That animal in Connecticut makes for a pretty fantastic story but it takes more than one dispersing male. They are much larger than bobcat and lynx, young adults can still have spots too. The Great Divide | Are There Mountain Lions in New England. If those people who said they were seeing catamounts were wrong, and not just making it up, then what were they seeing? 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. So you can imagine there. Wildlife biologists, as professional scientists, require a higher level of documentation and proof. Then, follow-up DNA researchmatching samples from the carcass with those from scat and hair collected in other locationsestablished that the animal had come to Connecticut from the Black Hills of North Dakota. We need cougars and we need wolves back in the Northeast, because a landscape of fear is a well-balanced landscape.. The animal, I learned, is called many things: mountain lion, panther, catamount, puma, cougar and more. 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. 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. Was INCREDIBLE! His Tail was very long almost touching the ground and as thick as velvet rope. I had seen bear, deer, coyotes, foxes, that one bobcat all the usual suspects. They especially come down from the mountains when there is a big water shortgage. Now that USFW has declared them extinct, why not formally reintroduce them. Neither resemble a cougar! If he was not determined to prove that someone had actually seen a mountain lion in Vermonthe is a scientist, after allhe was still excited by the possibility. 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). 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. Within six weeks, he continued, I was getting off the plane in Jackson Hole for a national mountain lion conference. Wildlife is unpredictable (and several people go missing in wild areas, parks especially, every year -Probably not because of alien abduction). That it had, somehow, made a return and established residence. But there was not enough evidence to either prove or disprove that a mountain lion had done the killing. One one occasion she had two little ones with her so their den must have been sort of closeby. People in Colorado communities might need to warn their children and to look over their own shoulders when they were out jogging, but not here. The last time a mountain lion was captured in New York was in the . Bearded, bowler hat, expression impenetrable behind facial hair and the stoicism of an earlier era. My assumption is it was the same animal. All those deer hunters represent a kind of ad hoc search party. 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). The name " Camel's Rump " was assigned on a historical map made by Ira Allen in 1798. He was a dark butterscotch color, very tall and lanky (taller and thinner than a really big German Shepard) and that tail. So the initial assumption was that the animal was one of those captives that had either escaped or been released by its owner. Clearly, Puma concolor once inhabited the forests of the Northeast, although its difficult to say in what numbers. The captive narrative also helped explain why there had been so many sightings reported, including some in Greenwich, among the richest and most domesticated suburbs in America. near Greenfield with an experienced guide that hed worked with several times. He set down his cigarette and looked me in the eye. Its OK, he told me. The expert opinion held up until a man was killed by a Great White not too far away. I reported it to Connecticut DEEP, only to be told there are no cougars in Connecticut. So long as the tails there, that is. A wildlife camera snapped the image in late 2019 and the refuge shared it on Facebook this month, challenging followers to find the hidden mountain lion. If these people say they saw something, Im going to listen., If theres one thing people on all sides of the debate can agree on, its that a breeding population of cougars is essential to the overall health of New Englands ecosystems, which currently lack an apex predator. Betty had driven up from his home in Rhode Island. 9 Grace Christian (9-11). The restrictions/regulations surrounding management of an endangered species is incredibly cumbersome, and would be difficult to manage. To date, Keeping Track has helped conserve 40,000 acres in 12 states and inQuebec. There was never, of course, a photograph. The Christian school also dropped out of the state . But they would certainly pay attention if they did see one. 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? In the United States the animal could, at one time, be found in all the states but with civilization, came a decline, the Vermont experience being more or less typical. The deer dont eat the exotics, but they eat the competitors. She IS, perhaps, the most knowledgeable and experienced person in this arena and I listened intently to her presentation (Richmond, VT 2018). Had trouble sleeping last night cause that was to close and I think she may have stalked me from where I was in the woods. The mountain lionalso known as the cougar, puma, panther, or catamountis a large cat species native to the Americas. Mountain lions are around 4 feet long with a two-and-a-half foot tail and can stand 24-30 inches tall at the shoulder. If seen bobcats and moose and coyotes and coy dogs ! Respect predators, protect them but dont worship or try to hug them! Indeed! But it was also a male. my father was recently trout fishing in central Mass. But I learned something else in my ad hoc researchesnamely that this was a question that aroused a lot of passion in people. 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. We were talking about those animals, like coyotes and turkeys, that have re-established themselves in Vermont and, unlike the rattlers, are thriving. And, if those people who said they were seeing catamounts were wrong, and not just making it up, then what were they seeing? 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. And, he says, if they were here, wouldnt one have been killed on one of the states highways where cars and trucks travel some 9 million miles every year? It is what wildlife biologists call an apex carnivore, which means it can overpower pretty much any other creature in its environmentwith the exception of an armed human. I only saw the back side, but he was huge. In my mind, I went through all the nots. Wildlife do really crazy things, and you just never know.. There was the vaguest of trails, crisscrossed by deadfalls and a sharp-thorned bush that soon drew blood from Ottmanns right hand. Photo courtesy of Dave O'Donnell. 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. It can run at speeds of up to 50 mph. My daughter and I were driving north in West Granby, near the Simsbury, Ct. line just after lunch one summer day a few years ago. The Mountain Lions won both regular season margins by 30-plus points. I lived in great Barrington mass and I took photos of tracks in a field in April of 2009 (and of course lost them). 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. Body coloration can range from tan to gray and cubs are usually covered with blackish brown spots. Everglades Panther It jumped 28 feet across the road. Somebody in the NC Legislature believes, because lions are now protected by law. Among the mountain lions typical behaviors is the way it will revisit, for several days, the carcass of an animal it has killed, moving it and cacheing it until there is nothing left to eat or the flesh has turned. It can run 50 miles an hour and clear a twelve-foot fence. ), 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. When a cats around, its not hard to find evidence. THAT is a mountain lion! So it is possible that, on occasion, someone would catch a glimpse of one of these animals. Betty folded his arms across his chest, where they rose and fell and rose again with his breathing. Vermont Mountain Lion Sightings. Mountain Lions - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service) NPS.gov Park Home Learn About the Park Nature Animals Mammals Mountain Lion Mountain Lion Last updated: May 4, 2018 Was this page helpful? But, I think with education and planning, we should reintroduce wolves and cougar in the Northeast. There was a tin of American Spirit tobacco on the table (Ottmanns), a laptop (Bettys), a notebook (mine), and a tumbler of Bacardi and Coke (Ottmanns again). A hard-to-spot mountain lion patiently waits for the right moment to attack an elk feeding in a gully at the Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico in a photo posted by the refuge . Its not a bear, not a dog, not a deer, not a bobcat. Especially by one that he remembers involving a kill site.. One cat will leave more than 10,000 tracks per day. It was a bright sunny summer day. The police and everyone else just shook their heads but she to her dying breath said she saw a mountain lion in Lexington MA. When I came out, the cat appeared in front of me coming up a rise (incredibly close to some ski condos). I think of Aldo Leopolds Thinking Like a Mountain essay about how deer decimated the forests and died of starvation because of humans incessant desire to kill. 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). Length of body. 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. According to official estimates, as many as 1,000 people own, in spite of legal prohibitions, captive animals. I was curious enough at the time to do a little research. For instance, a favorite food for deer is the seedlings of forest tree species. Tom Stearns, a Vermont Game Warden says they get reports all the time. Things seem to move at twilight and you never know. People could have been looking at a catamount that was not, in fact, a wild animal. Perfect conditions, then, for thinking you saw something. Or, if it does, when that will be. 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. Vermont-based naturalist SueMorse has spent decades studying, tracking, andphotographing cougars outwest. All of which is to say that if Alexander Crowell wasnt afraid on that long-ago Thanksgiving Day, he probably should have been. But some sightings were more promising and some seemed exceedingly so. There is a reason that millions of people were afraid to go in the water after they saw the movie Jaws. They have a right to exist here and they contribute to healthier prey species. Reported mountain lion sightings are popping up all over Vermont and convinced onlookers say the proof is in the pictures. . Well, I KNOW there was at least one mountain lion in NE because years ago (maybe 35 or so) I lived in Longmeadow, MA. Could be a deer, but it didnt seem to be tall enough. There is no shortage of deer for all apex predators whether they are canine, feline, or human. Predator removal was steady and unforgiving from the early 1800s . 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. You wouldnt shake hands with a man like that, she said, and though she was smiling I could tell she was serious. 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. 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. I think I may have pissed her off since I was up in that area X2 this week. 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