Its extremely rare for a person to see a wild animal and to underestimate its size. Wednesday, November 25th 2020. Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. Betty had driven up from his home in Rhode Island. CNN . I have learned one thing in my career, and thats to never say never, she said. 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. 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. And the clincher, What would you say was the most distinguishing feature? When you look at a state like Connecticut, with all the people we have here, all the trail cameras we have in the woods, all the cars we have driving you can imagine if we had an established population here in Connecticut, we would know about it pretty quickly. Adults are a uniform tan or tawny in color, with a white or cream-colored chin, undersides and inner legs. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. So its this gathering storm. Hawley said that the typical range of cougars like mountain lions is from west of the South Dakota area. So yes they are here and not to sure why they dont admit to them being around ! 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. Put bluntly, Morse does not believe that New England is home to cougars. I do this shit.. As I looked at my daughter and then turned to follow the direction she was looking, I saw the animal in my side mirror. You could have 50. People have been known to submit photos of real mountain lions taken in other states and claim they were taken in Connecticut. And the last confirmed sighting prior to the 2011 instance would be a couple hundred years ago, according to Hawley. 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. 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. Emaileditor@connecticutmag.com, or contact usonFacebook@connecticutmagazine orTwitter@connecticutmag. After 20 minutes or so, we turned and stumbled our way back to the parking lot. Morse is a Vermont-based naturalist and the founder of Keeping Track, a nonprofit that trains people in the scientific protocols needed to detect, interpret, record, and monitor wildlife tracks and signs. 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). Join Us. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. Despite frequent claims, there has only been one confirmed mountain lion sighting since the late 1800s here. Hawley: That animal was documented. According to the Smithsonians National Zoo, bobcats are part of the lynx genus, which means they are related to other cats like the Canadian lynx, Iberian lynx and Eurasian lynx. They take down boats, bulls, etc. Wright, however, didnt agree with his mentor and began writing publicly about mountain lions in the East. Weight: 70-170 lbs. It jumped 28 feet across the road. The range of a Mountain Lion may cover 25 to 785 square miles. Finally, in the third camp, there are the true believersthe cougar truthers, if you willthe men and women for whom the only logical conclusion (often reached after a significant investment of time, thought, and sometimes money) is that right here, right now, cougars live among us, feeding and breeding and rearing their young, and that suggesting otherwise is sheer ignorance, willful denial, or part of a mosaic of conspiracy. Here in southern Utah, lions have been known to occupy home ranges as large as 513 square miles. P.O. The tail, I said. The image has since been deleted from social media. Based on this blurry photo and pawprints, confirmed it was likely a mountain lion. I lived in great Barrington mass and I took photos of tracks in a field in April of 2009 (and of course lost them). And were one of the most densely populated states as far as humans. 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. Hawley: Wildlife biologists across the United States know where the current mountain lion range is. By Cameron Arcand October 3, 2021 at 2:07pm. 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. 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. The young typically remain with their mother for 2 years. I heard from Neighbors that they have been sighting from the mass pike which runs along this area but also very close to Quabbin! That's not to say that pits are not formidable dogs, they are. My parents friend in Deposit, NY, posted a young catamount sitting on the front porch on Facebook. If its not, you just thank the person and say good-bye.. Indeed! It has a long, black-tipped tail and black . Fight at end of CT high school basketball game involving Middletown, Weaver second in as many days, How UConn women's basketball forward Amari DeBerry landed on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 plays, Connecticut boys hockey top performers / games to watch (Jan. 17), Goggles? 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. And its not just Vermont. This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Publics Members Unlike male cougars, the femaleslike this Montana cat with her cubdont tend to strike out for new territory, which makes it unlikely that a breeding population would establish itself far from the cougars current habitatsbut not impossible. Almost every state has some sort of legend of something thats hiding somewhere, he says. Wed be seeing more carcasses of prey we would be seeing at least some carcasses of mountain lion prey. Our Mission. Ottmann nodded. When I came out, the cat appeared in front of me coming up a rise (incredibly close to some ski condos). Hawley: I feel strongly that we need a harvest here in Connecticut. This is a carousel. While other states have their Bigfoot and sea monster sightings, in Connecticut, and throughout much of the Northeast, we see mountain lions even when were told such sightings are unlikely, if not outright impossible. It was a spotless cat she estimated at close to 100 pounds. Mountain lions are solitary animals, traveling alone except during mating season or when a female is supporting young. But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. 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. I wasnt planning to shoot her unless she moved in my direction. 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. Harrigan nodded. More recently, unexplained animal sightings in Connecticut and other states became more and more associated with mountain lions. 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. Two mountain lion encounters in his driveway. Hey, I know what I saw. 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. We lived off of Mountain Rd in Granby, Ct for 8 years and I can say that without a doubt I am 100% sure that there are mountain lions living there. Learn More Who We Are & What We Do. 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. A lifelong Connecticut resident, Nicole has a degree in Communications from Fairfield University. 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 we do not have is a secure predator corridor.. We need cougars and we need wolves back in the Northeast, because a landscape of fear is a well-balanced landscape.. Initially, officials believed it had been released from a private handler. Humans and wildlife MUST learn to live along side each other and we MUST learn to respect nature. Black panthers, which are not found in the U.S., are actually black jaguars or leopards. 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. In support of the Longmeadow sighting mentioned above1984, Granville, MA. We even had a sighting someone here at DEEP, in my office, was convinced they saw a mountain lion. All of which is to say that if Alexander Crowell wasnt afraid on that long-ago Thanksgiving Day, he probably should have been. 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. In the 37 years Ive been working, things have changed in ways Id never have predicted. Despite frequent claims, there has only been one confirmed mountain lion sighting since the late 1800s here. Theres also the lack of visual evidence, more glaring each passing year as so many hikers and hunters now carry phones with cameras. He wore red suspenders and a baseball cap. She had seen an animal on foot in broad daylight. I thought I saw signs posted in Pawling NY about 8 years ago, that DEC released a pair to control deer population,mane several people have seen them in Wingdale, NY. The MPD Animal Care and Control Unit's report includes a fact sheet about mountain lions, which has many common names, including "puma, catamount and panther.". Learn More . Massachusetts and several other New England states have bear hunting, or harvest, seasons, which proponents say help control populations. Records suggest that cash bounties for cougar kills were relatively common in the late 1700s and early 1800s; in the Adirondacks, a trapper named Thomas Meacham was credited with 77 cougar kills. Could UConn women's basketball be back to 'square one' with seven available players at Seton Hall? Morse introduced me to her cat, Allister, whom she referred to as her portable puma. Then she fetched me a beer. The map from that publication is shown below, with the current mountain lion range in green and confirmed mountain lion locations as black dots. In my mind, I went through all the nots. Could UConn women's basketball be back to 'square one' with seven available players at Seton Hall? But it also sort of instills that fear, a healthy fear of humans and bears. 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By 1825, only 25% of Connecticut was forested due to deforestation from agricultural activities and other uses of timber. of Energy & Environmental Protection. Today marks the date of our inception. ), 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. Mountain lions have traveled through Fairfield County in the past. In some versions, state officials dont want to alarm people about the feline predators in their midst. You can subscribe to Connecticut Magazine here, or find the current issue on sale here. Facebook . Defenders of Wildlife developed funding to support wolf predation on cattle which I believe worked. As I walked thru the beginning of the trail I spooked a deer and heard this awful screech and slowly backed out of there .. 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. We witnessed a mountain lion stalking a herd of deer. Have a question or comment? Even in the controlled environment of a lab, the truth about Eastern cougars seems to be almost willfully eluding its seekers. The sighting on Gerdes Road is the third in the past month and very close to the most recent one, on . A self-defense connoisseur with a large social media presence has ignited a firestorm over his posting of a video showing a mountain lion getting shot in the head. About two years ago in July 2020, there were around 1,500 reports of bobcat sightings in the state, with some bobcat sightings in Brookfield and Ridgefield that year. Wildlife is unpredictable (and several people go missing in wild areas, parks especially, every year -Probably not because of alien abduction). However, that doesnt mean that mountain lion sightings are all false or that there havent been roaming cats sighted. We know that the closest established breeding population is in either the Everglades of Florida theres a small population down there and then out in South Dakota and Nebraska. And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. Over time, Wright became convinced Eastern cougars lived in small pockets in the deep woods. Mountain Lions:100 all the way up to 200 pounds, Mountain Lions:Can grow up to 6 feet long. There are no breeding cougars in New England and we do not need any. Its a cool story with how far that animal walked. The Cougar, also known as mountain lion and puma, is Canada's largest and most powerful wildcat. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are I could hear the steady rush of traffic on Route 315. 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