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. 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. There was the vaguest of trails, crisscrossed by deadfalls and a sharp-thorned bush that soon drew blood from Ottmanns right hand. Sign up for our newsletter to get our latest and greatest content delivered right to your inbox. About Us; The sighting on Gerdes Road is the third in the past month and very close to the most recent one, on . He wore red suspenders and a baseball cap. The Mountain Lion Celebrates its 35th year protecting and preserving America's Lion! If theyre in one, theyre in the other.. Photos of the cat did nothing to convince DEEP the cat was here. The photos were time-stamped December 7, 2020. 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. 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. 8 January. But the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said Sunday that bobcats are the only large wild cats found in the state. Theres also the lack of visual evidence, more glaring each passing year as so many hikers and hunters now carry phones with cameras. Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. More recently, unexplained animal sightings in Connecticut and other states became more and more associated with mountain lions. ), 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. Then in June 2011, there were reports of a mountain lion in Greenwich and, for the first time, a photo. Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. However, many of their claimsespecially Mr. Bettys contention of roughly a dozen personal sightings in New Englandare hard to take seriously. The journey is chronicled in the 2016 book Heart of a Lion: A Lone Cats Walk Across America by William Stolzenburg. The next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. Tim Abbott, the regional land conservation and greenprint director for the Housatonic Valley Association, says that during a lecture on mountain lions last winter at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, when the speaker asked if anyone had seen a mountain lion, half of the roughly 400 people in attendance raised their hands. A harvest is kind of twofold. Males can reach up to two metres in length and weigh over 60 kilograms. Then in June 2011, there were reports of a mountain lion in Greenwich and, for the first time, a photo. 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. Lol Here is a small glimpse at what these dogs were bred to do (if you got sensitive eyes, do not view): In 2011, the U.S. I live in New Milford and I saw one crossing the road in front of me when I stopped to get my mail from my mailbox. There, too, is Crowells photograph, grainy and old: the hunter leaning against a tree stump, his head propped casually on his left hand, elbow to stump, shotgun cradled in the crook of his right arm. We clearly have migratory male cougars coming through. This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Publics Members
A mountain lion was responsible for that too. . For anyone stuck with using Mountain Lion, I can recommend without hesitation Waterfox Classic web browser. he recalls. September 16, 2020. in Bethlehem, Environment, News, Towns. You dont even have to go out and look for it.. 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. 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. I dont ever say to people, Thats not what you saw. I say, I hope you saw one, Spatz told me when I called him at his home in upstate New York. Its extremely rare for a person to see a wild animal and to underestimate its size. Anyone can get fooled. Hey, I know what I saw. 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. 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 and his clients were 100% sure of what they saw, and its very difficult to imagine any other animal being mistaken for a cougar in this case. These highlights have been edited and condensed for length and clarity. You know, weve had so many home entries this year. He soon developed a five-question litmus test: How far away were you? 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. Hawley, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, says data dont support a breeding population of mountain lions in Connecticut. Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. WOODBRIDGE, CT (WFSB) - Police in Woodbridge said they have received reports of mountain lion sightings in town. So why does the conspiracy theory that theyre here in significant numbers persist? Bobcats: Though technically a type of lynx, they are distinct from other species of lynx such as the Canadian lynx. Within six weeks, he continued, I was getting off the plane in Jackson Hole for a national mountain lion conference. She was calling from a trail in Pootatuck State Forest, the 1,200-acre strip of nature occupying the hills above Squantz Pond in New Fairfield. These highlights have been edited and condensed for length and clarity. [The catamounts] movements were so noiseless that Mr. Crowell found himself in this dangerous proximity before he was aware of it, and it was only by great coolness and daring that he severely wounded the animal and perhaps saved his own life, reads a placard attached to the display case. If you believe you have seen a mountain lion and want to report it to NH Fish and Game, please contact the Wildlife Division at (603) 271-2461 or wildlife@wildlife.nh.gov to request an observation report form. 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. The scientific name for the catamount is Puma concolor. There was one photographed on a porch in Greenwich, CT, looking in the patio window that made national news a decade ago. Connecticut Republicans are proposing to reduce the cost of electricity by removing state taxes and surcharges from customer invoices. You know, weve had so many home entries this year. Its not a bear, not a dog, not a deer, not a bobcat. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information. We hadnt seen a cougar, nor any evidence to suggest a cougar had traveled these woods recently. Massachusetts and several other New England states have bear hunting, or harvest, seasons, which proponents say help control populations. Hawley:Were sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. The reasons for this conspiracy vary depending upon whom you talk to, but they coalesce around the idea that wildlife agencies would be inconvenienced by the cougars presence, as theyd be forced to respond in ways that would tax their resources. of Energy & Environmental Protection. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. "There's no evidence of breeding pairs," he said. Apex predators like the cougar and wolf make for a healthier ecosystem. I always hold out the possibility of a sighting to be genuine, but at the same time, over decades of experience, we know that the vast majority are misidentifications and a small number are actually hoaxes, he says. Morse introduced me to her cat, Allister, whom she referred to as her portable puma. Then she fetched me a beer. Hawley: Yeah. 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 . Connecticut Public Radio | Mountain Lions: cougars, pumas, panthers and catamounts. 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. However, the captive lion theory was also wrong. Body coloration can range from tan to gray and cubs are usually covered with blackish brown spots. Have a question or comment? 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. Im not an expert on human psychology, but if youre looking for something, you have a greater chance of actually seeing it. 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. 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. Adult mountain lions can be 7-8 feet long, including their tails. Before I departed the Old Well Tavern, Bo Ottmann offered to lead me on a walk into an adjacent stretch of woods, where, he assured me, cougars might be found. He was a dark butterscotch color, very tall and lanky (taller and thinner than a really big German Shepard) and that tail. The range of a Mountain Lion may cover 25 to 785 square miles. In my mind, I went through all the nots. It had rained previously. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Still, Spatz acknowledged that the word hope is very different from the word believe. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. I just heard from a fellow college student of a siting in Greenfield last fall and two in Colrain this spring. She IS, perhaps, the most knowledgeable and experienced person in this arena and I listened intently to her presentation (Richmond, VT 2018). Kim Royar, a biologist at the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, told me she receives 40 to 50 reports annually, and although she believes that few, if any, are actual cougar sightings, she doesnt dismiss the possibility that someday someone will happen upon the real deal. The image has since been deleted from social media. my husband tapped my leg and asked what is that crossing the road It was a Cougar tan in color long tail which had a slight curl upward .I wish I had my camera to prove it but I know We saw it. What are the chances of wolves coming back to Vermont? They are most definitely here. But you are talking Pacquiao (Pit) vs. Tyson (Dogo) in their prime. For helpful information on identifying mountain lion tracks and more, visit the Missouri Department of . McEnroe: It is an uphill challenge. McEnroe: It is an uphill challenge. are received by 1:00 p.m. CT, June 9, 2020 by Sheri Henderson at the Lincoln . Rego says that if there were many other animals like the 2011 cat that died in Milford, there would be more visual or physical evidence. They were also seen at other times by members of my family and other people in the neighborhood. Heres what to know about mountain lions (and other large cats) in Connecticut. Early spring 2019 I caught a glimpse of one entering over grown brush on the side of the road very very early in the morning. Height at shoulder: 25-30 in. Now that USFW has declared them extinct, why not formally reintroduce them. 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. Hawley: Wildlife biologists across the United States know where the current mountain lion range is. Hey, I know what I saw. As I rushed to meet her in the woods, she told me what she had seen. 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