Early spring 2019 I caught a glimpse of one entering over grown brush on the side of the road very very early in the morning. Weight. He was previously a reporter for the Danbury News-Times and the Ridgefield Press. Matthew Johnson/Vermont Historical Society. I will never forget what I saw! That's not to say that pits are not formidable dogs, they are. On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. Nearby grocery stores include Food Lion, Star Food. At least once a year thered be a story from somewhere, but I only ran the absolute best, he told me. How did I know? 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. 2012). TOLLAND A local woman reported Friday that she saw a mountain lion in the area of Sand Hill Road, . But it also sort of instills that fear, a healthy fear of humans and bears. You can subscribe to Connecticut Magazine here, or find the current issue on sale here. She had seen an animal on foot in broad daylight. They denied it until a cougar was hit as it tried to cross the very busy Merritt Parkway. Join Us. I did call in a report to CT DEP and they basically dismissed my narrative questioning whether I made a mistake confusing the animal I saw with a bobcat or fisher cat. . To obtain grouse distribution and harvest information, the Wildlife Division is asking grouse hunters to submit hunting reports through the Ruffed Grouse Hunter Log . As a Our hunter friend was hunting in central NH when they came upon an adult deer carcass way up in a tree. These highlights have been edited and condensed for length and clarity. Habitat. Reading Time: 4 mins read . Anyway I got to see that set of eyes way closer than I ever wanted, by the time my hand got on my pistol she was gone. This is part of the cougar business. In 1994, scat collected after a sighting in Craftsbury, Vermont, was found to contain cougar hair (the animals are prone to ingesting their hair while grooming), and the commissioner of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department circulated a memo with the following line: It is possible that cougars of unknown origin may be breeding to a limited extent in Vermont. Its documented through track surveys, aerial surveys, trapping and collaring surveys. 90th Annual New Haven Register All-State Football First Team. Bobcats: They are about two to three times larger than their distant relative. 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. She still produces shows with Colin and the team when her schedule allows. 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 Hartford Courant dubbed the lion-like creature supposedly responsible, the Glawackus. Posted: Nov 2, 2020 / 04:58 PM EST. 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. Rego says that if there were many other animals like the 2011 cat that died in Milford, there would be more visual or physical evidence. Time changes all and Im not going to shut the door on the future and say that a breeding population of cougars is not here because the day after tomorrow they could be here its just a matter of time., Though a deer hunter herself, Morse is opposed to the way mountain lions have been hunted in the western U.S., where they are found. 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. on route to stone tower on Quabbin Hill. If this habitat can support them, it should. On another large animal that is most definitely here: bears. (Throughout history, people have had a deep fear of these creatures, hounding and hunting them mercilessly.) He set down his cigarette and looked me in the eye. I live in Hopkinton, NH and saw one coming up from the Contoocook River one misty morning. The big cat sighting is the third in the past month in New Canaan, and close to the previous one, Aug. 8, on White Oak Shade Lane.. Lol Here is a small glimpse at what these dogs were bred to do (if you got sensitive eyes, do not view): 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.". Hey, I know what I saw. Its not a bear, not a dog, not a deer, not a bobcat. But right now youre dealing with top-notch guys. So yes they are here and not to sure why they dont admit to them being around ! No doubt of what it was; size, color and recognizable tail. Several years ago, I was bicycling with a buddy up Quabbin Reservoirs Administration Rd. But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. Rego says that the way bobcats stride when they run, often times a rear leg is kicked up in the back and that could be mistaken for a long tail.. It was fast as hell but there was no mistaking its not only long,but THICK tail as it disappeared into the woods. Hawley: I feel strongly that we need a harvest here in Connecticut. I have learned one thing in my career, and thats to never say never, she said. The second occasion was on the way to work when I saw the cougar/catamount crossing Route 44. Mountain lions are solitary animals, traveling alone except during mating season or when a female is supporting young. The size of a lion's territory depends on the availability of food and habitat quality. Bobcats typically have brown fur with a reddish tinge that is marked with black or brown spots or stripes, according to the National Zoo. On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. The journey is chronicled in the 2016 book Heart of a Lion: A Lone Cats Walk Across America by William Stolzenburg. Then saw him a few more times from further away across the road and along the edge sometimes of the woods. However, the National Wildlife Federation notes that the mountain lions range spreads all across the Americas, from the Canadian Yukon to The Strait of Magellan, making it the greatest range of any living mammal in the Americas.. Lizzie Post Would Like Your Attention. Earlier in the year, Id attended one of these presentations, and even in the tiny village of Woodbury, Vermont, on a stiflingly hot summer evening, nearly 100 people showed up to hear her speak and see her photographs (Morse is a magnificent wildlife photographer). Adult mountain lions can be 7-8 feet long, including their tails. It has a long, black-tipped tail and black . 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. Adult females can be 7 feet long and weigh between . My parents friend in Deposit, NY, posted a young catamount sitting on the front porch on Facebook. I saw one about 10 years ago, on our road. May 12, 2021. Anyone can get fooled. Its OK, he told me. There also should have been evidence of animals killed by the predators and roadkill. 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. He wore red suspenders and a baseball cap. Description. I knew it had to have been from a mountain lion Ive seen bobcats and their tracks and from the size of the deer carcass Im convinced there are mountain lions amongst us in Massachusetts! But as Eastern cougar search efforts became more organized and still there were no concrete signs of the creatures, many became more skeptical. Sport hunting for cougars is not sustainable and shouldnt be allowed to go on. Forty years of reporting on New Hampshire cougar sightings has convinced Harrigan that the state is home to at least a handful of breeding animals. Hawley: I feel strongly that we need a harvest here in Connecticut. Several years ago, I saw what was definitely a cougar walking along a street. Hunters and property owners have also set up tens of thousands of trail cameras at various locations throughout the state. To date, no footage of a mountain lion has surfaced. Despite frequent claims, there has only been one confirmed mountain lion sighting since the late 1800s here. October 12, 2020 10:47 pm ET. Wed be seeing more carcasses of prey we would be seeing at least some carcasses of mountain lion prey. Body length: 3-4 ft. Tail: 2.5-3 ft. Although there are numerous reported sightings of mountain lions in Connecticut every year, the animals have actually been extinct in this state for more than a century. He can be reached by phone at 860-275-7297 or by email: pskahill@ctpublic.org. near Greenfield with an experienced guide that hed worked with several times. Concerned for people / pets and a school just down the street, stopped to report the sighting where dispatch told me that if I did not have proof they would not respond. Please. Mountain lions, however, arent seen much in the Nutmeg State, even though several have reportedly been spotted around the Woodbridge area this month. The mountain lion occurs throughout the Western Hemisphere and has one of the most extensive ranges of any land mammal, from the southern tip of Argentina in South America to northern British Columbia in North America. We think theyre coming in from Canada, Betty told me. And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. And the clincher, What would you say was the most distinguishing feature? Otherwise, Hawley said cats like bobcats want nothing to do with people, and they will generally prey on chickens, small dogs or cats. The tail, I said. Nowhere in New England is the matter definitively settled. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. Facebook . In fact, jaguars used to be native to south Texas, as well! Hes also unafraid to take unpopular positions when he deems it necessary: Shortly before our meeting, hed signed a petition in favor of keeping ATVs off public roads. Its quite an uphill challenge for us to manage that situation right now. P.O. Hawley: Wildlife biologists across the United States know where the current mountain lion range is. 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. 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.