And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. Here are some things to keep in mind if you come across or see a big cat like a mountain lion: Be mindful of . On the idea of bear hunting in Connecticut. To date, Keeping Track has helped conserve 40,000 acres in 12 states and inQuebec. We witnessed a mountain lion stalking a herd of deer. And were one of the most densely populated states as far as humans. Mountain lions usually retract their claws when walking. When a cats around, its not hard to find evidence. Typically, they will slink out of there as quickly as they can to get away from humans. The size of a lion's territory depends on the availability of food and habitat quality. So its this gathering storm. However, when I asked the room of 200 or so people how many believe they had seen a mountain lion/cougar/puma/catamount, hands shot up all around the room about 25% of those present. Mountain lions also have tails that can grow up to 3 feet. Public opinion surveys show many more would support reintroduction, than oppose. Rego has many reasons why a conspiracy to conceal mountain lions by his colleagues at DEEP is impossible. This is a carousel. She said it was long and thick. 2012). Not long after, what was believed to be the same mountain lion was struck and killed on Route 15 in Milford. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. In my mind, I went through all the nots. Hear the full interview: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators, Connecticut Dept. The key to Morses assertion can be found in the term breeding population. Although the fact that cougars have traveled through New England is irrefutable (a DNA-confirmed roadkill is hard to deny), Morse believes its unlikely that they have settled here and created a self-sustaining population. Even in parts of the country where there are documented breeding populations of mountain lions, there are still many false reports. In yet another variant, DEEP is said to be helicoptering mountain lions in to help control the deer population. For helpful information on identifying mountain lion tracks and more, visit the Missouri Department of . So its this gathering storm. Newspaperman John Harrigan has long covered the New England outdoors, including writing the New Hampshire Sunday News column Woods, Water & Wildlife which ran for almost 40 years. . 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. Still, Spatz acknowledged that the word hope is very different from the word believe. One one occasion she had two little ones with her so their den must have been sort of closeby. Mountain Lions: They are officially extinct. Wed be seeing more carcasses of prey we would be seeing at least some carcasses of mountain lion prey. But perhaps an even larger portion is the product of his enduring faith in the men and womanloggers, hunters, trapperswhose vocations and avocations have instilled in them a deep familiarity with wild places and the creatures who inhabit them. "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. Humans and wildlife MUST learn to live along side each other and we MUST learn to respect nature. he recalls. I think they never left, Ottmann piped in. Morse, 70, comports herself in a friendly and no-nonsense manner. There are no breeding cougars in New England and we do not need any. They were also seen at other times by members of my family and other people in the neighborhood. Apex predators like the cougar and wolf make for a healthier ecosystem. And the last confirmed sighting prior to the 2011 instance would be a couple hundred years ago, according to Hawley. Joseph Uscinski, professor of political science at the University of Miami, and a conspiracy theory expert, says these types of theories are not uncommon. Published: Dec 17, 2022 SACRAMENTO - Governor Gavin Newsom issued the below statement today after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that mountain lion P-22 has been humanely euthanized following a comprehensive medical evaluation that found severe injuries and chronic health problems. 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. A trail camera was set up and confirmed the presence of a mountain lion on February 16, 2020. In the first, there are those such as myself, whove maybe heard a few second- or third- or fourth-hand stories as well as official denials from state agencies or professional biologists, and therefore find themselves betwixt and between, neither believing nor disbelieving. The last catamount in Vermont is finally, officially, certainly dead. It was a 140-pound male mountain lion, the first confirmed in Connecticut in more than 100 years. Mountain lions, on the other hand, weigh in at between 130 to 150 pounds for males and between 65 and 90 pounds for females. Its extremely rare for a person to see a wild animal and to underestimate its size. 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. I think I may have pissed her off since I was up in that area X2 this week. Hawley: Yeah. 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. The history of this theory in Connecticut and New England goes back long before our current era of fake news. Wright, however, didnt agree with his mentor and began writing publicly about mountain lions in the East. Listen & Learn. Mountain lions in Eastern Connecticut? If its not, you just thank the person and say good-bye.. This isnt to say she believes none of these animals has stepped foot on New England soil over the past century. The map from that publication is shown below, with the current mountain lion range in green and confirmed mountain lion locations as black dots. Mountain lions have been dispersing away from these population areas, and researchers recently mapped all confirmed mountain lion observations from 1990-2008 (LaRue et al. She favors plaid shirts, green Dickies work pants, and hiking boots, and she chided me for shaking her hand too gently. If you dont think cougars are coming to the East, think again, she said, leaning forward for emphasis. Guns n' Gear), whose first name is Mike, is a United States Air Force and Army Veteran who uses his "experience on a . Height at shoulder: 25-30 in. Mountain Lions: Large tan cats with a distinctive two to three-foot curving tail, that can almost touch the ground as they walk. But, I think with education and planning, we should reintroduce wolves and cougar in the Northeast. Yale New Haven Health Check; . Beautiful animal. 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To obtain grouse distribution and harvest information, the Wildlife Division is asking grouse hunters to submit hunting reports through the Ruffed Grouse Hunter Log . There is a big difference between Tuesday when none of us saw a moose in our region and then Thursday we did, Morse says. Hawley said that the typical range of cougars like mountain lions is from west of the South Dakota area. Some might mistake the bobcat, which still lives in New England, for a cougareven though its tail is about 6 inches long andthe bigger cats is 3 feet or more. TOLLAND A local woman reported Friday that she saw a mountain lion in the area of Sand Hill Road, . Rumors of their hidden presence persisted. And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. Wildlife is unpredictable (and several people go missing in wild areas, parks especially, every year -Probably not because of alien abduction). Anyone who encounters a Mountain lion should file a report with CPW online or by calling CPW Headquarters in Denver at (303) 297-1192, or the Northeast Region Office (also in Denver) at (303) 291 . 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. The mountain lion is also known as cougar, panther, or puma. The truth is, I was by this point dubious. 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 something in human nature to overestimate the size of wild animals we see, especially if we get a brief glance and if the animal is moving. He adds, Bobcats can get pretty large and some people believe they should have pretty visible spots and very often theyre pretty uniform in color. This is especially true in the summer, when my wifes sighting occurred. I live in Hopkinton, NH and saw one coming up from the Contoocook River one misty morning. Yes, of course they are here, transients. Responding to complaints about a predator eating a local farmers sheep, Crowell and a small group of fellow hunters had tracked the big cat through the snow. Now, ocelots are critically endangered and jaguarundis might be completely gone. But honest misidentifications are more common. 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.. Young pumas dispersing from Western habitats are being killed at the source, compromising the Easts critical opportunity for ecosystem health and the return of an apex carnivore., Regardless of where they are found, or whether people want to hunt or protect them, people are enchanted by mountain lions. Im gonna get hammered for it, he sighed. My husband and where riding our Motorcycle down Rte 110 near Milan NH 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. Facebook Twitter Email Copy to clipboard Live Now All times eastern NOW - 8:30 AM 8:30 AM 9:00 AM 9:30 AM 10:00 AM 10:30 AM Fox News. It used to be that a bear would go into a house when someone wasnt home. 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. And so we come to the great divide over cougars in New England. Morse has been tracking cougars for 45 years, mostly in the mountains of the West, where their existence is not in doubt. 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. The scientific name for the catamount is Puma concolor. Mountain lions weigh 105 to 140 pounds and can be up to eight feet long from the nose to the tip of the tail. 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. 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. The last catamount killed in Vermont stands under glass just inside the doors to the Vermont Historical Museum in Montpelier, a hop, skip, and a jump down the block from the statehouse. Much as I liked Ottmann and Betty, and much as I found some of their evidence compelling, I was struggling to reconcile their more provocative claims with the restraint expressed by the many other experts Id spoken with. When we reached tower, a ranger arrived in a pickup. 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). #3. The tavern was quiet except for some hard-rock music playing on the radio, the murmur of a handful of men at the bar, and us. Police Chief. Walking our dog in the woods, she had just seen a giant feline saunter across the path. Now the bears, they dont even care if people are home, theyll go right in the house. They can subsist on one deer a week, though they will also hunt coyotes, raccoons, rodents, elk, feral hogs, and even porcupines.. Mountain lion hunting tags were sold in 2013 through a lottery system for the state's first lion hunt. Hawley: That animal was documented. It lowers the population in a way thats not going to affect the long-term population. Below are some of the first-hand. They set the stage for the exotics to move in, and this has a huge impact on our ecology, he said. How did I know? 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. 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Mountain Lion Sightings in CT Was the animal a pet set free? 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. My assumption is it was the same animal. Its closest living relative is the cheetah. 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. As I looked at my daughter and then turned to follow the direction she was looking, I saw the animal in my side mirror. I came across a dead adult deer carcass high up in an oak tree. Adult females can be 7 feet long and weigh between . I lived in great Barrington mass and I took photos of tracks in a field in April of 2009 (and of course lost them). The arrival of a real mountain lion in the state reframed the discussion in Connecticut surrounding the animal. of Energy & Environmental Protection. I was just amazed as I watched this scene in my own back yard. One day I most certainly watched him/her being chased up and down our chain link fence by a neighbors large dog who was barking insanely and couldnt quite catch the cougar, who finally made it away from the fence to escape the determined dog whod had him trapped up against it. Westford, MA, crossing Dunstable Rd from Long Sought For Pond into the woods. community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years. 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. At the time, a specialist from the Iowa Department of Natural. They have a right to exist here and they contribute to healthier prey species. 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