Heres what to know about mountain lions (and other large cats) in Connecticut. Initially, officials believed it had been released from a private handler. In general, the audience members seemed to agree with Bettys views. The history of this theory in Connecticut and New England goes back long before our current era of fake news. Mountain lions are commonly identified by trail camera photographs, tracks, and feces. Those are the two closest populations that we have here. Over a period of a year and a half, this mountain lion left DNA evidence in at least four states. My buddy told me he saw one in our hometown (in litchfield county) 10 or so years ago and I called bullshit. He can be reached by phone at 860-275-7297 or by email: pskahill@ctpublic.org. It certainly would be a spectacular sight to witness a cat as large as a mountain lion out in the wild, but, for now, in Connecticut, its not in the cards. Its extremely rare for a person to see a wild animal and to underestimate its size. The tail may have one to several indistinct dark bands and a tip that is black on top and whitish below. While other states have their Bigfoot and sea monster sightings, in Connecticut, and throughout much of the Northeast, we see mountain lions even when were told such sightings are unlikely, if not outright impossible. My first thought literally was, is that a lion?. Emaileditor@connecticutmag.com, or contact usonFacebook@connecticutmagazine orTwitter@connecticutmag. And the last confirmed sighting prior to the 2011 instance would be a couple hundred years ago, according to Hawley. 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. Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. 1.Customize your maps Style your maps with custom markers, lines, colors, polygons, and images. Bobcats, of course, can be found all over the state. Hes even had his own false sighting. Posted on Published: November 4, 2022- Last updated: December 28, 2022. But it also sort of instills that fear, a healthy fear of humans and bears. 4 . Weve had housecats misidentified as mountain lions and even deer, Rego says. She didnt claim to see the mountain lions long tail, but optical illusions can lead people to think theyve seen a tail. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. Weight. (My wife didnt get a look at the tail.) She still produces shows with Colin and the team when her schedule allows. It had rained previously. Otherwise, Hawley said cats like bobcats want nothing to do with people, and they will generally prey on chickens, small dogs or cats. It is the only confirmed presence of a cougar in recent years. Ive been doing this for 40 years. It lowers the population in a way thats not going to affect the long-term population. More recently, unexplained animal sightings in Connecticut and other states became more and more associated with mountain lions. 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. It lowers the population in a way thats not going to affect the long-term population. You can highlight your store locations with custom colors and elements. This young male cougar was found to . Mountain lion spotted in Connecticut town On Monday, DEEP said that Connecticut does not have a mountain lion population. So all the other states in the Northeast that have bear populations have a harvest on their bears. 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. But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. The mountain lion is believed to have had an encounter with a family on their lawn. I know the difference between bobcats, lynx, & mt lions. 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. 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. The last confirmed mountain lion sighting in Connecticut occurred in 2011. According to authorities, the mountain lion was reportedly seen on Friday including on Salem Road and near Pease Road. Mountain Lion Sightings in CT. Was the animal a pet set free? One on Salem Rd and another in the area of Pease Rd in our town. Have you seen a puma or bobcat in your neighborhood? Despite annual reports since the 1950s, no confirmed sighting was made in the state until the 1990s. Description. Mistaken reports of mountain lions are most commonly bobcats. 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? But what might be his most compelling argument is that since this is Connecticut, the budget is too limited. And even the home entries are kind of changing. Beautiful trail! Over time, this will help us evaluate problem areas, movement barriers for wildlife, and potential for human-puma conflict. On another large animal that is most definitely here: bears. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. Walking our dog in the woods, she had just seen a giant feline saunter across the path. A bill which would change the name to the Pequot River has full support from the Mashantucket Pequot and Eastern Pequot tribes, but the Mohegan Tribe has voiced concerns. This can trigger a chase. 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. From family fun to restaurants and everything in between, everything you need to know about CT is right here. In 2011, in the affluent suburbs of Connecticut, there were several reported sightings of a mountain lion, and much pooh-poohing from authorities, until a sport utility vehicle struck and killed . Im no wilderness expert, but it sure looked like a mountain lion to me, he said. I think its good he attended, Gottier said of Littell. I agreeI am a person with very good knowledge of animals and know the distinct differences between closely related species in some cases Adult males typically weigh between 18 and 35 pounds and measure from 32 to 37 inches in length. New London would be the last place I'd expect to see a mountain lion in CT. My sister is on 9 acres in Harwinton and watched a mountain lion cross the driveway which is about a quarter mile surrounded by woods and unpaved. As I said previously, To date, no footage of a mountain lion has surfaced. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal . An attack on a 4-year-old near San Diego is just the latest in a string of mountain lion attacks in California. This might serve as proof to some that there, in fact, might still be mountain lions in CT. Mountain lions are also great jumpers and swimmers. Coyotes have been mistaken for mountain lions. The last confirmed mountain lion sighting in Connecticut occurred in 2011. A young male was hit and killed by a car several years ago, but. 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. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference. That had to be a mountain lion. 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. It was a lion-like cat with a tan coat and no spots that was about three times the size of our 30- to 35-pound dog. McEnroe: It is an uphill challenge. They can be seen at any time of the day or night, but are most active at dawn and . Slowly, mountain lions recolonized North America after having retreated to warmer climates in South America during the Pleistocene ice age. 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 next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. Fight back. Technical Discussion: Rain tonight, then an *ALERT* heading into the weekend! But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. 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. Ask people who spend time outside Connecticut cities and you will hear firsthand or secondhand accounts of mountain lions. Are There a Lot of Spiders in Connecticut? Lets learn to live alongside this very large animal is one of the schools of thought. He was previously a reporter for the Danbury News-Times and the Ridgefield Press. Dashboard for displaying mountain lion reports to the public. On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. ', '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. Initially, officials believed it had been released from a private handler. 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. Two mountain lion sightings have been confirmed in Tennessee. Below is an evolving list of Connecticut natives and state prep school football players in the Class of 2023 who have signed letters of intent to play football in college. Officially, the last mountain lions were hunted to extinction here in the late 1800s. Weve got a growing bear population. Adult females typically weigh between 15 and 30 pounds and measure from 28 to 32 inches in length. 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. According to wildlife biologist Jason Hawley, the lack of evidence of mountain lions in Connecticut is the evidence. My wife is not a wildlife expert, but is not prone to flights of fancy. But it also sort of instills that fear, a healthy fear of humans and bears. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. While Betty had plenty of evidence to support a mountain lion population, the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection still lists the mountain lion as extinct under the Endangered Species Act. In some versions, state officials dont want to alarm people about the feline predators in their midst. 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. Abbott believes it is possible that more mountain lions such as the one that was killed in Milford in 2011 could migrate here. Genetic testing placed the animal in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the cat had been sighted at several different points during its long journey east. Wed be seeing more carcasses of prey we would be seeing at least some carcasses of mountain lion prey. However, Hawley noted that Eastern bobcats tend to have very few spots compared to bobcats that are out west or even in the Midwest. If they have spots, they are typically in the white, underside part of the bodies or on the insides of their legs. And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. Mountain Lions can be found in Orange County throughout the Santa Ana Mountain Range down to the foothills and canyons directly connected to them. The last confirmed sighting of a mountain lion in CT was in 2011 when a driver struck and killed one on the Merrit Parkway. What would motivate DEEP officials to do this isnt clear. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. Give today. There is a big difference between Tuesday when none of us saw a moose in our region and then Thursday we did, Morse says. Theres also the lack of visual evidence, more glaring each passing year as so many hikers and hunters now carry phones with cameras. This can trigger a chase. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal . For decades afterward, there were reported sightings of the mythical creature prowling the woods around town. From Litchfield County, can confirm. As a Inevitably, the New England states will acknowledge that they have some mountain lions.. Its definitely a problem thats only going to get worse. Wright, however, didnt agree with his mentor and began writing publicly about mountain lions in the East. Another important difference: bobcats are found in Connecticut while mountain lions are not. NHPR is nonprofit and independent. The Damned Story: Eastern mountain lions, or pumas or cougars, were last officially seen in Connecticut near the end of the 19th century. I saw one, not mistaken with a bobcat I know what bobcats look like. According to Hawley, if mountain lions were present in the state, there would be evidence and not just unconfirmed sightings. And there are different schools of thought about that. While recent mountain lion sightings in Connecticut have not been confirmed, if someone suspects they encountered a mountain lion, they should not run away, as it might spur a chase. They are very bold. But recent expert-confirmed sightingswhich have involved photographs, videos, and DNAin Tennessee support a theory that mountain lions, whose populations out west have continued to expand, are slowly making their way back to this side of the country. That said there have been numerous sightings of them over the years. Give it space to turn around without feeling threatened to get away from you and your family. These sightings have not been confirmed as true mountain lion sightings. A threat to livestock, they were hunted out of the state and driven to parts more wild. Bobcats are most frequently misidentified by the public as mountain lions, but theyre not the only animals mislabeled. I always hold out the possibility of a sighting to be genuine, but at the same time, over decades of experience, we know that the vast majority are misidentifications and a small number are actually hoaxes, he says. Police have a warning after there were multiple mountain lion sightings reported in Woodbridge. They reside in all eight counties, however, they exist in greatest number in the northwestern corner of the state. For mountain lions in Connecticut, a lack of evidence is very good evidence. Its fur is a light, tawny brown color which can appear gray or almost black, depending on light conditions. Betty later showed maps covered with dots, each of which represented sightings of mountain lions in Connecticut and the rest of New England. McEnroe: It is an uphill challenge. State lawmakers have entertained bills to establish a bear hunting season for years, but so far, none of those proposals has passed. 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. Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. 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? (Throughout history, people have had a deep fear of these creatures, hounding and hunting them mercilessly.) I've damn near run over the things. Hi! He published his first book in 1959, The Ghost of North America: The Story of the Eastern Panther. Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators., Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators, For the first time in decades, The Old Farmer's Almanac is looking for a new editor, NSC-131 members say they can't find a NH defense lawyer for pending civil rights case, Cautiously optimistic: Maple syrup producers expect a good season this year, In Spokane, Washington, officials test a housing strategy rejected by NH lawmakers. Wright, however, didnt agree with his mentor and began writing publicly about mountain lions in the East. Hawley: Yeah. Somebody needs to take charge of this outfit and do something about the interactions with the citizenry. Betty, who has had a dozen personal sightings in Rhode Island, studies mountain lion evidence and attends national conventions. When it comes out that there are mountain lions in Connecticut where all these people who denied them apologize to the people who know they saw them? It is also the most common wild cat found in North America. They also generally have spots on their fur. It was a 140-pound male mountain lion, the first confirmed in Connecticut in more than 100 years. Due to mountain lions large size, they require larger meals. 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. This is a carousel. We even had a sighting someone here at DEEP, in my office, was convinced they saw a mountain lion. Speaker Bill Betty presented evidence and proposed theories that could prove that Connecticut, including, is home to a native population of Eastern mountain lions. This young adult, male Mountain Lion was struck and killed by a SUV in Milford, Connecticut on June 11, 2012. Re (2): Mountain Lion sighting in Brookfield ct - By Ryan January 31, 2016 at 11:16:51 PM. As a scientist, lack of evidence is very good evidence. Sightings can be reported to the McCall Fish and Game office at 208-634-8137. Okay, if thats what you say, what can I tell you. Young pumas dispersing from Western habitats are being killed at the source, compromising the Easts critical opportunity for ecosystem health and the return of an apex carnivore., Regardless of where they are found, or whether people want to hunt or protect them, people are enchanted by mountain lions. The history of this theory in Connecticut and New England goes back long before our current era of fake news. So, there you have it an answer to the question of whether or not there are mountain lions in CT. ', '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. Its quite an uphill challenge for us to manage that situation right now. not all bobcats are heavily spotted either - just to add to the confusion.. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are The nearest known populations of mountain lions are in Wyoming, Colorado, North . Here are the Winter Storm Anthony snowfall totals so far, Melting Pot restaurant in Darien closes down. Mountain lions weigh 105 to 140 pounds and can be up to eight feet long from the nose to the tip of the tail. A quick Google search reveals that the theory is not limited to Connecticut and similar tales are told throughout the Northeast. Peter Yankowski is a breaking news reporter for Hearst Connecticut Media Group. 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. 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. Height at shoulder: 25-30 in. If it really comes down to it do what you have to do to deter it from following you. 105 of 119 106 of 119 A dead mountain lion, killed on the Merritt Parkway in Milford in June 2011. 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. So its this gathering storm. To learn more about "lion country" in Colorado check here. 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