By now, I knew the answer to that one. 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. 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. My understanding is that they can roam a 50 mile radius as home, so seeing one there could mean it lives 50 miles away in the woods. Or that a stray has gotten EXTREMELY lost. Evidently it was authentic because a mountain lion pounced on him. Apparently, Barnaby is blind because he couldnt see it. I can say that we didnt linger too long in the area. But no. First about the animal, itself, and then about the lore and the possibility that the catamount was not, in fact, extinct in Vermont. The second sighting in myakka preserve, hopping a fence. And even the home entries are kind of changing. 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. Its OK, he told me. All reports are the wee hours of the morning. CHESTER Susan Morse, nationally known wildlife ecologist and tracker, will present Coming Soon: The Cougar Returns to the East, on Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. at the News Bank Conference Center in Chester. In May 2018, a mountain lion attacked two mountain bikers 30 miles east of Seattle, Washington, killing one, but it's only the 15th fatal attack in North America since 1970. Just found this site, two weeks ago a good friend took a number of pictures of a large cat 100 feet from her deck. Morse will present evidence on cougars returning to the East. How to Report a Possible Mountain Lion Sighting. 0. We even enjoyed the pleasure of taking them out to dinner, then returning wiith them for a delightful 3 days with them, dicussing the big cats, while they vacationed at their Atlantic Oceanfront Cottage.. HHH was firmly convinced, wild cougars inhabited Vermont, as well as each of New Englands nothernmost states. I can send the pics I have. What set it off was a National Geographic special on mountain lions in California, right after my daughter and I had two encounters in my driveway, Betty told me. Recent reports of big cat sightings have captured the imagination of local residents eager to know what species of wild felines might be living in Waterbury. 35 wild cougars, known as the Florida Panther, of which a few are totally BLACK, and known as panther, but are actually of the jaguar family In the last few days, 3 sightings have been reported to us, large brown cats in Tennessee and Indiana, a total black cat, in Virginia. And if it is, it will be just a matter of time before someone gets a photo of it, he said. I did a triple take as I gazed up to a rocky cliff and saw without a doubt a mountain lion. I gave grown up in the woods and this was no bobcat. Half the sightings have been of a black cougar, however, all CREDIBLE sources. Cat. I took pictures but now wished I had placed an object to get the scale of the prints. And so we come to the great divide over cougars in New England. They were at least 4-5 inches at the widest part of the pad. Happy hunting Mike Copeland. She served as the Senior Producer for 'The Colin McEnroe Show' for several years before stepping down in 2021 and returning to her previous career as a registered nurse. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. I know what they look like and this silhouette was very much the same as that cat last summer. I met with Morse at her home in Jericho. Cougar truthers are certain that the big cat is living and breeding again in New England. I noticed that there were many great websites, blogs, and discussion boards devoted to mountain lion sightings in other states of New England, but not one just for Vermont. The cougar appeared injured and stunned, but eventually ran away . For mountain lions in Connecticut, a lack of evidence is very good evidence. Its tail was gigantic and it was swishing it back and forth. Ive seen more field evidence in a couple of hours tracking out west than Ive seen in 100 years on the East Coast, he said. 4 . Sincerely, I was with Barnaby and my 4 year old daughter in a place we jokingly call Cougar Canyon. Paul Barrile Senior Capstone and GIS Project Number of Sightings Per Year 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 0 000 0 0 09 0 0 0 00 0 0 000 o Legend "Cougars in the East are the equivalent of Bigfoot or UFO's," according to Mark Dowling of the Eastern Cougar My e-mail: epuma@frontier.com /// my mailing address 99 Beagle Boot Lane, Maysville, WV 26833 On the idea of bear hunting in Connecticut. Still, this isnt a foolproof rule for big cat identification. 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. Very distinguishable nails marks in the snow. Jul 9, 2021. To date, Keeping Track has helped conserve 40,000 acres in 12 states and inQuebec. Massachusetts and several other New England states have bear hunting, or harvest, seasons, which proponents say help control populations. I was driving on cave road on Back side of military base toward Willisdon VT and it was across from ANG Miitary.. Driving up 91north in Vermont between exit 3 and 4, at 7pm, last night, I believe that a cougar bolted across the road about 50 feet in front of me headed East. He didn't want to dispute what people are saying they saw, he simply says they need proof to substantiate it. It was a beautiful golden red color (like a red squirrel), about the size of a medium dog (maybe 40lbs?) Send picture to epuma@frontier.com Would greatly like to see your picture. Im gonna get hammered for it, he sighed. It crossed the road and went into the woods. I was driving yesterday (July 31st '13) around midnight on northbound I-89 about half way between Wight River Junction and Montpelier when a beautiful cat creature a size of a greyhound jumped from the midroad bushes and sped in front of my car across the road. 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. Anyway, we are always aware that there could be mountain lions around and on this day I saw a huge beautiful mountain lion. Back in the 60s a traveling zoo lost their black panther, and denied it. I also had the vague notion that when it comes to cougars, people tend to sort themselves into one of three camps. I could hear the steady rush of traffic on Route 315. 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). They have not received any reports of large cats in Waterbury so far. Anyone can get fooled. Nowhere in New England is the matter definitively settled. 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. It took a rest in the shade of our driveway for about ten minutes. For example, a mountain lion native to North Dakota made it as far as Connecticut in 2011, according to Bernier. 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. Published: 9/3/2021 5:01:49 PM. Lucky the house cat got away. : I am basically a pro whitetail hunter living in Roxbury vt. There was the vaguest of trails, crisscrossed by deadfalls and a sharp-thorned bush that soon drew blood from Ottmanns right hand. Spatz and Sue dont want to go where were going.. 3 Last 10 Years. We think theyre coming in from Canada, Betty told me. Director, Eastern Puma Research Network And thats a surprisingly complex question, because it hinges on numerous factors: policy and politics, culture and conditioning, habitat and, frankly, hubris. So special. "Several sightings have occurred at the site of a known animal crossing in the park." Besides reviewing the sighting reports, Linzey seeks other evidence of mountain lions. But other hard evidence of the big cats presence is elusive. And its not just Vermont. It was a few miles south of the Hanover exit. Subsequent DNA testing found that the animal was from South Dakota. There were also people who spoke of seeing prints in a specific area in Hartland as well. At around 9:30, Snow said, I was outside working and I heard the horn blow. 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. According to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, only four confirmed sightings occurred in the state from the late 1700s to the early 2000s. These highlights have been edited and condensed for length and clarity. I appreciated Ottmann and Bettys confidence and commitment, but here I was, poking through thorny thickets behind a bar, trailing a bleeding man whose devotion to proving the presence of cougars was beginning to seem like a quixotic quest with no end. 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. One cat will leave more than 10,000 tracks per day. I wanted to see how close I could get walking closer and closer the eyes did not run in fact they started to come to us. Welcome to the blog dedicated to discussing mountain lion sightings in Vermont! Your email address will not be published. TPWD Confirmed Mountain Lions. Prof. Hitchcocks experienced led him to believe, a minimum of 10 wild cougars, inhabited the various forests of Vermont. And so when they come to him with a sighting, hes prepared to believe. It is also known as cougar, panther, mountain lion, and puma, though catamount is the preferred regional vernacular. If you have any pictures you can post them here too! So this is the best we could do for a photo. Now, lets start talking about our favorite big cat! Since 1890 in the U.S. and Canada, there have been 100 attacks on humans at all, according to the research organization The Cougar Network. I started asking a lot of questions, and realized theres only one explanation for the answers I was getting: They are here., You could have 30 in Connecticut alone. You could have 50. Though native to the western half of the U.S., mountain lions are long-distance dispersers and young male mountain lions sometimes strike out looking for mates and food. Still, sightings are common. In 2011, a cougar was hit by a car and killed on a Connecticut highway. 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. It crossed the road just below where the Jaquiths lived. We are pretty sure there's a large actin our vicinity. Brown. Sure would appreciate OLD sighting reports from across Vermont from the late 1800s thru 1990. It was broadside to my headlights, paused to look me directly in the eyes, its magnificent tail as long as its body. Indeed, one of her steadiest sources of funding for Keeping Track is a presentation on cougars that has been known to draw more than 500 audience members. T here've been several reported mountain lion sightings around Marine on St. Croix, Minn. in the last month. The debate rages in Maine, where the last confirmed cougar kill occurred in 1938, and in New Hampshire, where the last confirmed kill was in 1885. I will try to take more photos with an object to show scale. But other hard evidence of the big cats presence is elusive. Cris Ericson 802-289-1000. If theres a middle ground in the cougar debate, it belongs to John Harrigan, a veteran outdoorsman, newspaper reporter, and widely read syndicated columnist. It was just before dark and it crossed in front of me probably 20 yards in front, it was tawny colored, mid tan like and had long legs and long tail and was trotting. His mention of these encounters was so matter-of-fact that I found myself nodding along. Lynx sightings and Catamount sightings have been on the increase every year since 2003. Whats happening in Waterbury? So long as the tails there, that is. Body coloration can range from tan to gray and cubs are usually covered with blackish brown spots. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. 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 a cats around, its not hard to find evidence. There is no question about it: cougars are not only being seen in eastern North America, some are attempting to recolonize their former habitats. But it also sort of instills that fear, a healthy fear of humans and bears. I think they never left, Ottmann piped in. And were one of the most densely populated states as far as humans. She still produces shows with Colin and the team when her schedule allows. Bigger than my rottwieller/Lab cross. Lutz, P.O. After registering, I can manage my newsletter subscriptions by visiting my Profile Settings page. At least once a year thered be a story from somewhere, but I only ran the absolute best, he told me. Felis concolor couguar. 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. Having been doing this since 1994, I have yet to have had a definitive, documented, indisputable, verifiable sighting of a mountain lion, Bernier said. I'll tell you that.. He soon developed a five-question litmus test: How far away were you? We went back later and the road was hard but we did get some pictures of prints exactly where the cat went back into the woods and the toes were hard to see, but the pad was classic cougar and the print was the size of my hand. Its a cool story with how far that animal walked. 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. John Lutz, Eastern Puma Research network.. Hi I am from Arlington, vt. could you email me the pic and the story behind it please, thanks. These are rare, single events, and in such cases, the cat will leave a prominent trail of evidence wherever they go: indisputable game camera photos, camera photos, scat, tracks, sightings, Bernier said. These experienced trackers unanimously confirmed that the tracks were made by a Mountain Lion. He coined the term landscape of fear to describe the relationship between predator and prey in the wild. I never say never to people who are calling with a sighting, he said. Photo courtesy of Dave O'Donnell. The presentation promises to be a magnificently illustrated introduction to cougar biology and ecology in the broad diversity of habitats where Morse has studied them, from Alberta to the Mexican border. Morse has been tracking cougars for 45 years, mostly in the mountains of the West, where their existence is not in doubt. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); aint seen none yet, them wind turbines scarin em off, I have been following the eastern mountain lion mystery since the mid-1960s, in every state, east of the Mississippi River. They especially come down from the mountains when there is a big water shortgage. Bearded, bowler hat, expression impenetrable behind facial hair and the stoicism of an earlier era. Part of this belief is rooted in his journalistic experience, which across the decades has cultivated his nose for sincerity. Dashboard for displaying mountain lion reports to the public. It lowers the population in a way thats not going to affect the long-term population. Adult females can be 7 feet long and weigh between . Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. I am quite sure that I saw a mountain lion (a juvenile) yesterday afternoon north of the Dummerston Covered bridge along the West River. I am 6-2 200lbs at the time I was looking like Bruce lee because of working out daily for dirt bike racing. Look out for our newsletters with travel tips and special offers. Harrigan is 72 and lives just outside the northern New Hampshire town of Colebrook; he has a long, craggy face that seems almost to have molded itself after the mountainous landscape of his home state. Glad to hear that they're not gone. Morse, 70, comports herself in a friendly and no-nonsense manner. Tom Stearns, a Vermont Game Warden says they get reports all the time. Running into a mountain lion can be a scary experience. 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