It was a 140-pound male mountain lion, the first confirmed in Connecticut in more than 100 years. Slowly, mountain lions recolonized North America after having retreated to warmer climates in South America during the Pleistocene ice age. Pepper spray has also been proven as an effective weapon against the animal. We get a lot of pictures sent to us, and people say, I took this picture of a mountain lion in my backyard. And Ill look at it, and to me, its clearly a bobcat, Hawley said. ', '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 published his first book in 1959, The Ghost of North America: The Story of the Eastern Panther. Ive seen bobcats before, this wasnt a bobcat. And its a lose-lose situation, because theres really not a whole lot you can tell them in most cases thats going to change their mind.. I have a fence in the backyard, it was above the bottom rail, so its back was probably this big, this long, the tail, said John Bachelder. Im confident that we get occasional outlier animals.. Youll get the answer to this question in this article. 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. My first thought literally was, is that a lion?. ', '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. Wed be seeing more carcasses of prey we would be seeing at least some carcasses of mountain lion prey. 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. Sign up for our newsletterto get the latest and greatest content fromConnecticut Magazinedelivered right to your inbox. Bobcats don't shy away from human habitats, while mountain lions tend to only be found in very isolated areas. So all the other states in the Northeast that have bear populations have a harvest on their bears. Lets learn to live alongside this very large animal is one of the schools of thought. 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. They also have facial ruffs and ear tufts on the tips of their ears, as well as shorter tails. The last confirmed mountain lion sighting in Connecticut occurred in 2011. Sightings can be reported to the McCall Fish and Game office at 208-634-8137. A month after the cat was struck and killed, researchers confirmed it had traveled more than 1,500 miles from the Black Hills of South Dakota. An adult male bobcat can reach four feet in length and 35 to 40 pounds. You know, weve had so many home entries this year. South Windsor resident Stafford King is sure that he saw a cougar on his land three years ago. Typically, mountain lion sightings occur from a distance and usually around dawn or dusk. Register for a user account. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. 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. 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. No, there are no mountain lions in CT, and there havent been for quite some time. The history of this theory in Connecticut and New England goes back long before our current era of fake news. He was previously a reporter for the Danbury News-Times and the Ridgefield Press. We have had five coyotes crossing through our yard in the past few weeks, and one even lingers around our property and the neighbors. 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? 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? Mistaken reports of mountain lions are most commonly bobcats. Otherwise, Hawley said cats like bobcats want nothing to do with people, and they will generally prey on chickens, small dogs or cats. 2012). Body coloration can range from tan to gray and cubs are usually covered with blackish brown spots. 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. Rumors of their hidden presence persisted. And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. Two mountain lion sightings have been confirmed in Tennessee. In 1991 mountain lion tracks were found . Are there any mountain lions in CT? To date, no footage of a mountain lion has surfaced. Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Hear the full interview: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators. Then in June 2011, there were reports of a mountain lion in Greenwich and, for the first time, a photo. Hawley: Wildlife biologists across the United States know where the current mountain lion range is. 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. They can be seen at any time of the day or night, but are most active at dawn and . of Energy & Environmental Protection. 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. 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. Following the recent death of a mountain lion in Milford, and several reported. Dont Run. Mountain lions, however, arent seen much in the Nutmeg State, even though several have reportedly been spotted around the Woodbridge area this month. Collection. Therefore, there are no western and eastern species to differentiate between. 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. 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. But Bachelder stresses he knows what he saw. Abbott, of the Housatonic Valley Association, is equally skeptical of the vast majority of mountain lion sightings. Make yourself big -- do not bend, squat or sit down. Females are typically smaller. Based on this blurry photo and pawprints, DEEP confirmed it was likely a mountain lion. (Throughout history, people have had a deep fear of these creatures, hounding and hunting them mercilessly.) While he might feel like that well known movie character who was doubted at first, Bachelder is confident it was a cougar. This can trigger a chase. On the idea of bear hunting in Connecticut. Its important to stand your ground and not run or hide. Have you seen a puma or bobcat in your neighborhood? Weight. Another mountain lion was killed on a Connecticut highway. She was also the voice behind the weekly Connecticut Real Estate newsletter by CT Insider. NOW - 4:30 PM. Yet we see nothing about what is being planned except how to scare them away if one sees them. From family fun to restaurants and everything in between, everything you need to know about CT is right here. Police have a warning after there were multiple mountain lion sightings reported in Woodbridge. And even the home entries are kind of changing. 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 DEEP. Hawley: Yeah. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal . So its this gathering storm. One on Salem Rd and another in the area of Pease Rd in our town. A couple things to keep in mind if you come across or see a big cat like a Mountain Lion: 1. To answer these and other questions about sightings of mountain lions, I turned to DEEPs Rego, who has investigated many purported cougar sightings over the past three decades. building a betterand more civilConnecticut to live, work, and play. He also quoted the work of geneticist Melanie Culver, who has proven that all North American puma species are genetically virtually identical. Do not bend, squat, or sit down. Breweries in New Haven, CT you MUST Visit! Image credit: Wikimedia Commons. Habitat. An attack on a 4-year-old near San Diego is just the latest in a string of mountain lion attacks in California. Based on this blurry photo and pawprints, confirmed it was likely a mountain lion. She didnt claim to see the mountain lions long tail, but optical illusions can lead people to think theyve seen a tail. 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. The current editor of the publication, which is based in New Hampshire, explains why the job is worth sticking around. From Litchfield County, can confirm. Ask people who spend time outside Connecticut cities and you will hear firsthand or secondhand accounts of mountain lions. Well also go over what types of wild cats can be found in Connecticut. The Canada Lynxs geographic territory in New England only extends as far south as northern New Hampshire and parts of Maine, though. and last updated 8:18 AM, Jan 21, 2022. Fv 27, 2023 . State lawmakers have entertained bills to establish a bear hunting season for years, but so far, none of those proposals has passed. Massachusetts and several other New England states have bear hunting, or harvest, seasons, which proponents say help control populations. And theyre not going to find one, because the females don't disperse like that. This can trigger a chase. On another large animal that is most definitely here: bears. The only types of lynx that are indigenous to New England are the Canada Lynx and the Lynx rufus (bobcat). . A quick Google search reveals that the theory is not limited to Connecticut and similar tales are told throughout the Northeast. Reports of mountain lion sitings in Matunuck and the Great Swamp Management Area date back to at least 2004, but have never been confirmed by state officials. 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.. 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 . He drove me out to the spot. If needed, throw rocks, sticks, etc. 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. I saw one cross the rd ( rt 63) in Wtn @ 5 yrs ago, @Craig, Body length: 3-4 ft. Tail: 2.5-3 ft. 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? Hunters and property owners have also set up tens of thousands of trail cameras at various locations throughout the state. Your support makes this news available to everyone. Initially, officials believed it had been released from a private handler. Hes even had his own false sighting. Mountain Lions can be found in Orange County throughout the Santa Ana Mountain Range down to the foothills and canyons directly connected to them. Fight back. The large cat was seen on Hoyt Farm Road not far from Route 123 near the Norwalk-New Canaan border. 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. Mountain lion Over 7 ft in length Over 100 lbs Uniform tan color Long tails Bobcat Under 3ft in length Under 50lbs Dark spots Tufts of fur in ears These 2 big cats also behave differently. Somebody needs to take charge of this outfit and do something about the interactions with the citizenry. Initially, officials believed it had been released from a private handler. On another large animal that is most definitely here: bears. Even in parts of the country where there are documented breeding populations of mountain lions, there are still many false reports. 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