But its also a great story that lays out how an animal this large, at 150 pounds, traveling through even rural areas, leaves signs and is detected. Concerned for people / pets and a school just down the street, stopped to report the sighting where dispatch told me that if I did not have proof they would not respond. We get a lot of pictures sent to us, and people say, I took this picture of a mountain lion in my backyard. And Ill look at it, and to me, its clearly a bobcat, Hawley said. As a scientist, lack of evidence is very good evidence. With 18 native South American names, 25 Native American names, and 40 English names, this big cat has a big list of sobriquets that all boil down to the same thing: mountain lion. Updated . Didnt it? In fact, jaguars used to be native to south Texas, as well! It was his great coolness and daring (either that, or fear) that enabled Crowell to shoot the animal at a distance of one rod only (roughly 16 feet), first hitting it in the leg with his shotgun, then dispatching it with a bullet to the head from a borrowed rifle. 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.. And theres another school of thought, Well, no, there just are too many of them probably we have to reduce that population somehow. Where do you fall in that whole continuum? vital part of this countries ecosystem. Colin McEnroe is a radio host, newspaper columnist, magazine writer, author, playwright, lecturer, moderator, college instructor and occasional singer. And were one of the most densely populated states as far as humans. Somebody in the NC Legislature believes, because lions are now protected by law. Even in areas of high cougar density, the there are far more attacks on humans by domesticated dogs or deer/car collision fatalities than those due to cougar attack. Its a cool story with how far that animal walked. Weve done a lot of work over the years investigating sightings. Females ranges are much smaller so it will take reintroduction or a few savvy wildlife biologist in the dead of night. I heard from Neighbors that they have been sighting from the mass pike which runs along this area but also very close to Quabbin! Regarding a breeding population that is the unknown. But you are talking Pacquiao (Pit) vs. Tyson (Dogo) in their prime. Morse founded Keeping Track in the belief that getting citizens interested and engaged in wildlife will have the knock-on effect of getting them interested and engaged in how land-use decisions affect wild populationsand might provide the impetus for conservation efforts. According to the Connecticut DEEP, the bobcat is the only wild cat found in Connecticut. TOLLAND A local woman reported Friday that she saw a mountain lion in the area of Sand Hill Road, . Bobcats are most frequently misidentified by the public as mountain lions, but theyre not the only animals mislabeled. 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. Bobcats are plentiful across Connecticut and are between 18 and 35 pounds. UConn women's basketball's Dorka Juhsz, Amari DeBerry play 'word sneak' at press conference, Fight breaks out after CT high school basketball game between Bassick, Wilbur Cross, Amanda Bynes, Steve from 'Blues Clues' to appear at 90s Con in CT, Connecticut paranormal convention coming back this spring, Bridgeport woman competes to find love on Paramount+ dating show, Self-taught pianist Serene to perform at Grace Farms. Bill and I are full-throttle. One summer I saw what I assumed was the same cougar several different times in my neighborhood which was near a long strip of woods along I 91 and used to be a large open field across the road from our home. An attack is verified only when a physician, law enforcement officer or CDFW personnel determine the injuries were caused by a . Westford, MA, crossing Dunstable Rd from Long Sought For Pond into the woods. There was the vaguest of trails, crisscrossed by deadfalls and a sharp-thorned bush that soon drew blood from Ottmanns right hand. If you dont think cougars are coming to the East, think again, she said, leaning forward for emphasis. The tails gotta be there. Rumors of their hidden presence persisted. I lived in great Barrington mass and I took photos of tracks in a field in April of 2009 (and of course lost them). 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. And there are different schools of thought about that. Otherwise, Hawley said cats like bobcats want nothing to do with people, and they will generally prey on chickens, small dogs or cats. It was a 140-pound male mountain lion, the first confirmed in Connecticut in more than 100 years. Its quite an uphill challenge for us to manage that situation right now. 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. The U.S. Department of Agricultures Forest Service reports that mountain lions typical habitat is steep, rocky canyons or mountainous terrain, but they generally can be found wherever deer are present. Hunt By Species: Mountain Lion | Montana FWP Hunt Species Guide: Mountain Lion Download the 2022 Mountain Lion Hunting Regulations Download now Current Quota Status for Mountain Lions Check Status Find Harvest information for Mountain Lions Harvest Reports Mountain Lion Identification Program Learn More > Automatic Notifications Dont forget, south Texas also used to home to two other species of cats ocelots and jaguarundis. For who but we humans can look across the landscape and not acknowledge our role in the diminishment of cougars and the myriad ways in which we have knocked the landscape out of balance? 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. This guy was very intelligent, he had abandoned a professional career to pursue his dream of guiding. 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. 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., I met with Morse at her home in Jericho. When I came out, the cat appeared in front of me coming up a rise (incredibly close to some ski condos). They take down boats, bulls, etc. These powerful cats can weigh between 70-220 pounds, with males weighing more. 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 next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an, on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. 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. Not really, Rego says. Lets learn to live alongside this very large animal is one of the schools of thought. Connecticut The police and everyone else just shook their heads but she to her dying breath said she saw a mountain lion in Lexington MA. Its extremely rare for a person to see a wild animal and to underestimate its size. Listen & Learn. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. 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. Hawley:Were sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. To report grouse sightings, please contact Wildlife Division biologist Will Cassidy at william.cassidy@ct.gov or 860-418-5961. It used to be that a bear would go into a house when someone wasnt home. Big kitty. There was one photographed on a porch in Greenwich, CT, looking in the patio window that made national news a decade ago. 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. 8 January. But, I think with education and planning, we should reintroduce wolves and cougar in the Northeast. 10186. Im not an expert on human psychology, but if youre looking for something, you have a greater chance of actually seeing it. Genetic testing placed the animal in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the cat had been sighted at several different points during its long journey east. Bobcat sightings are not uncommon in Connecticut. Hey, I know what I saw. Even so, Abbott has heard of mountain lion sightings from what he deems reliable sources and believes its possible that other animals have made the difficult, some say almost miraculous trek, from the West to Connecticut. A lifelong Connecticut resident, Nicole has a degree in Communications from Fairfield University. Hawley: I feel strongly that we need a harvest here in Connecticut. There is a big difference between Tuesday when none of us saw a moose in our region and then Thursday we did, Morse says. My mother always said she saw one across the street from our house one night in the late 50s early 60s. 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). 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. They also generally have spots on their fur. 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. However, the captive lion theory was also wrong. Hawley: Yeah. When we reached tower, a ranger arrived in a pickup. Im gonna get hammered for it, he sighed. I was just amazed as I watched this scene in my own back yard. Just like we dont need any slimy humans on earth period. Initially, officials believed it had been released from a private handler. A trail camera was set up and confirmed the presence of a mountain lion on February 16, 2020. Over time, Wright became convinced Eastern cougars lived in small pockets in the deep woods. 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. hen 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. He/she was UNMISTAKEABLY a mountain lion: stretched out straight, long tail straight out behind him, golden/beigey color, and smallish head, little ears. Weve had coyotes misidentified. By now, I knew the answer to that one. 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