mountain lion in ct 2020

It can run at speeds of up to 50 mph. This is part of the cougar business. The second occasion was on the way to work when I saw the cougar/catamount crossing Route 44. McEnroe: It is an uphill challenge. They also have facial ruffs and ear tufts on the tips of their ears, as well as shorter tails. The cat is dead. Still, sightings are common. 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. Were getting more and more home entries every year. A mountain lion was responsible for that too. At the time, a specialist from the Iowa Department of Natural. He points out that when there was a real mountain lion in the state in 2011, his office publicized it immediately. Regarding a breeding population that is the unknown. Hawley said that the typical range of cougars like mountain lions is from west of the South Dakota area. It was definitely a cougar. So its this gathering storm. I think of Aldo Leopolds Thinking Like a Mountain essay about how deer decimated the forests and died of starvation because of humans incessant desire to kill. The guide told him earlier in the summer he and a couple clients had watched a moutain lion come down to the bank of the Deerfield River just upstream and take a small deer, fawn, drag it into the woods and it kill it, they could hear the screams of the deer as the cougar finished the job. 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. There were pine cones on window sills, a well-used hatchet and a variety of animal figurines on display, and, near the television, a stack of videos including. Dogos have been DOCUMENTED killing mountain lion / wolf. You dont even have to go out and look for it.. July 20, 2022. Weve got a growing bear population. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. 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. The females are where its at, she said. Connecticut Public Radio | 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? It is also known as cougar, panther, mountain lion, and puma, though catamount is the preferred regional vernacular. Despite frequent claims, there has only been one confirmed mountain lion sighting since the late 1800s here. Joseph Uscinski, professor of political science at the University of Miami, and a conspiracy theory expert, says these types of theories are not uncommon. This is always been a debate however as someone who is an avid Outdoorsman I can say with certainty I know of at least 12 people that have personal accounts of seeing mountain lion in Central and Western Massachusetts. In fact, jaguars used to be native to south Texas, as well! Sometimes people feared fishers (erroneously attributing the blood-curdling screams of foxes to these hard-to-spot creatures), and in the late 1930s, after several animals were slain under strange circumstances in Glastonbury, the. Of course no dash cam or accessible phone camera at the time! Beautiful creature. Much as I liked Ottmann and Betty, and much as I found some of their evidence compelling, I was struggling to reconcile their more provocative claims with the restraint expressed by the many other experts Id spoken with. The real reason that they wont admit that a breeding population exists, is that listing a population of endangered species would wreak ECONOMIC havoc in a number of arenas, mostly logging/forestry. They take down boats, bulls, etc. I heard from Neighbors that they have been sighting from the mass pike which runs along this area but also very close to Quabbin! Hunters and property owners have also set up tens of thousands of trail cameras at various locations throughout the state. Mountain lions, on the other hand, weigh in at between 130 to 150 pounds for males and between 65 and 90 pounds for females. [An overabundance of deer] means our forests are getting older and older and not being replaced. He also points to the influx of invasive plant species in New England as evidence of an out-of-control deer population. Weve had coyotes misidentified. Another important difference: bobcats are found in Connecticut while mountain lions are not. Lol Here is a small glimpse at what these dogs were bred to do (if you got sensitive eyes, do not view): He drove me out to the spot. Today, nearly 60% of Connecticut is covered in forest, and bobcats are regularly observed throughout the state. I wondered why he didnt just stop & cuff that pesky dog up side of his head surely he couldve held his own, tho they were about the same size. 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. It's rare to see an up-close look at mountain lion behavior out in the wild, let alone a whole family. 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. Indeed! Bobcats are most frequently misidentified by the public as mountain lions, but theyre not the only animals mislabeled. And DNA analysis shows us that felis concolor is genetically the same across the USI think it is irrelevant, but interesting. 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. Genetic testing placed the animal in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the cat had been sighted at several different points during its long journey east. A quick Google search reveals that the theory is not limited to Connecticut and similar tales are told throughout the Northeast. The journey is chronicled in the 2016 book Heart of a Lion: A Lone Cats Walk Across America by William Stolzenburg. So theres fresh mud. Bill Betty of Matunuck, a mountain lion expert who spoke at the South Kingstown Land Trust barn Oct. 30, thinks there is ample evidence pointing to the existence of a mountain lion in Matunuck. Hawley: Yeah. 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. Besides, Ottmann had revealed that hed been charged by a bear in this same piece of woods, and I felt conflicted about diverting my gaze from the underbrush. This assessment is echoed by the aforementioned Christopher Spatz, who has been studying cougars for better than 20 years. Many on both sides of the cougar debate beileve that New Englands natural habitat would benefit from having an apex predator in the ecosystem again. Join Us. They were also seen at other times by members of my family and other people in the neighborhood. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Its documented through track surveys, aerial surveys, trapping and collaring surveys. CT Style. A bobcats tail is short and bob-like, while mountain lions have long, curving tails that can grow up to 3 feet. Indeed, in 2011, a male cougar was hit and killed by a car in Milford, Connecticut; through its DNA, wildlife biologists were able to trace the cat back to South Dakotas Black Hills, some 2,000 miles distant. To obtain grouse distribution and harvest information, the Wildlife Division is asking grouse hunters to submit hunting reports through the Ruffed Grouse Hunter Log . 5-7 yards from me. And consider, for a moment, the concern and outright fear an official acknowledgment of such a carnivorous and predatory creature might evoke. My wife is not a wildlife expert, but is not prone to flights of fancy. But right now youre dealing with top-notch guys. Mountain Lions: cougars, pumas, panthers and catamounts. Morse introduced me to her cat, Allister, whom she referred to as her portable puma. Then she fetched me a beer. Jason. 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. [The catamounts] movements were so noiseless that Mr. Crowell found himself in this dangerous proximity before he was aware of it, and it was only by great coolness and daring that he severely wounded the animal and perhaps saved his own life, reads a placard attached to the display case. he recalls. We really must establish first that these beautiful animals SHOULD be in every state that was once THEIR habitat. 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. 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. But that was OK. Bo Ottmann knew they were out there. A threat to livestock, they were hunted out of the state and driven to parts more wild. It had rained previously. my father was recently trout fishing in central Mass. I was outdoor with my two pugs and quickly scooped them up and brought them in the house. But that doesnt stop people from seeing them. There is no shortage of deer for all apex predators whether they are canine, feline, or human. Mountain lions usually retract their claws when walking. The recent social media posting of what was thought to be an image of a mountain lion in Prairie du Rocher brought skepticism . 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. 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.. TOLLAND A local woman reported Friday that she saw a mountain lion in the area of Sand Hill Road, . It was huge! He was previously a reporter for the Danbury News-Times and the Ridgefield Press. Carnivorous and predatory creature might evoke through track surveys, trapping and collaring surveys as well as shorter tails limited! Influx of invasive plant species in New England as evidence of an out-of-control deer.. 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