’t blood, there are still those that believe Fisher’s claim.

Despite the fact that mountain lion blood wasn’t found on the knife, the story still has life.

And despite the fact that no mountain lions were detected by the state police camera, there are those who think these three mountain lions still roam.

The game commission is considering filing charges against Fisher for making false reports, so the story may take a new angle.

But does this hoax mean that there aren’t mountain lions living somewhere in Pennsylvania?

No.

There are still numerous reported sightings and the possibility still exists that a mountain lion raised in captivity was released into the wild.

One always has to keep an open mind until the facts dictate otherwise.

Or the dogs.

After all, a dog’s nose always tells the truth.

Tom Venesky writes about hunting, fishing, trapping and the outdoors for The Times Leader. He can be reached at tvenesky@timesleader.com or 829-7230.