Connecticut It was a lion-like cat with a tan coat and no spots that was about three times the size of our 30- to 35-pound dog. An expert said it was probably a basking shark. And theres another school of thought, Well, no, there just are too many of them probably we have to reduce that population somehow. Where do you fall in that whole continuum? As unlikely as it sounds, it was a more believable theory than some of the alternatives, among them that the cat was evidence of a breeding population in the state that was being kept secret by, . Genetic testing placed the animal in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the cat had been sighted at several different points during its long journey east. My stepfather had been a hunter and was no stranger to seeing animals in the woods and countryside, so when they came up over a knoll in the road and saw a large cat looking at them, he saw the face and thought, bobcatuntil they then saw the rest of the animals body: huge, beautifully tawny colored, and in possession of what my mother described as a very long tail, that was as thick as my wrist. Speaker Bill Betty presented evidence and proposed theories that could prove that Connecticut, including , is home to a native population of Eastern mountain lions. In July 2019, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Mountain Lion Foundation petitioned the Fish and Game Commission to list mountain lions as a candidate species under the California Endangered Species Act ( CESA) within a proposed evolutionarily significant unit (ESU) located in Southern California and the central coast of California. The debate rages in Maine, where the last confirmed cougar kill occurred in 1938, and in New Hampshire, where the last confirmed kill was in 1885. There is no shortage of deer for all apex predators whether they are canine, feline, or human. Fight at end of CT high school basketball game involving Middletown, Weaver second in as many days, How UConn women's basketball forward Amari DeBerry landed on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 plays, Connecticut boys hockey top performers / games to watch (Jan. 17), Goggles? Once at dusk driving in the Berkshires, he saw what he initially thought was a cat-like creature that was far bigger than a bobcat leap across the road. Even so, for decades, skeptics dismissed mountain lion sightings in Connecticut out of hand, pointing out that if the cats were here in anywhere close to the number of reported sightings, there would be DNA and physical evidence of their presence, not to mention photos and videos. It was a 140-pound male mountain lion, the first confirmed in Connecticut in more than 100 years. Males can reach up to two metres in length and weigh over 60 kilograms. Mr. Betty and Mr.Ottomans passion and efforts are impressive. Yale New Haven Health Check; . At least once a year thered be a story from somewhere, but I only ran the absolute best, he told me. Also known as cougars, panthers or pumas, mountain lions range in color from tan to grey, according to the U.S. Department of Agricultures Forest Service. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. are received by 1:00 p.m. CT, June 9, 2020 by Sheri Henderson at the Lincoln . (My wife didnt get a look at the tail.) However, the captive lion theory was also wrong. Bobcats top out at about 40 pounds (most are much lighter than that) and are only. I had been foraging up in an area that is rocky. I think I may have pissed her off since I was up in that area X2 this week. She was also the voice behind the weekly Connecticut Real Estate newsletter by CT Insider. Respect predators, protect them but dont worship or try to hug them! The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection receives 50-100 reports of mountain lions each year, says Paul Rego, a wildlife biologist with the department. Dogos have been DOCUMENTED killing mountain lion / wolf. Height at shoulder: 25-30 in. Sometimes referred to as the ghosts of the forest, mountain lions or cougars are stealthy hunters that are hard to spot, even in areas they are known to inhabit. Beautiful creature. But the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said Sunday that bobcats are the only large wild cats found in the state. So all the other states in the Northeast that have bear populations have a harvest on their bears. The truth is, I was by this point dubious. Over time, Wright became convinced Eastern cougars lived in small pockets in the deep woods. So yes they are here and not to sure why they dont admit to them being around ! They were also reluctant to certify that turkey and moose had returned the Quabin reservoir lands for many years after locals reported seeing them. One cat will leave more than 10,000 tracks per day. Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators., Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators. She lives near the end of a gravel road in a modest, low-slung house tucked into the flanks of the Green Mountains. But, I think with education and planning, we should reintroduce wolves and cougar in the Northeast. If theres a middle ground in the cougar debate, it belongs to John Harrigan, a veteran outdoorsman, newspaper reporter, and widely read syndicated columnist. However, the National Wildlife Federation notes that the mountain lions range spreads all across the Americas, from the Canadian Yukon to The Strait of Magellan, making it the greatest range of any living mammal in the Americas.. A few years later, though, the scat was retested with DNA analysis and found to be canid, rather than feline, in origin. Earlier in the year, Id attended one of these presentations, and even in the tiny village of Woodbury, Vermont, on a stiflingly hot summer evening, nearly 100 people showed up to hear her speak and see her photographs (Morse is a magnificent wildlife photographer). Adults are a uniform tan or tawny in color, with a white or cream-colored chin, undersides and inner legs. Anyway I got to see that set of eyes way closer than I ever wanted, by the time my hand got on my pistol she was gone. Its fur is a light, tawny brown color which can appear gray or almost black, depending on light conditions. I was deer hunting with my father, it was in the fall about 7 years ago, in Barre Ma towards the Templeton Ma lines. Mountain lions inhabit the badlands and Missouri River breaks regions of North Dakota. It is also known as cougar, panther, mountain lion, and puma, though catamount is the preferred regional vernacular. About two years ago in July 2020, there were around 1,500 reports of bobcat sightings in the state, with some bobcat sightings in Brookfield and Ridgefield that year. Mountain Lion Weight: 80-160 pounds Length: About 7-8 feet long Tail: 2-3 feet long (up to half of the total length) Identification The mountain lion is a large, slender cat, with a long rope-like tail. She favors plaid shirts, green Dickies work pants, and hiking boots, and she chided me for shaking her hand too gently. Its OK, he told me. Typically, they will slink out of there as quickly as they can to get away from humans. I also had the vague notion that when it comes to cougars, people tend to sort themselves into one of three camps. Mountain lions, on the other hand, weigh in at between 130 to 150 pounds for males and between 65 and 90 pounds for females. While recent mountain lion sightings in Connecticut have not been confirmed, if someone suspects they encountered a mountain lion, they should not run away, as it might spur a chase. But other hard evidence of the big cats presence is elusive. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are Mountain lions found in eastern Nebraska typically are dispersing young animals on the move to find new territory. Dismissing most of the sightings as probable bobcats, Morse asserted that the scientific evidence has not been proven. Jason. And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. Theres also the lack of visual evidence, more glaring each passing year as so many hikers and hunters now carry phones with cameras. Weight: 70-170 lbs. Perhaps, then, the ultimate question isnt whether cougars are among us, but rather how we can encourage them to settle here. There have been 40 confirmed mountain lion sightings since 2002 in the state, according to the Wildlife Department. Massachusetts and several other New England states have bear hunting, or harvest, seasons, which proponents say help control populations. I lived in Woodstock, CT in 2005/2006. The restrictions/regulations surrounding management of an endangered species is incredibly cumbersome, and would be difficult to manage. Its quite an uphill challenge for us to manage that situation right now. 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If you have a worldview in which the government is conspiring to do weird stuff, than thats what youre going to see, and all the evidence is going to point to exactly what you believe, he says. Harrigan nodded. . Its closest living relative is the cheetah. If these animals are not in the habitat, what we see is an overabundance of herbivores., The ecologist John Laundre, who has spent 35 years studying cougars, concurs. I met with Morse at her home in Jericho. The scientific name for the catamount is Puma concolor. It is healthy to have respect and caution, but fear shouldnt drive ecological decision making. Pictured is an image shared earlier this month on Facebook of what was claimed to be a mountain lion sighting this past fall in Prairie du Rocher. Because they are.. In their estimation, the presence of a breeding cougar population in New England would likely stem from our proximity to Canada, where, as they rightly point out, DNA analysis has resulted in 19 positive identifications across Quebec and New Brunswick since 2001 (although some of these were shown to be of South American lineage, suggesting escaped pets). Public opinion surveys show many more would support reintroduction, than oppose. Betty was quiet, and I wondered if even he, a man who does not doubt the presence of these cats in our midst and who himself claims multiple sightings, thought Ottmann was exaggerating. This isnt to say she believes none of these animals has stepped foot on New England soil over the past century. Size alone . McEnroe: It is an uphill challenge. Hawley: Yeah. At the time, a specialist from the Iowa Department of Natural. March 20, 2022; Bob Dylan is Staying Busy in Isolation May 5, 2020; An Argument Against Gen Eds February 18, 2013; Forgive or Forsake: When an Artist Messes Up April 6, 2018; Computer Science and ESPN: An Interview with Christine Chung February 18, 2015; The Emperor Has No Clothes: Trump and COVID-19 April 22, 2020 We strolled across the tavern parking lot and ducked into the forest, where Ottmann maintains a portion of his $15,000 worth of wildlife recording equipment (hes had no luck capturing a cougar on camera, though, despite more than a decade of trying). 10186. Icould hear the panic in my wifes voice. When I shared their story with the staff at the center where my sister lived, I expected surprise and interested. Finally, in the third camp, there are the true believersthe cougar truthers, if you willthe men and women for whom the only logical conclusion (often reached after a significant investment of time, thought, and sometimes money) is that right here, right now, cougars live among us, feeding and breeding and rearing their young, and that suggesting otherwise is sheer ignorance, willful denial, or part of a mosaic of conspiracy. We clearly have migratory male cougars coming through. But what might be his most compelling argument is that since this is Connecticut, the budget is too limited. Well, theres no difference between Maine and New Brunswick, anyway, said Betty. That maybe, just maybe, what my wife and others saw wasnt a bobcat that seemed bigger in the thrill of the moment, but a real, honest-to-goodness mountain lion, a long-lost ghost of the forest. I also had a coworker report a similar experience around the same time. Saw one on old mountain rd Peterborough N.H. a few years ago on my property followed it and ran to get my camera have a photo but in distance by time got it was amazing animal t Metcalf. How did I know? So theres fresh mud. She served as the Senior Producer for 'The Colin McEnroe Show' for several years before stepping down in 2021 and returning to her previous career as a registered nurse. A bobcats tail is short and bob-like, while mountain lions have long, curving tails that can grow up to 3 feet. If we end up with a population, it will be the result of a colonizer female who gets here somehow, some way, and the rest will be history.. Im not an expert on human psychology, but if youre looking for something, you have a greater chance of actually seeing it. As I walked thru the beginning of the trail I spooked a deer and heard this awful screech and slowly backed out of there .. Experts need to see the body to dismiss their prejudices. To answer these and other questions about sightings of mountain lions, I turned to DEEPs Rego, who has investigated many purported cougar sightings over the past three decades. I saw a Mountain Lion in 2007 in Northfield, MA at the junctions of Rtes 10 and 63. Betty folded his arms across his chest, where they rose and fell and rose again with his breathing. State wildlife experts say those big cats have been extinct in Connecticut. The next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. Betty had driven up from his home in Rhode Island. I mentioned this to a neighbor who spotted one a few miles away. Height. If theyre in one, theyre in the other.. In 1994, scat collected after a sighting in Craftsbury, Vermont, was found to contain cougar hair (the animals are prone to ingesting their hair while grooming), and the commissioner of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department circulated a memo with the following line: Harrigans interest in cougars was sparked in the late 70s, after he took ownership of, Perhaps, then, the ultimate question isnt whether cougars are among us, but rather how we can encourage them to settle here, After 20 minutes or so, we turned and stumbled our way back to the parking lot. You cansubscribe here, orfind the current issue on sale here. A harvest is kind of twofold. I do this shit.. Its definitely a problem thats only going to get worse. Wildlife biologists, as professional scientists, require a higher level of documentation and proof. listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information. The discussion of whether federal lands should be a place to subsidize cattle ranching is another question. Mountain Lions: cougars, pumas, panthers and catamounts. Apr 20, 2020. But you are talking Pacquiao (Pit) vs. Tyson (Dogo) in their prime. She lives near the end of a gravel road in a modest, low-slung house tucked into the flanks of the Green Mountains. Next to the jaguar, it is the largest North American cat. But honest misidentifications are more common. However, that doesnt mean that mountain lion sightings are all false or that there havent been roaming cats sighted. Uscinski, a Connecticut native, adds that the theory that the government is covering up the existence of mountain lions is likely motivated by a distrust of authority. (Throughout history, people have had a deep fear of these creatures, hounding and hunting them mercilessly.) Today, instead of focusing on cougar sightings in Eastern states, many cougar enthusiasts want to protect the animal from being hunted in the regions in which they are currently found. Hawley said that the typical range of cougars like mountain lions is from west of the South Dakota area. Were getting more and more home entries every year. My heart was saying, Maybe this is it,. Continued investigation revealed mountain lion tracks, scat deposits and an additional cache of an elk calf. Anyone can get fooled. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. My assumption is it was the same animal. The expert opinion held up until a man was killed by a Great White not too far away. I started asking a lot of questions, and realized theres only one explanation for the answers I was getting: They are here., You could have 30 in Connecticut alone. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. He explains that we frequently overestimate the size of animals in the wild, particularly ones we are afraid of. Thats a reasonable assertion. Sometimes people feared fishers (erroneously attributing the blood-curdling screams of foxes to these hard-to-spot creatures), and in the late 1930s, after several animals were slain under strange circumstances in Glastonbury, the. Bobcats: Whiskered face and are gray in the winter and tan in the summer, with black spots on their fur that are not always visible. WOODBRIDGE, CT (WFSB) - Police in Woodbridge said they have received reports of mountain lion sightings in town. You know, weve had so many home entries this year. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. Still more confusion ensued when a lab technician said she might have gotten some samples confused, and thus the canid result was thrown into doubt. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. When I came out, the cat appeared in front of me coming up a rise (incredibly close to some ski condos). Yet I also remembered something Sue Morse had told me months before, as we sat in her living room drinking beer and chatting cats. They can subsist on one deer a week, though they will also hunt coyotes, raccoons, rodents, elk, feral hogs, and even porcupines.. For decades afterward, there were reported sightings of the mythical creature prowling the woods around town. So theres fresh mud. Several years ago, I saw what was definitely a cougar walking along a street. Time changes all and Im not going to shut the door on the future and say that a breeding population of cougars is not here because the day after tomorrow they could be here its just a matter of time., Though a deer hunter herself, Morse is opposed to the way mountain lions have been hunted in the western U.S., where they are found. Many, many times, in many different ways along its travel up through Minnesota, Michigan and to Canada, down through New York, through hair samples, blood samples, trail camera photos. I wasnt the only one to see the big cat. N.H.'s Fish and Game My husband and where riding our Motorcycle down Rte 110 near Milan NH Additional samples were collected and are pending DNA analysis. You can subscribe to Connecticut Magazine here, or find the current issue on sale here. My neighbors have seen several over the last 15-20 years. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal. His bicycle was later found with the chain unbroken, but off the sprockets. Rego says that the way bobcats stride when they run, often times a rear leg is kicked up in the back and that could be mistaken for a long tail.. The states beautiful wilderness and mountainous terrain are prime mountain lion habitats. Of course no dash cam or accessible phone camera at the time! He drove me out to the spot. There are no mountain lions in Connecticut, so why do we keep seeing them? It seems humans just cant resist destroying these animals and either dont realize or dont care what damage we have done to our natural environment over the centuries. More recently, unexplained animal sightings in Connecticut and other states became more and more associated with mountain lions. His mentor, Aldo Leopold, a prominent wildlife biologist, also believed this, but felt if people learned about these populations, they would be hunted to extinction. ), or someones coworkers mother had seen one from the back porch of a summer camp back in 07 or maybe 08, and shed tried to get a picture but this was before she got her first iPhone, and by the time shed retrieved her camera from the living room, the cat was long gone. Hes spent this winter hoping for colder temperatures so he can use it. Having retired from a career at General Dynamics, he devotes many of his waking hours to cougar research, a passion hes cultivated for nearly twodecades. are larger and heavier than females (60 to 100 lbs.). A witness captured the terrifying moment when a deputy escaped the jaws of a mountain lion in Colorado. Bobcats: They are are the only wild cat found in the state and the most common in North America. Hawley: Wildlife biologists across the United States know where the current mountain lion range is. Well, I KNOW there was at least one mountain lion in NE because years ago (maybe 35 or so) I lived in Longmeadow, MA. #3. Bios and videos of the New Haven Register's 90th First-Team All-State Football players. What color was it? So all the other states in the Northeast that have bear populations have a harvest on their bears. I saw one yesterday in Windsor Cty Vermont. It is also the most common wild cat found in North America. Its documented through track surveys, aerial surveys, trapping and collaring surveys. 1 After three deer were killed on his property in March, Matunuck resident Abel Collins found what he suspected might be a mountain lion track nearby. Although there are numerous reported sightings of mountain lions in Connecticut every year, the animals have actually been extinct in this state for more than a century. And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. Ive seen tracks (Downeast Maine) and others have seen them, plain as day. There was no mistake. Body length: 3-4 ft. Tail: 2.5-3 ft. TOLLAND A local woman reported Friday that she saw a mountain lion in the area of Sand Hill Road, . my father was recently trout fishing in central Mass. To learn more about "lion country" in Colorado check here. But what about the sightings in Connecticut that are made by experienced outdoorsmen and women, people who know the difference between bobcats and mountain lions? They can be seen at any time of the day or night, but are most active at dawn and dusk, corresponding with deer activity. His mentor, Aldo Leopold, a prominent wildlife biologist, also believed this, but felt if people learned about these populations, they would be hunted to extinction. Theres probably 100 in Connecticut, Ottmann interrupted, rolling a cigarette as he spoke. Zillow has 20 photos of this $299,000 3 beds, 2 baths, -- sqft single family home located at 2439 Adams Farm Ct, Snow Camp, NC 27349 built in 1999. But sometimes, instead of mountain lions, people thought they saw other creatures in the Connecticut woods, of which authorities were supposedly aware. There are no breeding cougars in New England and we do not need any. Mountain Lions: Large tan cats with a distinctive two to three-foot curving tail, that can almost touch the ground as they walk. No doubt of what it was; size, color and recognizable tail. Ive been doing this for 40 years. The big cat traveled some 1,100 miles before his life came to a tragic end after being hit by a SUV on Route 15 in . The catamount is a creature of stealth and concealment; it stalks its prey, which on the EasternSeaboard would likely be deer, moose, porcupines, beavers, and domestic livestock. Vermont-based naturalist SueMorse has spent decades studying, tracking, andphotographing cougars outwest. Mountain Lions:100 all the way up to 200 pounds, Mountain Lions:Can grow up to 6 feet long. Action Alerts. In the 1930s, Bruce Wright, an influential wildlife manager from New Brunswick, Canada, began gathering reports of sightings of mountain lions in the East and searching for their tracks. Body length: 5 - 8 feet Ear length: 3 - 4 inches Tail length: 21 - 35 inches Weight: 90 - 160 pounds Behavior: Mountain lions are solitary animals except during the breeding season or when females are raising kittens. I could hear the steady rush of traffic on Route 315. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. A trail camera was set up and confirmed the presence of a mountain lion on February 16, 2020. Nowhere in New England is the matter definitively settled. We have people eating dinner in their kitchen, they hear a noise, all of a sudden a bear walks in, so they run into their bedroom to get away from the bear, while the bears out ransacking their refrigerator. It lowers the population in a way thats not going to affect the long-term population. In some versions, state officials dont want to alarm people about the feline predators in their midst. Connecticut Public Radio | As a scientist, lack of evidence is very good evidence. But a high-profile sighting in 2011 stirred up renewed interest in the animals here, when a mountain lion from South Dakota was hit and killed by a car on a Connecticut highway. There is also something appealing about the idea that there is an animal out there so cunning that it has escaped our notice and the eyes of our cameras. The 1881 death of this catamount officially marked the end of cougars in Vermont; however, the very last Eastern cougar is thought to be an animal that was killed in Somerset County, Maine, in 1938. Now the bears, they dont even care if people are home, theyll go right in the house. In New Canaan, residents reported seeing mountain lions in 2016 and in 2018. "Connecticut is cougar heaven . Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Humans and wildlife MUST learn to live along side each other and we MUST learn to respect nature. According to the Smithsonians National Zoo, bobcats are part of the lynx genus, which means they are related to other cats like the Canadian lynx, Iberian lynx and Eurasian lynx. I was tracking some deer tracks and I came to a promising deer run with a lot of deer scat on the ground when I noticed a cat track amongst the sign. The Mountain Lion will return to feed on the prey for up to 10 days. Wildlife do really crazy things, and you just never know.. Recall a few years back, a guy in a kayak off Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA, was tracked by a large fin. My encounter was in Middlesex, VT along the river road (Route 2) just below I89. One summer I saw what I assumed was the same cougar several different times in my neighborhood which was near a long strip of woods along I 91 and used to be a large open field across the road from our home. However, many of their claimsespecially Mr. Bettys contention of roughly a dozen personal sightings in New Englandare hard to take seriously. Forty years of reporting on New Hampshire cougar sightings has convinced Harrigan that the state is home to at least a handful of breeding animals. I knew it was a cat track because the tracks were in a straight line and no signs of claws like you would see with a coyote track. Put bluntly, Morse does not believe that New England is home to cougars. In 2011, the U.S. Sue Morse, the founder and science director of Keeping Track, a Vermont-based organization dedicated to protecting wildlife habitats, has studied mountain lions over her career as a naturalist, and says the majority of cougar sightings in the Northeast are misidentifications. As livestock farming came to dominate the landscape, pressure on the big cats slowly mounted on two fronts: The number of farmers wanting them dead was increasing, while the rapid transition from forest to farmland meant their habitat was shrinking. P.O. Based on this blurry photo and pawprints, DEEP confirmed it was likely a mountain lion. On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. People clearly arent lying when they say they saw a cougar; [the sighting] has a profound effect on them.. hen I accepted the assignment to write about my quest to uncover the truth regarding the existence of cougars in New England, I had little idea what I was agreeing to. Bobcats and a possible mountain lion have been mentioned within the past few weeks. And the clincher, What would you say was the most distinguishing feature? Reading Time: 4 mins read . They were also seen at other times by members of my family and other people in the neighborhood. Below are some of the first-hand. Our Mission. Because he lives among them, Harrigan understands that no one knows the woods better. There were pine cones on window sills, a well-used hatchet and a variety of animal figurines on display, and, near the television, a stack of videos including. It had rained previously. Didnt it? Yes I have seen several pictures on game cameras from people in Massachusetts in Central and western Mass that do have mountain lions on their game camera so please dont be ignorant. Hawley:Were sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. Mountain Lions:They can have similar coloring and their tails can look alike, which has lead to some house cats being mistaken for them, even though mountain lions are much, much bigger. A self-defense connoisseur with a large social media presence has ignited a firestorm over his posting of a video showing a mountain lion getting shot in the head. Harrigans interest in cougars was sparked in the late 70s, after he took ownership of The Coos County Democrat and began noticing the steady influx of reported sightings. If seen bobcats and moose and coyotes and coy dogs ! By mid-19th century, forests made up only about 30 percent of New England (its notable that today that number stands at approximately 80 percent, nearer to what it was when cougars thrived here). Mountain lions, however, arent seen much in the Nutmeg State, even though several have reportedly been spotted around the Woodbridge area this month. I saw an adult cougar/catamount twice within a two week period. Joseph Uscinski, professor of political science at the University of Miami, and a conspiracy theory expert, says these types of theories are not uncommon. But sometimes, instead of mountain lions, people thought they saw other creatures in the Connecticut woods, of which authorities were supposedly aware. Hear the full interview: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators, Connecticut Dept. Its length varies from five to . The last catamount in Vermont is finally, officially, certainly dead. We get a lot of pictures sent to us, and people say, I took this picture of a mountain lion in my backyard. And Ill look at it, and to me, its clearly a bobcat, Hawley said. In the second camp, there are those issuing the denials, pointing to the lack of photographic evidence, or the absence of tracks, or the simple truth that many people dont seem to know the difference between a cougar and a bobcat and a lynx and even, in some cases, a golden retriever. But it also sort of instills that fear, a healthy fear of humans and bears. 5-7 yards from me. It was a flooded area. The females are where its at, she said. Broken Down: The National Society of Leadership and Success? The Spatz and Sue Ottmann referred to are Christopher Spatz and Sue Morse, two of the better-known and arguably most experienced cougar skeptics in the Northeast. She adds, I think its because a lot of people are fascinated by wild cats; they are the embodiment of the wild.. "There's no evidence of breeding pairs," he said. And its not just Vermont. UConn women's basketball's Dorka Juhsz, Amari DeBerry play 'word sneak' at press conference, Fight breaks out after CT high school basketball game between Bassick, Wilbur Cross, Amanda Bynes, Steve from 'Blues Clues' to appear at 90s Con in CT, Connecticut paranormal convention coming back this spring, Bridgeport woman competes to find love on Paramount+ dating show, Self-taught pianist Serene to perform at Grace Farms. Despite frequent claims, there has only been one confirmed mountain lion sighting since the late 1800s here. We dont have extra money to do secret projects, he says. Otherwise, Hawley said cats like bobcats want nothing to do with people, and they will generally prey on chickens, small dogs or cats. We know that the closest established breeding population is in either the Everglades of Florida theres a small population down there and then out in South Dakota and Nebraska. In Florida, where mountain lions are known as panthers, dozens are killed each year by cars. Though promoted as a once in a lifetime event and offered at the dirt-cheap price of $15, only 395 Nebraskans applied for the chance to hunt a mountain lion. Records suggest that cash bounties for cougar kills were relatively common in the late 1700s and early 1800s; in the Adirondacks, a trapper named Thomas Meacham was credited with 77 cougar kills. They also have facial ruffs and ear tufts on the tips of their ears, as well as shorter tails. Facebook . Stupid me grabbed my camera and a stick as to protect myself ( yes stupid idea as I could stop this thing from attacking me lol. This is a carousel. Colorado and California have the highest estimated populations of mountain lions in the United States. They have been absent from this state since the late 1800s; however, there have been a few isolated sightings. It's rare to see an up-close look at mountain lion behavior out in the wild, let alone a whole family. Indeed! It lowers the population in a way thats not going to affect the long-term population. of Energy & Environmental Protection. Instead, people should remain facing the cat and not turn their back on it, make noise and make themselves appear as large as possible by raising their arms over their heads with a jacket. Indeed, in 2011, a male cougar was hit and killed by a car in Milford, Connecticut; through its DNA, wildlife biologists were able to trace the cat back to South Dakotas Black Hills, some 2,000 miles distant. Matthew Johnson/Vermont Historical Society. What set it off was a National Geographic special on mountain lions in California, right after my daughter and I had two encounters in my driveway, Betty told me. July 20, 2022. Bobcats typically have brown fur with a reddish tinge that is marked with black or brown spots or stripes, according to the National Zoo. The young typically remain with their mother for 2 years. Hawley said the last confirmed mountain lion sighting in the state was one that was killed on the Merritt Parkway in 2011 when a car struck the animal near Exit 55. He set down his cigarette and looked me in the eye. The bobcat population has since recovered due to improving forest habitat conditions and legal protections. Verified Mountain Lion-Human Attacks. You wouldnt shake hands with a man like that, she said, and though she was smiling I could tell she was serious. Honestly, leaving this out of your article would seem to perpetuate the notion that there is a conspiracy to keep us all in ignorance. Lets learn to live alongside this very large animal is one of the schools of thought. Osage County leads the list with seven, followed by Cimarron County with six. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. Wildlife is unpredictable (and several people go missing in wild areas, parks especially, every year -Probably not because of alien abduction). However, the Department of Energy and. This was as clear as day had a long tail and long body I was thinking someones pet was on the loose or escaped form a zoo !! Not really, Rego says. Snow Camp Market. A month after the cat was struck and killed, researchers confirmed it had traveled more than 1,500 miles from the Black Hills of South Dakota. By now, I knew the answer to that one. It was huge! Bobcats are plentiful across Connecticut and are between 18 and 35 pounds. Hes also unafraid to take unpopular positions when he deems it necessary: Shortly before our meeting, hed signed a petition in favor of keeping ATVs off public roads. It has a long, black-tipped tail and black . We really must establish first that these beautiful animals SHOULD be in every state that was once THEIR habitat. To obtain grouse distribution and harvest information, the Wildlife Division is asking grouse hunters to submit hunting reports through the Ruffed Grouse Hunter Log . Weights range from 80 to 225 pounds, but the average is 140 pounds. They denied it until a cougar was hit as it tried to cross the very busy Merritt Parkway. Regarding a breeding population that is the unknown. Sometimes people feared fishers (erroneously attributing the blood-curdling screams of foxes to these hard-to-spot creatures), and in the late 1930s, after several animals were slain under strange circumstances in Glastonbury, the Hartford Courant dubbed the lion-like creature supposedly responsible, the Glawackus. The Damned Story: Eastern mountain lions, or pumas or cougars, were last officially seen in Connecticut near the end of the 19th century. May 12, 2021. Growing up in northern Vermont, Id heard stories of sightings, though always a few steps removed from the tellersomebodys cousin had seen a cougar cross the road on their way home from deer camp up in Canaan (or was it Coventry? Sign up for our newsletterto get the latest and greatest content fromConnecticut Magazinedelivered right to your inbox. Our hunter friend was hunting in central NH when they came upon an adult deer carcass way up in a tree. McEnroe: Scientifically, this is a case where absence of evidence is kind of evidence of absence, right? This guy was very intelligent, he had abandoned a professional career to pursue his dream of guiding. Adult males can be around 8 feet in length and weigh between 130 and 150 pounds, while adult females can be 7 feet long and weigh between 65 and 90 pounds. . They take down boats, bulls, etc. With 18 native South American names, 25 Native American names, and 40 English names, this big cat has a big list of sobriquets that all boil down to the same thing: mountain lion. CT Style. The Department of Environmental . I was driving to work in Greenfield heading south on 10 and had just taken a right hand turn at the junction when the big cat crossed the road in front of me. Ive never forgotten that and told it to many folks over the years, most of whom, I must say, thought I was hallucinating I guess but, it/he/she was a fact in Longmeadow, MA that summer long ago. No need since so we guess it has moved on from the northeast corner of Connecticut. He coined the term landscape of fear to describe the relationship between predator and prey in the wild. Officially, there are no mountain lions in New England, although there is a good possibility the big cats could be here, Tate said. Mountain lion spotted in East Haddam - YouTube 0:00 / 2:17 Mountain lion spotted in East Haddam 6,872 views Apr 27, 2012 22 Dislike Share Save WTNH News8 135K subscribers A Mountain lion. Got a question or comment? Hawley: Yeah. In 2011, genetic testing confirmed that a mountain lion originated in South Dakota and traveled more than 1,500 miles before being struck by a car on the Merritt Parkway, according to Reuters. But no. The tail, I said. I will never forget what I saw! Jason Hawley says his office gets lots of calls about mountain lions each year. 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Hed encouraged me to keep my eyes open for deer carcasses cached in the trees (according to Ottmann, cougars are fantastic climbers and are known to stash their kills high in trees), but I saw only leaf-bare branches. Photo of a mountain lion taken by a game camera. The big cat has been extinct here since the mid-1800s. Rumors of their hidden presence persisted. 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If you dont think cougars are coming to the East, think again, she said, leaning forward for emphasis. Mountain lions have traveled through Fairfield County in the past. "Mountain lions are considered extinct in the northeast." Bobcats are not uncommon in Connecticut, according to the state, although their population is limited throughout the state, with the. Watch Live at 7:00 PM: The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns | Screening & Panel Discussion . Its a cool story with how far that animal walked. Theyre here. He/she was UNMISTAKEABLY a mountain lion: stretched out straight, long tail straight out behind him, golden/beigey color, and smallish head, little ears. Bearded, bowler hat, expression impenetrable behind facial hair and the stoicism of an earlier era. Length of body. The animal was shot in the town of Barnard on Thanksgiving Day 1881 by a man named Alexander Crowell. Wednesday, November 25th 2020. near Greenfield with an experienced guide that hed worked with several times. Harrigan is 72 and lives just outside the northern New Hampshire town of Colebrook; he has a long, craggy face that seems almost to have molded itself after the mountainous landscape of his home state. Fish and Wildlife Service unofficially declared the Eastern cougar extinct. There are an estimated 3,000 - 7,000 Mountain lions in Colorado. They have a right to exist here and they contribute to healthier prey species. All of which is to say that if Alexander Crowell wasnt afraid on that long-ago Thanksgiving Day, he probably should have been. Here are some things to keep in mind if you come across or see a big cat like a mountain lion: Be mindful of . Weve had coyotes misidentified. They reside in all eight counties, however, they exist in greatest number in the northwestern corner of the state. It continues in Connecticut, where that South Dakota cat was killed in 2011, and in Massachusetts, despite two credible reports in the past quarter century (in one case, DNA-confirmed scat; in the other, verified tracks). Im confident that we get occasional outlier animals.. More recently, unexplained animal sightings in Connecticut and other states became more and more associated with mountain lions. Diana Marchibroda and her miniature schnauzer froze in their tracks when the mountain lion stepped out of the woods last May. Cougars, Lynx, Bobcats, Wolves, Bears etc were and are a Ask people who spend time outside Connecticut cities and you will hear firsthand or secondhand accounts of mountain lions. Were arrogant if we think were the only species that makes decisions based on fear, he told me when I called him at his home in Oregon. LOS ANGELES (AP) A mountain lion that was part of a National Park Service study was fatally struck by a vehicle on a highway near Southern California's Santa Monica Mountains. It was a spotless cat she estimated at close to 100 pounds. Abbott, of the Housatonic Valley Association, is equally skeptical of the vast majority of mountain lion sightings. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This setting should only be used on your home or work computer. , located in the golf course community of Coyote Lakes. Then in June 2011, there were reports of a mountain lion in Greenwich and, for the first time, a photo. Adult males can be around 8 feet in length and weigh between 130 and 150 pounds, while adult females can be 7 feet long and weigh between 65 and 90 pounds. There were caribou antlers mounted above the front doors, and the interior walls were covered in row upon row of books; a long table was piled high with still more books in seemingly random arrangements. How to Report a Possible Mountain Lion Sighting. To Betty and Ottmann, the dominant narrative of the occasional itinerant cougar from the West is not particularly relevant to the facts on the ground. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal likely trekked more than 1,500 miles from South Dakota, a journey that was captured by trail camera (above). Ive seen bobcats before, this wasnt a bobcat. And its a lose-lose situation, because theres really not a whole lot you can tell them in most cases thats going to change their mind.. Bobcat sightings are not uncommon in Connecticut. He was a dark butterscotch color, very tall and lanky (taller and thinner than a really big German Shepard) and that tail. And so we come to the great divide over cougars in New England. Adult Cougars have short fur that is brown or greyish (sometimes reddish) over most of the body, with a white chest and belly. For helpful information on identifying mountain lion tracks and more, visit the Missouri Department of . Adult males may be more than 8 feet long (from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail), and can weigh between 130 and 150 pounds. He can be reached by phone at 860-275-7297 or by email: [email protected]. Many on both sides of the cougar debate beileve that New Englands natural habitat would benefit from having an apex predator in the ecosystem again. Adult mountain lions can be 7-8 feet long, including their tails. 2012). But its also a great story that lays out how an animal this large, at 150 pounds, traveling through even rural areas, leaves signs and is detected. Fear is actually one of the most powerful ecological forces we know, and its a really important management tool., According to Laundre, the problems caused by a relatively fear-free ecosystem are not always obvious, in part because they can take decades to fully manifest. The size of a lion's territory depends on the availability of food and habitat quality. Morse has been tracking cougars for 45 years, mostly in the mountains of the West, where their existence is not in doubt. Two mountain lion encounters in his driveway. Two were confirmed in Logan County (2014 and 2015), and one . As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. To date, no footage of a mountain lion has surfaced. I appreciated Ottmann and Bettys confidence and commitment, but here I was, poking through thorny thickets behind a bar, trailing a bleeding man whose devotion to proving the presence of cougars was beginning to seem like a quixotic quest with no end. Mountain lions are nocturnal hunters, mostly going after deer. Please. Friends that go backcountry skiing in Vermont have reported seeing tracks to me many times and I have seen pictures of the pawprints myself that look overwheming like a mountain lion. Whenever I drive up and through my home state of Vermont, I look into the hills that surround me that have no sign of development for miles and miles. And there are different schools of thought about that. Because while male cougars eventually strike out on their own and occasionally wander far from home, females are, as Morse puts it, hardwired to remain close to their mothers home range. And, 18 months ago, a Cedar Rapids man bagged a mountain lion that was perched in a tree while deer hunting south of Marengo. The department has said it receives reports every year of. The next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an, on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. Adult females can be 7 feet long and weigh between . Even in parts of the country where there are documented breeding populations of mountain lions, there are still many false reports. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. My parents friend in Deposit, NY, posted a young catamount sitting on the front porch on Facebook. His mention of these encounters was so matter-of-fact that I found myself nodding along. LINCOLN, Neb. Unlike male cougars, the femaleslike this Montana cat with her cubdont tend to strike out for new territory, which makes it unlikely that a breeding population would establish itself far from the cougars current habitatsbut not impossible. Mountain lions usually retract their claws when walking. When I accepted the assignment to write about my quest to uncover the truth regarding the existence of cougars in New England, I had little idea what I was agreeing to. Walking our dog in the woods, she had just seen a giant feline saunter across the path. The big cat on the ground before him, motionless, yet somehow still embodying that particular feline litheness, as if, with the flick of its tail, it might bound to its feet and disappear into the woods. MLF. Its documented through track surveys, aerial surveys, trapping and collaring surveys. I also know of someone who said they showed F&G a photo of one from a game camera in NH. They are here & ..just a matter of time with photo or kill on a highway/road. The mountain lion is believed to have had an encounter with a family on their lawn. The main habitat requirement for mountain lions is stalking cover to successfully hunt prey. The Great Divide | Are There Mountain Lions in New England. It was hunted to extinction last century, but throughout the Blue Ridge, there are claims from locals that the cat has returned. Advocates of the proposed Aid in Dying bill made an emotional plea to state legislators in Hartford on Wednesday to approve the legislation, introduced 15 separate times in Connecticut since 1994. Concerned for people / pets and a school just down the street, stopped to report the sighting where dispatch told me that if I did not have proof they would not respond. Ive seen more field evidence in a couple of hours tracking out west than Ive seen in 100 years on the East Coast, he said. Im gonna get hammered for it, he sighed. I have learned one thing in my career, and thats to never say never, she said. Anyone can get fooled. 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However, the population declined in the early 1900's due to unregulated hunting and bounties were placed on mountain lions until 1966. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Habitat. This is part of the cougar business. Ive seen bobcats before, this wasnt a bobcat. And its a lose-lose situation, because theres really not a whole lot you can tell them in most cases thats going to change their mind.. On the other side, there are those (as represented here by Bill Betty and Bo Ottmann, along with a number of others I spoke with) who say the overwhelming quantity of anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. He points out that when there was a real mountain lion in the state in 2011, his office publicized it immediately. They can be found in several different ecosystems including mountains, forests, wetlands, and deserts. I couldnt tell you how happy I would be if mountain lions were actually recolonizing the state of Connecticut, Hawley says, but its just not happening., Hawley spoke about bobcats, mountain lions and bears on The Colin McEnroe Show: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators.. The image has since been deleted from social media. Instead, the responsne I heard were nonchalant, Oh, yes, lots of people have seen that mountain lion around here; pretty isnt it?. The cat is dead. But it also sort of instills that fear, a healthy fear of humans and bears. They also want to foster the formation and protection of migration pathways for them and other animals to enter new states. It used to be that a bear would go into a house when someone wasnt home. DEEP believes their numbers have increased in recent years. We also had bobcats that we saw quite often but I am positive that these were mountain lions! 90th Annual New Haven Register All-State Football First Team. But that was OK. Bo Ottmann, A Lobster Trap Menorah Shines in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Chips Off the Old Block | Knowledge & Wisdom, Yankee Candle | New England by the Numbers, First Christmas | Krissy OSheas Scandinavian-Inspired Holiday Cottage, The Sweet Life | Holiday Baking with Dorie Greenspan, 2019 Yankee Magazine Editors Choice Food Awards, In the Kitchen at Mayfair Farm | Weekends with Yankee. Learn More Who We Are & What We Do. With all the thousands of trail cameras in the woods of New England, one would think that there would be at least one picture taken of a catamount. I now live in Boulder, CO where we have regular sightings.same animal as 35 yrs agohands down, Warren ,Ma early morning having my coffee on my front steps and noticed about 50 feet across the Road something coming out of the trail as it did it looked out at the road and turned around as it did I could see that it was a mountain lion ! For mountain lions in Connecticut, a lack of evidence is very good evidence. Hunters and property owners have also set up tens of thousands of trail cameras at various locations throughout the state. Yes, of course they are here, transients. An attack is verified only when a physician, law enforcement officer or CDFW personnel determine the injuries were caused by a . But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. If a young male Cougar disperses East, instead of West, they're going to keep walking because they're going tokeep looking for an area where they can find a mate, he said. We were about 50 feet from it and it stood taller than any labrador and we watched it tail and all slink down the side of the lawn and the rabbits being surprised out of the bushes. The CDFW defines a mountain lion attack as an incident resulting in direct physical contact between a human and a mountain lion resulting in physical injury or death to the person. She said it jumped up on the neighbors stone wall which was pretty high and walked across it. Especially when pictures are blurry which happens a lot in trail cameras or youll get pictures taken at night or something on Ring cameras that hind leg really does often look like a tail kind of curling up behind the animal.. Interesting article, but it is really incomplete without a discussion of the legal implications of having a confirmed endangered species such as the Eastern Cougar in New England. Sport hunting for cougars is not sustainable and shouldnt be allowed to go on. Just like we dont need any slimy humans on earth period. 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