mountain lion in ct 2020

People like you are the problem and cause of extinctions. Weights range from 80 to 225 pounds, but the average is 140 pounds. 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. There is no shortage of deer for all apex predators whether they are canine, feline, or human. Height. The young typically remain with their mother for 2 years. You wouldnt shake hands with a man like that, she said, and though she was smiling I could tell she was serious. Mountain Lions: cougars, pumas, panthers and catamounts. "There's no evidence of breeding pairs," he said. No need since so we guess it has moved on from the northeast corner of Connecticut. More recently, unexplained animal sightings in Connecticut and other states became more and more associated with mountain lions. 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. I live in New Milford and I saw one crossing the road in front of me when I stopped to get my mail from my mailbox. The journey is chronicled in the 2016 book, Abbott, of the Housatonic Valley Association, is equally skeptical of the vast majority of mountain lion sightings. Otherwise, Hawley said cats like bobcats want nothing to do with people, and they will generally prey on chickens, small dogs or cats. P.O. But that was OK. Bo Ottmann, A Lobster Trap Menorah Shines in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Chips Off the Old Block | Knowledge & Wisdom, Yankee Candle | New England by the Numbers, First Christmas | Krissy OSheas Scandinavian-Inspired Holiday Cottage, The Sweet Life | Holiday Baking with Dorie Greenspan, 2019 Yankee Magazine Editors Choice Food Awards, In the Kitchen at Mayfair Farm | Weekends with Yankee. on the regular. The one thing that jumped out at her the tail. Cougars, Lynx, Bobcats, Wolves, Bears etc were and are a And were one of the most densely populated states as far as humans. Bobcats are most frequently misidentified by the public as mountain lions, but theyre not the only animals mislabeled. The recent social media posting of what was thought to be an image of a mountain lion in Prairie du Rocher brought skepticism . To date, no footage of a mountain lion has surfaced. They reside in all eight counties, however, they exist in greatest number in the northwestern corner of the state. Harrigans interest in cougars was sparked in the late 70s, after he took ownership of The Coos County Democrat and began noticing the steady influx of reported sightings. We also had bobcats that we saw quite often but I am positive that these were mountain lions! Not long after, what was believed to be the same mountain lion was struck and killed on Route 15 in Milford. Mountain Lion Update - May 8, 2020, by Sam Wilson, Furbearer and Carnivore Program Manager. On one side, there are those (as represented here by Sue Morse, Kim Royar, and Christopher Spatz, along with a number of others I spoke with) who contend that the lack of verifiable evidence is proof that the animals are not here. TOLLAND A local woman reported Friday that she saw a mountain lion in the area of Sand Hill Road, . But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. Facebook Twitter Email Copy to clipboard Live Now All times eastern NOW - 8:30 AM 8:30 AM 9:00 AM 9:30 AM 10:00 AM 10:30 AM Fox News. Im not an expert on human psychology, but if youre looking for something, you have a greater chance of actually seeing it. And yet there I was, on a Saturday in early November, crammed into a booth with Bo Ottmann, 48, and Bill Betty, 72, of Cougars of the Valley, the organization that Ottmann founded in 2007 to gather evidence of and alert the public to the big cats living among us. Body length: 5 - 8 feet Ear length: 3 - 4 inches Tail length: 21 - 35 inches Weight: 90 - 160 pounds Behavior: Mountain lions are solitary animals except during the breeding season or when females are raising kittens. Mountain lions, also known as cougars or pumas, are a big cat species native to the Americas. 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. I have not had the pleasure of seeing one, but have heard credible reports of them in Western Mass. It is what wildlife biologists call an apex carnivore, which means it can overpower pretty much any other creature in its environmentwith the exception of an armed human. Someone told New Canaan police that a mountain lion was spotted on Gerdes Road, just north of the Darien-New Canaan border, at about 6 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 14.. #3. Im always amazed at the sheer volume of people who are interested in cougars, more even than wolves, she says. And even the home entries are kind of changing. Jason. His mention of these encounters was so matter-of-fact that I found myself nodding along. 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 DEEP. Based on this blurry photo and pawprints, confirmed it was likely a mountain lion. 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. What color was it? Ive heard some biologists say it is not a distinct subspecies. They can be found in several different ecosystems including mountains, forests, wetlands, and deserts. 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. 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. Or at least theyre not supposed to be. Zillow has 20 photos of this $299,000 3 beds, 2 baths, -- sqft single family home located at 2439 Adams Farm Ct, Snow Camp, NC 27349 built in 1999. 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. Over the years, there even have been a few mountain lions documented in central Oklahoma. Weight: 70-170 lbs. About Us; If theyre in one, theyre in the other.. It is healthy to have respect and caution, but fear shouldnt drive ecological decision making. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. This isnt to say she believes none of these animals has stepped foot on New England soil over the past century. With all the thousands of trail cameras in the woods of New England, one would think that there would be at least one picture taken of a catamount. Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. State lawmakers have entertained bills to establish a bear hunting season for years, but so far, none of those proposals has passed. It is also known as cougar, panther, mountain lion, and puma, though catamount is the preferred regional vernacular. Hawley: That animal was documented. listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information. 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. Weight. The reason why experts wont admit to a breeding population existing is that there is NO PROOF. He was previously a reporter for the Danbury News-Times and the Ridgefield Press. Photos of the cat did nothing to convince DEEP the cat was here. 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. 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. Another possibility is to use the dosdude1 patcher to upgrade the MacBook to Sierra, this being generally possible on any unsupported machines mid-2008 or later. In the decades that followed, many cougar enthusiasts came to share Wrights conclusions, at least at first. If these people say they saw something, Im going to listen., If theres one thing people on all sides of the debate can agree on, its that a breeding population of cougars is essential to the overall health of New Englands ecosystems, which currently lack an apex predator. 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. Middlebury, Vermont | Could You Live Here? 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. 90th Annual New Haven Register All-State Football First Team. Even so, for decades, skeptics dismissed mountain lion sightings in Connecticut out of hand, pointing out that if the cats were here in anywhere close to the number of reported sightings, there would be DNA and physical evidence of their presence, not to mention photos and videos. Mountain Lions:They can have similar coloring and their tails can look alike, which has lead to some house cats being mistaken for them, even though mountain lions are much, much bigger. It was huge! 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. [Betty] and the other guys dont do this shit. I came across a dead adult deer carcass high up in an oak tree. 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. She adds, I think its because a lot of people are fascinated by wild cats; they are the embodiment of the wild.. Mountain lions have been dispersing away from these population areas, and researchers recently mapped all confirmed mountain lion observations from 1990-2008 (LaRue et al. They are most definitely here. Have a question or comment? Recall a few years back, a guy in a kayak off Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA, was tracked by a large fin. 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. Connecticut 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. I have no choice but to take this seriously, he told me. Were getting more and more home entries every year. The journey is chronicled in the 2016 book Heart of a Lion: A Lone Cats Walk Across America by William Stolzenburg. Broken Down: The National Society of Leadership and Success? 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, . Adults are a uniform tan or tawny in color, with a white or cream-colored chin, undersides and inner legs. I saw a cougar in Wolfeboro NH crossing / running across 28 ; close call between myself and a car traveling in the opposite direction over 12 years ago . DEEP believes their numbers have increased in recent years. The 2-year-old male cougar, dubbed P-89, was found dead early Monday on a shoulder along U.S. 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. Whenever I drive up and through my home state of Vermont, I look into the hills that surround me that have no sign of development for miles and miles. Neither resemble a cougar! I only saw the back side, but he was huge. Hawley: I feel strongly that we need a harvest here in Connecticut. The expert opinion held up until a man was killed by a Great White not too far away. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection receives 50-100 reports of mountain lions each year, says Paul Rego, a wildlife biologist with the department. Even though the experts say there arent any mountain lions in CT, there are. There have been 40 confirmed mountain lion sightings since 2002 in the state, according to the Wildlife Department. If we end up with a population, it will be the result of a colonizer female who gets here somehow, some way, and the rest will be history.. The department has said it receives reports every year of. And thats a surprisingly complex question, because it hinges on numerous factors: policy and politics, culture and conditioning, habitat and, frankly, hubris. If these animals are not in the habitat, what we see is an overabundance of herbivores., The ecologist John Laundre, who has spent 35 years studying cougars, concurs. He soon developed a five-question litmus test: How far away were you? 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. A harvest is kind of twofold. Bearded, bowler hat, expression impenetrable behind facial hair and the stoicism of an earlier era. Our hunter friend was hunting in central NH when they came upon an adult deer carcass way up in a tree. By Cameron Arcand October 3, 2021 at 2:07pm. He drove me out to the spot. Instead, the responsne I heard were nonchalant, Oh, yes, lots of people have seen that mountain lion around here; pretty isnt it?. On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. The cougar and the states refusal to admit it was here made the local paper. 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. Anyone can get fooled. 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