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. I saw one cross the rd ( rt 63) in Wtn @ 5 yrs ago, @Craig, 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. The photo is black and white. Canton and Simsbury have also had about 70 sightings. Make yourself BIG. 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.. Email [email protected]. Then in June 2011, there were reports of a mountain lion in Greenwich and, for the first time, a photo. 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. Thats only a fraction of the supposed sightings. Booth DEEP and local authorities around Connecticut have confirmed that the majority of mountain lion sightings in the state turn out to be sightings of bobcats. 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. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Mountain lions are found in mountains, coniferous forests, grasslands, swamps, and dry scrublands. Its important to stand your ground and not run or hide. While the state says it was likely a bobcat, one of the people who reported the sighting says it was unlike anything hes ever seen before. 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. 4. It was a spotless cat she estimated at close to 100 pounds. Wright, however, didnt agree with his mentor and began writing publicly about mountain lions in the East. 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. 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? "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. He also quoted the work of geneticist Melanie Culver, who has proven that all North American puma species are genetically virtually identical. It had rained previously. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. 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? 5:30 PM . Betty later showed maps covered with dots, each of which represented sightings of mountain lions in Connecticut and the rest of New England. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal . 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. More sightings that Halm deemed credible came in 2018 from Nursery, Marvin Ridge and Briscoe Roads.. Halm noted that the route between the two recent sightings appears to be straight south. We have people eating dinner in their kitchen, they hear a noise, all of a sudden a bear walks in, so they run into their bedroom to get away from the bear, while the bears out ransacking their refrigerator. And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. Today, instead of focusing on cougar sightings in Eastern states, many cougar enthusiasts want to protect the animal from being hunted in the regions in which they are currently found. Its a cool story with how far that animal walked. The state adds bobcats are often active this time of year, making sightings much more likely. Ive lived here 23 years, Ive seen coyotes, Ive seen bobcats, Ive seen foxes, everything else, never seen anything like this before, said Bachelder. 1 Last 365 Days. State lawmakers have entertained bills to establish a bear hunting season for years, but so far, none of those proposals has passed. This article appeared in theNovember 2019issue ofConnecticut Magazine. Mountain lions are solitary animals, traveling alone except during mating season or when a female is supporting young. Yet we see nothing about what is being planned except how to scare them away if one sees them. (https://wildlifeinformer.com/what-to-do-if-you-encounter-a-mountain-lion/). Bobcats: They are about two to three times larger than their distant relative. Weve had housecats misidentified as mountain lions and even deer, Rego says. A mountain lion is a wild cat ranging from two to three feet tall, with females weighing up to 120lbs and males up to 200lbs, making it the fourth largest cat in the world. The last confirmed mountain lion sighting in Connecticut occurred in 2011. 60-108 inches. Adult females typically weigh between 15 and 30 pounds and measure from 28 to 32 inches in length. Bachelder says he didnt have his phone on him, so he couldnt take a picture or video, but describes his backyard visitor just like what you see in the stock photo provided by the Woodbridge Police Department. Joseph Uscinski, professor of political science at the University of Miami, and a conspiracy theory expert, says these types of theories are not uncommon. Hes even had his own false sighting. Pepper spray has also been proven as an effective weapon against the animal. Bobcats, also, only hunt small prey. They are also known as pumas, cougars and panthers. There are an estimated 3,000 - 7,000 Mountain lions in Colorado. Adult males typically weigh between 18 and 35 pounds and measure from 32 to 37 inches in length. These highlights have been edited and condensed for length and clarity. As I rushed to meet her in the woods, she told me what she had seen. However, lions are unpredictable and can be dangerous. For mountain lions in Connecticut, a lack of evidence is very good evidence. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. I agreeI am a person with very good knowledge of animals and know the distinct differences between closely related species in some cases I know the difference between bobcats, lynx, & mt lions. The history of this theory in Connecticut and New England goes back long before our current era of fake news. Facebook; Twitter; Email; Copy to clipboard. Description. 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.. Most mountain lion sightings are reported without any evidence other than eyewitness descriptions. You can highlight your store locations with custom colors and elements. In the 1930s, Bruce Wright, an influential wildlife manager from New Brunswick, Canada, began gathering reports of sightings of mountain lions in the East and searching for their tracks. The views expressed in this post are the author's own. According to authorities, the mountain lion was reportedly seen on Friday including on. Sign up for our newsletterto get the latest and greatest content fromConnecticut Magazinedelivered right to your inbox. However, the captive lion theory was also wrong. In 2016, a woman reported seeing a mountain lion on a Fox Run Road property in New Canaan, though state officials said they were unable to confirm the sighting based on paw prints left by the animal. McEnroe: Scientifically, this is a case where absence of evidence is kind of evidence of absence, right? Mountain lions were hunted to extinction near the end of the 19th century. 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. And even the home entries are kind of changing. In 2011, a young male lion walked 1500 miles from South Dakota to Connecticut, where he was hit and killed on the parkway in Milford. They usually either don't disperse at all or they'll kind of overlap their mother's home range, or they'll disperse very short distances.. Betty recommended that anyone who encounters a cougar should make themselves large, raise their hands and yell. Following the recent death of a mountain lion in Milford, and several reported. Mountain Lions: Large tan cats with a distinctive two to three-foot curving tail, that can almost touch the ground as they walk. My heart was saying, Maybe this is it, he recalls. Get started. Report a Moose Sighting Select the link above to report your sighting. I might also add that I notified the State wildlife division about evidence of a bear in my neighborhood in Windham County and never received even an acknowledgement. I reported it to the DEP and they said they dont exist, he said. On another large animal that is most definitely here: bears. One on Salem Rd and another in the area of Pease Rd in our town. The Damned Story: Eastern mountain lions, or pumas or cougars, were last officially seen in Connecticut near the end of the 19th century. Sighting reports of bobcats will help biologists gain an understanding of the current state population. 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. So its this gathering storm. 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. Conserving Tolland President and founder Roseann Kellner Gottier said that the issue has become important for the region and is glad the lecture was well-attended. On June 11, 2011, in Milford, CT, a mountain lion was killed by a motor vehicle. Bobcats are found across Connecticut, but even fully grown they are much smaller than what she was describing, only weighing between 18 and 35 pounds. To learn more about "lion country" in Colorado check here. Are There a Lot of Spiders in Connecticut? This was maybe a decade ago. Once at dusk driving in the Berkshires, he saw what he initially thought was a cat-like creature that was far bigger than a bobcat leap across the road. Weve had coyotes misidentified. 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? Mountain lions went extinct in Connecticut during the 1800s, but bobcats are still seen regularly. Its fur is a light, tawny brown color which can appear gray or almost black, depending on light conditions. Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. He drove me out to the spot. Register for a user account. Weve got a growing bear population. A fourth cougar sighting in recent days was reported near the New Canaan border Thursday, according to Animal Control officer Allyson Halm. Bobcats: Whiskered face and are gray in the winter and tan in the summer, with black spots on their fur that are not always visible. 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. A harvest is kind of twofold. In the 1930s, Bruce Wright, an influential wildlife manager from New Brunswick, Canada, began gathering reports of sightings of mountain lions in the East and searching for their tracks. Genetic testing placed the animal in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the cat had been sighted at several different points during its long journey east. 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. mountain lions in washington. There have been no "confirmed" reports of mountain lions, AKA Puma concolor, in Pennsylvania since the late 1800s. Make yourself big -- do not bend, squat or sit down. According to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, mountain lions became extinct in Connecticut in the 1800s, and bobcats are the only large wild cats found in the state. But what might be his most compelling argument is that since this is Connecticut, the budget is too limited. Make noise. Hawley: Yeah. A couple things to keep in mind if you come across or see a big cat like a Mountain Lion: 1. One on Salem Rd and another in. 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