Thank you; Blog. But perhaps an even larger portion is the product of his enduring faith in the men and womanloggers, hunters, trapperswhose vocations and avocations have instilled in them a deep familiarity with wild places and the creatures who inhabit them. Tom Stearns, a Vermont Game Warden says they get reports all the time. Perfect conditions, then, for thinking you saw something. I had been the first vehicle in a line held up by one lane traffic on a bridge reconstruction. A wildlife camera snapped the image in late 2019 and the refuge shared it on Facebook this month, challenging followers to find the hidden mountain lion. The guide told him earlier in the summer he and a couple clients had watched a moutain lion come down to the bank of the Deerfield River just upstream and take a small deer, fawn, drag it into the woods and it kill it, they could hear the screams of the deer as the cougar finished the job. There was one photographed on a porch in Greenwich, CT, looking in the patio window that made national news a decade ago. I wasnt the only one to see the big cat. 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. There was never, of course, a photograph. Long Trail Mountain Lion roster: Myra Aldanondo, Olivia Cole-Bugay, Liz Daara, Rose Johnson, Aubrey Lanning, Molly Luikart, Camilla Marcy, Meara Morgan, Harlow Quail, . Betty folded his arms across his chest, where they rose and fell and rose again with his breathing. Phone: . He is a consummate storyteller, and he wears on his sleeve his affection for the region and the hard-working, commonsense people who inhabit it. Part of this belief is rooted in his journalistic experience, which across the decades has cultivated his nose for sincerity. The cougar and the states refusal to admit it was here made the local paper. Videos. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal likely trekked more than 1,500 miles from South Dakota, a journey that was captured by trail camera (above). Besides, Ottmann had revealed that hed been charged by a bear in this same piece of woods, and I felt conflicted about diverting my gaze from the underbrush. But no. This isnt to say she believes none of these animals has stepped foot on New England soil over the past century. How big was the animal? At Green Mountain Lion Corp, we specialize in placing professionals in a variety of industries. He wore red suspenders and a baseball cap. I thought about why this might be and the best I could come up with for an answer is that we feel a kind of nostalgia for the wild. The animal was shot in the town of Barnard on Thanksgiving Day 1881 by a man named Alexander Crowell. The Great Divide | Are There Mountain Lions in New England. Perhaps, then, the ultimate question isnt whether cougars are among us, but rather how we can encourage them to settle here. Inslerman said the DEC received about a half-dozen calls reporting sightings of mountain lions last year; two calls this week. Mountain Lions - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service) NPS.gov Park Home Learn About the Park Nature Animals Mammals Mountain Lion Mountain Lion Last updated: May 4, 2018 Was this page helpful? But, I think with education and planning, we should reintroduce wolves and cougar in the Northeast. In the United States the animal could, at one time, be found in all the states but with civilization, came a decline, the Vermont experience being more or less typical. In the states where there are robust mountain lion populations, they are a threat to livestock, pets and, occasionally, humans. 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. So I asked him about the catamount and if the animal in Connecticut was some sort of advance scout for a coming wave of resident lions. It has, in fact, more names than any animal in the world. Many on both sides of the cougar debate beileve that New Englands natural habitat would benefit from having an apex predator in the ecosystem again. Fish and Wildlife Service unofficially declared the Eastern cougar extinct. But other hard evidence of the big cats presence is elusive. But I dont think it will happen any time soon.. Our hunter friend was hunting in central NH when they came upon an adult deer carcass way up in a tree. o" which translates to " the mountain like a seat." Samuel de Champlain's exploration party in the 1630's called the mountain " lion couchant " or resting lion. Running into a mountain lion can be a scary experience. Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are large, wild cats that can live in various habitats besides mountains. These were old growth woods and the canopy had kept the ground cover down, so I could see three or four hundred yards ahead of me but not clearly, because of the gloom. I think they never left, Ottmann piped in. Some people say they have seen a catamount in the woods. We also had bobcats that we saw quite often but I am positive that these were mountain lions! He coined the term landscape of fear to describe the relationship between predator and prey in the wild. They knew what they were doing, Blodgett says. Betty had driven up from his home in Rhode Island. 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. Not a bobcat 100% mountain lion and anybody that tries to think a bobcat as any resemblance to a mountain lion clearly has no idea about wildlife there are a lot of false reports because of this however they are without a doubt in part of New England and fish and game has as usual covered up despite coming out and following mountain lion tracks in the snow through the woods in Central Mass and finding a deer carcass 20 feet up in a tree and said to the landowner yep you probably have a mountain lion passing through and asked for the homeowner not to speak much about it furthermore DNA confirmation of a horse that was attacked in Petersham Massachusetts in the last several years and also the Quabbin Reservoir DNA were mountain lion without a doubt they are here. The first time was in the yard which was surrounded by woods. My own inclination, for the little it matters, is to side with the professionals like Blodgett. The catamount is a creature of stealth and concealment; it stalks its prey, which on the EasternSeaboard would likely be deer, moose, porcupines, beavers, and domestic livestock. And DNA analysis shows us that felis concolor is genetically the same across the USI think it is irrelevant, but interesting. Fear is actually one of the most powerful ecological forces we know, and its a really important management tool., According to Laundre, the problems caused by a relatively fear-free ecosystem are not always obvious, in part because they can take decades to fully manifest. I went back and told the tale to anyone who would listen. Actually, Blodgett says, something of the opposite was true. There is a reason that millions of people were afraid to go in the water after they saw the movie Jaws. Long Trail beat Arlington 62-40 on Feb. 7. Or, if it does, when that will be. He never found the evidence. Length of body. They are there and thriving!!!! And thats a surprisingly complex question, because it hinges on numerous factors: policy and politics, culture and conditioning, habitat and, frankly, hubris. The cat is dead. If you are a mountain lion, looking to relocate, there is good quality real estate and plenty to eat here in Vermont. Camel's Hump (alternatively Camels Hump) is a mountain in the Green Mountains in the U.S. state of Vermont.The north slope of the mountain borders the Winooski River, which has carved through the Green Mountains over eons.At 4,083 ft (1,244 m), it is tied (with Mount Ellen) for the third-highest mountain in Vermont.Surrounded by 10 acres (4 ha) of alpine tundra, the mountain is the most . One day I most certainly watched him/her being chased up and down our chain link fence by a neighbors large dog who was barking insanely and couldnt quite catch the cougar, who finally made it away from the fence to escape the determined dog whod had him trapped up against it. Of course no dash cam or accessible phone camera at the time! And, in the real world, a black bears fatal attack on a hiker in New Jersey last year made many people reconsider their warm feelings for that animal. We were about 50 feet from it and it stood taller than any labrador and we watched it tail and all slink down the side of the lawn and the rabbits being surprised out of the bushes. It was definitely a cougar. He worked, in Wyoming and Arizona, with other professionals, some with government agencies, like the one he works for, and others who were hunters and trappers, often employed by ranchers who had lost stock to mountain lions. We have a lot of them here in N CA. You could have 50. This Everglades panther population has recently recovered after wildlife biologists brought in some animals from Texas to breed with the last few native cats and this story is typical of the conservation ethic that has taken hold in the United States. The last catamount killed in Vermont stands under glass just inside the doors to the Vermont Historical Museum in Montpelier, a hop, skip, and a jump down the block from the statehouse. The reasons for this conspiracy vary depending upon whom you talk to, but they coalesce around the idea that wildlife agencies would be inconvenienced by the cougars presence, as theyd be forced to respond in ways that would tax their resources. Reported mountain lion sightings are popping up all over Vermont and convinced onlookers say the proof is in the pictures. The solitary animal seeks out new territory and eventually a new population will be established. I was agnostic, I suppose, on these stories which the state wildlife biologists inevitably found impossible to substantiate and, often, easy to disprove. You cant mistake the long tail. We really must establish first that these beautiful animals SHOULD be in every state that was once THEIR habitat. Even in areas of high cougar density, the there are far more attacks on humans by domesticated dogs or deer/car collision fatalities than those due to cougar attack. The key to Morses assertion can be found in the term breeding population. Although the fact that cougars have traveled through New England is irrefutable (a DNA-confirmed roadkill is hard to deny), Morse believes its unlikely that they have settled here and created a self-sustaining population. It had traveled, certainly, though Minnesota and Wisconsin and, who knows, perhaps even Vermont and might, then, have accounted for some of those sightings. They set the stage for the exotics to move in, and this has a huge impact on our ecology, he said. It has, in fact, more names than any animal in the world. If he was not determined to prove that someone had actually seen a mountain lion in Vermonthe is a scientist, after allhe was still excited by the possibility. I came across a dead adult deer carcass high up in an oak tree. my husband tapped my leg and asked what is that crossing the road It was a Cougar tan in color long tail which had a slight curl upward .I wish I had my camera to prove it but I know We saw it. It had moved a little and was standing unconcealed, now, in the middle of the logging road. It was a striking animal, certainly, but it was no mountain lion. And its not just Vermont. The tail, I said. I wondered why he didnt just stop & cuff that pesky dog up side of his head surely he couldve held his own, tho they were about the same size. They are here in the Catskill Mountains, so named for the magnificent felines. The mountain lion can weigh upwards of 200 pounds and it can move like well, like a cat. The animal was too small and it lacked the long, sinuous tail of the catamount. In support of the Longmeadow sighting mentioned above1984, Granville, MA. The Vermont woods would be a lot more interesting with mountain lions in them. It was a bright sunny summer day. Respect predators, protect them but dont worship or try to hug them! What color was it? A deer is a wild animal and it is always a pleasure to see oneunless it is in the high beams, at night. They especially come down from the mountains when there is a big water shortgage. Given the long, shared border between these provinces and New England, along with plentiful evidence that other species cross this border regularly, it seems entirely possible that cougars would also engage in international travel. Obviously, this is the reason why the experts are loathe to admit that the species is here. Beautiful animal. She favors plaid shirts, green Dickies work pants, and hiking boots, and she chided me for shaking her hand too gently. I knew it was a cat track because the tracks were in a straight line and no signs of claws like you would see with a coyote track. We told him what we saw, and he confirmed other sightings on the property. Still, I wanted to believe those sightings were real. 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. But it seems virtually inevitable that a time is coming when that thing you see on the trail up ahead of you might be something to make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Yes, of course they are here, transients. The reason why experts wont admit to a breeding population existing is that there is NO PROOF. As I turned a corner going north toward Waterbury, I saw the cat come up from the cornfield, saunter across the highway, turn and look in my direction and then amble off into the brush. Because he lives among them, Harrigan understands that no one knows the woods better. Some of them, he says, we could close the books on pretty quickly. The expert opinion held up until a man was killed by a Great White not too far away. Now that USFW has declared them extinct, why not formally reintroduce them. When I shared their story with the staff at the center where my sister lived, I expected surprise and interested. Betty, for instance, has presented on Eastern cougars more than 300 times, gathering many hundreds of sighting reports in the process. vital part of this countries ecosystem. Body coloration can range from tan to gray and cubs are usually covered with blackish brown spots. But they would certainly pay attention if they did see one. People could have been looking at a catamount that was not, in fact, a wild animal. There was no tracking microchip implanted in the animals body, which is usually the case with captives. Were arrogant if we think were the only species that makes decisions based on fear, he told me when I called him at his home in Oregon. He didn't want to dispute what people are saying they saw, he simply says they need proof to substantiate it. I started to get nervous so I was scanning the area low and high in the trees. So if coyotes could return and establish robust populations, why not a few catamounts? Tried to see "mountain lion" and agree that what appears to be a long tail is most likely the . She said it was long and thick. I kept trying to make it be something else because I was shocked that I was, indeed, watching a mountain lion pass in front of me. Watching a potential winter storm. Indeed! There was, in California last year, a case of a mountain lion seriously injuring a six-year old who was walking a trail in Silicon Valley country. Vermont Girls' School Strikes Back Against the Trans Madness. I have learned one thing in my career, and thats to never say never, she said. My daughter said to me thats the biggest cat Ive ever seen. But my eyes picked up something and I knew, right away, that it was alive. It kills to eat but does not necessarily practice any sort of conservation ethic. Recall a few years back, a guy in a kayak off Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA, was tracked by a large fin. Around 1830, the . Matthew Johnson/Vermont Historical Society. Among the mountain lions typical behaviors is the way it will revisit, for several days, the carcass of an animal it has killed, moving it and cacheing it until there is nothing left to eat or the flesh has turned. The combined scoring differential in those matchups was 158-77. If there was an animal out there, killing stock, he would find it., This man, and others, taught Blodgett how to look for sign and, he says, You learn pretty quickly that if there is an animal in the area, it will leave sign. Out & About | Best New England Holiday Events for 2019. Growing up in northern Vermont, Id heard stories of sightings, though always a few steps removed from the tellersomebodys cousin had seen a cougar cross the road on their way home from deer camp up in Canaan (or was it Coventry? 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. Interesting article, but it is really incomplete without a discussion of the legal implications of having a confirmed endangered species such as the Eastern Cougar in New England. Morse has been tracking cougars for 45 years, mostly in the mountains of the West, where their existence is not in doubt. Anticipating, perhaps, a moment like this. After 20 minutes or so, we turned and stumbled our way back to the parking lot. And why not? The captive narrative also helped explain why there had been so many sightings reported, including some in Greenwich, among the richest and most domesticated suburbs in America. But, yes, thats exactly what it was. Raised them carefully to my eyes. Theres probably 100 in Connecticut, Ottmann interrupted, rolling a cigarette as he spoke. Within six weeks, he continued, I was getting off the plane in Jackson Hole for a national mountain lion conference. Ive seen tracks (Downeast Maine) and others have seen them, plain as day. I was just amazed as I watched this scene in my own back yard. We were talking about those animals, like coyotes and turkeys, that have re-established themselves in Vermont and, unlike the rattlers, are thriving. If LTS can take care of business in that one, it would host the winner of the Bennington County matchup between No. In Vermont, in the late 19th century, this meant, especially, sheep. So you can imagine there. Because while male cougars eventually strike out on their own and occasionally wander far from home, females are, as Morse puts it, hardwired to remain close to their mothers home range. 5-7 yards from me. There are so many great sites out there devoted to. People like you are the problem and cause of extinctions. I have heard several accounts from sober, sane, intelligent people who have seen them (especially a latre, good friend who was a very competent spokesman and hunter.). For instance, a favorite food for deer is the seedlings of forest tree species. The name " Camel's Rump " was assigned on a historical map made by Ira Allen in 1798. Id been excited to read the news that wildlife officials would be releasing wolves in Yellowstone and thrilled, a few years later, when I heard, from a campsite on Slough Creek, the music of their howling. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. I reported it to Connecticut DEEP, only to be told there are no cougars in Connecticut. Finally, in the third camp, there are the true believersthe cougar truthers, if you willthe men and women for whom the only logical conclusion (often reached after a significant investment of time, thought, and sometimes money) is that right here, right now, cougars live among us, feeding and breeding and rearing their young, and that suggesting otherwise is sheer ignorance, willful denial, or part of a mosaic of conspiracy. One wonders just how tolerant Vermonters would be of a healthy population of mountain lions after one attacked a child waiting for the school bus. 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. They denied it until a cougar was hit as it tried to cross the very busy Merritt Parkway. 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