Icould hear the panic in my wifes voice. Based on this blurry photo and pawprints, DEEP confirmed it was likely a mountain lion. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. And there are different schools of thought about that. They are very bold. 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. Tim Abbott, the regional land conservation and greenprint director for the Housatonic Valley Association, says that during a lecture on mountain lions last winter at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, when the speaker asked if anyone had seen a mountain lion, half of the roughly 400 people in attendance raised their hands. According to DEEP the bobcat is the only confirmed species of wild cat in CT as of 2022. The main habitat requirement for mountain lions is stalking cover to successfully hunt prey. The mountain lion is also known as cougar, panther, or puma. 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. 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? Following the recent death of a mountain lion in Milford, and several reported. It used to be that a bear would go into a house when someone wasnt home. Adult males typically weigh between 18 and 35 pounds and measure from 32 to 37 inches in length. Running joke in the family when we see one is "But of course it wasn't a Mountain Lion, because there are no Mountain Lions in CT". In the decades that followed, many cougar enthusiasts came to share Wrights conclusions, at least at first. Watch Live at 7:00 PM: The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns | Screening & Panel Discussion . Breweries in New Haven, CT you MUST Visit! It had rained previously. For decades, wildlife experts should have been seeing occasional scat and paw prints in the winter. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. So theres fresh mud. Now the bears, they dont even care if people are home, theyll go right in the house. Weight: 70-170 lbs. ', '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. Pepper spray has also been proven as an effective weapon against the animal. of Energy and Environmental Protection. 2023 Hearst Media Services Connecticut, LLC, Serious crash closes CT stretch of I-95 South, state police say, Fairfield man charged in alleged high-speed chase, shootout, CT Capitol police arrest 14 people following peaceful protest, DCF denies 'deficiencies' cited in report on CT child deaths, Suspect in 2021 fatal shooting arrested, Hamden police say, Police warn of spike in vehicle thefts in CT town, Elicker presents $662.7m budget that would raise spending $29.5m, Norwalk council hears call for school spending, delays budget cap, NJ man faces more charges in alleged money laundering scheme, Late West Haven audit sees vulnerabilities for more fraud, 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, Geno Auriemma gives bleak assessment as UConn womens basketball looks to find footing in March: 'Poorly coached team. Even in parts of the country where there are documented breeding populations of mountain lions, there are still many false reports. From Litchfield County, can confirm. Otherwise, Hawley said cats like bobcats want nothing to do with people, and they will generally prey on chickens, small dogs or cats. They also generally have spots on their fur. Im not an expert on human psychology, but if youre looking for something, you have a greater chance of actually seeing it. But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. Those are the two closest populations that we have here. Make yourself BIG. I think its good he attended, Gottier said of Littell. mountain lions in washington. Sign up for our newsletter to get our latest and greatest content delivered right to your inbox. Posted on Published: November 4, 2022- Last updated: December 28, 2022. 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. 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Certainly, bobcats are much larger than housecats, but they are not nearly the size of cougars. 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. This was maybe a decade ago. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. 47 6 thatphanom.techno@gmail.com 042-532028 , 042-532027 A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. He drove me out to the spot. Fv 27, 2023 . . Hawley: Yeah. The police department decided to put out a warning to those in town. Bobcat sightings are not uncommon in Connecticut. Hes even had his own false sighting. Since then, there have been no confirmed cases here, with the state saying: People very often mistake bobcats for mountain lions. Over time, Wright became convinced Eastern cougars lived in small pockets in the deep woods. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons. And were one of the most densely populated states as far as humans. No, there are no mountain lions in CT, and there havent been for quite some time. But sometimes, instead of mountain lions, people thought they saw other creatures in the Connecticut woods, of which authorities were supposedly aware. Eastern Cougar Sightings Mountain Lions in New York. 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. mountain lions in washington. Wright, however, didnt agree with his mentor and began writing publicly about mountain lions in the East. (Throughout history, people have had a deep fear of these creatures, hounding and hunting them mercilessly.) The New Hampshire Department of Justice is pursuing civil charges against two members of the hate group for allegedly hanging a racist banner in Portsmouth last summer. It was a flooded area. 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. Theres something in human nature to overestimate the size of wild animals we see, especially if we get a brief glance and if the animal is moving. He adds, Bobcats can get pretty large and some people believe they should have pretty visible spots and very often theyre pretty uniform in color. This is especially true in the summer, when my wifes sighting occurred. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Mountain Lions: They are officially extinct. 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. Woodbridge police shared tips for if you encounter a big cat: On Friday July 8, 2022 there was a few reported Mountain Lion sightings the last few days one actually involving an encounter with ones family in their lawn. I frankly have lost faith in some government institutions for this very reason. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. 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.. On the idea of bear hunting in Connecticut. Ask people who spend time outside Connecticut cities and you will hear firsthand or secondhand accounts of mountain lions. Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. 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. 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.. 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 . The history of this theory in Connecticut and New England goes back long before our current era of fake news. NHPR is nonprofit and independent. It was a flooded area. Canton and Simsbury have also had about 70 sightings. Re (3): Mountain Lion sighting in Brookfield ct - By weather01089 February 1, 2016 at 04:55:52 PM. Live Now All times eastern. He drove me out to the spot. Register for a user account. The map below includes both confirmed and unverified puma sightings in the larger San Francisco Bay region (and beyond) since 2004. And follow us on Facebook and Instagram @connecticutmagazine and Twitter @connecticutmag. According to authorities, the mountain lion was reportedly seen on Friday including on Salem Road and near Pease Road. There are an estimated 3,000 - 7,000 Mountain lions in Colorado. And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. By, March 2023 Fund Drive Rules and Regulations, Persons with disabilities who need assistance accessing NHPR's FCC public files, please contact us at publicfile@nhpr.org. Bobcats are most frequently misidentified by the public as mountain lions, but theyre not the only animals mislabeled. Betty later showed maps covered with dots, each of which represented sightings of mountain lions in Connecticut and the rest of New England. 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. In cities, smaller towns, and even sparsely inhabited areas, there is simply not enough large prey for mountain lions to survive on. Police have a warning after there were multiple mountain lion sightings reported in Woodbridge. Hawley:Were sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. Colin McEnroe is a radio host, newspaper columnist, magazine writer, author, playwright, lecturer, moderator, college instructor and occasional singer. But it also sort of instills that fear, a healthy fear of humans and bears. This article appeared in theNovember 2019issue ofConnecticut Magazine. 105 of 119 106 of 119 A dead mountain lion, killed on the Merritt Parkway in Milford in June 2011. 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? Im confident that we get occasional outlier animals.. Weve got a growing bear population. According to authorities, the mountain lion was reportedly seen on Friday including on. Yet we see nothing about what is being planned except how to scare them away if one sees them. McEnroe: It is an uphill challenge. Mountain lions are about half the size of lions, but they can run up to 50 mph while lions can run only 37 mph. Now the bears, they dont even care if people are home, theyll go right in the house. After the male mountain lion was removed from Red Hill Trail on May 11, additional sightings in that area were reported: one on May 16, and two over the weekend of May 19 and 20. of Energy & Environmental Protection. Anyone can get fooled. Initially, officials believed it had been released from a private handler. Youll get the answer to this question in this article. (My wife didnt get a look at the tail.) New Hampshire Public Radio | Hey, I know what I saw. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are Want to post on Patch? But what might be his most compelling argument is that since this is Connecticut, the budget is too limited. Its definitely a problem thats only going to get worse. Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. "I was hoping for tracks after the rain, but the area was not conducive for it," Halm said. Genetic testing placed the animal in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the cat had been sighted at several different points during its long journey east. 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. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. Bachelder said he did a double take Friday evening when he looked out the back window of his home on Pease Road. She was also the voice behind the weekly Connecticut Real Estate newsletter by CT Insider. Bobcats dont shy away from human habitats, while mountain lions tend to only be found in very isolated areas. Mountain Lions:They can have similar coloring and their tails can look alike, which has lead to some house cats being mistaken for them, even though mountain lions are much, much bigger. Experts Warn Residents to Take Precautions After Recent Mountain Lion Sightings By Bay City News Published June 11, 2021 Updated on June 11, 2021 at 6:50 am NBC Universal, Inc. 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. It used to be that a bear would go into a house when someone wasnt home. We have plenty of suitable habitat, he says. Bobcats typically have brown fur with a reddish tinge that is marked with black or brown spots or stripes, according to the National Zoo. This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Publics Members We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Weve had housecats misidentified as mountain lions and even deer, Rego says. 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). Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. Each sighting involved cougars that are not native to New York. WOODBRIDGE, CT (WFSB) Police in Woodbridge said they have received reports of mountain lion sightings in town. People have been known to submit photos of real mountain lions taken in other states and claim they were taken in Connecticut. Well also go over what types of wild cats can be found in Connecticut. But what about the sightings in Connecticut that are made by experienced outdoorsmen and women, people who know the difference between bobcats and mountain lions? I saw one cross the rd ( rt 63) in Wtn @ 5 yrs ago, @Craig, But a high-profile sighting in 2011 stirred up renewed interest in the animals here, when a mountain lion from South Dakota was hit and killed by a car on a Connecticut highway. 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. My wife is not a wildlife expert, but is not prone to flights of fancy. Facebook; Twitter; Email; Copy to clipboard. Im always amazed at the sheer volume of people who are interested in cougars, more even than wolves, she says. To learn more about "lion country" in Colorado check here. Lets learn to live alongside this very large animal is one of the schools of thought. 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. The big cat. In Florida, where mountain lions are known as panthers, dozens are killed each year by cars. The upper mile is pretty overgrown in a pretty way. The next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. Hawley: Wildlife biologists across the United States know where the current mountain lion range is. 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? 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). Its documented through track surveys, aerial surveys, trapping and collaring surveys. Im not an expert on human psychology, but if youre looking for something, you have a greater chance of actually seeing it. Employees from the state DEEP, as well as Tolland Public Safety Supervisor John Littell attended the event last night. And even the home entries are kind of changing. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal . Five summers ago, a mountain lion made regional headlines after it was photographed in Greenwich and later struck and killed by a motor vehicle on the parkway in Milford a young male that DEEP officials determined through DNA evidence had traveled east all the way from South Dakota. Bobcats: Though technically a type of lynx, they are distinct from other species of lynx such as the Canadian lynx. Weight: 160 lbs. 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. By weather01089 February 1, 2016 at 04:55:52 PM employees from the state DEEP, as well Tolland. 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