State police and game commission officials were searching for a possible mountain lion Thursday night after a Sadsbury Township man was attacked.
After scouring the area east of Route 896 for several hours, police and game commission officers called off the search shortly after 11 p.m. They will return this morning to resume looking for the animal, which they believe is wounded.
Linda Swank, a wildlife conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, said she could confirm that there was an animal attack. However, she said she could not confirm that the animal is a mountain lion.
"There are thousands of cougar sightings reported every year in Pennsylvania, and most of them turn out to be foxes, bobcats or dogs," she said.
Neighbors said Samuel Fisher, of 71 Mount Pleasant Road, was attacked near his home shortly before 6 p.m. He was taken to Lancaster General Hospital, where he was still being evaluated late Thursday night, according to a nursing supervisor.
After spotting what neighbors said was a mountain lion in his field around 5:30 p.m., Fisher retrieved his rifle and fired a shot, wounding the animal, which then fled into the woods, one neighbor said.
When Fisher entered the woods to search for the wounded animal, he told the neighbor a mountain lion jumped out of a tree and onto his back.
"He said it felt like 150 pounds hit him," said the neighbor, who did not want to be identified. Fisher told the neighbor he turned around and the animal began clawing at his chest and arms. He retrieved a knife from his pocket and stabbed the large cat, which then ran away, the neighbor said.
Fisher made his way to a neighbor's house, told her he was attacked by a mountain lion, asked her to call 911; then he collapsed, the neighbor said.
Several neighbors found a blood trail and began tracking the animal but lost the trail in a field, a neighbor said.
Neighbors said they have seen mountain lions in the area several times in the last two months, with sightings increasing in the last week. They said the cats are about 8 feet long with 3-foot tails.
One neighbor said Fisher saw three mountain lions near his farm Wednesday night.
On Tuesday night, two of Fisher's neighbors said they were using spotlights and saw the cats in a field on Mount Pleasant Road. When they returned with their guns, the animals were gone, they said.
Wildlife Conservation Officer Dennis Warfel said he and another officer went to the area last week after receiving several calls reporting mountain lion sightings. Officials placed a dead deer in a field to attract any mountain lions that might be in the area, but the effort turned up nothing, Warfel said.
Although there are many reported sightings each year, the game commission maintains that mountain lions do not live in Pennsylvania.
In 2003, there were many reported sightings in Salisbury Township. Attacks on a dog and a goat prompted game commission officials to hold a public meeting to ease residents' concerns.
Although officials eventually ruled that the dog was likely attacked by a wild dog or coyote, they said there did appear to be an increase in credible sightings.
Game commission officials searched the area but never saw the animal and could never confirm its existence.
