Black Panthers of Piermont, Fact or Folklore?
In 1979 there were 259,000 people living in Rockland, today that number has increased to 296,000. It would seem that the increasing suburban sprawl would have been to the detriment of wildlife populations. The opposite effect has been seen throughout Rockland with many species flourishing to the point of overpopulation. The most glaring increase would be the number of Canada Geese grazing on every park, ball field, and golf course in our county. This is due to milder winters combined with favorable food sources. The problem comes from their feces fouling water supplies and athletic fields. Numerous attempts at population control have met with limited or no success in slowing the growth of local flocks. The white tail deer is another animal that has experienced a population explosion in the past 20 years. Favorable food sources, and increase in “fringe” habitat has worked to the deer’s advantage. The number one predator of deer in Rockland is your family car, though as we’ll see, a new
