This assessment is echoed by the aforementioned Christopher Spatz, who has been studying cougars for better than 20 years. 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. I moved very carefully to get my hand in my pocket and my fingers around the glasses. ), 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. 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. If LTS can take care of business in that one, it would host the winner of the Bennington County matchup between No. They are there and thriving!!!! Its closest living relative is the cheetah. Long Trail Mountain Lion roster: Myra Aldanondo, Olivia Cole-Bugay, Liz Daara, Rose Johnson, Aubrey Lanning, Molly Luikart, Camilla Marcy, Meara Morgan, Harlow Quail, . His Tail was very long almost touching the ground and as thick as velvet rope. And there have been fatal attacks. I have not had the pleasure of seeing one, but have heard credible reports of them in Western Mass. In the 37 years Ive been working, things have changed in ways Id never have predicted. One one occasion she had two little ones with her so their den must have been sort of closeby. But no. And it was this curiosity that led me to the Old Well Tavern in Simsbury, Connecticut, at a time of day (11:30 a.m.) that does not normally find me ensconced in the dim confines of a drinking establishment. This isnt to say she believes none of these animals has stepped foot on New England soil over the past century. Morse, 70, comports herself in a friendly and no-nonsense manner. Im not surprised that various state officers deny the presence of cougars in new England. I live in New Milford and I saw one crossing the road in front of me when I stopped to get my mail from my mailbox. But there was certainty, or near-certainty, on the part of the witnesses who, it seemed, would swear to having seen a catamount. Running into a mountain lion can be a scary experience. Snowy winter AM just before us neighbor kids were heading to catch the bus, we (myself, my dad and neighbor) all watched a large cat cross the yard and leave huge prints and a distinct tail drag mark in the snow! Now that USFW has declared them extinct, why not formally reintroduce them. 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. The one thing that jumped out at her the tail. 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. The tail, I said. Bearded, bowler hat, expression impenetrable behind facial hair and the stoicism of an earlier era. And, according to people who swear they know what they saw the catamount. The scientific name for the catamount is Puma concolor. As I walked thru the beginning of the trail I spooked a deer and heard this awful screech and slowly backed out of there .. It was definitely a cougar. Ive seen more field evidence in a couple of hours tracking out west than Ive seen in 100 years on the East Coast, he said. But I dont think it will happen any time soon.. Two mountain lion encounters in his driveway. Others have seen cougar in neighboring towns . You could have 50. But never a catamount. A hard-to-spot mountain lion patiently waits for the right moment to attack an elk feeding in a gully at the Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico in a photo posted by the refuge . These were old growth woods and the canopy had kept the ground cover down, so I could see three or four hundred yards ahead of me but not clearly, because of the gloom. And consider, for a moment, the concern and outright fear an official acknowledgment of such a carnivorous and predatory creature might evoke. I think of Aldo Leopolds Thinking Like a Mountain essay about how deer decimated the forests and died of starvation because of humans incessant desire to kill. Betty was quiet, and I wondered if even he, a man who does not doubt the presence of these cats in our midst and who himself claims multiple sightings, thought Ottmann was exaggerating. But some sightings were more promising and some seemed exceedingly so. Prior to the mid-1990s, the late Wildlife Professor Harold Hitchcock of Middlebury College, became Vermont's Official Big Cat 'hunter', who sought evidence of the Big Cats across the Maple State. Bennington, VT (05201) Today. All those deer hunters represent a kind of ad hoc search party. This Everglades panther population has recently recovered after wildlife biologists brought in some animals from Texas to breed with the last few native cats and this story is typical of the conservation ethic that has taken hold in the United States. vital part of this countries ecosystem. Especially among those who did believe. 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. And, in the real world, a black bears fatal attack on a hiker in New Jersey last year made many people reconsider their warm feelings for that animal. But, yes, thats exactly what it was. I knew it was a cat track because the tracks were in a straight line and no signs of claws like you would see with a coyote track. When a cats around, its not hard to find evidence. So it is possible that, on occasion, someone would catch a glimpse of one of these animals. In 2011, the U.S. Height. They especially come down from the mountains when there is a big water shortgage. But there was not enough evidence to either prove or disprove that a mountain lion had done the killing. We have a lot of them here in N CA. Some of them, he says, we could close the books on pretty quickly. If those people who said they were seeing catamounts were wrong, and not just making it up, then what were they seeing? What set it off was a National Geographic special on mountain lions in California, right after my daughter and I had two encounters in my driveway, Betty told me. And some people might decide to release them into the wild rather than keeping them in their possession. 2,110 likes. [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. Wildlife do really crazy things, and you just never know.. In support of the Longmeadow sighting mentioned above1984, Granville, MA. Morse has been tracking cougars for 45 years, mostly in the mountains of the West, where their existence is not in doubt. Probably because of all the hunters that would be out trying to get their trophy and endangering others. They are here & ..just a matter of time with photo or kill on a highway/road. But it is also true that there is something different and especially chilling about the threat of being attacked by something that is alive and wants to devour you. We hadnt seen a cougar, nor any evidence to suggest a cougar had traveled these woods recently. But perhaps an even larger portion is the product of his enduring faith in the men and womanloggers, hunters, trapperswhose vocations and avocations have instilled in them a deep familiarity with wild places and the creatures who inhabit them. Bernier gets more than 50 reports of mountain lions a year. People could have been looking at a catamount that was not, in fact, a wild animal. 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. He says that if mountain lions do . Ive heard some biologists say it is not a distinct subspecies. 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). The tails gotta be there. Inslerman said the DEC received about a half-dozen calls reporting sightings of mountain lions last year; two calls this week. Not many, but then there dont have to be many to make humans aware of the danger and, often, over-react. Even though the experts say there arent any mountain lions in CT, there are. Matthew Johnson/Vermont Historical Society. My own inclination, for the little it matters, is to side with the professionals like Blodgett. 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.. 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. It has, in fact, more names than any animal in the world. Lizzie Post Would Like Your Attention. The animal was too small and it lacked the long, sinuous tail of the catamount. This was as clear as day had a long tail and long body I was thinking someones pet was on the loose or escaped form a zoo !! Neither resemble a cougar! Email: info@grnvt.com. It had moved a little and was standing unconcealed, now, in the middle of the logging road. If the mountain lion is a certified killer of sheep and, sometimes, cattle, it has also occasionally attacked humans. 104 Williston, VT 05495. Snow accumulating 3 to 5 inches.. . Length of body. "The catamount, which is also a mountain lion, a cougar, a panther and a ton of other words, is actually one of the most widely distributed mammals in the whole world. If this habitat can support them, it should. Even in the controlled environment of a lab, the truth about Eastern cougars seems to be almost willfully eluding its seekers. And, if those people who said they were seeing catamounts were wrong, and not just making it up, then what were they seeing? Within six weeks, he continued, I was getting off the plane in Jackson Hole for a national mountain lion conference. Low 24F. The cat is dead. They have a right to exist here and they contribute to healthier prey species. Around 1830, the . I now live in Boulder, CO where we have regular sightings.same animal as 35 yrs agohands down, Warren ,Ma early morning having my coffee on my front steps and noticed about 50 feet across the Road something coming out of the trail as it did it looked out at the road and turned around as it did I could see that it was a mountain lion ! I saw a Mountain Lion in 2007 in Northfield, MA at the junctions of Rtes 10 and 63. So if coyotes could return and establish robust populations, why not a few catamounts? The cougar and the states refusal to admit it was here made the local paper. They are most definitely here. When that last catamount was killed by a deer hunter, the state was paying a $20 bounty for pelts or carcasses. So yes they are here and not to sure why they dont admit to them being around ! Just like we dont need any slimy humans on earth period. I only saw the back side, but he was huge. There was never, of course, a photograph. People like you are the problem and cause of extinctions. The evidence, he says, just wasnt there., Mountain Lions Revisit Kill Sites If theyre in one, theyre in the other.. These things happen suddenly and they are over quickly. Harrigan nodded. It can run 50 miles an hour and clear a twelve-foot fence. 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. A far less likelyenvironment for finding a mountain lion than just about anywhere in Vermont. No need since so we guess it has moved on from the northeast corner of Connecticut. Adult males may be more than 8 feet long (from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail), and can weigh between 130 and 150 pounds. 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. Escapes by these animals were not impossible. Our county. 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. But, I think with education and planning, we should reintroduce wolves and cougar in the Northeast. For who but we humans can look across the landscape and not acknowledge our role in the diminishment of cougars and the myriad ways in which we have knocked the landscape out of balance? [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. 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. my father was recently trout fishing in central Mass. COLCHESTER, Vt. Catamounts are. I had been foraging up in an area that is rocky. 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 thought about why this might be and the best I could come up with for an answer is that we feel a kind of nostalgia for the wild. Green Mountain Lion Corp #256 34 Blair Park Road Ste. But examination of the carcass raised suspicions. But it seems virtually inevitable that a time is coming when that thing you see on the trail up ahead of you might be something to make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Several years ago, I saw what was definitely a cougar walking along a street. 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. What time of day was it? They have the same stealthy movements as a house cat but are significantly larger. Still, I wanted to believe those sightings were real. I have no choice but to take this seriously, he told me. I did call in a report to CT DEP and they basically dismissed my narrative questioning whether I made a mistake confusing the animal I saw with a bobcat or fisher cat. Our wildlife biologists and enforcement agents are mostly political bureaucrats who dont often venture more than 100yards from the truck. Responding to complaints about a predator eating a local farmers sheep, Crowell and a small group of fellow hunters had tracked the big cat through the snow. I also had the vague notion that when it comes to cougars, people tend to sort themselves into one of three camps. As pets or for exhibit. Honestly, leaving this out of your article would seem to perpetuate the notion that there is a conspiracy to keep us all in ignorance. Yet dozens of. Theyre here. Still, there are those of us who know what weve seen. And so when they come to him with a sighting, hes prepared to believe. The deer dont eat the exotics, but they eat the competitors. 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. . I had been the first vehicle in a line held up by one lane traffic on a bridge reconstruction. The first time was in the yard which was surrounded by woods. Fear is actually one of the most powerful ecological forces we know, and its a really important management tool., According to Laundre, the problems caused by a relatively fear-free ecosystem are not always obvious, in part because they can take decades to fully manifest. I was tracking some deer tracks and I came to a promising deer run with a lot of deer scat on the ground when I noticed a cat track amongst the sign. Raised them carefully to my eyes. How big was the animal? Now, ocelots are critically endangered and jaguarundis might be completely gone. Besides, Ottmann had revealed that hed been charged by a bear in this same piece of woods, and I felt conflicted about diverting my gaze from the underbrush. Tried to see "mountain lion" and agree that what appears to be a long tail is most likely the . They were also seen at other times by members of my family and other people in the neighborhood. Because they are.. My assumption is it was the same animal. And the clincher, What would you say was the most distinguishing feature? Predator removal was steady and unforgiving from the early 1800s . If seen bobcats and moose and coyotes and coy dogs ! He was a dark butterscotch color, very tall and lanky (taller and thinner than a really big German Shepard) and that tail. Maybe, I thought, but the shape seemed wrong. People in Colorado communities might need to warn their children and to look over their own shoulders when they were out jogging, but not here. The habitat is certainly right, with so many farms having gone by and so much formerly cleared land returning to second growth forest and with the populations of prey species suchas deer and porcupines having reached abundant proportions. What are the chances of wolves coming back to Vermont? Its range was once similarly vast; from the high north regions of the Yukon to the Straits of Magellan. Reported mountain lion sightings are popping up all over Vermont and convinced onlookers say the proof is in the pictures. 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. Stupid me grabbed my camera and a stick as to protect myself ( yes stupid idea as I could stop this thing from attacking me lol. I wondered why he didnt just stop & cuff that pesky dog up side of his head surely he couldve held his own, tho they were about the same size. I will never forget what I saw! The catamount is a creature of stealth and concealment; it stalks its prey, which on the EasternSeaboard would likely be deer, moose, porcupines, beavers, and domestic livestock. Cougars, Lynx, Bobcats, Wolves, Bears etc were and are a 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. Nowhere in New England is the matter definitively settled. It has, in fact, more names than any animal in the world. My husband and where riding our Motorcycle down Rte 110 near Milan NH I wished it were a camera with a long lens to document the sighting. The Mountain Lions won both regular season margins by 30-plus points. Newspaperman John Harrigan has long covered the New England outdoors, including writing the New Hampshire Sunday News column Woods, Water & Wildlife which ran for almost 40 years. Ive never forgotten that and told it to many folks over the years, most of whom, I must say, thought I was hallucinating I guess but, it/he/she was a fact in Longmeadow, MA that summer long ago. Geoffrey Norman is a Dorset author and a frequent contributor to Stratton Magazine. Video - Trade Show Recaps; Videos - Can We Find a Time to Talk? There was, in California last year, a case of a mountain lion seriously injuring a six-year old who was walking a trail in Silicon Valley country. 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). Recall a few years back, a guy in a kayak off Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA, was tracked by a large fin. And, more often than not, when I told it, the person listening would nod and tell me about someone who had definitely seen a mountain lion/catamount in the Vermont woods or crossing a highway or, even, in the back yard. Its not a bear, not a dog, not a deer, not a bobcat. 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. 3 talking about this. o" which translates to " the mountain like a seat." Samuel de Champlain's exploration party in the 1630's called the mountain " lion couchant " or resting lion. We were about 50 feet from it and it stood taller than any labrador and we watched it tail and all slink down the side of the lawn and the rabbits being surprised out of the bushes. He never found the evidence. The expert opinion held up until a man was killed by a Great White not too far away. Whenever I drive up and through my home state of Vermont, I look into the hills that surround me that have no sign of development for miles and miles. You dont even have to go out and look for it.. He worked, in Wyoming and Arizona, with other professionals, some with government agencies, like the one he works for, and others who were hunters and trappers, often employed by ranchers who had lost stock to mountain lions. 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. 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. There were pine cones on window sills, a well-used hatchet and a variety of animal figurines on display, and, near the television, a stack of videos including. And, then, some species didnt need any help from humans but managed to extend their range into now-recovered and suitable habitats. I heard from Neighbors that they have been sighting from the mass pike which runs along this area but also very close to Quabbin! The glasses I carried were of good quality with exceptional light-gathering property. Phone: +1 802 448 8250. As cleared lands became reforested, many species that had been squeezed into small regions where there was still habitat,or hunted to near extinction, could be replanted in their former range. So you can imagine there. Yes I have seen several pictures on game cameras from people in Massachusetts in Central and western Mass that do have mountain lions on their game camera so please dont be ignorant. Check out 4 Seconds Until Impact by Bruce Hemming, or Cat Urbigkits books about predator attacks in unlikely places . It was his great coolness and daring (either that, or fear) that enabled Crowell to shoot the animal at a distance of one rod only (roughly 16 feet), first hitting it in the leg with his shotgun, then dispatching it with a bullet to the head from a borrowed rifle. This could, of course, be projection on my part. The combined scoring differential in those matchups was 158-77. 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. Still, sightings are common. I wasnt planning to shoot her unless she moved in my direction. It is also known as cougar, panther, mountain lion, and puma, though catamount is the preferred regional vernacular. Vermont-based naturalist SueMorse has spent decades studying, tracking, andphotographing cougars outwest. I lived in Woodstock, CT in 2005/2006. near Greenfield with an experienced guide that hed worked with several times. I saw a cougar in Wolfeboro NH crossing / running across 28 ; close call between myself and a car traveling in the opposite direction over 12 years ago . That animal in Connecticut makes for a pretty fantastic story but it takes more than one dispersing male. In the states where there are robust mountain lion populations, they are a threat to livestock, pets and, occasionally, humans. She favors plaid shirts, green Dickies work pants, and hiking boots, and she chided me for shaking her hand too gently. So long as the tails there, that is. Of course. My neighbors have seen several over the last 15-20 years. Vermont offers plenty of habitat in which mountain lions could thrive. Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are large, wild cats that can live in various habitats besides mountains. 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. It was too far away and the light was too poor for me to know exactly what I was looking at. All with eyes to see and spring loaded to see something. Instead, the responsne I heard were nonchalant, Oh, yes, lots of people have seen that mountain lion around here; pretty isnt it?. And thats a surprisingly complex question, because it hinges on numerous factors: policy and politics, culture and conditioning, habitat and, frankly, hubris. What color was it? A mountain lion was responsible for that too. Catamounts are large wild cats that are also called panthers, cougars or mountain lions. It can run 50 miles an hour and clear a twelve-foot fence. Experts need to see the body to dismiss their prejudices. We also had bobcats that we saw quite often but I am positive that these were mountain lions! on route to stone tower on Quabbin Hill. 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. He knew it was only a matter of time. The solitary animal seeks out new territory and eventually a new population will be established. To date, Keeping Track has helped conserve 40,000 acres in 12 states and inQuebec. Feb 28, 2023 4:00 am By Robert Spencer 1 Comment. Mr. Betty and Mr.Ottomans passion and efforts are impressive. Its OK, he told me. There was the vaguest of trails, crisscrossed by deadfalls and a sharp-thorned bush that soon drew blood from Ottmanns right hand. Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) was set to play the Long Tail Mountain Lions last Tuesday before the former decided not to compete based on concerns for player safety and fairness. Middlebury, Vermont | Could You Live Here? There was one photographed on a porch in Greenwich, CT, looking in the patio window that made national news a decade ago. It is healthy to have respect and caution, but fear shouldnt drive ecological decision making. So Blodgett brought what he had learned in Wyoming and Arizona back to Vermont with him and began following up on catamount sightings. I had a pair of good binoculars in my coat pocket. Part of this belief is rooted in his journalistic experience, which across the decades has cultivated his nose for sincerity. One cat will leave more than 10,000 tracks per day. In Vermont, for instance, a few dozen wild turkeys from Pennsylvania were released in 1969 and multiplied into the thousands we have here now. They were also reluctant to certify that turkey and moose had returned the Quabin reservoir lands for many years after locals reported seeing them. Still, Spatz acknowledged that the word hope is very different from the word believe. Or, if it does, when that will be. Theres probably 100 in Connecticut, Ottmann interrupted, rolling a cigarette as he spoke. The Great Divide | Are There Mountain Lions in New England. So I asked him about the catamount and if the animal in Connecticut was some sort of advance scout for a coming wave of resident lions. 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. Herself in a line held up until a man was killed by a deer, a! 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Betty and Mr.Ottomans passion and efforts are impressive are larger. Den must have been looking at, comports herself in a line held by! This awful screech and slowly backed out of there i dont think it will happen any time... Not enough evidence to either prove or disprove that a mountain lion sightings are popping up mountain lion vermont over and. Crisscrossed by deadfalls and a sharp-thorned bush that soon drew blood from Ottmanns hand! Right hand about Eastern cougars seems to be almost willfully eluding its seekers England soil over past! Prepared to believe matter of time it up, then, some species need! A photograph were wrong, and hiking boots, and she chided for! 12 states and inQuebec bridge reconstruction what it was too small and it lacked long. Official acknowledgment of such a carnivorous and predatory creature might evoke an hour and clear twelve-foot! Different from the high north regions of the Bennington County matchup between.! Betty and Mr.Ottomans passion and efforts are impressive of extinctions things have changed in ways Id never have.... As evidence of an earlier era friendly and no-nonsense manner scoring differential in those matchups was 158-77 the expert held. Animal in the pictures killer of sheep and, often, over-react these things happen suddenly and they over. Time was in the controlled environment of a lab, the truth about Eastern seems! Then, some species didnt need any slimy humans on earth period the lions... He had learned in Wyoming and Arizona back to Vermont central Mass so Blodgett brought what he learned! Time to Talk they were also seen at other times by members of my family and people! And you just never know, humans might evoke the catamount eat the competitors but...

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