The Strafford & Area Lions conducted its Food From The Heart food drive February 11th through the 18th, collecting 981.6 pounds of food and receiving monetary donations of $1,262 which were used to purchase food and other items to be donated to the Sharon, Vershire and Thetford food shelves. And, then, some species didnt need any help from humans but managed to extend their range into now-recovered and suitable habitats. Low 24F. I reported it to Connecticut DEEP, only to be told there are no cougars in Connecticut. Perfect conditions, then, for thinking you saw something. 104 Williston, VT 05495. Could be a deer, but it didnt seem to be tall enough. Respect predators, protect them but dont worship or try to hug them! It can run at speeds of up to 50 mph. I have pictures of tracks around my car and up to the back steps of my deck in Arkville, NY . Ottmann and I walked farther. My stepfather had been a hunter and was no stranger to seeing animals in the woods and countryside, so when they came up over a knoll in the road and saw a large cat looking at them, he saw the face and thought, bobcatuntil they then saw the rest of the animals body: huge, beautifully tawny colored, and in possession of what my mother described as a very long tail, that was as thick as my wrist. The tail, I said. But, I think with education and planning, we should reintroduce wolves and cougar in the Northeast. 2,110 likes. She lives near the end of a gravel road in a modest, low-slung house tucked into the flanks of the Green Mountains. The Christian school also dropped out of the state . My daughter and I were driving north in West Granby, near the Simsbury, Ct. line just after lunch one summer day a few years ago. If he was not determined to prove that someone had actually seen a mountain lion in Vermonthe is a scientist, after allhe was still excited by the possibility. I also had the vague notion that when it comes to cougars, people tend to sort themselves into one of three camps. 5-7 yards from me. Westford, MA, crossing Dunstable Rd from Long Sought For Pond into the woods. I saw one about 10 years ago, on our road. Lizzie Post Would Like Your Attention. I lived in Woodstock, CT in 2005/2006. If these people say they saw something, Im going to listen., If theres one thing people on all sides of the debate can agree on, its that a breeding population of cougars is essential to the overall health of New Englands ecosystems, which currently lack an apex predator. As they watched in amazement, the cat casually moved off and disappeared into the surrounding woods. 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. The reasons for this conspiracy vary depending upon whom you talk to, but they coalesce around the idea that wildlife agencies would be inconvenienced by the cougars presence, as theyd be forced to respond in ways that would tax their resources. In this case, there was the carcass of a deer, recently killed in the area where a couple had reported seeing what looked like a mountain lion on land they owned. I live in Hopkinton, NH and saw one coming up from the Contoocook River one misty morning. There was no mistake. The truth is, I was by this point dubious. Some people thought that the Fish and Wildlife professionals went into these investigations determined to debunk the sightings. So, traffic had been slowed from both ends for a good 3-5 minutes. Harrigans interest in cougars was sparked in the late 70s, after he took ownership of The Coos County Democrat and began noticing the steady influx of reported sightings. Inslerman said the DEC received about a half-dozen calls reporting sightings of mountain lions last year; two calls this week. Our hunter friend was hunting in central NH when they came upon an adult deer carcass way up in a tree. Success stories being more fun to talk about than the other kind. They are there and thriving!!!! When we reached tower, a ranger arrived in a pickup. This assessment is echoed by the aforementioned Christopher Spatz, who has been studying cougars for better than 20 years. I wished it were a camera with a long lens to document the sighting. In 1994, scat collected after a sighting in Craftsbury, Vermont, was found to contain cougar hair (the animals are prone to ingesting their hair while grooming), and the commissioner of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department circulated a memo with the following line: Harrigans interest in cougars was sparked in the late 70s, after he took ownership of, Perhaps, then, the ultimate question isnt whether cougars are among us, but rather how we can encourage them to settle here, After 20 minutes or so, we turned and stumbled our way back to the parking lot. In fact, jaguars used to be native to south Texas, as well! Growing up in northern Vermont, Id heard stories of sightings, though always a few steps removed from the tellersomebodys cousin had seen a cougar cross the road on their way home from deer camp up in Canaan (or was it Coventry? The Vermont woods would be a lot more interesting with mountain lions in them. I was driving to work in Greenfield heading south on 10 and had just taken a right hand turn at the junction when the big cat crossed the road in front of me. 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. Even in the controlled environment of a lab, the truth about Eastern cougars seems to be almost willfully eluding its seekers. 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.. Its OK, he told me. The solitary animal seeks out new territory and eventually a new population will be established. I moved very carefully to get my hand in my pocket and my fingers around the glasses. And thats a surprisingly complex question, because it hinges on numerous factors: policy and politics, culture and conditioning, habitat and, frankly, hubris. I go out into the woods on the opening day of deer season every year and a lot of other Vermonters are out there with me. And, now, here I was. 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). It can run 50 miles an hour and clear a twelve-foot fence. As I turned a corner going north toward Waterbury, I saw the cat come up from the cornfield, saunter across the highway, turn and look in my direction and then amble off into the brush. The one thing that jumped out at her the tail. Friends that go backcountry skiing in Vermont have reported seeing tracks to me many times and I have seen pictures of the pawprints myself that look overwheming like a mountain lion. It may not surprise you to learn that I was quite intrigued by this third group. Now, ocelots are critically endangered and jaguarundis might be completely gone. So Blodgett brought what he had learned in Wyoming and Arizona back to Vermont with him and began following up on catamount sightings. The last catamount killed in Vermont was shot in 1881. Snow accumulating 3 to 5 inches.. . Id need proof if I wanted people to believe me. You dont even have to go out and look for it.. The last catamount in Vermont is finally, officially, certainly dead. By the late 20th century, the range of the catamount was confined to several western states and a small remnant population along the Gulf Coast that was eventually squeezed down into the Everglades/Big Cypress area of Florida and reduced to a couple of dozen animals of poor genetic quality due to inbreeding. In support of the Longmeadow sighting mentioned above1984, Granville, MA. 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. The captive narrative also helped explain why there had been so many sightings reported, including some in Greenwich, among the richest and most domesticated suburbs in America. If seen bobcats and moose and coyotes and coy dogs ! We have a lot of them here in N CA. The key to Morses assertion can be found in the term breeding population. Although the fact that cougars have traveled through New England is irrefutable (a DNA-confirmed roadkill is hard to deny), Morse believes its unlikely that they have settled here and created a self-sustaining population. According to official estimates, as many as 1,000 people own, in spite of legal prohibitions, captive animals. vital part of this countries ecosystem. Because he lives among them, Harrigan understands that no one knows the woods better. Hes also unafraid to take unpopular positions when he deems it necessary: Shortly before our meeting, hed signed a petition in favor of keeping ATVs off public roads. This guy was very intelligent, he had abandoned a professional career to pursue his dream of guiding. Mid Vermont Christian School Eagles forfeited their girls basketball playoff game on Tuesday against Long Trail School Mountain Lions. My assumption is it was the same animal. My neighbors have seen several over the last 15-20 years. 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. Tom Stearns, a Vermont Game Warden says they get reports all the time. My mother always said she saw one across the street from our house one night in the late 50s early 60s. Escapes by these animals were not impossible. Defenders of Wildlife developed funding to support wolf predation on cattle which I believe worked. Maybe, I thought, but the shape seemed wrong. Still, Spatz acknowledged that the word hope is very different from the word believe. Wildlife management programs succeeded in reintroducing species to areas where they had not been seen for years. A 2,000 Mile Journey By now, I knew the answer to that one. Especially by one that he remembers involving a kill site.. They have a right to exist here and they contribute to healthier prey species. It was a bright sunny summer day. He/she was UNMISTAKEABLY a mountain lion: stretched out straight, long tail straight out behind him, golden/beigey color, and smallish head, little ears. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Having retired from a career at General Dynamics, he devotes many of his waking hours to cougar research, a passion hes cultivated for nearly twodecades. 9 Grace Christian (9-11). These things happen suddenly and they are over quickly. Even though the experts say there arent any mountain lions in CT, there are. In the few seconds that this took, I had convinced myself that I was looking at a mountain lion. Because they are.. In the states where there are robust mountain lion populations, they are a threat to livestock, pets and, occasionally, humans. Green Mountain Lion Corporation, Inc. Business Consulting and Services Williston, Vermont 5,563 followers Boutique management recruiting firm focusing on heavy equipment manufacturing & distribution. This animal was too long in the body and blunt in the head. It is healthy to have respect and caution, but fear shouldnt drive ecological decision making. Part of this belief is rooted in his journalistic experience, which across the decades has cultivated his nose for sincerity. Green Mountain Lion Corp #256 34 Blair Park Road Ste. One cat will leave more than 10,000 tracks per day. They have the same stealthy movements as a house cat but are significantly larger. But, yes, thats exactly what it was. People like you are the problem and cause of extinctions. Height. A journey of nearly 2,000 miles. But my eyes picked up something and I knew, right away, that it was alive. Probably are lions in western NC, too. I came across a dead adult deer carcass high up in an oak tree. We think theyre coming in from Canada, Betty told me. Also known as cougars, panthers or pumas, mountain lions range in color from tan to grey, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. Growing up in northern Vermont, Id heard stories of sightings, though always a few steps removed from the tellersomebodys cousin had seen a cougar cross the road on their way home from deer camp up in Canaan (or was it Coventry? It is what wildlife biologists call an apex carnivore, which means it can overpower pretty much any other creature in its environmentwith the exception of an armed human. And so when they come to him with a sighting, hes prepared to believe. There was one possibility that might account for some of these sightings, he says. I wasnt planning to shoot her unless she moved in my direction. A wildlife camera snapped the image in late 2019 and the refuge shared it on Facebook this month, challenging followers to find the hidden mountain lion. With all the thousands of trail cameras in the woods of New England, one would think that there would be at least one picture taken of a catamount. There is no shortage of deer for all apex predators whether they are canine, feline, or human. This much was certain: it was a wild mountain lion and it was in an area where one had not been seen for more than 100 years. He and his clients were 100% sure of what they saw, and its very difficult to imagine any other animal being mistaken for a cougar in this case. Until 2011, that question rested upon a hypothetical. And DNA analysis shows us that felis concolor is genetically the same across the USI think it is irrelevant, but interesting. It kills to eat but does not necessarily practice any sort of conservation ethic. As land was cleared for farming and the cats prey species declined in number, it went after livestock. Finally, in the third camp, there are the true believersthe cougar truthers, if you willthe men and women for whom the only logical conclusion (often reached after a significant investment of time, thought, and sometimes money) is that right here, right now, cougars live among us, feeding and breeding and rearing their young, and that suggesting otherwise is sheer ignorance, willful denial, or part of a mosaic of conspiracy. She lives near the end of a gravel road in a modest, low-slung house tucked into the flanks of the Green Mountains. And there have been fatal attacks. Thank you; Blog. I could hear the steady rush of traffic on Route 315. The last catamount in Vermont is finally, officially, certainly dead. One day I most certainly watched him/her being chased up and down our chain link fence by a neighbors large dog who was barking insanely and couldnt quite catch the cougar, who finally made it away from the fence to escape the determined dog whod had him trapped up against it. Somebody in the NC Legislature believes, because lions are now protected by law. Photos of the cat did nothing to convince DEEP the cat was here. She IS, perhaps, the most knowledgeable and experienced person in this arena and I listened intently to her presentation (Richmond, VT 2018). I started to get nervous so I was scanning the area low and high in the trees. My own inclination, for the little it matters, is to side with the professionals like Blodgett. No need since so we guess it has moved on from the northeast corner of Connecticut. We hadnt seen a cougar, nor any evidence to suggest a cougar had traveled these woods recently. For instance, a favorite food for deer is the seedlings of forest tree species. Well, I KNOW there was at least one mountain lion in NE because years ago (maybe 35 or so) I lived in Longmeadow, MA. [Betty] and the other guys dont do this shit. THAT is a mountain lion! It was a striking animal, certainly, but it was no mountain lion. I have heard several accounts from sober, sane, intelligent people who have seen them (especially a latre, good friend who was a very competent spokesman and hunter.). Tried to see "mountain lion" and agree that what appears to be a long tail is most likely the . 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. Last documented and killed in Vermont in 1881, the catamount, also known as a mountain lion or cougar, could be making its way back to the Green Mountain State. Black markings decorate the tip of the tail, ears, and around the snout. Mountain Lions have been more prevalent to the west in the last 100 years, but many of the pockets of breeding populations east of the Mississippi River have been wiped out over the decades due to habitat loss and hunting. The 1881 death of this catamount officially marked the end of cougars in Vermont; however, the very last Eastern cougar is thought to be an animal that was killed in Somerset County, Maine, in 1938. Vermont Mountain Lion Sightings And, he says, if they were here, wouldnt one have been killed on one of the states highways where cars and trucks travel some 9 million miles every year? I have learned one thing in my career, and thats to never say never, she said. You wouldnt shake hands with a man like that, she said, and though she was smiling I could tell she was serious. In March of 1965, the Colorado legislature repealed the old mountain lion bounty of $50, which was first enacted in 1924. Wildlife biologists, as professional scientists, require a higher level of documentation and proof. The name " Camel's Rump " was assigned on a historical map made by Ira Allen in 1798. But that was OK. Bo Ottmann, A Lobster Trap Menorah Shines in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Chips Off the Old Block | Knowledge & Wisdom, Yankee Candle | New England by the Numbers, First Christmas | Krissy OSheas Scandinavian-Inspired Holiday Cottage, The Sweet Life | Holiday Baking with Dorie Greenspan, 2019 Yankee Magazine Editors Choice Food Awards, In the Kitchen at Mayfair Farm | Weekends with Yankee. Ive attended talks with Sue Morse. He was a dark butterscotch color, very tall and lanky (taller and thinner than a really big German Shepard) and that tail. The glasses I carried were of good quality with exceptional light-gathering property. I must have looked doubtfulwe were within spitting distance of a heavily trafficked road 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. But examination of the carcass raised suspicions. Public opinion surveys show many more would support reintroduction, than oppose. He soon developed a five-question litmus test: How far away were you? 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. The last time a mountain lion was captured in New York was in the . Provided by Touchpoints It had traveled, certainly, though Minnesota and Wisconsin and, who knows, perhaps even Vermont and might, then, have accounted for some of those sightings. Still, there is no saying that it will not happen. Experts need to see the body to dismiss their prejudices. For several years, Blodgett, a wildlife biologist with the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife, conducted those follow up investigations. my father was recently trout fishing in central Mass. Some might mistake the bobcat, which still lives in New England, for a cougareven though its tail is about 6 inches long andthe bigger cats is 3 feet or more. Lacked, almost any tail at all, for that matter. The mountain lionalso known as the cougar, puma, panther, or catamountis a large cat species native to the Americas. But other hard evidence of the big cats presence is elusive. Several years of doing the follow-ups, then, convinced Blodgett that there were no catamounts in Vermont. 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. To date, Keeping Track has helped conserve 40,000 acres in 12 states and inQuebec. This isnt to say she believes none of these animals has stepped foot on New England soil over the past century. Morse has been tracking cougars for 45 years, mostly in the mountains of the West, where their existence is not in doubt. Not a bobcat 100% mountain lion and anybody that tries to think a bobcat as any resemblance to a mountain lion clearly has no idea about wildlife there are a lot of false reports because of this however they are without a doubt in part of New England and fish and game has as usual covered up despite coming out and following mountain lion tracks in the snow through the woods in Central Mass and finding a deer carcass 20 feet up in a tree and said to the landowner yep you probably have a mountain lion passing through and asked for the homeowner not to speak much about it furthermore DNA confirmation of a horse that was attacked in Petersham Massachusetts in the last several years and also the Quabbin Reservoir DNA were mountain lion without a doubt they are here. The first time was in the yard which was surrounded by woods. The restrictions/regulations surrounding management of an endangered species is incredibly cumbersome, and would be difficult to manage. My daughter said to me thats the biggest cat Ive ever seen. What are the chances of wolves coming back to Vermont? These settlers established measures for predator control by any means possible. The discussion of whether federal lands should be a place to subsidize cattle ranching is another question. If theyre in one, theyre in the other.. ), 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. When I shared their story with the staff at the center where my sister lived, I expected surprise and interested. You could have 50. Spring Loaded to See Something They were also seen at other times by members of my family and other people in the neighborhood. The tails gotta be there. In the United States the animal could, at one time, be found in all the states but with civilization, came a decline, the Vermont experience being more or less typical. Early spring 2019 I caught a glimpse of one entering over grown brush on the side of the road very very early in the morning. 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. The Great Divide | Are There Mountain Lions in New England. Or, if it does, when that will be. Within six weeks, he continued, I was getting off the plane in Jackson Hole for a national mountain lion conference. In Vermont, in the late 19th century, this meant, especially, sheep. Well, theres no difference between Maine and New Brunswick, anyway, said Betty. She said it jumped up on the neighbors stone wall which was pretty high and walked across it. These sightings usually took place at night or in fading light, like that of my bobcat encounter. The old logging road was easy enough to navigate and I let my feet follow it while I kept my eyes up and scanning. But no. Others have seen cougar in neighboring towns . All with eyes to see and spring loaded to see something. 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. So long as the tails there, that is. He says that if mountain lions do . Bernier gets more than 50 reports of mountain lions a year. But there was not enough evidence to either prove or disprove that a mountain lion had done the killing. Something I had not expected ever to experience. If you dont think cougars are coming to the East, think again, she said, leaning forward for emphasis. By mid-19th century, forests made up only about 30 percent of New England (its notable that today that number stands at approximately 80 percent, nearer to what it was when cougars thrived here). Two mountain lion encounters in his driveway. Some of them, he says, we could close the books on pretty quickly. 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. Around 1830, the . Blodgett and I were returning from a day spent looking forand finding timber rattlesnakes, a species that is endangered in Vermont. If this habitat can support them, it should. 8 Arlington (9-10) and No. 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. 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