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. 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.). 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. Anticipating, perhaps, a moment like this. 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. The 1881 death of this catamount officially marked the end of cougars in Vermont; however, the very last Eastern cougar is thought to be an animal that was killed in Somerset County, Maine, in 1938. It is what wildlife biologists call an apex carnivore, which means it can overpower pretty much any other creature in its environmentwith the exception of an armed human. Also moose. 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. I got the glasses to my eyes and focused on the animal. My stepfather had been a hunter and was no stranger to seeing animals in the woods and countryside, so when they came up over a knoll in the road and saw a large cat looking at them, he saw the face and thought, bobcatuntil they then saw the rest of the animals body: huge, beautifully tawny colored, and in possession of what my mother described as a very long tail, that was as thick as my wrist. Morse is a Vermont-based naturalist and the founder of Keeping Track, a nonprofit that trains people in the scientific protocols needed to detect, interpret, record, and monitor wildlife tracks and signs. 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. It has, in fact, more names than any animal in the world. With the price off its head, the lion gained new stature, and in July 1965 . I live in New Milford and I saw one crossing the road in front of me when I stopped to get my mail from my mailbox. In the states where there are robust mountain lion populations, they are a threat to livestock, pets and, occasionally, humans. I was deer hunting with my father, it was in the fall about 7 years ago, in Barre Ma towards the Templeton Ma lines. In Vermont, it was 1881. The expert opinion held up until a man was killed by a Great White not too far away. I also had the vague notion that when it comes to cougars, people tend to sort themselves into one of three camps. Distinguished by a boxy head, big paws and a VERY long tail. She lives near the end of a gravel road in a modest, low-slung house tucked into the flanks of the Green Mountains. So you can imagine there. What set it off was a National Geographic special on mountain lions in California, right after my daughter and I had two encounters in my driveway, Betty told me. You need to understand that every biologist that works for the state has a duty to deny mountain lions. Harrigans interest in cougars was sparked in the late 70s, after he took ownership of The Coos County Democrat and began noticing the steady influx of reported sightings. I think I may have pissed her off since I was up in that area X2 this week. 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. Then saw him a few more times from further away across the road and along the edge sometimes of the woods. Ottmann nodded. It was fast as hell but there was no mistaking its not only long,but THICK tail as it disappeared into the woods. There was never, of course, a photograph. An expert said it was probably a basking shark. How did I know? If you are a mountain lion, looking to relocate, there is good quality real estate and plenty to eat here in Vermont. Yet I also remembered something Sue Morse had told me months before, as we sat in her living room drinking beer and chatting cats. The mountain lion is also known as cougar, panther, or puma. Bill and I are full-throttle. To date, Keeping Track has helped conserve 40,000 acres in 12 states and inQuebec. I could hear the steady rush of traffic on Route 315. Perfect conditions, then, for thinking you saw something. Long Trail Mountain Lion roster: Myra Aldanondo, Olivia Cole-Bugay, Liz Daara, Rose Johnson, Aubrey Lanning, Molly Luikart, Camilla Marcy, Meara Morgan, Harlow Quail, . This assessment is echoed by the aforementioned Christopher Spatz, who has been studying cougars for better than 20 years. The Vermont woods would be a lot more interesting with mountain lions in them. Im gonna get hammered for it, he sighed. Ive never forgotten that and told it to many folks over the years, most of whom, I must say, thought I was hallucinating I guess but, it/he/she was a fact in Longmeadow, MA that summer long ago. I heard from Neighbors that they have been sighting from the mass pike which runs along this area but also very close to Quabbin! Ive attended talks with Sue Morse. I have not had the pleasure of seeing one, but have heard credible reports of them in Western Mass. 104 Williston, VT 05495. 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. The animal was too small and it lacked the long, sinuous tail of the catamount. Within six weeks, he continued, I was getting off the plane in Jackson Hole for a national mountain lion conference. Then, a mountain lion was run over by an SUV on the outskirts of New Haven, Connecticut. It can run 50 miles an hour and clear a twelve-foot fence. I do this shit.. And its not just Vermont. This guy was very intelligent, he had abandoned a professional career to pursue his dream of guiding. Inslerman said the DEC received about a half-dozen calls reporting sightings of mountain lions last year; two calls this week. And there have been fatal attacks. It jumped 28 feet across the road. Success stories being more fun to talk about than the other kind. They were also reluctant to certify that turkey and moose had returned the Quabin reservoir lands for many years after locals reported seeing them. The Christian school also dropped out of the state . Especially among those who did believe. Especially by one that he remembers involving a kill site.. But they would certainly pay attention if they did see one. Early spring 2019 I caught a glimpse of one entering over grown brush on the side of the road very very early in the morning. And it was this curiosity that led me to the Old Well Tavern in Simsbury, Connecticut, at a time of day (11:30 a.m.) that does not normally find me ensconced in the dim confines of a drinking establishment. And the clincher, What would you say was the most distinguishing feature? About six years ago, my mother and step-father were traveling some back roads down to New Boston, NH to visit my sister where she lived in an extended care facility. At least once a year thered be a story from somewhere, but I only ran the absolute best, he told me. The first European settlers arrived in the Texas Hill country in the early 1800s and viewed mountain lions as a dangerous threat to their own survival as well as a predator threat to their livestock. It fled when I resumed my walk down the logging road and on to my truck. Ive heard some biologists say it is not a distinct subspecies. [Betty] and the other guys dont do this shit. A deer is a wild animal and it is always a pleasure to see oneunless it is in the high beams, at night. Vermont Mountain Lion Sightings. You need breeding pairs and theyd probably settle down long before they got here.. 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. My own inclination, for the little it matters, is to side with the professionals like Blodgett. And, now, here I was. Body coloration can range from tan to gray and cubs are usually covered with blackish brown spots. I noticed that there were many great websites, blogs, and discussion boards devoted to mountain lion sightings in other states of New England, but not one just for Vermont. Running into a mountain lion can be a scary experience. There is a lot of good habitat between here and the places where there are established populations of mountain lions, he said. I live in Hopkinton, NH and saw one coming up from the Contoocook River one misty morning. I had seen bear, deer, coyotes, foxes, that one bobcat all the usual suspects. Lizzie Post Would Like Your Attention. Humans and wildlife MUST learn to live along side each other and we MUST learn to respect nature. Height. Several years ago, I saw what was definitely a cougar walking along a street. But my eyes picked up something and I knew, right away, that it was alive. If theres a middle ground in the cougar debate, it belongs to John Harrigan, a veteran outdoorsman, newspaper reporter, and widely read syndicated columnist. It has, in fact, more names than any animal in the world. I was driving to work in Greenfield heading south on 10 and had just taken a right hand turn at the junction when the big cat crossed the road in front of me. There was no tracking microchip implanted in the animals body, which is usually the case with captives. Actually, Blodgett says, something of the opposite was true. It has nothing to do with trophy hunting, public safety, etc. Length of body. [An overabundance of deer] means our forests are getting older and older and not being replaced. He also points to the influx of invasive plant species in New England as evidence of an out-of-control deer population. Mountain Lions have been more prevalent to the west in the last 100 years, but many of the pockets of breeding populations east of the Mississippi River have been wiped out over the decades due to habitat loss and hunting. 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. People clearly arent lying when they say they saw a cougar; [the sighting] has a profound effect on them.. I must have looked doubtfulwe were within spitting distance of a heavily trafficked road and only 12 miles from downtown Hartfordbut both Ottmann and Betty told me that cougars actually prefer more populated areas, since thats where deer tend to congregate. On the other side, there are those (as represented here by Bill Betty and Bo Ottmann, along with a number of others I spoke with) who say the overwhelming quantity of anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. But a deer is not a predator, like a bear can be, and certainly not a pure predator like a mountain lion, which is a majestic animal precisely because it is also a dangerous one. Raised them carefully to my eyes. Scat, tracks, lays, scratch mounds youll see these things.. The scientific name for the catamount is Puma concolor. Experts need to see the body to dismiss their prejudices. 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. Beautiful creature. We witnessed a mountain lion stalking a herd of deer. Respect predators, protect them but dont worship or try to hug them! ), 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. Had trouble sleeping last night cause that was to close and I think she may have stalked me from where I was in the woods. I just heard from a fellow college student of a siting in Greenfield last fall and two in Colrain this spring. I had seen only one in my life and it was not in Vermont, where the mountain lion was officially extinct, the last one having been killed in 1881. Ive seen tracks (Downeast Maine) and others have seen them, plain as day. Kim Royar, a biologist at the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, told me she receives 40 to 50 reports annually, and although she believes that few, if any, are actual cougar sightings, she doesnt dismiss the possibility that someday someone will happen upon the real deal. In 1994, scat collected after a sighting in Craftsbury, Vermont, was found to contain cougar hair (the animals are prone to ingesting their hair while grooming), and the commissioner of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department circulated a memo with the following line: It is possible that cougars of unknown origin may be breeding to a limited extent in Vermont. The first time was in the yard which was surrounded by woods. Honestly, leaving this out of your article would seem to perpetuate the notion that there is a conspiracy to keep us all in ignorance. 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. Even in the controlled environment of a lab, the truth about Eastern cougars seems to be almost willfully eluding its seekers. In the second camp, there are those issuing the denials, pointing to the lack of photographic evidence, or the absence of tracks, or the simple truth that many people dont seem to know the difference between a cougar and a bobcat and a lynx and even, in some cases, a golden retriever. Part of this belief is rooted in his journalistic experience, which across the decades has cultivated his nose for sincerity. I wished it were a camera with a long lens to document the sighting. 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 think of Aldo Leopolds Thinking Like a Mountain essay about how deer decimated the forests and died of starvation because of humans incessant desire to kill. Matthew Johnson/Vermont Historical Society. 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. Its OK, he told me. Even though the experts say there arent any mountain lions in CT, there are. So Blodgett brought what he had learned in Wyoming and Arizona back to Vermont with him and began following up on catamount sightings. 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. Snow accumulating 3 to 5 inches.. . The Mountain Lions won both regular season margins by 30-plus points. 3 talking about this. And, if those people who said they were seeing catamounts were wrong, and not just making it up, then what were they seeing? 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. Video - Trade Show Recaps; Videos - Can We Find a Time to Talk? Probably are lions in western NC, too. So long as the tails there, that is. I was outdoor with my two pugs and quickly scooped them up and brought them in the house. He knew it was only a matter of time. vital part of this countries ecosystem. He soon developed a five-question litmus test: How far away were you? According to official estimates, as many as 1,000 people own, in spite of legal prohibitions, captive animals. But there was certainty, or near-certainty, on the part of the witnesses who, it seemed, would swear to having seen a catamount. Escapes by these animals were not impossible. He/she was UNMISTAKEABLY a mountain lion: stretched out straight, long tail straight out behind him, golden/beigey color, and smallish head, little ears. Betty had driven up from his home in Rhode Island. No way to proveor disproveit. But the landowners were excited enough by the possibility that, persuaded by Blodgett, they bought a trail camera and set it up on the site. Blodgett did on-site investigations of these, in what became a predictably futile search for the sign he had learned, out west, to look for. Its not a bear, not a dog, not a deer, not a bobcat. I wasnt planning to shoot her unless she moved in my direction. Blodgett liked talking about this subject. Vermont-based naturalist SueMorse has spent decades studying, tracking, andphotographing cougars outwest. He set down his cigarette and looked me in the eye. Things seem to move at twilight and you never know. 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. There was one young kid, in his 20s, who had been doing it since he was in high school and he walked and thought like a cat. We also had bobcats that we saw quite often but I am positive that these were mountain lions! Looking at the mounted animal, behind the glass, had made me feel kind of well, sad. 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. Coyotes, for instance, found their way into Vermont with no help. The light was failing and I was on my way out of the woods. Something I had not expected ever to experience. Nowhere in New England is the matter definitively settled. I went back and told the tale to anyone who would listen. 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.. Records suggest that cash bounties for cougar kills were relatively common in the late 1700s and early 1800s; in the Adirondacks, a trapper named Thomas Meacham was credited with 77 cougar kills. But examination of the carcass raised suspicions. The truth is, I was by this point dubious. 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. Until 2011, that question rested upon a hypothetical. You wouldnt shake hands with a man like that, she said, and though she was smiling I could tell she was serious. Vermont offers plenty of habitat in which mountain lions could thrive. 8 Arlington (9-10) and No. It had moved a little and was standing unconcealed, now, in the middle of the logging road. Beautiful animal. 5-7 yards from me. But it was also a male. 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. 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