The history of this theory in Connecticut and New England goes back long before our current era of fake news. 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). Well, I KNOW there was at least one mountain lion in NE because years ago (maybe 35 or so) I lived in Longmeadow, MA. 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. Now the bears, they dont even care if people are home, theyll go right in the house. [email protected], or contact usonFacebook@connecticutmagazine orTwitter@connecticutmag. But as Eastern cougar search efforts became more organized and still there were no concrete signs of the creatures, many became more skeptical. 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. On another large animal that is most definitely here: bears. Well, theres no difference between Maine and New Brunswick, anyway, said Betty. Diana Marchibroda and her miniature schnauzer froze in their tracks when the mountain lion stepped out of the woods last May. Im not an expert on human psychology, but if youre looking for something, you have a greater chance of actually seeing it. "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. Two mountain lion encounters in his driveway. Have a question or comment? 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. I also had a coworker report a similar experience around the same time. The Damned Story: Eastern mountain lions, or pumas or cougars, were last officially seen in Connecticut near the end of the 19th century. . It was a bright sunny summer day. Im not an expert on human psychology, but if youre looking for something, you have a greater chance of actually seeing it. The history of this theory in Connecticut and New England goes back long before our current era of fake news. 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. How big was the animal? Then in June 2011, there were reports of a mountain lion in Greenwich and, for the first time, a photo. By Cameron Arcand October 3, 2021 at 2:07pm. But you are talking Pacquiao (Pit) vs. Tyson (Dogo) in their prime. Theres also the lack of visual evidence, more glaring each passing year as so many hikers and hunters now carry phones with cameras. I have pictures of tracks around my car and up to the back steps of my deck in Arkville, NY . 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). 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. 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? You wouldnt shake hands with a man like that, she said, and though she was smiling I could tell she was serious. 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). Hes even had his own false sighting. Ask people who spend time outside Connecticut cities and you will hear firsthand or secondhand accounts of mountain lions. Watch Live at 7:00 PM: The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns | Screening & Panel Discussion . The Mountain Lion will return to feed on the prey for up to 10 days. A mountain lion was confirmed by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission through trail camera photos taken Dec. 9 east of Lincoln. She lives near the end of a gravel road in a modest, low-slung house tucked into the flanks of the Green Mountains. It used to be that a bear would go into a house when someone wasnt home. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. There was the vaguest of trails, crisscrossed by deadfalls and a sharp-thorned bush that soon drew blood from Ottmanns right hand. Mountain Lions: cougars, pumas, panthers and catamounts. About This Home This charming 2 bed, 2 bath home, sits on a large lot facing north/south. And there are different schools of thought about that. Mountain Lions in New York. However, many of their claimsespecially Mr. Bettys contention of roughly a dozen personal sightings in New Englandare hard to take seriously. She said it was long and thick. The mountain lion is also known as cougar, panther, or puma. near Greenfield with an experienced guide that hed worked with several times. My daughter said to me thats the biggest cat Ive ever seen. 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. Respect predators, protect them but dont worship or try to hug them! There have been 40 confirmed mountain lion sightings since 2002 in the state, according to the Wildlife Department. I have heard several accounts from sober, sane, intelligent people who have seen them (especially a latre, good friend who was a very competent spokesman and hunter.). Mountain Lion Historically, mountain lions (Puma concolor) occurred throughout South Dakota and were considered numerous in the Black Hills. Those are the two closest populations that we have here. The big cat has been extinct here since the mid-1800s. 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. Osage County leads the list with seven, followed by Cimarron County with six. 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. This is part of the cougar business. One one occasion she had two little ones with her so their den must have been sort of closeby. It had rained previously. The department has said it receives reports every year of. Wildlife is unpredictable (and several people go missing in wild areas, parks especially, every year -Probably not because of alien abduction). Mountain lion front tracks are 3 to 4 1/4 long and 3 1/4 to 4 3/4 wide. Apex predators like the cougar and wolf make for a healthier ecosystem. They take down boats, bulls, etc. They set the stage for the exotics to move in, and this has a huge impact on our ecology, he said. There also should have been evidence of animals killed by the predators and roadkill. Were getting more and more home entries every year. 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 have not had the pleasure of seeing one, but have heard credible reports of them in Western Mass. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal. 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. To date, no footage of a mountain lion has surfaced. Hawley: Wildlife biologists across the United States know where the current mountain lion range is. 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: It is possible that cougars of unknown origin may be breeding to a limited extent in Vermont. Public opinion surveys show many more would support reintroduction, than oppose. 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. I was aware, too, of how a certain mythology surrounding the animal had taken root in Vermonts culture and even its identity: The University of Vermonts athletic teams, for instance, are known as the Vermont Catamounts, and their logo features a snarling cat lunging through the cleft of a V.. 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. He can be reached by phone at 860-275-7297 or by email: [email protected]. McEnroe: Scientifically, this is a case where absence of evidence is kind of evidence of absence, right? Morse has been tracking cougars for 45 years, mostly in the mountains of the West, where their existence is not in doubt. But that doesnt stop people from seeing them. They have a right to exist here and they contribute to healthier prey species. Hawley: That animal was documented. I lived in Woodstock, CT in 2005/2006. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Mountain lions usually retract their claws when walking. He can be reached by phone at 860-275-7297 or by email: [email protected]. Posted: Nov 2, 2020 / 04:58 PM EST. There are many officials in denial up here, but we know what we saw and there are too many sightings by the local folks to be ignored. Its closest living relative is the cheetah. For anyone stuck with using Mountain Lion, I can recommend without hesitation Waterfox Classic web browser. Its a cool story with how far that animal walked. Vermont-based naturalist SueMorse has spent decades studying, tracking, andphotographing cougars outwest. Its OK, he told me. What we do not have is a secure predator corridor.. And even the home entries are kind of changing. 10186. The next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an, on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. 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. Or at least theyre not supposed to be. But other hard evidence of the big cats presence is elusive. When a cats around, its not hard to find evidence. 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. He drove me out to the spot. Honestly, leaving this out of your article would seem to perpetuate the notion that there is a conspiracy to keep us all in ignorance. The average annual population estimate from 2004-2020 of 2,876 total mountain lions, based on the statistical population . 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