Tolland resident Loren Gerber said that he and his wife have both seen cougars in the area. Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. He was previously a reporter for the Danbury News-Times and the Ridgefield Press. 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.. 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. Its documented through track surveys, aerial surveys, trapping and collaring surveys. Hey, I know what I saw. Ask people who spend time outside Connecticut cities and you will hear firsthand or secondhand accounts of mountain lions. 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.. Possible mountain lion sightings reported in Woodbridge, Mountain lion sightings reported in Woodbridge. But what might be his most compelling argument is that since this is Connecticut, the budget is too limited. Copyright 2023 The Connecticut Explorer | Wisteria on Trellis Framework by Mediavine, Connecticut Explorer Home Find Things to do in CT. A mountain lion is a wild cat ranging from two to three feet tall, with females weighing up to 120lbs and males up to 200lbs, making it the fourth largest cat in the world. The big cat. Jason Hawley says his office gets lots of calls about mountain lions each year. While there is currently not much safety training being done in the state for the extinct animal, Betty predicts that cougar safety will eventually be as common in New England as it is in California. In 2016, a woman reported seeing a mountain lion on a Fox Run Road property in New Canaan, though state officials said they were unable to confirm the sighting based on paw prints left by the animal. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, Cassano Being Honored For Contributions To Manchester Children, Sandwich Giant Again Pledging Sales Proceeds To Major Charity In March, Snow Day For Schools, Parking Ban Issued In Manchester, Book Release Event: Bad Hair Day on Planet Earth, a memoir by Barbara Ruzansky, Jazz Series: Luke Hendon & Jack Soref - An Evening of Gypsy Jazz, The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night-Time, Brady Sullivan Properties Supports Elliot Emergency Department, Public Access TV Show Focuses On Non-Profits And Community Heroes, Pairings Released For CIAC Boys Basketball State Tournaments, 4 Students Injured In 2 Collisions On UConn's Horsebarn Hill. Mountain lions have been dispersing away from these population areas, and researchers recently mapped all confirmed mountain lion observations from 1990-2008 (LaRue et al. 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. To learn more about "lion country" in Colorado check here. 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The last confirmed sighting of a mountain lion in CT was in 2011 when a driver struck and killed one on the Merrit Parkway. This can trigger a chase. Report a new sighting Sightings List 1 2 New Hampshire Public Radio | They vary in size and weight, with males reaching up to 200 pounds and eight feet in length (one-third of their length is the tail). While he might feel like that well known movie character who was doubted at first, Bachelder is confident it was a cougar. The journey is chronicled in the 2016 book Heart of a Lion: A Lone Cats Walk Across America by William Stolzenburg. 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. The Mountain Lion is a large, slender cat with a smallish head and noticeably long tail. He published his first book in 1959, 2023 Hearst Media Services Connecticut, LLC, In the 1950s, the 'Mad Dog murders' terrorized Connecticut, Connecticut Magazine: Best restaurants for dessert for 2023, Connecticut Magazine: CT's best brunch spots for 2023, Meet rising hip-hop star and CT native Felly, Connecticut Magazine: Best vegetarian, vegan restaurants for 2023, Save money by electrifying your homes systems, Stratford's Allan Dias and his brush with rock 'n' roll fame, Review: Hachiroku in New Haven is a slice of Japanese heaven, Geno Auriemma gives bleak assessment as UConn womens basketball looks to find footing in March: 'Poorly coached team. We even had a sighting someone here at DEEP, in my office, was convinced they saw a mountain lion. Not really, Rego says. Beautiful clear day just like this, and there in my backyard I see this huge golden animal, walking through the yard, Bachelder said. 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. State lawmakers have entertained bills to establish a bear hunting season for years, but so far, none of those proposals has passed. You really couldnt ask for a better place for mountain lions.. Mountain Lions:100 all the way up to 200 pounds, Mountain Lions:Can grow up to 6 feet long. 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. 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. ', '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. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. This article appeared in theNovember 2019issue ofConnecticut Magazine. These highlights have been edited and condensed for length and clarity. Adult males may be more than 8 feet long (from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail), and can weigh between 130 and 150 pounds. This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Publics Members
'Bo was a legend', Los Charros Cantina closes in Essex, will relocate to Branford, Elizabeth's Cafe in Madison to be razed for new restaurant, housing, CT fathers coaching daughters in girls basketball navigate life lessons at home and on the court, 5 CT companies hiring for 100 or more positions, Celebrity gossip and sightings in and around CT, February 2023, John Mayer to appear on Impractical Jokers Thursday, Stamford's Alive At Five concert series announces 2023 dates, Dionne Warwick, '80 for Brady producer bring music review to CT. Habitat. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. I frankly have lost faith in some government institutions for this very reason. Hear the full interview: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators. Over time, this will help us evaluate problem areas, movement barriers for wildlife, and potential for human-puma conflict. (Throughout history, people have had a deep fear of these creatures, hounding and hunting them mercilessly.) A harvest is kind of twofold. The large cat was seen on Hoyt Farm Road not far from Route 123 near the Norwalk-New Canaan border. I enjoy exploring CT and reporting back to my readers about fun things to do in Connecticut. And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. Genetic testing placed the animal in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the cat had been sighted at several different points during its long journey east. But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. Wright, however, didnt agree with his mentor and began writing publicly about mountain lions in the East. Then in June 2011, there were reports of a mountain lion in Greenwich and, for the first time, a photo. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are
Mountain lions inhabit the badlands and Missouri River breaks regions of North Dakota. Its important to stand your ground and not run or hide. 1.Customize your maps Style your maps with custom markers, lines, colors, polygons, and images. 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. Emaileditor@connecticutmag.com, or contact usonFacebook@connecticutmagazine orTwitter@connecticutmag. Got a question or comment? 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.. Betty later showed maps covered with dots, each of which represented sightings of mountain lions in Connecticut and the rest of New England. For mountain lions in Connecticut, a lack of evidence is very good evidence. Betty, however, said that the sheer number of sightings and evidence substantiates a native population of cougars. 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. Make yourself big -- do not bend, squat or sit down. to scare it off. Walking our dog in the woods, she had just seen a giant feline saunter across the path. Weve had housecats misidentified as mountain lions and even deer, Rego says. Typically, they will slink out of there as quickly as they can to get away from humans. Watch Live at 7:00 PM: The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns | Screening & Panel Discussion . 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.. 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. Its quite an uphill challenge for us to manage that situation right now. According to authorities, the mountain lion was reportedly seen on Friday including on Salem Road and near Pease Road. The main habitat requirement for mountain lions is stalking cover to successfully hunt prey. 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. And were one of the most densely populated states as far as humans. The tail may have one to several indistinct dark bands and a tip that is black on top and whitish below. Be mindful of small pets and small children wandering too far away from your sight line. These tips include carrying safety equipment and walking . They usually either don't disperse at all or they'll kind of overlap their mother's home range, or they'll disperse very short distances.. Email editor@connecticutmag.com. And the last confirmed sighting prior to the 2011 instance would be a couple hundred years ago, according to Hawley. 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? And even the home entries are kind of changing. Multiple people in North Stonington claim they've spotted a mountain lion roaming around. I think its good he attended, Gottier said of Littell. 5. However, that doesnt mean that mountain lion sightings are all false or that there havent been roaming cats sighted. 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. The states beautiful wilderness and mountainous terrain are prime mountain lion habitats. Despite frequent claims, there has only been one confirmed mountain lion sighting since the late 1800s here. The sightings havent been confirmed by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), and there are no videos or photos. There is a big difference between Tuesday when none of us saw a moose in our region and then Thursday we did, Morse says. I feel a little bit like Roy Scheider in Jaws, you know, youve got to shut down the beaches, he said. There are an estimated 3,000 - 7,000 Mountain lions in Colorado. A harvest is kind of twofold. Re (1): Mountain Lion sighting in Brookfield ct - By russ January 30, 2016 at 05:10:25 PM. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. 5:30 PM . Im no wilderness expert, but it sure looked like a mountain lion to me, he said. He said that the conservation organization,Cougars of the Valley, has compiled 300 sightings in the Farmington Valley region of the state alone. I've damn near run over the things. She still produces shows with Colin and the team when her schedule allows. 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.. 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. Ive been doing this for 40 years. Due to mountain lions large size, they require larger meals. Its extremely rare for a person to see a wild animal and to underestimate its size. 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. Not long after, what was believed to be the same mountain lion was struck and killed on Route 15 in Milford. Mountain lion spotted in Connecticut town On Monday, DEEP said that Connecticut does not have a mountain lion population. Body length: 3-4 ft. Tail: 2.5-3 ft. 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 . Weight. 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. Rumors of their hidden presence persisted. Fight back. Inevitably, the New England states will acknowledge that they have some mountain lions.. Body coloration can range from tan to gray and cubs are usually covered with blackish brown spots. On the idea of bear hunting in Connecticut. Explore the most popular trails in my list Mountain lion sightings with hand-curated trail maps and driving directions as well as detailed reviews and photos from hikers, campers and nature lovers like you. 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? Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. And follow us on Facebook and Instagram @connecticutmagazine and Twitter @connecticutmag. In the decades that followed, many cougar enthusiasts came to share Wrights conclusions, at least at first. Booth DEEP and local authorities around Connecticut have confirmed that the majority of mountain lion sightings in the state turn out to be sightings of bobcats. Report a Moose Sighting Select the link above to report your sighting. It used to be that a bear would go into a house when someone wasnt home. Connecticut Dept. NHPR is nonprofit and independent. 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. Pepper spray has also been proven as an effective weapon against the animal. A fourth cougar sighting in recent days was reported near the New Canaan border Thursday, according to Animal Control officer Allyson Halm. Its definitely a problem thats only going to get worse. The next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an, on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. According to the Connecticut DEEP, the bobcat is the only wild cat found in Connecticut. Based on this blurry photo and pawprints, confirmed it was likely a mountain lion. 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. Weight: 160 lbs. Since May 21, three other lion sightings were reported in the Chubbuck and Pocatello areas and one in Inkom. Are these elusive cats prowling the East once again? DEEP sightings: Where the bears are in CT. Jim Shay. You know, weve had so many home entries this year. Its documented through track surveys, aerial surveys, trapping and collaring surveys. From family fun to restaurants and everything in between, everything you need to know about CT is right here. The mountain lion is believed to have had an encounter with a family on their lawn. Hawley: Yeah. No, there are no mountain lions in CT, and there havent been for quite some time. 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