ago. Also known as cougars, panthers or pumas, mountain lions range in color from tan to grey, according to the U.S. Department of Agricultures Forest Service. Okay, if thats what you say, what can I tell you. Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. Make noise. He drove me out to the spot. But the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said Sunday that bobcats are the only large wild cats found in the state. Otherwise, Hawley said cats like bobcats want nothing to do with people, and they will generally prey on chickens, small dogs or cats. Since then, there have been no confirmed cases here, with the state saying: People very often mistake bobcats for mountain lions. It is not of the animal actually seen in town. Every winter, after a fresh snow, DEEP sends out teams into the fields and woods looking for animal tracks. 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. Weve done a lot of work over the years investigating sightings. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. The next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. Hawley says that they would be finding carcasses of mountain lion prey and mountain lion tracks if these animals had recolonized the state, and this simply isnt happening. Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. We even had a sighting someone here at DEEP, in my office, was convinced they saw a mountain lion. You know, weve had so many home entries this year. It went through my yard, went up behind, I have some property, past my barn, went into the woods, east, lots of woods back there, just disappeared.. Based on this blurry photo and pawprints, DEEP confirmed it was likely a mountain lion. These sightings are so persistent that there is a conspiracy theory that says DEEP officials know mountain lions are in the state but cover up their existence. 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. Rumors of their hidden presence persisted. For mountain lions in Connecticut, a lack of evidence is very good evidence. One on Salem Rd and another in the area of Pease Rd in our town. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection thinks it's unlikely. Bobcats, also, only hunt small prey. Mountain Lions:100 all the way up to 200 pounds, Mountain Lions:Can grow up to 6 feet long. Bobcats typically have brown fur with a reddish tinge that is marked with black or brown spots or stripes, according to the National Zoo. 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. Over time, Wright became convinced Eastern cougars lived in small pockets in the deep woods. Mountain lions may be stealthy, but they do leave a trace. He was the only confirmed mountain lion in all of Connecticut but was seen several times right after he arrived in the state before being accidentally killed. Emaileditor@connecticutmag.com, or contact usonFacebook@connecticutmagazine orTwitter@connecticutmag. Don't be a fool and be caught off guard by believing they don't exist in Connecticut. community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years. Weve done a lot of work over the years investigating sightings. 17), Police investigate death of New London High School student, Guide to Legal Cannabis Dispensaries in CT, recent mountain lion sightings in Connecticut have not been confirmed, CT pit bull that was almost euthanized goes viral, gets adopted. Here are some physical differences between mountain lions and bobcats: These 2 big cats also behave differently. Another important difference: bobcats are found in Connecticut while mountain lions are not. Sometimes people feared fishers (erroneously attributing the blood-curdling screams of foxes to these hard-to-spot creatures), and in the late 1930s, after several animals were slain under strange circumstances in Glastonbury, the. Its documented through track surveys, aerial surveys, trapping and collaring surveys. Its extremely rare for a person to see a wild animal and to underestimate its size. I couldnt tell you how happy I would be if mountain lions were actually recolonizing the state of Connecticut, Hawley says, but its just not happening., Hawley spoke about bobcats, mountain lions and bears on The Colin McEnroe Show: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators.. State lawmakers have entertained bills to establish a bear hunting season for years, but so far, none of those proposals has passed. Rumors of their hidden presence persisted. "The state [Connecticut] explains any cougar evidence, such as the recent mountain lion killed in Milford, as an escaped pet [or one that came from the Mid-West]," Mr. Betty said in an e-mail. Especially when pictures are blurry which happens a lot in trail cameras or youll get pictures taken at night or something on Ring cameras that hind leg really does often look like a tail kind of curling up behind the animal.. After all, if one mountain lion had wandered here, didnt that mean that others could have? Connecticut Public Radio | The Canada Lynxs geographic territory in New England only extends as far south as northern New Hampshire and parts of Maine, though. It was a flooded area. . Weve got a growing bear population. Rego says that the way bobcats stride when they run, often times a rear leg is kicked up in the back and that could be mistaken for a long tail.. 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. 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 U.S. Department of Agricultures Forest Service reports that mountain lions typical habitat is steep, rocky canyons or mountainous terrain, but they generally can be found wherever deer are present. Bobcats, also, only hunt small prey. As I rushed to meet her in the woods, she told me what she had seen. This is a carousel. But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. 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. Then in June 2011, there were reports of a mountain lion in Greenwich and, for the first time, a photo. So why does the conspiracy theory that theyre here in significant numbers persist? From family fun to restaurants and everything in between, everything you need to know about CT is right here. And even the home entries are kind of changing. We have people eating dinner in their kitchen, they hear a noise, all of a sudden a bear walks in, so they run into their bedroom to get away from the bear, while the bears out ransacking their refrigerator. And there are different schools of thought about that. But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. 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. And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. Abbott, of the Housatonic Valley Association, is equally skeptical of the vast majority of mountain lion sightings. Chief Rick OBomsawin of Odanak First Nation currently based in Quebec, whose ancestral lands include Vermont says no one contacted Odanak officials during the state's Truth and Reconciliation selection process. She had seen an animal on foot in broad daylight. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. It is also the most common wild cat found in North America. Wait a minute--there was a sighting in New London County a few years back, and my wife read an article about a mountain lion or cougar being struck by a vehicle in Milford a few years back. McEnroe: It is an uphill challenge. 17), Police investigate death of New London High School student, Long Wharf Theatre to present Live from the Edge in Hamden, Torrington students to stage 'The Sponge Bob Musical' in May, 'American Idol' alums Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken to perform in CT, Talcott Mountain Music Festival starts June 30. We even had a sighting someone here at DEEP, in my office, was convinced they saw a mountain lion. This young male cougar was found to have DNA from other cougars found in South Dakota which means it traveled about 1,800 miles east. of Energy & Environmental Protection. Are There a Lot of Spiders in Connecticut? Are there any mountain lions in CT? Icould hear the panic in my wifes voice. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. A qualitative assessment of . They do not want to alarm the public. It is the only confirmed presence of a cougar in recent years. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. Bobcats are most frequently misidentified by the public as mountain lions, but theyre not the only animals mislabeled. Bobcats are found across Connecticut, but even fully grown they are much smaller than what she was describing, only weighing between 18 and 35 pounds. "Connecticut is cougar heaven . Or at least theyre not supposed to be. Hi! 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. People should also make noise and to make themselves as large as possible by raising their arms over their head with a jacket or sweatshirt. The police shoot of Cougars behind the police Academy when they get over populated. Like coyotes, moreover, mountain. 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. Arms over your head, with a jacket or sweatshirt. MoRRoW187 4 mo. Once at dusk driving in the Berkshires, he saw what he initially thought was a cat-like creature that was far bigger than a bobcat leap across the road. Anyone can get fooled. 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. Breweries in New Haven, CT you MUST Visit! The next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. These highlights have been edited and condensed for length and clarity. Officials are reminding residents to be mindful of small pets and children wandering out of sight, to not approach the animal and give it space to turn around if faced with a big cat, like a mountain lion. Ive been doing this for 40 years. 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. And were one of the most densely populated states as far as humans. So its this gathering storm. Having spent much time outdoors hunting deer . Sometimes physical evidence shows the sighting was of some other animal, including dogs, cats, fishers, coyotes, bears and bobcats. By, Corporate Support: Advertising & Sponsorship, Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators., Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators, CT could lose thousands of affordable housing units in next few years, With a visit to New Haven, Lamont makes pitch to plant more trees in cities ahead of Earth Day, New London expands housing as General Dynamics Electric Boat prepares to hire thousands, Connecticuts Hispanic performing artists adapt to inflation with hope for future generations, Connecticut's summer enrichment program is awarded $11.5 million to continue, Connecticut COVID data: Your town's infection rate, hospitalizations & vaccinations, As new research suggests COVID-19 is now endemic, physicians push back, Long COVID rates fall by half nationwide, New England rates among lowest, Construction waste clogs landfills, worsens climate change. Were getting more and more home entries every year. So theres fresh mud. This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Publics Members Have a question or comment? The state adds bobcats are often active this time of year, making sightings much more likely. It was a flooded area. Do Not Approach! 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. The one confirmed case, sometimes referred to as the " Connecticut Mountain Lion " happened in June 2011 when an SUV struck and killed a cougar in Milford. 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. Hear the full interview: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators, Connecticut Dept. Connecticut's official position is that mountain lions have been extinct in the state since the late 1800s. So its this gathering storm. Bobcats: They are are the only wild cat found in the state and the most common in North America. Now the bears, they dont even care if people are home, theyll go right in the house. Anyone can get fooled. Make yourself BIG. It would come regularly during its yearly migration. The department has said it receives reports every year of. As a scientist, lack of evidence is very good evidence. 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. But its also a great story that lays out how an animal this large, at 150 pounds, traveling through even rural areas, leaves signs and is detected. Clean_Caterpillar225 4 mo. And follow us on Facebook and Instagram @connecticutmagazine and Twitter @connecticutmag. DEEP says Connecticut does not have a mountain lion population. But sometimes, instead of mountain lions, people thought they saw other creatures in the Connecticut woods, of which authorities were supposedly aware. 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. I would not have it any other way. On the idea of bear hunting in Connecticut. Now the bears, they dont even care if people are home, theyll go right in the house. Sometimes referred to as the ghosts of the forest, mountain lions or cougars are stealthy hunters that are hard to spot, even in areas they are known to inhabit. 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. 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. Connecticut Public 7.36K subscribers The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has been denying they exist in Connecticut, but this past summer a rogue mountain lion was spotted. However, the captive lion theory was also wrong. State lawmakers have entertained bills to establish a bear hunting season for years, but so far, none of those proposals has passed. McEnroe: Scientifically, this is a case where absence of evidence is kind of evidence of absence, right? No, there are no mountain lions in CT, and there havent been for quite some time. Give it space to turn around without feeling threatened to get away from you and your family. Working in the 1980s in southern California, where there are cougars, biologist Paul Beier said that 95 percent of cougar sightings they investigated turned out to be misidentifications. According to French's article: "To date, the only other confirmed evidence of a wild Mountain Lion in Massachusetts was found on March 4, 2011, when Steve Ward . Throw rocks, sticks, etc to scare it off, police said in the post. Its definitely a problem thats only going to get worse. I couldnt tell you how happy I would be if mountain lions were actually recolonizing the state of Connecticut, Hawley says, but its just not happening., Hawley spoke about bobcats, mountain lions and bears on The Colin McEnroe Show: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators.. Your support makes this news available to everyone. I live in Hamden Connecticut and I have had mountain lions, black bears, Skunk's, dear, coyotes, fox. Weve had coyotes misidentified. Since then, theyve diverted over an acre of hardwood flooring, roughly 570 kitchen cabinets, and 500 windows from landfills. Im no wilderness expert, but it sure looked like a mountain lion to me, he said. Mountain lion sightings in New Hampshire have increased along . Yet we see nothing about what is being planned except how to scare them away if one sees them. On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. Hawley: Yeah. Sign up for our newsletterto get the latest and greatest content fromConnecticut Magazinedelivered right to your inbox. During Autism Awareness Month, columnist John Breunig details the experience of taking his son to a Bruce Springsteen concert and the NY Theres just an incredible amount of bad information that we get from coercion and bad interviewing tactics, a policing expert says. That mountain lion was hit by a car and killed on the Merritt Parkway in Milford, CT. After the incident, Connecticut environmental officials were able to determine that the 140-pound cat had . He points out that when there was a real mountain lion in the state in 2011, his office publicized it immediately. Lets learn to live alongside this very large animal is one of the schools of thought. She still produces shows with Colin and the team when her schedule allows. Give today. The next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an, on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. Just had one over in Windsor last week. Stay facing the big cat and try not to turn your back to it, officials said in a Facebook post. State wildlife experts say those big cats have been extinct in Connecticut for more than 100 years. People have been known to submit photos of real mountain lions taken in other states and claim they were taken in Connecticut. Mountain Lions: Large tan cats with a distinctive two to three-foot curving tail, that can almost touch the ground as they walk. Those are the two closest populations that we have here. A young male was hit and killed by a car several years ago, but. What we do not have is a secure predator corridor.. Hawley: Wildlife biologists across the United States know where the current mountain lion range is. 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. Figure 1 - Mountain lion range and confirmed sightings from 1990-2008. And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. A threat to livestock, they were hunted out of the state and driven to parts more wild. So, now that youve got the answer on whether or not mountain lions can be found in CT, lets talk about which wild cats are more likely to be seen here. What to know about unconfirmed mountain lion sightings in CT. Nicole Funaro was formerly a statewide trending reporter for Hearst Connecticut Media Group, covering everything from the most fascinating properties for sale in the Nutmeg State to the latest movie filming in the state. Officials recommend not running away, as this can trigger a chase. Genetic testing placed the animal in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the cat had been sighted at several different points during its long journey east. We know that strays have wandered through New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts; that does not indicate that a sighting means we have a resident mountain lion in the Berkshires. He published his first book in 1959, The Ghost of North America: The Story of the Eastern Panther. 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