But it was also a male. Some of them, he says, we could close the books on pretty quickly. The Strafford & Area Lions conducted its Food From The Heart food drive February 11th through the 18th, collecting 981.6 pounds of food and receiving monetary donations of $1,262 which were used to purchase food and other items to be donated to the Sharon, Vershire and Thetford food shelves. Stratton Magazine Celebrating Manchester and the Mountains. And so we come to the great divide over cougars in New England. Still, there is no saying that it will not happen. Success stories being more fun to talk about than the other kind. Middlebury, Vermont | Could You Live Here? 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). The second occasion was on the way to work when I saw the cougar/catamount crossing Route 44. Face to face, maybe, with a sure enough catamount. Indeed, in 2011, a male cougar was hit and killed by a car in Milford, Connecticut; through its DNA, wildlife biologists were able to trace the cat back to South Dakotas Black Hills, some 2,000 miles distant. There are no breeding cougars in New England and we do not need any. 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. And so when they come to him with a sighting, hes prepared to believe. The habitat is certainly right, with so many farms having gone by and so much formerly cleared land returning to second growth forest and with the populations of prey species suchas deer and porcupines having reached abundant proportions. I dont ever say to people, Thats not what you saw. I say, I hope you saw one, Spatz told me when I called him at his home in upstate New York. These things happen suddenly and they are over quickly. Obviously, this is the reason why the experts are loathe to admit that the species is here. Of course. This much was certain: it was a wild mountain lion and it was in an area where one had not been seen for more than 100 years. There was no mistake. But I learned something else in my ad hoc researchesnamely that this was a question that aroused a lot of passion in people. Harrigan nodded. Green Mountain Lion Corporation, Inc. Business Consulting and Services Williston, Vermont 5,563 followers Boutique management recruiting firm focusing on heavy equipment manufacturing & distribution. I was aware, too, of how a certain mythology surrounding the animal had taken root in Vermonts culture and even its identity: The University of Vermonts athletic teams, for instance, are known as the Vermont Catamounts, and their logo features a snarling cat lunging through the cleft of a V., I met with Morse at her home in Jericho. Others have seen cougar in neighboring towns . I wasnt the only one to see the big cat. Indeed, one of her steadiest sources of funding for Keeping Track is a presentation on cougars that has been known to draw more than 500 audience members. I also know of someone who said they showed F&G a photo of one from a game camera in NH. Black markings decorate the tip of the tail, ears, and around the snout. Fish and Wildlife Service unofficially declared the Eastern cougar extinct. As livestock farming came to dominate the landscape, pressure on the big cats slowly mounted on two fronts: The number of farmers wanting them dead was increasing, while the rapid transition from forest to farmland meant their habitat was shrinking. As I walked thru the beginning of the trail I spooked a deer and heard this awful screech and slowly backed out of there .. So it is possible that, on occasion, someone would catch a glimpse of one of these animals. I also had the vague notion that when it comes to cougars, people tend to sort themselves into one of three camps. Part of this belief is rooted in his journalistic experience, which across the decades has cultivated his nose for sincerity. Ottmann nodded. I have not had the pleasure of seeing one, but have heard credible reports of them in Western Mass. We told him what we saw, and he confirmed other sightings on the property. This was, after all, a long, long way from the nearest known population of mountain lions and virtually the heart of the suburban East. I was outdoor with my two pugs and quickly scooped them up and brought them in the house. Distinguished by a boxy head, big paws and a VERY long tail. I have pictures of tracks around my car and up to the back steps of my deck in Arkville, NY . hen I accepted the assignment to write about my quest to uncover the truth regarding the existence of cougars in New England, I had little idea what I was agreeing to. It seems humans just cant resist destroying these animals and either dont realize or dont care what damage we have done to our natural environment over the centuries. Most of those sightings were misidentifications, Doug Blodgett says. The expert opinion held up until a man was killed by a Great White not too far away. They have a right to exist here and they contribute to healthier prey species. But examination of the carcass raised suspicions. Apex predators like the cougar and wolf make for a healthier ecosystem. I wasnt planning to shoot her unless she moved in my direction. His mention of these encounters was so matter-of-fact that I found myself nodding along. In the first, there are those such as myself, whove maybe heard a few second- or third- or fourth-hand stories as well as official denials from state agencies or professional biologists, and therefore find themselves betwixt and between, neither believing nor disbelieving. 104 Williston, VT 05495. There is a lot of good habitat between here and the places where there are established populations of mountain lions, he said. He wore red suspenders and a baseball cap. This assessment is echoed by the aforementioned Christopher Spatz, who has been studying cougars for better than 20 years. Theymay not be looking, specifically, for a catamount. My daughter and I were driving north in West Granby, near the Simsbury, Ct. line just after lunch one summer day a few years ago. Chance of snow 90%. It was a striking animal, certainly, but it was no mountain lion. on route to stone tower on Quabbin Hill. He didn't want to dispute what people are saying they saw, he simply says they need proof to substantiate it. He and his clients were 100% sure of what they saw, and its very difficult to imagine any other animal being mistaken for a cougar in this case. These settlers established measures for predator control by any means possible. 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. Dismissing most of the sightings as probable bobcats, Morse asserted that the scientific evidence has not been proven. Periods of snow. I was agnostic, I suppose, on these stories which the state wildlife biologists inevitably found impossible to substantiate and, often, easy to disprove. But some sightings were more promising and some seemed exceedingly so. It can run 50 miles an hour and clear a twelve-foot fence. He soon developed a five-question litmus test: How far away were you? So you can imagine there. My own inclination, for the little it matters, is to side with the professionals like Blodgett. There were pine cones on window sills, a well-used hatchet and a variety of animal figurines on display, and, near the television, a stack of videos including. Until 2011, that question rested upon a hypothetical. Morse founded Keeping Track in the belief that getting citizens interested and engaged in wildlife will have the knock-on effect of getting them interested and engaged in how land-use decisions affect wild populationsand might provide the impetus for conservation efforts. And its not just Vermont. Watching a potential winter storm. If its not, you just thank the person and say good-bye.. Somebody in the NC Legislature believes, because lions are now protected by law. She IS, perhaps, the most knowledgeable and experienced person in this arena and I listened intently to her presentation (Richmond, VT 2018). There, too, is Crowells photograph, grainy and old: the hunter leaning against a tree stump, his head propped casually on his left hand, elbow to stump, shotgun cradled in the crook of his right arm. I saw one yesterday in Windsor Cty Vermont. I thought I saw signs posted in Pawling NY about 8 years ago, that DEC released a pair to control deer population,mane several people have seen them in Wingdale, NY. However, many of their claimsespecially Mr. Bettys contention of roughly a dozen personal sightings in New Englandare hard to take seriously. What time of day was it? Wildlife biologists, as professional scientists, require a higher level of documentation and proof. So the initial assumption was that the animal was one of those captives that had either escaped or been released by its owner. My parents friend in Deposit, NY, posted a young catamount sitting on the front porch on Facebook. Green Mountain Lion Corp #256 34 Blair Park Road Ste. Lizzie Post Would Like Your Attention. And yet there I was, on a Saturday in early November, crammed into a booth with Bo Ottmann, 48, and Bill Betty, 72, of Cougars of the Valley, the organization that Ottmann founded in 2007 to gather evidence of and alert the public to the big cats living among us. I met with Morse at her home in Jericho. It has nothing to do with trophy hunting, public safety, etc. Some with cameras. And DNA analysis shows us that felis concolor is genetically the same across the USI think it is irrelevant, but interesting. There were caribou antlers mounted above the front doors, and the interior walls were covered in row upon row of books; a long table was piled high with still more books in seemingly random arrangements. They denied it until a cougar was hit as it tried to cross the very busy Merritt Parkway. Snow accumulating 3 to 5 inches.. . Everglades Panther We hadnt seen a cougar, nor any evidence to suggest a cougar had traveled these woods recently. When that last catamount was killed by a deer hunter, the state was paying a $20 bounty for pelts or carcasses. The mountain lion is also known as cougar, panther, or puma. 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? Now, ocelots are critically endangered and jaguarundis might be completely gone. Several years of doing the follow-ups, then, convinced Blodgett that there were no catamounts in Vermont. There is no shortage of deer for all apex predators whether they are canine, feline, or human. Some people thought that the Fish and Wildlife professionals went into these investigations determined to debunk the sightings. Photos of the cat did nothing to convince DEEP the cat was here. One summer I saw what I assumed was the same cougar several different times in my neighborhood which was near a long strip of woods along I 91 and used to be a large open field across the road from our home. 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. Perhaps, then, the ultimate question isnt whether cougars are among us, but rather how we can encourage them to settle here. One one occasion she had two little ones with her so their den must have been sort of closeby. For instance, a favorite food for deer is the seedlings of forest tree species. I just heard from a fellow college student of a siting in Greenfield last fall and two in Colrain this spring. A deer is a wild animal and it is always a pleasure to see oneunless it is in the high beams, at night. Things seem to move at twilight and you never know. But no. All of which is to say that if Alexander Crowell wasnt afraid on that long-ago Thanksgiving Day, he probably should have been. This was after the department sent him out west to study the behavior of mountain lions. Stupid me grabbed my camera and a stick as to protect myself ( yes stupid idea as I could stop this thing from attacking me lol. It fled when I resumed my walk down the logging road and on to my truck. I went back and told the tale to anyone who would listen. They were also reluctant to certify that turkey and moose had returned the Quabin reservoir lands for many years after locals reported seeing them. When we reached tower, a ranger arrived in a pickup. Its mounted carcass is on display in Montpelier where Id seen it when I was the adult supervision for my daughters sixth-grade class trip to the capital. Just like we dont need any slimy humans on earth period. Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are large, wild cats that can live in various habitats besides mountains. They are there and thriving!!!! People in Colorado communities might need to warn their children and to look over their own shoulders when they were out jogging, but not here. But there was certainty, or near-certainty, on the part of the witnesses who, it seemed, would swear to having seen a catamount. Ive seen more field evidence in a couple of hours tracking out west than Ive seen in 100 years on the East Coast, he said. There are also many unconfirmed sightings. A far less likelyenvironment for finding a mountain lion than just about anywhere in Vermont. And the clincher, What would you say was the most distinguishing feature? Feb 28, 2023 4:00 am By Robert Spencer 1 Comment. 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. My encounter was in Middlesex, VT along the river road (Route 2) just below I89. There was one photographed on a porch in Greenwich, CT, looking in the patio window that made national news a decade ago. You need breeding pairs and theyd probably settle down long before they got here.. This was as clear as day had a long tail and long body I was thinking someones pet was on the loose or escaped form a zoo !! 2,110 likes. They knew what they were doing, Blodgett says. Dont forget, south Texas also used to home to two other species of cats ocelots and jaguarundis. The big cat on the ground before him, motionless, yet somehow still embodying that particular feline litheness, as if, with the flick of its tail, it might bound to its feet and disappear into the woods. A mountain lion was responsible for that too. Especially by one that he remembers involving a kill site.. Even though the experts say there arent any mountain lions in CT, there are. If someone described seeing a black panther, for example, then you knew right away and you didnt need to do any more investigating.. Clearly, Puma concolor once inhabited the forests of the Northeast, although its difficult to say in what numbers. 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 other hard evidence of the big cats presence is elusive. If we end up with a population, it will be the result of a colonizer female who gets here somehow, some way, and the rest will be history.. The last catamount killed in Vermont was shot in 1881. 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. Green Mountain Lion Corp. Home; Apply Now! Lacked, almost any tail at all, for that matter. Im not surprised that various state officers deny the presence of cougars in new England. By mid-19th century, forests made up only about 30 percent of New England (its notable that today that number stands at approximately 80 percent, nearer to what it was when cougars thrived here). New in PJ Media: The world having gone absolutely insane, the Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) girls' basketball team is likely to get a lot of heat for this, but in a sane world, they would be the heroes of the story. Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) was set to play the Long Tail Mountain Lions last Tuesday before the former decided not to compete based on concerns for player safety and fairness. I started to get nervous so I was scanning the area low and high in the trees. When I shared their story with the staff at the center where my sister lived, I expected surprise and interested. People in Colorado communities might need to warn their children and to look over their own shoulders when they were out jogging, but not here. I saw one about 10 years ago, on our road. Could be a deer, but it didnt seem to be tall enough. The mountain lionalso known as the cougar, puma, panther, or catamountis a large cat species native to the Americas. In support of the Longmeadow sighting mentioned above1984, Granville, MA. The regions top predator, the coyote, is classified by biologists as a mesopredator (a type that in New England includes skunks and raccoons), which feeds primarily on smaller animals. We really must establish first that these beautiful animals SHOULD be in every state that was once THEIR habitat. We have a lot of them here in N CA. 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. We strolled across the tavern parking lot and ducked into the forest, where Ottmann maintains a portion of his $15,000 worth of wildlife recording equipment (hes had no luck capturing a cougar on camera, though, despite more than a decade of trying). It can run 50 miles an hour and clear a twelve-foot fence. People said that the catamountas the animal is called in Vermontwas still around and you heard stories about someone who would swear to having seen one. Id need proof if I wanted people to believe me. It was definitely a cougar. Those who believe the growth and expansion of mountain lion populations to be a good thing routinely make the old, you face a greater danger of being struck by lighting or drowned in the bathtub argument and it is no doubt accurate. He/she was UNMISTAKEABLY a mountain lion: stretched out straight, long tail straight out behind him, golden/beigey color, and smallish head, little ears. Its closest living relative is the cheetah. Length of body. Mr. Betty and Mr.Ottomans passion and efforts are impressive. It kills to eat but does not necessarily practice any sort of conservation ethic. We got a picture of our culprit, he says, that very first night.. One cat will leave more than 10,000 tracks per day. You wouldnt shake hands with a man like that, she said, and though she was smiling I could tell she was serious. I now live in Boulder, CO where we have regular sightings.same animal as 35 yrs agohands down, Warren ,Ma early morning having my coffee on my front steps and noticed about 50 feet across the Road something coming out of the trail as it did it looked out at the road and turned around as it did I could see that it was a mountain lion ! In Vermont, in the late 19th century, this meant, especially, sheep. Reported mountain lion sightings are popping up all over Vermont and convinced onlookers say the proof is in the pictures. This is always been a debate however as someone who is an avid Outdoorsman I can say with certainty I know of at least 12 people that have personal accounts of seeing mountain lion in Central and Western Massachusetts. I have learned one thing in my career, and thats to never say never, she said. It looked real promising, Blodgett remembers. Harrigan is 72 and lives just outside the northern New Hampshire town of Colebrook; he has a long, craggy face that seems almost to have molded itself after the mountainous landscape of his home state. That animal in Connecticut makes for a pretty fantastic story but it takes more than one dispersing male. And thats a surprisingly complex question, because it hinges on numerous factors: policy and politics, culture and conditioning, habitat and, frankly, hubris. The tavern was quiet except for some hard-rock music playing on the radio, the murmur of a handful of men at the bar, and us. (The cat I saw when I was a young boy was on the Gulf Coast.). Threat of Being Attacked ), or someones coworkers mother had seen one from the back porch of a summer camp back in 07 or maybe 08, and shed tried to get a picture but this was before she got her first iPhone, and by the time shed retrieved her camera from the living room, the cat was long gone. Vermont-based naturalist SueMorse has spent decades studying, tracking, andphotographing cougars outwest. And, more often than not, when I told it, the person listening would nod and tell me about someone who had definitely seen a mountain lion/catamount in the Vermont woods or crossing a highway or, even, in the back yard. It has, in fact, more names than any animal in the world. We think theyre coming in from Canada, Betty told me. Responding to complaints about a predator eating a local farmers sheep, Crowell and a small group of fellow hunters had tracked the big cat through the snow. There are many officials in denial up here, but we know what we saw and there are too many sightings by the local folks to be ignored. Low 24F. After 20 minutes or so, we turned and stumbled our way back to the parking lot. So yes they are here and not to sure why they dont admit to them being around ! 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. I do this shit.. Then, follow-up DNA researchmatching samples from the carcass with those from scat and hair collected in other locationsestablished that the animal had come to Connecticut from the Black Hills of North Dakota. Anticipating, perhaps, a moment like this. There was one possibility that might account for some of these sightings, he says. The evidence, he says, just wasnt there., Mountain Lions Revisit Kill Sites Snowy winter AM just before us neighbor kids were heading to catch the bus, we (myself, my dad and neighbor) all watched a large cat cross the yard and leave huge prints and a distinct tail drag mark in the snow! Experts need to see the body to dismiss their prejudices. Their bodies are mainly covered in tawny-beige fur, except for the whitish-gray belly and chest. In 2011, the U.S. For who but we humans can look across the landscape and not acknowledge our role in the diminishment of cougars and the myriad ways in which we have knocked the landscape out of balance? It was his great coolness and daring (either that, or fear) that enabled Crowell to shoot the animal at a distance of one rod only (roughly 16 feet), first hitting it in the leg with his shotgun, then dispatching it with a bullet to the head from a borrowed rifle. In fact, jaguars used to be native to south Texas, as well! Can they really all be cases of false identification? The first time was in the yard which was surrounded by woods. near Greenfield with an experienced guide that hed worked with several times. Around 1830, the . The one killed on the Connecticut highway was on a journey worthy of Odysseus so it isnt likely that there will be a thriving population of mountain lions in Fairfield County, raiding backyard cocktail parties, anytime soon. Beautiful creature. 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