Not even 10 miles outside of Boston, Winchester, MA has become the latest town to experience the drama that often surrounds mountain lions in the Northeast.

While the last official sighting in Massachusetts of one of these big cats took place in the 19th century, New England residents have been seeing mountain lions, as well as their tracks and scat, for many years. But, the crux of many arguments doesn’t revolve around just their presence, but also whether or not there is a breeding population present in our woods. The general consensus seems to be: we are seeing mountain lions, but they have traveled here from other locations. In fact, the cat that was struck and killed on a Connecticut highway just under three years ago is supposed to have traveled from South Dakota based on genetic data.

Regardless, national mountain lion experts have weighed in on the current discovery of mountain lion sign in Winchester, analyzing the photographic evidence, and have concluded that there is a big cat in the area. However, state officials and local academics disagree with the assessment saying that the tracks found are most likely from another animal.

This recent New York Times article contains some helpful information about the current state of mountain lions, and this article tells us more about the situation in Winchester.