If theyre in one, theyre in the other.. Morse will present evidence on cougars returning to the East. Lynx sightings and Catamount sightings have been on the increase every year since 2003. Forty years of reporting on New Hampshire cougar sightings has convinced Harrigan that the state is home to at least a handful of breeding animals. He is a consummate storyteller, and he wears on his sleeve his affection for the region and the hard-working, commonsense people who inhabit it. John Lutz, Eastern Puma Research network.. Hi I am from Arlington, vt. could you email me the pic and the story behind it please, thanks. Stay clear and give 'em space. [Betty] and the other guys dont do this shit. During the Summer of 1991, my wife Linda and I, took 3 days on our vacation, to meet both Harold & Martene Hitchcock. Back in 2002 I saw a full grown mountain lion in Dummerston Vermont on east/west road. It was a few miles south of the Hanover exit. Having been doing this since 1994, I have yet to have had a definitive, documented, indisputable, verifiable sighting of a mountain lion, Bernier said. I never told anyone but family. Pictures are pretty clear. Sometimes, one will make it as far east as Vermont. 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. Sincerely, As livestock farming came to dominate the landscape, pressure on the big cats slowly mounted on two fronts: The number of farmers wanting them dead was increasing, while the rapid transition from forest to farmland meant their habitat was shrinking. Any known activity in Southern Vermont? My partner and I walked much closer to it (about 50-60 ft away). The worker was in his truck when the cats crossed the road in front of the dog-walker, Snow said. If you do see a big cat in your neighborhood, best practice is to leave it alone, according to Waterbury Game Warden Chad Barrett. The presentation promises to be a magnificently illustrated introduction to cougar biology and ecology in the broad diversity of habitats where Morse has studied them, from Alberta to the Mexican border. Mountain lions are not likely to pass through Vermont, according to Fish & Wildlife biologist Chris Bernier. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. There are. Its on the property that we own over there. During Harolds tenture at Middlebury College, he spent many an evening with wife martene, conducting in field investigations across Vermont. In June 1991 and again in July 1993, my wife Linda and I, visited Prof. Harold & wife Martene at their Maine Cottage overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, where we had serious discussions on the WILD, NATIVE, FREE-ROAMING cougars-mountain lions and their ancestors who have inhabited the eastern U.S. for over the last 500 years. 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. Glad to hear that they're not gone. I dont ever say to people, Thats not what you saw. I say, I hope you saw one, Spatz told me when I called him at his home in upstate New York. Welcome to the blog dedicated to discussing mountain lion sightings in Vermont! We need our apex carnivores in a big way, Morse says. Ottmann and I walked farther. Julia is a senior majoring in Environmental Studies with a concentration in climate and environmental justice with minors in Computer Science and Geography. The cat was huge and tail was at least 3 feet long and thick. Harrigan is 72 and lives just outside the northern New Hampshire town of Colebrook; he has a long, craggy face that seems almost to have molded itself after the mountainous landscape of his home state. Tickets at the door will be $10 until sold out. 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. It continues in Connecticut, where that South Dakota cat was killed in 2011, and in Massachusetts, despite two credible reports in the past quarter century (in one case, DNA-confirmed scat; in the other, verified tracks). Were arrogant if we think were the only species that makes decisions based on fear, he told me when I called him at his home in Oregon. The scientific name for the catamount is Puma concolor. 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. The Grandfather of eastern Cougar Studies, began investigating big cat sightings in the 1940s. But right now youre dealing with top-notch guys. Around 7:10 pm this evening August 02, 2022 my wife entered our Oakwood Farm business off 6 Weed Road in Essex Center with headlights on. [The catamounts] movements were so noiseless that Mr. Crowell found himself in this dangerous proximity before he was aware of it, and it was only by great coolness and daring that he severely wounded the animal and perhaps saved his own life, reads a placard attached to the display case. Here's a link to one of his columns. If we end up with a population, it will be the result of a colonizer female who gets here somehow, some way, and the rest will be history.. I heard what sounded like a loud mountain lion roar, 2 nights in a row, camping in Bennington, Vt, upper pasture of Senator Sanford's farm bordering the mountain forest. John A. Lutz It was a flooded area. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. We have a lot of them here in N CA. Prior to the mid-1990s, the late Wildlife Professor Harold Hitchcock of Middlebury College, became Vermonts Official Big Cat hunter, who sought evidence of the Big Cats across the Maple State. I'll tell you that.. It was a beautiful golden red color (like a red squirrel), about the size of a medium dog (maybe 40lbs?) In any case, identification without a photo is a challenge, according to Fish & Wildlife officials. Please email us at editor@staging.mountaintimes.info thank you!! Bobcat tails, though prominent when they walk, are only about six or seven inches long. 1 Last 365 Days. 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. 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. 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. I will not go into the woods unarmed anymore ever. He was big. We need them for the health of our forests.. Clearly, Puma concoloronce inhabited the forests of the Northeast, although its difficult to say in what numbers. Like Tate, he gets a lot of photos and . If you have any pictures you can post them here too! "Of those . Let us know the date, time of day, how long the sighting lasted for, where you saw the cat in Vermont, and describe what the cat looked likeand was doing. Mountain Lions Living Mountain Lion Sightings in Vermont in Vermont? After an unfortunate past of over hunting, Montana's mountain lion population has made a comeback. The second sighting in myakka preserve, hopping a fence. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2011. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the eastern mountain lion extinct in 2011, sparking many calls to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife office about potential sightings. Its acceleration was amazing. 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. 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. I must have looked doubtfulwe were within spitting distance of a heavily traffickedroad 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. Within six weeks, he continued, I was getting off the plane in Jackson Hole for a national mountain lion conference. We know it was not a bobcat. I know what they look like and this silhouette was very much the same as that cat last summer. 26M views, 14K likes, 2K loves, 8.1K comments, 19K shares, Facebook Watch Videos from VT: This mountain lion is about to turn a vacation into a nightmare. He says that if mountain lions do . The cougar appeared injured and stunned, but eventually ran away . Until recently, it was thought that the last mountain lion (a very big cat -- aka a catamount) disappeared from our state decades ago. The cat was out day light standing in hill that was near road only about 3 FT off ground, looking at me driving by. You could have 50. It crossed the road just below where the Jaquiths lived. I am so happy that I did not hit it - there was absolutely no time to react. Hawley: That animal was documented. I want emails from Fodor's Travel with travel information and promotions. He waves me over and shows me an animal lying in our driveway. Perhaps, then, the ultimate question isnt whether cougars are among us, but rather how we can encourage them to settle here. I will try to take more photos with an object to show scale. Killington, VT 05751, Hours: Though native to the western half of the U.S., mountain lions are long-distance dispersers and young male mountain lions sometimes strike out looking for mates and food. It was pretty and calm, Saw one this morning lying in the road on our dead end street only about 100 yards from the main road. One cat will leave more than 10,000 tracks per day. 4 . Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. 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. Big and Fast. Mountain Lions Not Just a Tall Tale in Adirondacks. ), 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. She lives near the end of a gravel road in a modest, low-slung house tucked into the flanks of the Green Mountains. The debate rages in Maine, where the last confirmed cougar kill occurred in 1938, and in New Hampshire, where the last confirmed kill was in 1885. Its documented through track surveys, aerial surveys, trapping and collaring surveys. I also had the vague notion that when it comes to cougars, people tend to sort themselves into one of three camps. It is also known as cougar, panther, mountain lion, and puma, though catamount is the preferred regional vernacular. does the highway department have a record of those? I have no choice but to take this seriously, he told me. Laura: Did you report the dead mountain lion to the state Highway Dept. While the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks department hesitates to give solid numbers because they feel methods for tracking the population need to be improved, their estimate in 2019 was about 4,000 - 4,500 mountain lions. But that was OK. Bo Ottmann. In Vermont, it was 1881. The last catamount killed in Vermont stands under glass just inside the doors to the Vermont Historical Museum in Montpelier, a hop, skip, and a jump down the block from the statehouse. When I accepted the assignment to write about my quest to uncover the truth regarding the existence of cougars in New England, I had little idea what I was agreeing to. It is also known as cougar, panther, mountain lion, and puma, though catamount is the preferred regional vernacular. Since 1890 in the U.S. and Canada, there have been 100 attacks on humans at all, according to the research organization The Cougar Network. In 2011, a cougar was hit by a car and killed on a Connecticut highway. Vermont's last known cougar, also known as a mountain lion or catamount, was killed in 1881 in Barnard. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. They usually don't wanna be around you anyways. I worked in wrj,VT. Please make your sighting as detailed as possible. He can be reached by phone at 860-275-7297 or by email: pskahill@ctpublic.org. 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. The deer dont eat the exotics, but they eat the competitors. You wouldnt shake hands with a man like that, she said, and though she was smiling I could tell she was serious. Cris Ericson 802-289-1000. It may not surprise you to learn that I was quite intrigued by this third group. It was just before dark and it crossed in front of me probably 20 yards in front, it was tawny colored, mid tan like and had long legs and long tail and was trotting. I started asking a lot of questions, and realized theres only one explanation for the answers I was getting: They are here., You could have 30 in Connecticut alone. Interesting history. The eastern cougar or eastern puma ( Puma concolor couguar) is a subspecies designation proposed in 1946 for cougar populations in eastern North America. Morse introduced me to her cat, Allister, whom she referred to as her portable puma. Then she fetched me a beer. John Lutz, Eastern Puma Research Network. And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. So special. 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., I met with Morse at her home in Jericho. In 2011, the U.S. If its not, you just thank the person and say good-bye.. I have seen 6 bear,several Fishers and all the common wildlife in VT but never anything like this. The cougar was so close I could smell it. [5] 3 Last 10 Years. Though the infamous catamount has been declared extinct in Vermont since 2018, several people spotted big cats that they thought to be mountain lions on Ripley Road two weeks ago, according to posts on Front Porch Forum. Mountain lions remain an enigmatic animal for residents of New Hampshire, with New Hampshire Fish and Game reporting three to five sightings per week. If you believe you have seen a mountain lion and want to report it to NH Fish and Game, please contact the Wildlife Division at (603) 271-2461 or wildlife@wildlife.nh.gov to request an observation report form. Its quite an uphill challenge for us to manage that situation right now. Welcome to the blog dedicated to discussing mountain lion sightings in Vermont. So theres fresh mud. In Massachusetts, three sightings between 1997 and 2016 have been confirmed by scat, DNA, or tracks, according to the Cougar Network, a nonprofit that studies the habitat and movements of the big cats. Hi Mike. Yet I also remembered something Sue Morse had told me months before, as we sat in her living room drinking beer and chatting cats. We all feel so blessed to have sighted them, and have no doubt we saw cougar. The dam is a protected area from hunting. It crossed the road and went into the woods. And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. 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.. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Betty folded his arms across his chest, where they rose and fell and rose again with his breathing. Still, sightings are common. There are also many unconfirmed sightings. We were both very startled and when it ran away it had a long tail with white and black at the tip.I lived in Colorado for several years, in the vicinity of mountain lions, never saw one and never thought for a moment that they could possibly be in Vermont. Though not native to Vermont, Canada lynx occasionally make their way down into Vermont. Harrigan nodded. Hi Annie, I dont know if you still keep up with this blog but I thought Id give it a try. It was stalking in the bushes like a cat and moved like a cat. The Mountain Times is, and has always been, a family-owned independent newspaper located on Route 4. Now, lets start talking about our favorite big cat! I am pretty sure that I saw a mountain lion yesterday around 9:00am just on my way out of Glover, Vermont heading to East Hardwick. Anyone can get fooled. hen I accepted the assignment to write about my quest to uncover the truth regarding the existence of cougars in New England, I had little idea what I was agreeing to. Your email address will not be published. Photo courtesy National Wildlife Federation. If moved like a leopard but without spotty leopard skin. But it also sort of instills that fear, a healthy fear of humans and bears. my friend has agreat hunting camp in sandgate vt. he just sent me a photo from a trailcam on his property,and without a doubt he got a picture of a mountain lion I dont know how to transfer photos to here,but I can do it to an e-mail. And, a couple of biologists I talked to when I was putting this exhibit together, said that it's. It was on a hill beside the road looking across, when I looked at it better I saw the long tail and cat ears. Dashboard for displaying mountain lion reports to the public. Mountain Lions in the St. Croix River Valley. I want emails from Fodor's Travel with travel information and promotions. 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. Not yet. After telling some other locals there has been some other sightings in the Black mountain vicinity around Dummerston both before and after I saw the one I saw. And its not just Vermont. Wildlife experts say no. For instance, a favorite food for deer is the seedlings of forest tree species. Hawley: Yeah. [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. I contacted VT FISH and Game who say its a bobcat. I could hear the steady rush of traffic on Route 315. Thank you for reading. In Vermont, it was 1881. No one is on the road at 430-5am. We met for lunch on a Sunday morning in early March, and it didnt take long for me to understand why Harrigan is such a popular columnist. We even had a sighting someone here at DEEP, in my office, was convinced they saw a mountain lion. These are rare, single events, and in such cases, the cat will leave a prominent trail of evidence wherever they go: indisputable game camera photos, camera photos, scat, tracks, sightings, Bernier said. While on vacation last summer in the Sequoias we had a lion cross the road in front of us at about 11 at night one night. Hey, I know what I saw. This is a site for people to discuss mountain lion sightings in the Green Mountain State of Vermont. What time of day was it? Maysville, WV 26833 I met with Morse at her home in Jericho. Help us document the biodiversity of the Green Mountain State. First about the animal, itself, and then about the lore and the possibility that the catamount was not, in fact, extinct in Vermont. I read John Harrigan's weekly wildlife column in the Sunday Manchester Union Leader (NH). Subsequent DNA testing found that the animal was from South Dakota. Since then, there have been a handful of confirmed mountain lion sightings in the Northeast, although most have been thought to be escaped captive animals. dr bondra fremont, ohio obituary; is francis leo marcos related to ferdinand marcos Betty had driven up from his home in Rhode Island. Vermont Fish and Wildlife say they get between 50 and 75 sightings here in Vermont, annually. But I still wouldn;t want to run into one. Proctor to vote on what constitutes a public nu Hartland board appoints acting town manager, First spring flowers are in bloom in Rutland, Rutland Area Robotics receive 2016 challenge, EPA honors Efficiency Vermont as 2023 Energy Star Partner of the Year, We must have courage to address gun problem, Confused about Affordable Heat Bill? This is Christina, I used to work with you at the YMCA in Burlington. 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. Li mistaking that long swaying tail. Credit: ViralHog VT - Cougar tries to break in house You need to understand that every biologist that works for the state has a duty to deny mountain lions. (Photo courtesy of Vermont Historical Society) He was also convinced, wild pumas were traveling South from the eastern Canadian Provinces of Ontario & Quebec, into northern Maines vast wilderness.I have an assortment of reports from across Vermont, if interested in copies. 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.. 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. On the idea of bear hunting in Connecticut. Get up to speed on the news Vermont is talking about, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is alerting residents of Cache County, UT that there have been several mountain lion sightings recently in the area, including along the river trail in Logan Canyon. The News Bank Conference Center is located at 352 Main Street in Chester. Just found this site, two weeks ago a good friend took a number of pictures of a large cat 100 feet from her deck. Felis concolor couguar. Because while male cougars eventually strike out on their own and occasionally wander far from home, females are, as Morse puts it, hardwired to remain close to their mothers home range. I started this blog for people to discuss mountain lion sightings and reports in the Green Mountain State of Vermont. But every once in a while, you'll be on your property, on your deck or in your house, and you'll see one walk across your yard or something. You know, weve had so many home entries this year. In their estimation, the presence of a breeding cougar population in New England would likely stem from our proximity to Canada, where, as they rightly point out, DNA analysis has resulted in 19 positive identifications across Quebec and New Brunswick since 2001 (although some of these were shown to be of South American lineage, suggesting escaped pets). This is a natural wildlife corridor coming down off of the Worcester Range headed over towards the Green Mountain Range. It can run at speeds of up to 50 mph. They have not received any reports of large cats in Waterbury so far. The topic was discussed at the town's June 10 city council meeting after a potential sighting on June 1 in the Savanna area of William O'Brian State . Photo courtesy of Dave O'Donnell. He was very, very shook up. In early 1980s I saw a large tawny colored cougar in Leyden, Massachusetts, crossing a dirt road with uninhabited woods with many deer and critters to eat and hills with cliffs and likely caves for dens. A few days ago my husband was jogging at 5 am near our farm in Morgan Vermont, and a huge BLACK Cougar stepped out onto the road. Another big cat look-alike in the area is the Canada Lynx, distinguishable from Eastern bobcats by their large feet. Well when it turned its head and then got up and walked away I knew immediately what it was. To Betty and Ottmann, the dominant narrative of the occasional itinerant cougar from the West is not particularly relevant to the facts on the ground. Very Very fast. Spatz and Sue dont want to go where were going.. 2 Last 5 Years. That, however, does NOT mean a breeding colony of these animals has returned there. But one day. We strolled across the tavern parking lot and ducked into the forest, where Ottmann maintains a portion of his $15,000 worth of wildlife recording equipment (hes had no luck capturing a cougar on camera, though, despite more than a decade of trying). In the first, there are those such as myself, whove maybe heard a few second- or third- or fourth-hand stories as well as official denials from state agencies or professional biologists, and therefore find themselves betwixt and between, neither believing nor disbelieving. 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. So long as the tails there, that is. Because theyre a northern animal, they have snow shoes by birth, Bernier said. On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. 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. Hawley, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, says data dont support a breeding population of mountain lions in Connecticut. Brown. Kimberly King. The Spatz and Sue Ottmann referred to are Christopher Spatz and Sue Morse, two of the better-known and arguably most experienced cougar skeptics in the Northeast. But other hard evidence of the big cats presence is elusive. This isnt to say she believes none of these animals has stepped foot on New England soil over the past century. She favors plaid shirts, green Dickies work pants, and hiking boots, and she chided me for shaking her hand too gently. She is the editor-in-chief of Headwaters Magazine, UVMs environmental publication. 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. Now I know what it was - a mountain lion. Take some great pictures, leave it alone and enjoy the experience, Barrett said. 35 wild cougars, known as the Florida Panther, of which a few are totally BLACK, and known as panther, but are actually of the jaguar family In the last few days, 3 sightings have been reported to us, large brown cats in Tennessee and Indiana, a total black cat, in Virginia. October 30, 2015 by Dana Kobilinsky. Hed encouraged me to keep my eyes open for deer carcasses cached in the trees (according to Ottmann, cougars are fantastic climbers and are known to stash their kills high in trees), but I saw only leaf-bare branches. PO Box 183 (Postal address) Or click the map itself. I was driving on cave road on Back side of military base toward Willisdon VT and it was across from ANG Miitary.. There were reported sighting of it but Vermont and NH denied the allegations. Im gonna get hammered for it, he sighed. His mention of these encounters was so matter-of-fact that I found myself nodding along. Back in the 60s a traveling zoo lost their black panther, and denied it. I started this blog for people to discuss mountain lion sightings and reports in the Green Mountain State of Vermont. One on Salem Rd and another in. The tail, I said. He soon developed a five-question litmus test: How far away were you? I appreciated Ottmann and Bettys confidence and commitment, but here I was, poking through thorny thickets behind a bar, trailing a bleeding man whose devotion to proving the presence of cougars was beginning to seem like a quixotic quest with no end. Tom Stearns, a Vermont Game Warden says they get reports all the time. Since then, there have been a handful of confirmed mountain lion sightings in the Northeast, although most have been thought to be escaped captive animals. It wailed just one time but it woke me from a sound sleep. A rare Missouri mountain lion sighting was reported recently after one of the big cats was hit by a vehicle in Franklin County. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. You dont even have to go out and look for it.. Now, lets start talking about our favorite big cat! Even in the controlled environment of a lab, the truth about Eastern cougars seems to be almost willfully eluding its seekers. One, Waterbury resident Jeff Kilgores sister-in-law, came across the cats while walking a dog on Ripley Road on a Monday morning. And were one of the most densely populated states as far as humans. I started this blog for people to discuss mountain lion sightings and reports in the Green Mountain State of Vermont. People clearly arent lying when they say they saw a cougar; [the sighting] has a profound effect on them., Still, Spatz acknowledged that the word hope is very different from the word believe. 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