Bobcats, of course, can be found all over the state. Were getting more and more home entries every year. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. 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. That mountain lion was hit by a car and killed on the Merritt Parkway in Milford, CT. After the incident, Connecticut environmental officials were able to determine that the 140-pound cat had . Are there any mountain lions in CT? Mountain Lions: They are officially extinct. Don't be a fool and be caught off guard by believing they don't exist in Connecticut. Sometimes in our shock and excitement at seeing wildlife we see what we want to see. The one confirmed case, sometimes referred to as the " Connecticut Mountain Lion " happened in June 2011 when an SUV struck and killed a cougar in Milford. But the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said Sunday that bobcats are the only large wild cats found in the state. Icould hear the panic in my wifes voice. Rego says that if there were many other animals like the 2011 cat that died in Milford, there would be more visual or physical evidence. Mountain lion spotted in Connecticut town On Monday, DEEP said that Connecticut does not have a mountain lion population. I always hold out the possibility of a sighting to be genuine, but at the same time, over decades of experience, we know that the vast majority are misidentifications and a small number are actually hoaxes, he says. Bobcats, also, only hunt small prey. I couldnt tell you how happy I would be if mountain lions were actually recolonizing the state of Connecticut, Hawley says, but its just not happening., Hawley spoke about bobcats, mountain lions and bears on The Colin McEnroe Show: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators.. Im confident that we get occasional outlier animals.. On another large animal that is most definitely here: bears. 2012. Police said these have been reported to DEEP, but have not been confirmed as true mountain lion sightings. Many, many times, in many different ways along its travel up through Minnesota, Michigan and to Canada, down through New York, through hair samples, blood samples, trail camera photos. According to wildlife biologist Jason Hawley, the lack of evidence of mountain lions in Connecticut is the evidence. We dont have extra money to do secret projects, he says. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Wed be seeing more carcasses of prey we would be seeing at least some carcasses of mountain lion prey. 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. Based on this blurry photo and pawprints, DEEP confirmed it was likely a mountain lion. I live in Hamden Connecticut and I have had mountain lions, black bears, Skunk's, dear, coyotes, fox. Anyone can get fooled. Mountain lions were hunted to extinction near the end of the 19th century. When we lived in Suffield, we had MANY Mountain Lion sightings.probably 4-5 sightings (which qualifies as many to me) and they were definitely not Bobcats, @Craig, what town is Wtn? DEEP believes their numbers have increased in recent years. McEnroe: It is an uphill challenge. The next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an, on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. So all the other states in the Northeast that have bear populations have a harvest on their bears. When you look at a state like Connecticut, with all the people we have here, all the trail cameras we have in the woods, all the cars we have driving you can imagine if we had an established population here in Connecticut, we would know about it pretty quickly. Rumors of their hidden presence persisted. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal. This might serve as proof to some that there, in fact, might still be mountain lions in CT. According to the Connecticut DEEP, the bobcat is the only wild cat found in Connecticut. 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. Theres also the lack of visual evidence, more glaring each passing year as so many hikers and hunters now carry phones with cameras. Lets learn to live alongside this very large animal is one of the schools of thought. Especially when pictures are blurry which happens a lot in trail cameras or youll get pictures taken at night or something on Ring cameras that hind leg really does often look like a tail kind of curling up behind the animal.. I might also add that I notified the State wildlife division about evidence of a bear in my neighborhood in Windham County and never received even an acknowledgement. A mountain lion from South Dakota apparently made an epic journey to suburban Connecticut. 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). And even the home entries are kind of changing. There is also something appealing about the idea that there is an animal out there so cunning that it has escaped our notice and the eyes of our cameras. According to Hawley, if mountain lions were present in the state, there would be evidence and not just unconfirmed sightings. They have been documented in Woodbridge and are often quite active this time of year making observations of these normally elusive animals much more likely.. I couldnt tell you how happy I would be if mountain lions were actually recolonizing the state of Connecticut, Hawley says, but its just not happening., Hawley spoke about bobcats, mountain lions and bears on The Colin McEnroe Show: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators.. It is also the most common wild cat found in North America. Report: CT man killed in police shootout after dispute at casino, 24 Connecticut towns don't have stores that accept food stamps, CT pit bull that was almost euthanized goes viral, gets adopted, CT could lose thousands of affordable housing units. I feel a little bit like Roy Scheider in Jaws, you know, youve got to shut down the beaches, he said. On another large animal that is most definitely here: bears. It was a flooded area. He drove me out to the spot. And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. It was found, though, that this particular big cat had traveled all the way from South Dakota a distance of 1,500 miles. Police have a warning after there were multiple mountain lion sightings reported in Woodbridge. Or at least theyre not supposed to be. I frankly have lost faith in some government institutions for this very reason. (My wife didnt get a look at the tail.) 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.. However, that doesnt mean that mountain lion sightings are all false or that there havent been roaming cats sighted. Genetic testing placed the animal in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the cat had been sighted at several different points during its long journey east. Certainly, bobcats are much larger than housecats, but they are not nearly the size of cougars. Black panthers, which are not found in the U.S., are actually black jaguars or leopards. She served as the Senior Producer for 'The Colin McEnroe Show' for several years before stepping down in 2021 and returning to her previous career as a registered nurse. Truth & Reconciliation Commission begins, Odanak chief repeats request for inclusion. She adds, I think its because a lot of people are fascinated by wild cats; they are the embodiment of the wild.. Like coyotes, moreover, mountain. Grandson of an old swamp Yankee, trapped, hunted , fished my whole life. On June 11, 2011, in Milford, CT, a mountain lion was killed by a motor vehicle. According to authorities, the mountain lion was reportedly seen on Friday including on Salem. The famous "Connecticut mountain lion" traveled 1500 miles from South Dakota, the furthest trek currently recorded. It lowers the population in a way thats not going to affect the long-term population. That maybe, just maybe, what my wife and others saw wasnt a bobcat that seemed bigger in the thrill of the moment, but a real, honest-to-goodness mountain lion, a long-lost ghost of the forest. He drove me out to the spot. It was a flooded area. Stay facing the big cat and try not to turn your back to it, officials said in a Facebook post. But sometimes, instead of mountain lions, people thought they saw other creatures in the Connecticut woods, of which authorities were supposedly aware. 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The police shoot of Cougars behind the police Academy when they get over populated. Connecticut Dept. Weve done a lot of work over the years investigating sightings. However, the National Wildlife Federation notes that the mountain lions range spreads all across the Americas, from the Canadian Yukon to The Strait of Magellan, making it the greatest range of any living mammal in the Americas.. Were getting more and more home entries every year. 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. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. We even had a sighting someone here at DEEP, in my office, was convinced they saw a mountain lion. Another important difference: bobcats are found in Connecticut while mountain lions are not. The arrival of a real mountain lion in the state reframed the discussion in Connecticut surrounding the animal. Clean_Caterpillar225 4 mo. And there are different schools of thought about that. So its this gathering storm. Rego has many reasons why a conspiracy to conceal mountain lions by his colleagues at DEEP is impossible. That means that the animal traveled more than 1,500 miles to Connecticut, more than twice as far as the longest dispersal pattern ever recorded for a mountain lion. Im Shelton Lively, a Connecticut resident, and an avid outdoors person. Woodbridge police reported that there were a few incidents in the area recently, with one involving a resident reporting they encountered a mountain lion with their family on their lawn. 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. It had rained previously. Throw rocks, sticks, etc to scare it off. 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. Wed be seeing more carcasses of prey we would be seeing at least some carcasses of mountain lion prey. They also have facial ruffs and ear tufts on the tips of their ears, as well as shorter tails. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. New Hampshire Public Radio | During Autism Awareness Month, columnist John Breunig details the experience of taking his son to a Bruce Springsteen concert and the NY Theres just an incredible amount of bad information that we get from coercion and bad interviewing tactics, a policing expert says. 5. Also, there has been a rash of cats and dogs gone missing out of here with the DPs. Now the bears, they dont even care if people are home, theyll go right in the house. Watch Live at 7:00 PM: The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns | Screening & Panel Discussion . The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection thinks it's unlikely. Rumors of their hidden presence persisted. On the idea of bear hunting in Connecticut. Chief Rick OBomsawin of Odanak First Nation currently based in Quebec, whose ancestral lands include Vermont says no one contacted Odanak officials during the state's Truth and Reconciliation selection process. This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Publics Members
Here are some physical differences between mountain lions and bobcats: These 2 big cats also behave differently. You know, weve had so many home entries this year. Theyll say, Hey, you can see in the picture that it has a long tail, and when I look at the picture, I say, I see how you would see that because they way these cats walk, theyll kind of stand and trail their rear leg. But that doesnt stop people from seeing them. Thus, the name of the mountain where Castle Craig sits.. nicknamed "Cat Hole Mountain!" "Connecticut is cougar heaven . Of course. According to French's article: "To date, the only other confirmed evidence of a wild Mountain Lion in Massachusetts was found on March 4, 2011, when Steve Ward . State lawmakers have entertained bills to establish a bear hunting season for years, but so far, none of those proposals has passed. Weve got a growing bear population. Mountain lions went extinct in Connecticut during the 1800s, but bobcats are still seen regularly. He was previously a reporter for the Danbury News-Times and the Ridgefield Press. Sport hunting for cougars is not sustainable and shouldnt be allowed to go on. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. She served as the Senior Producer for 'The Colin McEnroe Show' for several years before stepping down in 2021 and returning to her previous career as a registered nurse. Bachelder said he did a double take Friday evening when he looked out the back window of his home on Pease Road. The Damned Story: Eastern mountain lions, or pumas or cougars, were last officially seen in Connecticut near the end of the 19th century. 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. Based on this blurry photo and pawprints, confirmed it was likely a mountain lion. Stay facing the big cat and try not to turn your back to it. Officials are reminding residents to be mindful of small pets and children wandering out of sight, to not approach the animal and give it space to turn around if faced with a big cat, like a mountain lion. Jason Hawley says his office gets lots of calls about mountain lions each year. Sue Morse, the founder and science director of Keeping Track, a Vermont-based organization dedicated to protecting wildlife habitats, has studied mountain lions over her career as a naturalist, and says the majority of cougar sightings in the Northeast are misidentifications. In some versions, state officials dont want to alarm people about the feline predators in their midst. One on Salem Rd and another in the area of Pease Rd in our town. Weve got a growing bear population. It was a 140-pound male mountain lion, the first confirmed in Connecticut in more than 100 years. Wed be seeing more carcasses of prey we would be seeing at least some carcasses of mountain lion prey. Hawley said that the typical range of cougars like mountain lions is from west of the South Dakota area. Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators., Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators, Pastry artwork pits bakery against town of Conway in free speech suit, In latest school funding trial, state attorneys argue NH districts' budgets are bloated, Lawmakers, advocates, families in NH react to Biden Admin's proposed Title IX change, Give Back NH: The New England Grassroots Environment Fund. Uscinski, a Connecticut native, adds that the theory that the government is covering up the existence of mountain lions is likely motivated by a distrust of authority. For decades afterward, there were reported sightings of the mythical creature prowling the woods around town. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. Bobcats: Though technically a type of lynx, they are distinct from other species of lynx such as the Canadian lynx. Ask people who spend time outside Connecticut cities and you will hear firsthand or secondhand accounts of mountain lions. According to the Smithsonians National Zoo, bobcats are part of the lynx genus, which means they are related to other cats like the Canadian lynx, Iberian lynx and Eurasian lynx. These were reported to CT DEEP and though the sightings may not have been confirmed as true mountain Lion sightings, this post is to spread awareness on the issue in case youre presented with such situation. 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? My wife is not a wildlife expert, but is not prone to flights of fancy. When you look at a state like Connecticut, with all the people we have here, all the trail cameras we have in the woods, all the cars we have driving you can imagine if we had an established population here in Connecticut, we would know about it pretty quickly. The police department decided to put out a warning to those in town. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. Speaker Bill Betty presented evidence and proposed theories that could prove that Connecticut, including , is home to a native population of Eastern mountain lions. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. Hawley:Were sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. Im always amazed at the sheer volume of people who are interested in cougars, more even than wolves, she says. Hawley: I feel strongly that we need a harvest here in Connecticut. Weve had housecats misidentified as mountain lions and even deer, Rego says. . Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. Connecticut Public Radio | In Florida, where mountain lions are known as panthers, dozens are killed each year by cars. Young pumas dispersing from Western habitats are being killed at the source, compromising the Easts critical opportunity for ecosystem health and the return of an apex carnivore., Regardless of where they are found, or whether people want to hunt or protect them, people are enchanted by mountain lions. These highlights have been edited and condensed for length and clarity. On the idea of bear hunting in Connecticut. Connecticut's official position is that mountain lions have been extinct in the state since the late 1800s. They also want to foster the formation and protection of migration pathways for them and other animals to enter new states. Genetic testing placed the animal in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the cat had been sighted at several different points during its long journey east. Map reproduced from LaRue et al. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference. Ancient_Ad126 4 mo. Almost daily, there are claims of mountain lion sightings in CT, though. On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. In yet another variant, DEEP is said to be helicoptering mountain lions in to help control the deer population. WOODBRIDGE, CT (WFSB) Police in Woodbridge said they have received reports of mountain lion sightings in town. 2023 Hearst Media Services Connecticut, LLC, Report: CT man killed in police shootout after dispute at casino, Police: CT man jumped off overpass after causing head-on crash, Police: Fugitive captured after crashing stolen car on Merritt, Danbury apartment project gets environmental green light, Senior center benefit to feature 'roadshow-style' appraisals, Ridgefield teens learn about dementia through interactive lesson, 24 Connecticut towns don't have stores that accept food stamps, CT could lose thousands of affordable housing units, Greenwich police offer new emergency alert system, Norwalk business moves to make room for CT's first Wegmans, several have reportedly been spotted around the Woodbridge area this month, one that was killed on the Merritt Parkway in 2011, U.S. Department of Agricultures Forest Service, mountain lions became extinct in Connecticut in the 1800s, UConn men's basketball freshman Yarin Hasson enters transfer portal, 7 cute villages and hamlets in CT to explore this spring, Feds: Four Connecticut men face drug charges for allegedly flooding Waterbury with fentanyl, heroin, Branford gym for 50+ reaches milestone with help from members who paid dues during COVID lockdown, Police: Meriden father and son had child sex abuse videos on their phones, Connecticut softball top performers (Apr. They also generally have spots on their fur. Colin McEnroe is a radio host, newspaper columnist, magazine writer, author, playwright, lecturer, moderator, college instructor and occasional singer. 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. Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said Massachusetts troopers used reasonable deadly force after Connecticut man shot at police in Springfield in February. So its this gathering storm. She served as the Senior Producer for 'The Colin McEnroe Show' for several years before stepping down in 2021 and returning to her previous career as a registered nurse. At that point, they realized my family was not crazy and it was identified as a cougar and it was about 100 lbs. 17), Police investigate death of New London High School student, Guide to Legal Cannabis Dispensaries in CT, recent mountain lion sightings in Connecticut have not been confirmed, CT pit bull that was almost euthanized goes viral, gets adopted. Woodbridge police provided this photo of a mountain lion, after several reported sightings in the area. That report was accompanied by a blurry photo, an indistinct paw print, and a scat sample. Instead, people should remain facing the cat and not turn their back on it, make noise and make themselves appear as large as possible by raising their arms over their heads with a jacket. of Energy & Environmental Protection. 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. Dickson, however, said the agency is not aware of any such reports. Bobcats dont shy away from human habitats, while mountain lions tend to only be found in very isolated areas. He explains that we frequently overestimate the size of animals in the wild, particularly ones we are afraid of. Also known as cougars, panthers or pumas, mountain lions range in color from tan to grey, according to the U.S. Department of Agricultures Forest Service. In Connecticut, some folks in Sharon say they have seen mountain lions. A harvest is kind of twofold. Massachusetts and several other New England states have bear hunting, or harvest, seasons, which proponents say help control populations. What about mountain lions, though? Weve done a lot of work over the years investigating sightings. Bobcats are most frequently misidentified by the public as mountain lions, but theyre not the only animals mislabeled. And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. It was a lion-like cat with a tan coat and no spots that was about three times the size of our 30- to 35-pound dog. Below is an evolving list of Connecticut natives and state prep school football players in the Class of 2023 who have signed letters of intent to play football in college. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal . A couple things to keep in mind if you come across or see a big cat like a Mountain Lion: 1. McEnroe: Scientifically, this is a case where absence of evidence is kind of evidence of absence, right? His mountain lion was over twice the size of the bobcat which the bobcat had killed half my flock of chickens. Hawley: Wildlife biologists across the United States know where the current mountain lion range is. 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. The sightings increased in 2011, after a driver hit and killed a mountain lion who was trying to cross the Merritt Parkway in Milford. But it also sort of instills that fear, a healthy fear of humans and bears. The state adds bobcats are often active this time of year, making sightings much more likely. Massachusetts and several other New England states have bear hunting, or harvest, seasons, which proponents say help control populations. ago. . 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