A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. New Hampshire Public Radio | Wed be seeing more carcasses of prey we would be seeing at least some carcasses of mountain lion prey. There are usually about 50-100 mountain lion sightings reported every year. Robert Tompkins said he saw a mountain lion in Sharon about five years ago. He published his first book in 1959, The Ghost of North America: The Story of the Eastern Panther. Mountain lions were hunted to extinction near the end of the 19th century. Officials recommend not running away, as this can trigger a chase. If it really comes down to it do what you have to do to deter it from following you. (Throughout history, people have had a deep fear of these creatures, hounding and hunting them mercilessly.) 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. 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. Mountain lion sightings in New Hampshire have increased along . Im not an expert on human psychology, but if youre looking for something, you have a greater chance of actually seeing it. 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? But what might be his most compelling argument is that since this is Connecticut, the budget is too limited. And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. But it also sort of instills that fear, a healthy fear of humans and bears. And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. Hey, I know what I saw. 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. Hey, I know what I saw. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. Your support makes this news available to everyone. A quick Google search reveals that the theory is not limited to Connecticut and similar tales are told throughout the Northeast. The next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an, on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. Hawley: That animal was documented. 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. Mountain lions also have tails that can grow up to 3 feet. According to French's article: "To date, the only other confirmed evidence of a wild Mountain Lion in Massachusetts was found on March 4, 2011, when Steve Ward . People should also make noise and to make themselves as large as possible by raising their arms over their head with a jacket or sweatshirt. What about mountain lions, though? 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. 2012. Don't be a fool and be caught off guard by believing they don't exist in Connecticut. Ive lived here 23 years, Ive seen coyotes, Ive seen bobcats, Ive seen foxes, everything else, never seen anything like this before, said Bachelder. "The journey of this mountain lion is a testament to the wonders of. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal. Theres something in human nature to overestimate the size of wild animals we see, especially if we get a brief glance and if the animal is moving. He adds, Bobcats can get pretty large and some people believe they should have pretty visible spots and very often theyre pretty uniform in color. This is especially true in the summer, when my wifes sighting occurred. One has been spotted on our street for the last four or five years. If you follow local news outlets and local social media pages, youll notice a common theme when it comes to wildlife sightings people often mistake one type of animal for another. ago. Police said these have been reported to DEEP, but have not been confirmed as true mountain lion sightings. State lawmakers have entertained bills to establish a bear hunting season for years, but so far, none of those proposals has passed. On another large animal that is most definitely here: 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. You may also be interested in: Mountain Lion population by U.S. state That maybe, just maybe, what my wife and others saw wasnt a bobcat that seemed bigger in the thrill of the moment, but a real, honest-to-goodness mountain lion, a long-lost ghost of the forest. Bobcats: Though technically a type of lynx, they are distinct from other species of lynx such as the Canadian lynx. 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. 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. It certainly would be a spectacular sight to witness a cat as large as a mountain lion out in the wild, but, for now, in Connecticut, its not in the cards. While he might feel like that well known movie character who was doubted at first, Bachelder is confident it was a cougar. The sightings increased in 2011, after a driver hit and killed a mountain lion who was trying to cross the Merritt Parkway in Milford. These were reported to CT DEEP and though the sightings may not have been confirmed as true mountain Lion sightings, this post is to spread awareness on the issue in case youre presented with such situation. Hawley says that they would be finding carcasses of mountain lion prey and mountain lion tracks if these animals had recolonized the state, and this simply isnt happening. 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. A harvest is kind of twofold. However, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) says. Abbott, of the Housatonic Valley Association, is equally skeptical of the vast majority of mountain lion sightings. We have plenty of suitable habitat, he says. I feel a little bit like Roy Scheider in Jaws, you know, youve got to shut down the beaches, he said. 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. Bobcats: They are are the only wild cat found in the state and the most common in North America. The sightings havent been confirmed by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), and there are no videos or photos. What we do not have is a secure predator corridor.. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are They investigate hundreds of mountain lion sightings every year without finding physical evidence of their presence. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. They do not want to alarm the public. Those are the two closest populations that we have here. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. 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. 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.. 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. Then in June 2011, there were reports of a mountain lion in Greenwich and, for the first time, a photo. 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. They are very bold. 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. Hawley:Were sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. Yet we see nothing about what is being planned except how to scare them away if one sees them. 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. 5. he recalls. And were one of the most densely populated states as far as humans. McEnroe: Scientifically, this is a case where absence of evidence is kind of evidence of absence, right? of Energy & Environmental Protection. of Energy & Environmental Protection. The department has said it receives reports every year of. Sport hunting for cougars is not sustainable and shouldnt be allowed to go on. Since then, there have been no confirmed cases here, with the state saying: People very often mistake bobcats for mountain lions. (Throughout history, people have had a deep fear of these creatures, hounding and hunting them mercilessly.) They also generally have spots on their fur. For mountain lions in Connecticut, a lack of evidence is very good evidence. State conservation officials believe this photo, taken in Greenwich in 2011, shows a mountain lion. 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. So theres fresh mud. 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. Hawley: Yeah. Hes even had his own false sighting. And even the home entries are kind of changing. Anyone can get fooled. In the decades that followed, many cougar enthusiasts came to share Wrights conclusions, at least at first. Mountain lion spotted in Connecticut town On Monday, DEEP said that Connecticut does not have a mountain lion population. The state adds bobcats are often active this time of year, making sightings much more likely. 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. It had rained previously. Copyright 2022 WFSB. You know, weve had so many home entries this year. I saw one cross the rd ( rt 63) in Wtn @ 5 yrs ago, @Craig, Connecticut Wildlife magazine (ISSN 1087-7525) is published bimonthly by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection . It was a flooded area. 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). Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. DEEP believes their numbers have increased in recent years. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. 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.. They also have facial ruffs and ear tufts on the tips of their ears, as well as shorter tails. 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However, Hawley noted that Eastern bobcats tend to have very few spots compared to bobcats that are out west or even in the Midwest. If they have spots, they are typically in the white, underside part of the bodies or on the insides of their legs. where the last confirmed kill was in 1885. Bobcats: They are about two to three times larger than their distant relative. 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. Somebody needs to take charge of this outfit and do something about the interactions with the citizenry. We even had a sighting someone here at DEEP, in my office, was convinced they saw a mountain lion. Wright, however, didnt agree with his mentor and began writing publicly about mountain lions in the East. From family fun to restaurants and everything in between, everything you need to know about CT is right here. The news stunned. This article appeared in theNovember 2019issue ofConnecticut Magazine. Its a cool story with how far that animal walked. State lawmakers have entertained bills to establish a bear hunting season for years, but so far, none of those proposals has passed. WOODBRIDGE Police are offering tips after they said there have been several mountain lion sightings in town. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. As a A threat to livestock, they were hunted out of the state and driven to parts more wild. As a scientist, lack of evidence is very good evidence. Connecticut Dept. He was previously a reporter for the Danbury News-Times and the Ridgefield Press. Clean_Caterpillar225 4 mo. McEnroe: It is an uphill challenge. If you have a worldview in which the government is conspiring to do weird stuff, than thats what youre going to see, and all the evidence is going to point to exactly what you believe, he says. He drove me out to the spot. The Canada Lynxs geographic territory in New England only extends as far south as northern New Hampshire and parts of Maine, though. When we lived in Suffield, we had MANY Mountain Lion sightings.probably 4-5 sightings (which qualifies as many to me) and they were definitely not Bobcats, @Craig, what town is Wtn? Truth & Reconciliation Commission begins, Odanak chief repeats request for inclusion. That mountain lion was hit by a car and killed on the Merritt Parkway in Milford, CT. After the incident, Connecticut environmental officials were able to determine that the 140-pound cat had . 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. Mountain Lions: cougars, pumas, panthers and catamounts. His mountain lion was over twice the size of the bobcat which the bobcat had killed half my flock of chickens. According to the Connecticut DEEP, the bobcat is the only wild cat found in Connecticut. But as Eastern cougar search efforts became more organized and still there were no concrete signs of the creatures, many became more skeptical. 40K views 8 years ago Multiple people in North Stonington claim they've spotted a mountain lion roaming around. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection thinks it's unlikely. But the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said Sunday that bobcats are the only large wild cats found in the 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. While this isn't the norm, it is becoming slightly more common as mountain lions are striking out further east in search of territory. Initially, officials believed it had been released from a private handler. After all, if one mountain lion had wandered here, didnt that mean that others could have? How much wild life is out there? 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. Its documented through track surveys, aerial surveys, trapping and collaring surveys. There are no mountain lions in Connecticut, so why do we keep seeing them? 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. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. The last confirmed mountain lion sighting in Connecticut occurred in 2011. 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? I have a fence in the backyard, it was above the bottom rail, so its back was probably this big, this long, the tail, said John Bachelder. She was also the voice behind the weekly Connecticut Real Estate newsletter by CT Insider. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. These sightings are so persistent that there is a conspiracy theory that says DEEP officials know mountain lions are in the state but cover up their existence. Speaker Bill Betty presented evidence and proposed theories that could prove that Connecticut, including , is home to a native population of Eastern mountain lions. It was a flooded area. It was a 140-pound male mountain lion, the first confirmed in Connecticut in more than 100 years. However, the captive lion theory was also wrong. They reside in all eight counties, however, they exist in greatest number in the northwestern corner of the state. Woodbridge police provided this photo of a mountain lion, after several reported sightings in the area. 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. I know the difference between bobcats, lynx, & mt lions. Bobcats don't shy away from human habitats, while mountain lions tend to only be found in very isolated areas. Breweries in New Haven, CT you MUST Visit! 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Democracy is not a spectator activity. It used to be that a bear would go into a house when someone wasnt home. According to authorities, the mountain lion was reportedly seen on Friday including on Salem. Ancient_Ad126 4 mo. DEEP says Connecticut does not have a mountain lion population. Bobcats, also, only hunt small prey. So, now we know what DEEP says about mountain lions in the state and we know that many people mistakenly believe theyve sighted one but its still possible there are some in CT, right? Colin McEnroe is a radio host, newspaper columnist, magazine writer, author, playwright, lecturer, moderator, college instructor and occasional singer. For over 30 years, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has been tracking reported mountain lion sightings. Map reproduced from LaRue et al. Weve done a lot of work over the years investigating sightings. 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.. He points out that when there was a real mountain lion in the state in 2011, his office publicized it immediately. And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. Wed be seeing more carcasses of prey we would be seeing at least some carcasses of mountain lion prey. Hey, I know what I saw. Another important difference: bobcats are found in Connecticut while mountain lions are not. Based on this blurry photo and pawprints, DEEP confirmed it was likely a mountain lion. Especially, when they do migrate across country. Considering that wild animals do not recognize political boundaries, ranges of lions in Connecticut could include adjacent areas of New York and Massachusetts. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. Are There a Lot of Spiders in Connecticut? 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. On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. One on Salem Rd and another in the area of Pease Rd in our town. . Hawley: Wildlife biologists across the United States know where the current mountain lion range is. He drove me out to the spot. Officials used DNA to genetically fingerprint the mountain lion as the same one spotted more than 18 months ago in Minnesota. And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. It is the only confirmed presence of a cougar in recent years. Woodbridge police shared tips for if you encounter a big cat: On Friday July 8, 2022 there was a few reported Mountain Lion sightings the last few days one actually involving an encounter with ones family in their lawn. I agreeI am a person with very good knowledge of animals and know the distinct differences between closely related species in some cases Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators., Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators. 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. Sometimes in our shock and excitement at seeing wildlife we see what we want to see. According to Hawley, if mountain lions were present in the state, there would be evidence and not just unconfirmed sightings. Its quite an uphill challenge for us to manage that situation right now. While other states have their Bigfoot and sea monster sightings, in Connecticut, and throughout much of the Northeast, we see mountain lions even when were told such sightings are unlikely, if not outright impossible. Its definitely a problem thats only going to get worse. 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