After all, if one mountain lion had wandered here, didnt that mean that others could have? Also, there has been a rash of cats and dogs gone missing out of here with the DPs. 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. But sometimes, instead of mountain lions, people thought they saw other creatures in the Connecticut woods, of which authorities were supposedly aware. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. Every winter, after a fresh snow, DEEP sends out teams into the fields and woods looking for animal tracks. So all the other states in the Northeast that have bear populations have a harvest on their bears. Also known as cougars, panthers or pumas, mountain lions range in color from tan to grey, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. Map reproduced from LaRue et al. He was previously a reporter for the Danbury News-Times and the Ridgefield Press. Hawley: I feel strongly that we need a harvest here in Connecticut. 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. Mountain lions were hunted to extinction near the end of the 19th century. He was the only confirmed mountain lion in all of Connecticut but was seen several times right after he arrived in the state before being accidentally killed. A couple things to keep in mind if you come across or see a big cat like a Mountain Lion: 1. For over 30 years, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has been tracking reported mountain lion sightings. Especially when pictures are blurry which happens a lot in trail cameras or youll get pictures taken at night or something on Ring cameras that hind leg really does often look like a tail kind of curling up behind the animal.. We know that strays have wandered through New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts; that does not indicate that a sighting means we have a resident mountain lion in the Berkshires. Dickson, however, said the agency is not aware of any such reports. Connecticut Public 7.36K subscribers The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has been denying they exist in Connecticut, but this past summer a rogue mountain lion was spotted. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. Since then, theyve diverted over an acre of hardwood flooring, roughly 570 kitchen cabinets, and 500 windows from landfills. In 2011, a young male lion walked 1500 miles from South Dakota to Connecticut, where he was hit and killed on the parkway in Milford. McEnroe: Scientifically, this is a case where absence of evidence is kind of evidence of absence, right? Make noise. Despite frequent claims, there has only been one confirmed mountain lion sighting since the late 1800s here. Working in the 1980s in southern California, where there are cougars, biologist Paul Beier said that 95 percent of cougar sightings they investigated turned out to be misidentifications. Its quite an uphill challenge for us to manage that situation right now. One has been spotted on our street for the last four or five years. Over time, Wright became convinced Eastern cougars lived in small pockets in the deep woods. Below is an evolving list of Connecticut natives and state prep school football players in the Class of 2023 who have signed letters of intent to play football in college. 2. The Damned Story: Eastern mountain lions, or pumas or cougars, were last officially seen in Connecticut near the end of the 19th century. She adds, I think its because a lot of people are fascinated by wild cats; they are the embodiment of the wild.. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. Weve got a growing bear population. The police department decided to put out a warning to those in town. Wait a minute--there was a sighting in New London County a few years back, and my wife read an article about a mountain lion or cougar being struck by a vehicle in Milford a few years back. Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. While the state says it was likely a bobcat, one of the people who reported the sighting says it was unlike anything hes ever seen before. It used to be that a bear would go into a house when someone wasnt home. Heres what to know about mountain lions (and other large cats) in Connecticut. 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. Theyll say, Hey, you can see in the picture that it has a long tail, and when I look at the picture, I say, I see how you would see that because they way these cats walk, theyll kind of stand and trail their rear leg. A young male was hit and killed by a car several years ago, but. I frankly have lost faith in some government institutions for this very reason. Sometimes physical evidence shows the sighting was of some other animal, including dogs, cats, fishers, coyotes, bears and bobcats. not all bobcats are heavily spotted either - just to add to the confusion.. Speaker Bill Betty presented evidence and proposed theories that could prove that Connecticut, including , is home to a native population of Eastern mountain lions. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. You may also be interested in: Mountain Lion population by U.S. state But a high-profile sighting in 2011 stirred up renewed interest in the animals here, when a mountain lion from South Dakota was hit and killed by a car on a Connecticut highway. In the 1930s, Bruce Wright, an influential wildlife manager from New Brunswick, Canada, began gathering reports of sightings of mountain lions in the East and searching for their tracks. 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State lawmakers have entertained bills to establish a bear hunting season for years, but so far, none of those proposals has passed. 17), Police investigate death of New London High School student, Long Wharf Theatre to present Live from the Edge in Hamden, Torrington students to stage 'The Sponge Bob Musical' in May, 'American Idol' alums Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken to perform in CT, Talcott Mountain Music Festival starts June 30. Its quite an uphill challenge for us to manage that situation right now. Woodbridge police reported that there were a few incidents in the area recently, with one involving a resident reporting they encountered a mountain lion with their family on their lawn. In 2011, genetic testing confirmed that a mountain lion originated in South Dakota and traveled more than 1,500 miles before being struck by a car on the Merritt Parkway, according to Reuters. All rights reserved. According to Jason Hawley, a wildlife biologist for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protections Wildlife Division, the department gets around 100 sighting reports of mountain lions each year, but upon further investigation, a good proportion of the sightings end up being bobcats. And follow us on Facebook and Instagram @connecticutmagazine and Twitter @connecticutmag. 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? So its this gathering storm. 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. A threat to livestock, they were hunted out of the state and driven to parts more wild. Have a question or comment? So its this gathering storm. To answer these and other questions about sightings of mountain lions, I turned to DEEPs Rego, who has investigated many purported cougar sightings over the past three decades. He can be reached by phone at 860-275-7297 or by email: pskahill@ctpublic.org. That means that the animal traveled more than 1,500 miles to Connecticut, more than twice as far as the longest dispersal pattern ever recorded for a mountain lion. 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. I saw one cross the rd ( rt 63) in Wtn @ 5 yrs ago, @Craig, I couldnt tell you how happy I would be if mountain lions were actually recolonizing the state of Connecticut, Hawley says, but its just not happening., Hawley spoke about bobcats, mountain lions and bears on The Colin McEnroe Show: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators.. of Energy & Environmental Protection. Joseph Uscinski, professor of political science at the University of Miami, and a conspiracy theory expert, says these types of theories are not uncommon. In the 1930s, Bruce Wright, an influential wildlife manager from New Brunswick, Canada, began gathering reports of sightings of mountain lions in the East and searching for their tracks. Im confident that we get occasional outlier animals.. Were getting more and more home entries every year. Your support makes this news available to everyone. This can trigger a chase. From sightings of wolves and moose to brown recluses and mountain lions, people in CT have made some wild (pun intended) claims about what animals theyve spotted. And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. A month after the cat was struck and killed, researchers confirmed it had traveled more than 1,500 miles from the Black Hills of South Dakota. Ask people who spend time outside Connecticut cities and you will hear firsthand or secondhand accounts of mountain lions. But sometimes, instead of mountain lions, people thought they saw other creatures in the Connecticut woods, of which authorities were supposedly aware. The only types of lynx that are indigenous to New England are the Canada Lynx and the Lynx rufus (bobcat). The last confirmed mountain lion sighting in Connecticut occurred in 2011. On another large animal that is most definitely here: bears. Its extremely rare for a person to see a wild animal and to underestimate its size. Considering that wild animals do not recognize political boundaries, ranges of lions in Connecticut could include adjacent areas of New York and Massachusetts. 3. As unlikely as it sounds, it was a more believable theory than some of the alternatives, among them that the cat was evidence of a breeding population in the state that was being kept secret by, . 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). The police shoot of Cougars behind the police Academy when they get over populated. Watch Live at 7:00 PM: The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns | Screening & Panel Discussion . Hawley: Wildlife biologists across the United States know where the current mountain lion range is. Sport hunting for cougars is not sustainable and shouldnt be allowed to go on. We have plenty of suitable habitat, he says. On June 11, 2011, in Milford, CT, a mountain lion was killed by a motor vehicle. For mountain lions in Connecticut, a lack of evidence is very good evidence. 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). They also have facial ruffs and ear tufts on the tips of their ears, as well as shorter tails. When it comes to mountain lions, (also called cougars, pumas, or panthers) is there really a chance you will come across one in the wild, or will you need to visit a zoo to see one of these magnificent animals in real life? According to wildlife biologist Jason Hawley, the lack of evidence of mountain lions in Connecticut is the evidence. Figure 1 - Mountain lion range and confirmed sightings from 1990-2008. of Energy & Environmental Protection. But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. You cansubscribe here, orfind the current issue on sale here. According to DEEP the bobcat is the only confirmed species of wild cat in CT as of 2022. They have been documented in Woodbridge and are often quite active this time of year making observations of these normally elusive animals much more likely.. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Youll get the answer to this question in this article. Well also go over what types of wild cats can be found in Connecticut. Hear the full interview: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators. She still produces shows with Colin and the team when her schedule allows. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. If a young male Cougar disperses East, instead of West, they're going to keep walking because they're going tokeep looking for an area where they can find a mate, he said. More recently, unexplained animal sightings in Connecticut and other states became more and more associated with mountain lions. How much wild life is out there? Seeing a wild cat can be both frightening and exciting, and its common for people to make mistakes in identification, as all most people are used to seeing is the common housecat. Just had one over in Windsor last week. Got a question or comment? Im not an expert on human psychology, but if youre looking for something, you have a greater chance of actually seeing it. Hawley: Wildlife biologists across the United States know where the current mountain lion range is. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. There is also something appealing about the idea that there is an animal out there so cunning that it has escaped our notice and the eyes of our cameras. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. 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. Police said these have been reported to DEEP, but have not been confirmed as true mountain lion sightings. Sometimes referred to as the ghosts of the forest, mountain lions or cougars are stealthy hunters that are hard to spot, even in areas they are known to inhabit. Hi! So, now that youve got the answer on whether or not mountain lions can be found in CT, lets talk about which wild cats are more likely to be seen here. In 2011, genetic testing confirmed that a mountain lion originated in South Dakota and traveled more than 1,500 miles before being struck by a car on the Merritt Parkway, according to Reuters. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. The history of this theory in Connecticut and New England goes back long before our current era of fake news. It also doesnt mean there wont be more sightings in the future, as these animals have been known to reclaim areas their species once roamed. 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. 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. Based on this blurry photo and pawprints, DEEP confirmed it was likely a mountain lion. 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