[An overabundance of deer] means our forests are getting older and older and not being replaced. He also points to the influx of invasive plant species in New England as evidence of an out-of-control deer population. 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. Probably because of all the hunters that would be out trying to get their trophy and endangering others. The mountain lion is believed to have had an encounter with a family on their lawn. He can be reached by phone at 860-275-7297 or by email: pskahill@ctpublic.org. 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. 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. 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. 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. We dont have extra money to do secret projects, he says. Its a cool story with how far that animal walked. 10186. 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). Wildlife do really crazy things, and you just never know.. However, the captive lion theory was also wrong. This is the second mountain lion sighting in North Texas in less than a month. A full-sized mountain line was photographed on the campus of the Brunswick School in Greenwich on Sunday, along with a matching paw print and a 9-inch lion dropping that seals the scientific deal. (Attacks #12 and 13; death #6) 35-year-old Mark Jeffrey Reynolds, an amateur mountain bike racer, was reported as being killed by a mountain lion sometime after 1:25 p.m. at Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in southern Orange County. Still, sightings are common. It was fast as hell but there was no mistaking its not only long,but THICK tail as it disappeared into the woods. They can be found in several different ecosystems including mountains, forests, wetlands, and deserts. This is part of the cougar business. Officially, there are no mountain lions in New England, although there is a good possibility the big cats could be here, Tate said. 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. However, that doesnt mean that mountain lion sightings are all false or that there havent been roaming cats sighted. Colin McEnroe is a radio host, newspaper columnist, magazine writer, author, playwright, lecturer, moderator, college instructor and occasional singer. Stephen Gencarella, professor of folklore studies at the University of Massachusetts and a Connecticut resident, says, The government coverup is only the latest version of something that could stretch back in the oral tradition to precolonial times. He notes that supposed mountain lion sightings spiked in the late 1800s and early 1900s shortly after the animals disappeared from New Englands woods. Habitat. Morse, 70, comports herself in a friendly and no-nonsense manner. Bobcats are found across Connecticut, but even fully grown they are much smaller than what she was describing, only weighing between 18 and 35 pounds. There are an estimated 3,000 - 7,000 Mountain lions in Colorado. 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. Ask people who spend time outside Connecticut cities and you will hear firsthand or secondhand accounts of mountain lions. I had been the first vehicle in a line held up by one lane traffic on a bridge reconstruction. He explains that we frequently overestimate the size of animals in the wild, particularly ones we are afraid of. However, the Department of Energy and. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. However, because they are capable of traveling great distances, they have turned up in all parts of North Dakota. Bearded, bowler hat, expression impenetrable behind facial hair and the stoicism of an earlier era. And there are different schools of thought about that. 02:02. 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). on route to stone tower on Quabbin Hill. Mountain lions found in eastern Nebraska typically are dispersing young animals on the move to find new territory. 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. Hawley: That animal was documented. 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. Regarding a breeding population that is the unknown. The arrival of a real mountain lion in the state reframed the discussion in Connecticut surrounding the animal. are larger and heavier than females (60 to 100 lbs.). The young typically remain with their mother for 2 years. I have pictures of tracks around my car and up to the back steps of my deck in Arkville, NY . "Connecticut is cougar heaven . He drove me out to the spot. State conservation officials believe this photo, taken in Greenwich in 2011, shows a mountain lion. 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. They are there and thriving!!!! Not a bobcat 100% mountain lion and anybody that tries to think a bobcat as any resemblance to a mountain lion clearly has no idea about wildlife there are a lot of false reports because of this however they are without a doubt in part of New England and fish and game has as usual covered up despite coming out and following mountain lion tracks in the snow through the woods in Central Mass and finding a deer carcass 20 feet up in a tree and said to the landowner yep you probably have a mountain lion passing through and asked for the homeowner not to speak much about it furthermore DNA confirmation of a horse that was attacked in Petersham Massachusetts in the last several years and also the Quabbin Reservoir DNA were mountain lion without a doubt they are here. A harvest is kind of twofold. More recently, unexplained animal sightings in Connecticut and other states became more and more associated with mountain lions. Walking our dog in the woods, she had just seen a giant feline saunter across the path. 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. 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. 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. 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. An expert said it was probably a basking shark. Beautiful animal. Hawley: Wildlife biologists across the United States know where the current mountain lion range is. near Greenfield with an experienced guide that hed worked with several times. I started to get nervous so I was scanning the area low and high in the trees. THAT is a mountain lion! It can run at speeds of up to 50 mph. 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. 11538 W MOUNTAIN LION Ct, Surprise, AZ 85378 $404,055 Redfin Estimate 2 Beds 2 Baths 1,289 Sq Ft Off Market This home last sold for $236,000 on Mar 31, 2020. And the last confirmed sighting prior to the 2011 instance would be a couple hundred years ago, according to Hawley. building a betterand more civilConnecticut to live, work, and play. 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. They are named for their short (bobbed) tail which is often about six inches in length. Our wildlife biologists and enforcement agents are mostly political bureaucrats who dont often venture more than 100yards from the truck. I was outdoor with my two pugs and quickly scooped them up and brought them in the house. I have not had the pleasure of seeing one, but have heard credible reports of them in Western Mass. In a Facebook poll, 84 people said they believe mountain lions are in the county, 37 say they've personally seen them, and three people say they do not exist. It lowers the population in a way thats not going to affect the long-term population. Its definitely a problem thats only going to get worse. Its distinctive featurethe one that sets it apart from other North American wild catsis its tail, which is thick and often as long as its body. You cant mistake the long tail. Mountain Lion Historically, mountain lions (Puma concolor) occurred throughout South Dakota and were considered numerous in the Black Hills. Mr. Betty and Mr.Ottomans passion and efforts are impressive. Eastern cougars (mountain lions) do not have a native, self sustaining population in New York State. MLF. How big was the animal? For a solid four seconds, Marchibroda watched as a large, sleek cat standing about three feet tall with a long, curled tail crossed Skyline Drive near Gavel Springs Gap less than 100 feet in front of them. My daughter said to me thats the biggest cat Ive ever seen. 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.. Mountain Lions: They are officially extinct. Hear the full interview: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators. The Department of Environmental . 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. If theyre in one, theyre in the other.. He published his first book in 1959, The Ghost of North America: The Story of the Eastern Panther. It jumped 28 feet across the road. Males can reach up to two metres in length and weigh over 60 kilograms. Where I live bears, wolves cougars etc roamed freely and now sadly if one of those apex predators is spotted our DNR will usually destroy it. 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. Im always amazed at the sheer volume of people who are interested in cougars, more even than wolves, she says. on the regular. Facebook . We told him what we saw, and he confirmed other sightings on the property. I saw one about 10 years ago, on our road. But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. Morse has been tracking cougars for 45 years, mostly in the mountains of the West, where their existence is not in doubt. It is healthy to have respect and caution, but fear shouldnt drive ecological decision making. As I rushed to meet her in the woods, she told me what she had seen. Recall a few years back, a guy in a kayak off Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA, was tracked by a large fin. Could UConn women's basketball be back to 'square one' with seven available players at Seton Hall? Indeed, one of her steadiest sources of funding for Keeping Track is a presentation on cougars that has been known to draw more than 500 audience members. An Arkansas woman captured a big cat on her doorbell camera that she believes is a mountain lion or cougar. It was a flooded area. We lived off of Mountain Rd in Granby, Ct for 8 years and I can say that without a doubt I am 100% sure that there are mountain lions living there. 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. They can subsist on one deer a week, though they will also hunt coyotes, raccoons, rodents, elk, feral hogs, and even porcupines.. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. 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. Ottmann and I walked farther. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. 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. State lawmakers have entertained bills to establish a bear hunting season for years, but so far, none of those proposals has passed. You cansubscribe here, orfind the current issue on sale here. 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. Nowhere in New England is the matter definitively settled. By 1825, only 25% of Connecticut was forested due to deforestation from agricultural activities and other uses of timber. Initially, officials believed it had been released from a private handler. Even in the controlled environment of a lab, the truth about Eastern cougars seems to be almost willfully eluding its seekers. - YouTube Multiple people in North Stonington claim they've spotted a mountain lion roaming around. Below are some of the first-hand. I only saw the back side, but he was huge. 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. ), 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. These powerful cats can weigh between 70-220 pounds, with males weighing more. 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. 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 saw a Mountain Lion in 2007 in Northfield, MA at the junctions of Rtes 10 and 63. These highlights have been edited and condensed for length and clarity. Mountain Lions in New York. A harvest is kind of twofold. 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. The journey is chronicled in the 2016 book, Abbott, of the Housatonic Valley Association, is equally skeptical of the vast majority of mountain lion sightings. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. There was no mistake. 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 I have learned one thing in my career, and thats to never say never, she said. Bobcats typically have brown fur with a reddish tinge that is marked with black or brown spots or stripes, according to the National Zoo. 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. 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). Bill Betty of Matunuck, a mountain lion expert who spoke at the South Kingstown Land Trust barn Oct. 30, thinks there is ample evidence pointing to the existence of a mountain lion in Matunuck. 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. Just like we dont need any slimy humans on earth period. . Wed be seeing more carcasses of prey we would be seeing at least some carcasses of mountain lion prey. It is hard for me to believe that the big cats havent found plenty of space to roam without regular detection. So theres fresh mud. Joseph Uscinski, professor of political science at the University of Miami, and a conspiracy theory expert, says these types of theories are not uncommon. They set the stage for the exotics to move in, and this has a huge impact on our ecology, he said. 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