These tips include carrying safety equipment and walking . I saw one cross the rd ( rt 63) in Wtn @ 5 yrs ago, @Craig, And were one of the most densely populated states as far as humans. Jason Hawley says his office gets lots of calls about mountain lions each year. We even had a sighting someone here at DEEP, in my office, was convinced they saw a mountain lion. Genetic testing placed the animal in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the cat had been sighted at several different points during its long journey east. These sightings have not been confirmed as true mountain lion sightings. The main habitat requirement for mountain lions is stalking cover to successfully hunt prey. Eastern Cougar Sightings Mountain Lions in New York. Its documented through track surveys, aerial surveys, trapping and collaring surveys. I frankly have lost faith in some government institutions for this very reason. Fv 27, 2023 . The current editor of the publication, which is based in New Hampshire, explains why the job is worth sticking around. 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. Sign up for our newsletter to get our latest and greatest content delivered right to your inbox. mountain lions in washington. 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. Weight: 160 lbs. When it comes to mountain lions, (also called cougars, pumas, or panthers) is there really a chance you will come across one in the wild, or will you need to visit a zoo to see one of these magnificent animals in real life? According to Hawley, if mountain lions were present in the state, there would be evidence and not just unconfirmed sightings. These highlights have been edited and condensed for length and clarity. . 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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. The upper mile is pretty overgrown in a pretty way. Im always amazed at the sheer volume of people who are interested in cougars, more even than wolves, she says. Have you seen a puma or bobcat in your neighborhood? It went through my yard, went up behind, I have some property, past my barn, went into the woods, east, lots of woods back there, just disappeared.. But as Eastern cougar search efforts became more organized and still there were no concrete signs of the creatures, many became more skeptical. On the idea of bear hunting in Connecticut. It used to be that a bear would go into a house when someone wasnt home. Mountain Lions: Large tan cats with a distinctive two to three-foot curving tail, that can almost touch the ground as they walk. Bobcats typically have brown fur with a reddish tinge that is marked with black or brown spots or stripes, according to the National Zoo. On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. Those are the two closest populations that we have here. (https://wildlifeinformer.com/what-to-do-if-you-encounter-a-mountain-lion/). A threat to livestock, they were hunted out of the state and driven to parts more wild. While Betty had plenty of evidence to support a mountain lion population, the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection still lists the mountain lion as extinct under the Endangered Species Act. 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. 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. 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And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. After all, if one mountain lion had wandered here, didnt that mean that others could have? The more everyone knows and understands, the better it is for us all.. You know, weve had so many home entries this year. of Energy & Environmental Protection. Somebody needs to take charge of this outfit and do something about the interactions with the citizenry. 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. Massachusetts and several other New England states have bear hunting, or harvest, seasons, which proponents say help control populations. Sightings can be reported to the McCall Fish and Game office at 208-634-8137. Put your arms over your head with a jacket or sweatshirt. Even so, for decades, skeptics dismissed mountain lion sightings in Connecticut out of hand, pointing out that if the cats were here in anywhere close to the number of reported sightings, there would be DNA and physical evidence of their presence, not to mention photos and videos. Police have a warning after there were multiple mountain lion sightings reported in Woodbridge. While recent mountain lion sightings in Connecticut have not been confirmed, if someone suspects they encountered a mountain lion, they should not run away, as it might spur a chase. Rumors of their hidden presence persisted. 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. The big cat traveled some 1,100 miles before his life came to a tragic end after being hit by a SUV on Route 15 in . My wife is not a wildlife expert, but is not prone to flights of fancy. A couple things to keep in mind if you come across or see a big cat like a Mountain Lion: 1. The big cat. People have been known to submit photos of real mountain lions taken in other states and claim they were taken in Connecticut. Over time, this will help us evaluate problem areas, movement barriers for wildlife, and potential for human-puma conflict. Eastern cougars (mountain lions) do not have a native, self sustaining population in New York State. 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. The Division also collects carcasses of road-killed bobcats as part of the study. In the decades that followed, many cougar enthusiasts came to share Wrights conclusions, at least at first. Watch Live at 7:00 PM: The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns | Screening & Panel Discussion . Bobcats, also, only hunt small prey. Well also go over what types of wild cats can be found in Connecticut. Were getting more and more home entries every year. 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. Theres also the lack of visual evidence, more glaring each passing year as so many hikers and hunters now carry phones with cameras. 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. Mountain lion, cougar, puma, panther, painter, and catamount are all different names for the same animal ( Puma concolor ). Bobcats: Though technically a type of lynx, they are distinct from other species of lynx such as the Canadian lynx. The large cat was seen on Hoyt Farm Road not far from Route 123 near the Norwalk-New Canaan border. From family fun to restaurants and everything in between, everything you need to know about CT is right here. 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. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. Mountain lion fur is unspotted and tan-brown . Employees from the state DEEP, as well as Tolland Public Safety Supervisor John Littell attended the event last night. And follow us on Facebook and Instagram @connecticutmagazine and Twitter @connecticutmag. 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. A bill which would change the name to the Pequot River has full support from the Mashantucket Pequot and Eastern Pequot tribes, but the Mohegan Tribe has voiced concerns. Since then, there have been no confirmed cases here, with the state saying: People very often mistake bobcats for mountain lions. DEEP sightings: Where the bears are in CT. Jim Shay. Rego has many reasons why a conspiracy to conceal mountain lions by his colleagues at DEEP is impossible. Working in the 1980s in southern California, where there are cougars, biologist Paul Beier said that 95 percent of cougar sightings they investigated turned out to be misidentifications. A harvest is kind of twofold. Despite frequent claims, there has only been one confirmed mountain lion sighting since the late 1800s here. Betty displayed several maps of Maine and New Hampshire, demonstrating the trend. You can subscribe to Connecticut Magazine here, or find the current issue on sale here. But the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said Sunday that. Saw a mountain lion home entries every year not a wildlife expert, is... 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