WCAV describes today how the Crozet mountain lion is terrorizing a neighborhood.
This story has been covered several times in the Crozet Gazette; spend some time looking there for more information. Specifically, start downloading the pdfs from August 2007 on for the aftermath of this letter:
I am shocked and concerned that the people of Crozet appear not to be alarmed by recurring reports of a mountain lion in their town and vicinity.
I live in the Maryland-Washington DC com- muting area and may relocate my family to the Crozet area, so I have visited Crozet many times and read the Crozet Gazette online. The Gazette has reported the “Crozet Cougar†at least twice now, the latest in the July 2007 issue. For under- standing, readers should note that this predator is known by several names: cougar, panther, puma, mountain lion, and lion.
Apparently the people of Crozet are not aware of the lion’s mortal threat to the community. If they were, there would be a call to eliminate this predator before tragedy strikes. But no concern has been voiced, at least not in the Gazette. And certainly no decisive action has been taken to protect the public, because the lion is still at large after multiple sightings over the last year.
I am writing this letter to awaken the Crozet community to the danger of mountain lions to people, especially children, with the hope that citizens will act to avoid a tragedy which will darken the life of the community for many years.
Note: the photo is not from this area.
Update 02/28/2008: The Daily Progress does a thorough vetting of the Crozet Cougar story.