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. The state says no, theyre extinct, that cant be. My heart was saying, Maybe this is it,. Hes even had his own false sighting. 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. Despite frequent claims, there has only been one confirmed mountain lion sighting since the late 1800s here. The news stunned. For mountain lions in Connecticut, a lack of evidence is very good evidence. Rego has many reasons why a conspiracy to conceal mountain lions by his colleagues at DEEP is impossible. 6. Okay, if thats what you say, what can I tell you. 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. Make noise. 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. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. Bobcats: Whiskered face and are gray in the winter and tan in the summer, with black spots on their fur that are not always visible. Do not bend, squat, or sit down. If you follow local news outlets and local social media pages, youll notice a common theme when it comes to wildlife sightings people often mistake one type of animal for another. What we do not have is a secure predator corridor.. Stay facing the big cat and try not to turn your back to it. But as Eastern cougar search efforts became more organized and still there were no concrete signs of the creatures, many became more skeptical. So theres fresh mud. Those are the two closest populations that we have here. Once at dusk driving in the Berkshires, he saw what he initially thought was a cat-like creature that was far bigger than a bobcat leap across the road. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal . 5. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. Its definitely a problem thats only going to get worse. Bobcats don't shy away from human habitats, while mountain lions tend to only be found in very isolated areas. To date, no footage of a mountain lion has surfaced. Are There a Lot of Spiders in Connecticut? He can be reached by phone at 860-275-7297 or by email: pskahill@ctpublic.org. Sometimes referred to as the ghosts of the forest, mountain lions or cougars are stealthy hunters that are hard to spot, even in areas they are known to inhabit. 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. Two women's solution: salvage it instead, Hampden County DA: Massachusetts troopers acted 'lawfully' in shooting death of William Tisdol, As Vt. Lets learn to live alongside this very large animal is one of the schools of thought. The gate of a bobcat can often make it look like it has a long 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 next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. Don't be a fool and be caught off guard by believing they don't exist in Connecticut. Abbott, of the Housatonic Valley Association, is equally skeptical of the vast majority of mountain lion sightings. Its definitely a problem thats only going to get worse. Based on this blurry photo and pawprints, DEEP confirmed it was likely a mountain lion. 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. However, Hawley noted that Eastern bobcats tend to have very few spots compared to bobcats that are out west or even in the Midwest. If they have spots, they are typically in the white, underside part of the bodies or on the insides of their legs. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. 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. However, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) says. For mountain lions in Connecticut, a lack of evidence is very good evidence. Give it space to turn around without feeling threatened to get away from you and your family. Hear the full interview: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators. The famous "Connecticut mountain lion" traveled 1500 miles from South Dakota, the furthest trek currently recorded. A couple things to keep in mind if you come across or see a big cat like a Mountain Lion: 1. Initially, officials believed it had been released from a private handler. Throw rocks, sticks, etc to scare it off. Connecticut Dept. 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? where the last confirmed kill was in 1885. 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. Wed be seeing more carcasses of prey we would be seeing at least some carcasses of mountain lion prey. 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? A young male was hit and killed by a car several years ago, but. 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. 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. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal. We have had five coyotes crossing through our yard in the past few weeks, and one even lingers around our property and the neighbors. . Massachusetts and several other New England states have bear hunting, or harvest, seasons, which proponents say help control populations. Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. It was a flooded area. But it also sort of instills that fear, a healthy fear of humans and bears. You cansubscribe here, orfind the current issue on sale here. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. (Throughout history, people have had a deep fear of these creatures, hounding and hunting them mercilessly.) On June 11, 2011, in Milford, CT, a mountain lion was killed by a motor vehicle. 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? It was a flooded area. If you have a worldview in which the government is conspiring to do weird stuff, than thats what youre going to see, and all the evidence is going to point to exactly what you believe, he says. Mountain lions may be stealthy, but they do leave a trace. Hey, I know what I saw. MOUNTAIN LION ATTACKS MAN SITTING IN COLORADO HOT TUB After a few moments of the deer trying to maneuver out of the chokehold, it managed to free itself from the claws of the mountain lion.. 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. Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said Massachusetts troopers used reasonable deadly force after Connecticut man shot at police in Springfield in February. 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. 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. Genetic testing placed the animal in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the cat had been sighted at several different points during its long journey east. So theres fresh mud. Im not an expert on human psychology, but if youre looking for something, you have a greater chance of actually seeing it. 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. Ive lived here 23 years, Ive seen coyotes, Ive seen bobcats, Ive seen foxes, everything else, never seen anything like this before, said Bachelder. And were one of the most densely populated states as far as humans. The last confirmed mountain lion sighting in Connecticut occurred in 2011. Mountain Lions: They are officially extinct. 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. It had rained previously. In the 1930s, Bruce Wright, an influential wildlife manager from New Brunswick, Canada, began gathering reports of sightings of mountain lions in the East and searching for their tracks. And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. Adult males can be around 8 feet in length and weigh between 130 and 150 pounds, while adult females can be 7 feet long and weigh between 65 and 90 pounds. 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. Or at least theyre not supposed to be. Email editor@connecticutmag.com. In Florida, where mountain lions are known as panthers, dozens are killed each year by cars. Its documented through track surveys, aerial surveys, trapping and collaring surveys. Over time, Wright became convinced Eastern cougars lived in small pockets in the deep woods. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. They also have facial ruffs and ear tufts on the tips of their ears, as well as shorter tails. There are no mountain lions in Connecticut, so why do we keep seeing them? Its a cool story with how far that animal walked. 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. he recalls. 17), Police investigate death of New London High School student, Long Wharf Theatre to present Live from the Edge in Hamden, Torrington students to stage 'The Sponge Bob Musical' in May, 'American Idol' alums Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken to perform in CT, Talcott Mountain Music Festival starts June 30. In yet another variant, DEEP is said to be helicoptering mountain lions in to help control the deer population. 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