The mountain lion is believed to have had an encounter with a family on their lawn. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. But what might be his most compelling argument is that since this is Connecticut, the budget is too limited. State lawmakers have entertained bills to establish a bear hunting season for years, but so far, none of those proposals has passed. Youll get the answer to this question in this article. 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? Live Now All times eastern. She still produces shows with Colin and the team when her schedule allows. This is the mountain lion that was hit by a car in Milford after several sightings in the Greenwich area. Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. This one cat left DNA and/or photographic evidence of its presence in at least four states 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, . Mountain lions are commonly identified by trail camera photographs, tracks, and feces. 5:30 PM . Hear the full interview: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators. The mountain lion is also known as cougar, panther, or puma. Connecticut is cougar heaven, Betty said. 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. This young adult, male Mountain Lion was struck and killed by a SUV in Milford, Connecticut on June 11, 2012. Despite annual reports since the 1950s, no confirmed sighting was made in the state until the 1990s. Mountain Lions: Large tan cats with a distinctive two to three-foot curving tail, that can almost touch the ground as they walk. 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. 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. Stay facing the animal and try not to turn your back to it. Give users the ability to create and share their own custom maps and use zoom, pinch, rotate, and tilt to explore maps in more detail. It says genetic testing revealed that a mountain lion hit by a car and killed on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford on June 11, 2011 originated from South Dakota and had traveled to Connecticut though Wisconsin and Minnesota a distance of around 1,800 miles a record distance for a land mammal. When it comes out that there are mountain lions in Connecticut where all these people who denied them apologize to the people who know they saw them? Since cougars are the second largest cat in North America and a natural predator, they can pose a threat. Mountain lions are found in mountains, coniferous forests, grasslands, swamps, and dry scrublands. Bobcats top out at about 40 pounds (most are much lighter than that) and are only. 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. They are very bold. For mountain lions in Connecticut, a lack of evidence is very good evidence. In 2011, in the affluent suburbs of Connecticut, there were several reported sightings of a mountain lion, and much pooh-poohing from authorities, until a sport utility vehicle struck and killed . Hawley: I feel strongly that we need a harvest here in Connecticut. Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. The whole trail is very . I've damn near run over the things. I think its good he attended, Gottier said of Littell. The state adds bobcats are often active this time of year, making sightings much more likely. Hes even had his own false sighting. Sign up for our newsletterto get the latest and greatest content fromConnecticut Magazinedelivered right to your inbox. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal . Then in June 2011, there were reports of a mountain lion in Greenwich and, for the first time, a photo. Mountain lions would have inhabited all of what is now Nebraska, roaming the hills and plains as an apex predator, hunting deer, elk and other large game. Since May 21, three other lion sightings were reported in the Chubbuck and Pocatello areas and one in Inkom. Almost daily, there are claims of mountain lion sightings in CT, though. Over time, Wright became convinced Eastern cougars lived in small pockets in the deep woods. Make yourself big -- do not bend, squat or sit down. Two mountain lion sightings have been confirmed in Tennessee. They also have facial ruffs and ear tufts on the tips of their ears, as well as shorter tails. Weve done a lot of work over the years investigating sightings. For over 30 years the CT DEEP has been tracking reported sightings and maintain it has never observed or found proof that mountain lions are still here in the state. to scare it off. 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. A couple things to keep in mind if you come across or see a big cat like a Mountain Lion: 1. (Throughout history, people have had a deep fear of these creatures, hounding and hunting them mercilessly.) Have a map downloaded. Copyright 2022 WFSB. Following the recent death of a mountain lion in Milford, and several reported. Weve had housecats misidentified as mountain lions and even deer, Rego says. Bobcats dont shy away from human habitats, while mountain lions tend to only be found in very isolated areas. And were one of the most densely populated states as far as humans. Tandmlally@yahoo.com. I enjoy exploring CT and reporting back to my readers about fun things to do in Connecticut. Since then, there have been no confirmed cases here, with the state saying: People very often mistake bobcats for mountain lions. Weight: 70-170 lbs. mountain lions in washington. These hangers include safety tips about living with mountain lions, and what to do if people observe or encounter one. Copy to clipboard. 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. Sighting of this animal also occurred in Michigan and New York. Be mindful of small pets and small children wandering too far away from your sight line. Well also go over what types of wild cats can be found in Connecticut. Contrary to traditional thought, population studies have shown that mountain lions prefer rolling hills and more heavily developed areas to remote mountain regions. Native: Yes. 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. 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. 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. Facebook; Twitter; Email; Copy to clipboard. Abbott, of the Housatonic Valley Association, is equally skeptical of the vast majority of mountain lion sightings. Im always amazed at the sheer volume of people who are interested in cougars, more even than wolves, she says. (https://wildlifeinformer.com/what-to-do-if-you-encounter-a-mountain-lion/). Hes even had his own false sighting. 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. Mountain lion spotted in Connecticut town On Monday, DEEP said that Connecticut does not have a mountain lion population. As far as the claim that mountain lions live in CT, as we address in the previous section, that has been debunked. Mostly shaded. 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? Coyotes have been mistaken for mountain lions. National Signing Day 2022-2023: Connecticuts signing list. "Mountain lions are considered extinct in the northeast." Bobcats are not uncommon in Connecticut, according to the state, although their population is limited throughout the state, with 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. So its this gathering storm. About 80 people gathered at Tolland High School Thursday night to take in a mountain lion lecture sponsored byConserving Tolland. These highlights have been edited and condensed for length and clarity. 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. Lets learn to live alongside this very large animal is one of the schools of thought. Its definitely a problem thats only going to get worse. Mountain lions went extinct in Connecticut during the 1800s, but bobcats are still seen regularly. Five summers ago, a mountain lion made regional headlines after it was photographed in Greenwich and later struck and killed by a motor vehicle on the parkway in Milford a young male that DEEP officials determined through DNA evidence had traveled east all the way from South Dakota. mountain lions in washington. Height: 3 ft. Max. These sightings have not been confirmed as true mountain lion sightings. 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. The Damned Story: Eastern mountain lions, or pumas or cougars, were last officially seen in Connecticut near the end of the 19th century. You can highlight your store locations with custom colors and elements. They also generally have spots on their fur. They have been absent from this state since the late 1800s; however, there have been a few isolated sightings. On the idea of bear hunting in Connecticut. Bobcats typically have brown fur with a reddish tinge that is marked with black or brown spots or stripes, according to the National Zoo. Running joke in the family when we see one is "But of course it wasn't a Mountain Lion, because there are no Mountain Lions in CT". Weve done a lot of work over the years investigating sightings. In yet another variant, DEEP is said to be helicoptering mountain lions in to help control the deer population. Females are typically smaller. As I rushed to meet her in the woods, she told me what she had seen. Possible mountain lion sightings reported in Woodbridge, Mountain lion sightings reported in Woodbridge. This was maybe a decade ago. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal . Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are The New Hampshire Department of Justice is pursuing civil charges against two members of the hate group for allegedly hanging a racist banner in Portsmouth last summer. Mistaken reports of mountain lions are most commonly bobcats. 4 . Make noise. A lifelong Connecticut resident, Nicole has a degree in Communications from Fairfield University. 1.Customize your maps Style your maps with custom markers, lines, colors, polygons, and images. I know the difference between bobcats, lynx, & mt lions. And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. According to the Smithsonians National Zoo, bobcats are part of the lynx genus, which means they are related to other cats like the Canadian lynx, Iberian lynx and Eurasian lynx. Massachusetts and several other New England states have bear hunting, or harvest, seasons, which proponents say help control populations. There are no mountain lions in Connecticut, so why do we keep seeing them? Weight. Bobcats: They are about two to three times larger than their distant relative. Despite frequent claims, there has only been one confirmed mountain lion sighting since the late 1800s here. According to authorities, the mountain lion was reportedly seen on Friday including on Salem Road and near Pease Road. Hawley: I feel strongly that we need a harvest here in Connecticut. You can subscribe to Connecticut Magazine here, or find the current issue on sale here. Another mountain lion was killed on a Connecticut highway. Were getting more and more home entries every year. Now the bears, they dont even care if people are home, theyll go right in the house. But that doesnt stop people from seeing them. 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. 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. Residents of Greenwich, Conn., have reported seeing a mountain lion roaming the woods -- even though the species is extinct in the region, MyFoxNY.com reports. Adult males may be more than 8 feet long (from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail), and can weigh between 130 and 150 pounds. He also quoted the work of geneticist Melanie Culver, who has proven that all North American puma species are genetically virtually identical. Walking our dog in the woods, she had just seen a giant feline saunter across the path. Betty, who has had a dozen personal sightings in Rhode Island, studies mountain lion evidence and attends national conventions. 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. On Friday July 8, 2022 there was a few reported Mountain Lion sightings the last few days one actually involving an encounter with one's family in their lawn. Due to mountain lions large size, they require larger meals. In cities, smaller towns, and even sparsely inhabited areas, there is simply not enough large prey for mountain lions to survive on. He drove me out to the spot. As a scientist, lack of evidence is very good evidence. More recently, unexplained animal sightings in Connecticut and other states became more and more associated with mountain lions. This might serve as proof to some that there, in fact, might still be mountain lions in CT. Re (1): Mountain Lion sighting in Brookfield ct - By russ January 30, 2016 at 05:10:25 PM. 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.. People have been known to submit photos of real mountain lions taken in other states and claim they were taken in Connecticut. An attack on a 4-year-old near San Diego is just the latest in a string of mountain lion attacks in California. Mountain Lion Sightings in CT. Was the animal a pet set free? Slowly, mountain lions recolonized North America after having retreated to warmer climates in South America during the Pleistocene ice age. According to wildlife biologist Jason Hawley, the lack of evidence of mountain lions in Connecticut is the evidence. Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. There are mountain lions in connecticut. He published his first book in 1959, 2023 Hearst Media Services Connecticut, LLC, In the 1950s, the 'Mad Dog murders' terrorized Connecticut, Connecticut Magazine: Best restaurants for dessert for 2023, Connecticut Magazine: CT's best brunch spots for 2023, Meet rising hip-hop star and CT native Felly, Connecticut Magazine: Best vegetarian, vegan restaurants for 2023, Save money by electrifying your homes systems, Stratford's Allan Dias and his brush with rock 'n' roll fame, Review: Hachiroku in New Haven is a slice of Japanese heaven, Geno Auriemma gives bleak assessment as UConn womens basketball looks to find footing in March: 'Poorly coached team. They are named for their short (bobbed) tail which is often about six inches in length. On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. 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. The map from that publication is shown below, with the current mountain lion range in green and confirmed mountain lion locations as black dots. You know, weve had so many home entries this year. A fourth cougar sighting in recent days was reported near the New Canaan border Thursday, according to Animal Control officer Allyson Halm. not all bobcats are heavily spotted either - just to add to the confusion.. After the male mountain lion was removed from Red Hill Trail on May 11, additional sightings in that area were reported: one on May 16, and two over the weekend of May 19 and 20. Adult females typically weigh between 15 and 30 pounds and measure from 28 to 32 inches in length. In general, the audience members seemed to agree with Bettys views. Bobcats: Though technically a type of lynx, they are distinct from other species of lynx such as the Canadian lynx. It's 8:02 p.m., according to the timestamp at the bottom of the image. Weve got a growing bear population. The next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. His mentor, Aldo Leopold, a prominent wildlife biologist, also believed this, but felt if people learned about these populations, they would be hunted to extinction. So all the other states in the Northeast that have bear populations have a harvest on their bears. Its quite an uphill challenge for us to manage that situation right now. Eastern Cougar Sightings Mountain Lions in New York. Email editor@connecticutmag.com. 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. 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. Its definitely a problem thats only going to get worse. On the idea of bear hunting in Connecticut. Beautiful trail! People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. Initially, officials believed it had been released from a private handler. 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? The history of this theory in Connecticut and New England goes back long before our current era of fake news. 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. If it really comes down to it do what you have to do to deter it from following you. Mountain lion, cougar, puma, panther, painter, and catamount are all different names for the same animal ( Puma concolor ). 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. 3 Last 10 Years. Im Shelton Lively, a Connecticut resident, and an avid outdoors person. But recent expert-confirmed sightingswhich have involved photographs, videos, and DNAin Tennessee support a theory that mountain lions, whose populations out west have continued to expand, are slowly making their way back to this side of the country. State wildlife experts say those big cats have been extinct in Connecticut for more than 100 years. 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. 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.. ', 'Saturday Night Live' skit with Woody Harrelson takes place at Naval Submarine Base New London, Bo Hickey, former New Canaan hockey, football coach and NFL player, has died. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. This can trigger a chase. Here are some physical differences between mountain lions and bobcats: These 2 big cats also behave differently. 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. Lets learn to live alongside this very large animal is one of the schools of thought. Mountain Lions:100 all the way up to 200 pounds, Mountain Lions:Can grow up to 6 feet long. It is also the most common wild cat found in North America. Mountain lions, however, arent seen much in the Nutmeg State, even though several have reportedly been spotted around the Woodbridge area this month. The views expressed here are the author's own. Hey, I know what I saw. 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. In another version, its about habitat protection and the onerous federal regulations the state would have to follow if we found a mountain lion within the state. Employees from the state DEEP, as well as Tolland Public Safety Supervisor John Littell attended the event last night. WOODBRIDGE Police are offering tips after they said there have been several mountain lion sightings in town. 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. NHPR is nonprofit and independent. Im watching it, its big, its got the body, and the thing that really gave it away was the tail, had that mountain lion long tail that goes down to the ground and comes up at the end, saw that and was like, thats a freaking mountain lion.. Bobcats, also, only hunt small prey. The last confirmed mountain lion sighting in Connecticut occurred in 2011. The only types of lynx that are indigenous to New England are the Canada Lynx and the Lynx rufus (bobcat).

Cameron, Mo Breaking News, Articles M