Animal Reports: Wild Cat Sightings, Skunk Gets Stuck in a McFlurry ...

Stuck in a McFlurry

A skunk rummaging through someone's trash on Stoney Brook Drive Thursday morning got its head stuck in a McFlurry cup and kept walking in circles.

A Monroe Animal Control officer took the cup off the skunk's head and it scurried away.

"If a skunk cannot see, it does not spray," said Edward Risko, the town animal control officer. "Usually I suggest putting a towel over the animal and pulling the cup off, while it's underneath the towel — and back off."

Risko said Thursday's incident is a common one as animals go through recycling bins and garbage.

A Mountain Lion?

Police are still trying to contact a woman who reported seeing a mountain lion in the area of Barn Hill Road and Israel Hill Road at 5:42 Thursday night.

"There was another one in the same location that turned out to be a fisher cat," Risko said Monday.

That cat was seen at Barn Hill and Brinsmaid Road on June 19 and it jumped over a wall at Captain's Hill Road, according to Risko.

This does not mean mountain lions have never been in Monroe.

In fact, a mountain lion seen in the Stamford/Greenwhich area that had been in the news recently was also spotted twice in Monroe, once heading toward the Stamford area and a second time heading toward Milford, Risko said.

"I honestly believe that was an exotic pet that was dumped," he said. "It didn't act like a normal wild cat. There were too many sightings, usually those animals are more secretive. It was seen sunning itself ..."

Bobcat Sightings on the Rise

At 6 a.m. on July 1, a screaming bobcat was seen chasing down a horse at Shalimar Fields Horse Stable, 153 Bagburn Road.

Risko said the horse was not harmed. "That's typical of bobcats," he said. "They're not going after something that large."

Just five years ago, Risko said Monroe had three to four bobcat sightings a year — "if that." Now he said it happens about once a month.

Incidents include:

• July 2: A bobcat was injured when it hit the side of a car at around noon. The injured animal wandered off into the woods. Risko said droplets of blood and tufts of fur were found.
• At 8:30 a.m. one February morning, a Pepper Street woman reported seeing an adult female bobcat lying by a stream and watching ducks. She yelled at it and it ran off, according to Risko.
• On March 7, a bobcat was seen on Webb Circle — between the cemetary and the Shelton town line. Another was seen on Cross Hill Road on Feb 23.
• May 7, Pepper Street and Commerce Drive
• May 6, Crescent Place
• May 23 Pepper Street and Cambridge Drive.

There were three sightings in June: A bobcat crossing Shelton Road (Route 110) on the 18th; a bobcat crossing Pepper Street and Cutlers Farm Road at 7 a.m. on the 22nd, and a bobcat crossing Pepper Street one evening before the June 25 report.

So far this month, a Monroe Turnpike woman reported seeing a bobcat walk through her yard at 6 a.m. on July 14.

"One man recorded a few seconds of video footage of a bobcat walking out of his woods," Risko said.

If You See a Wild Cat ...

What should you do if you see a wild cat in your yard?

Risko said all wild cats are considered harmless, because they will only attack if they feel threatened.

When people call Animal Control to report a wild cat sighting, Risko said, "I give them the basic wildlife fact sheet on it. It gives them the basic range of their territory."

Risko said most residents who call to report seeing a wild animal such as a bobcat or a wolf do not do so because they feel threatened.

"People often call because they think it's a rare animal sighting and they’re just not," he said.

A Squirrel in My Bathroom

A squirrel walked into a house on Hillside Lane through an open door and went into the bathroom, according to a report that came in at 7:44 a.m. on Friday.

Risko said the squirrel most likely saw someone and accidentally ran in the house while trying to get away. In these instances, he said it's best to either chase the animal back outside or into an enclosed area.

"We told him to open a window," Risko said of the man who found a squirrel in his bathroom. "There's no reason the animal wants to stay in the house. As long as you give them an escape route, they'll leave within a few hours once they calm down."

Bat Caught in Tupperware

On June 28, a Monroe Turnpike woman caught a bat in her house with a cardboard box. Monroe Animal Control recommended using a plastic container next time, so she caught another bat in a Rubbermaid container two days later.

In these instances, Risko said a homeowner captures a bat and animal control takes it to a lab for testing.

Other bat incidents this year included three bats in a house on Georges Lane on June 1, and a bat in a house on Cross Hill Road on June  15.

Cockatiel vs. Porch

A cockatiel flew into somebody's porch on Williams Drive on July 12, according to police.

"It was released to its owner, who had reported it missing," Risko said.