mountain lion vermont

I think I may have pissed her off since I was up in that area X2 this week. The tails gotta be there. He set down his cigarette and looked me in the eye. Ive seen tracks (Downeast Maine) and others have seen them, plain as day. I live in Hopkinton, NH and saw one coming up from the Contoocook River one misty morning. In the states where there are robust mountain lion populations, they are a threat to livestock, pets and, occasionally, humans. The combined scoring differential in those matchups was 158-77. Yet I also remembered something Sue Morse had told me months before, as we sat in her living room drinking beer and chatting cats. 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. I met with Morse at her home in Jericho. The first time was in the yard which was surrounded by woods. The tavern was quiet except for some hard-rock music playing on the radio, the murmur of a handful of men at the bar, and us. 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. 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. 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. Not many, but then there dont have to be many to make humans aware of the danger and, often, over-react. I came across a dead adult deer carcass high up in an oak tree. She lives near the end of a gravel road in a modest, low-slung house tucked into the flanks of the Green Mountains. Interesting article, but it is really incomplete without a discussion of the legal implications of having a confirmed endangered species such as the Eastern Cougar in New England. I was just amazed as I watched this scene in my own back yard. 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. 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. 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. That was plain, right away. This was, after all, a long, long way from the nearest known population of mountain lions and virtually the heart of the suburban East. 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. If this habitat can support them, it should. We got a picture of our culprit, he says, that very first night.. hen I accepted the assignment to write about my quest to uncover the truth regarding the existence of cougars in New England, I had little idea what I was agreeing to. Mid Vermont Christian School Eagles forfeited their girls basketball playoff game on Tuesday against Long Trail School Mountain Lions. 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. We think theyre coming in from Canada, Betty told me. Mountain lions are around 4 feet long with a two-and-a-half foot tail and can stand 24-30 inches tall at the shoulder. But this requires a breeding pair. Ordinary, the lone males do not range much more than 100 miles. Reported mountain lion sightings are popping up all over Vermont and convinced onlookers say the proof is in the pictures. 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. Females ranges are much smaller so it will take reintroduction or a few savvy wildlife biologist in the dead of night. Watching a potential winter storm. 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. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. A mountain lion was responsible for that too. She lives near the end of a gravel road in a modest, low-slung house tucked into the flanks of the Green Mountains. This could, of course, be projection on my part. You need to understand that every biologist that works for the state has a duty to deny mountain lions. Inslerman said the DEC received about a half-dozen calls reporting sightings of mountain lions last year; two calls this week. Beautiful animal. They were also seen at other times by members of my family and other people in the neighborhood. 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. 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. This is a site for people to discuss mountain lion sightings in the Green Mountain State of Vermont. The scientific name for the catamount is Puma concolor. If there is a follow up investigation, it turns out that people were mistaken about what they saw.. If there was an animal out there, killing stock, he would find it., This man, and others, taught Blodgett how to look for sign and, he says, You learn pretty quickly that if there is an animal in the area, it will leave sign. Recall a few years back, a guy in a kayak off Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA, was tracked by a large fin. 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. Vermont Mountain Lion Sightings. They denied it until a cougar was hit as it tried to cross the very busy Merritt Parkway. What color was it? 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). 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. If theres a middle ground in the cougar debate, it belongs to John Harrigan, a veteran outdoorsman, newspaper reporter, and widely read syndicated columnist. Betty had driven up from his home in Rhode Island. 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 . Provided by Touchpoints Phone: +1 802 448 8250. I wasnt planning to shoot her unless she moved in my direction. In Vermont, it was 1881. We were talking about those animals, like coyotes and turkeys, that have re-established themselves in Vermont and, unlike the rattlers, are thriving. And its not just Vermont. At least once a year thered be a story from somewhere, but I only ran the absolute best, he told me. Matthew Johnson/Vermont Historical Society. 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. 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. And, according to people who swear they know what they saw the catamount. Blodgett and I were returning from a day spent looking forand finding timber rattlesnakes, a species that is endangered in Vermont. They knew what they were doing, Blodgett says. 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. Im gonna get hammered for it, he sighed. 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. It was definitely a cougar. vital part of this countries ecosystem. But I learned something else in my ad hoc researchesnamely that this was a question that aroused a lot of passion in people. 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? You wouldnt shake hands with a man like that, she said, and though she was smiling I could tell she was serious. The light was failing and I was on my way out of the woods. My own inclination, for the little it matters, is to side with the professionals like Blodgett. Wildlife do really crazy things, and you just never know.. The glasses I carried were of good quality with exceptional light-gathering property. However, when I asked the room of 200 or so people how many believe they had seen a mountain lion/cougar/puma/catamount, hands shot up all around the room about 25% of those present. Most of those sightings were misidentifications, Doug Blodgett says. 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. And yet there I was, on a Saturday in early November, crammed into a booth with Bo Ottmann, 48, and Bill Betty, 72, of Cougars of the Valley, the organization that Ottmann founded in 2007 to gather evidence of and alert the public to the big cats living among us. No way to proveor disproveit. If seen bobcats and moose and coyotes and coy dogs ! In Vermont, for instance, a few dozen wild turkeys from Pennsylvania were released in 1969 and multiplied into the thousands we have here now. Something I had not expected ever to experience. However, many of their claimsespecially Mr. Bettys contention of roughly a dozen personal sightings in New Englandare hard to take seriously. No doubt of what it was; size, color and recognizable tail. One summer I saw what I assumed was the same cougar several different times in my neighborhood which was near a long strip of woods along I 91 and used to be a large open field across the road from our home. 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. Theymay not be looking, specifically, for a catamount. She favors plaid shirts, green Dickies work pants, and hiking boots, and she chided me for shaking her hand too gently. I had been the first vehicle in a line held up by one lane traffic on a bridge reconstruction. Ive attended talks with Sue Morse. But, I think with education and planning, we should reintroduce wolves and cougar in the Northeast. 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. Height. And consider, for a moment, the concern and outright fear an official acknowledgment of such a carnivorous and predatory creature might evoke. Photo courtesy of Dave O'Donnell. Jason. In fact, jaguars used to be native to south Texas, as well! There are many officials in denial up here, but we know what we saw and there are too many sightings by the local folks to be ignored. I lived in Woodstock, CT in 2005/2006. Ottmann and I walked farther. Our hunter friend was hunting in central NH when they came upon an adult deer carcass way up in a tree. You cant mistake the long tail. Part of this belief is rooted in his journalistic experience, which across the decades has cultivated his nose for sincerity. There are so many great sites out there devoted to. That it had, somehow, made a return and established residence. Even in the controlled environment of a lab, the truth about Eastern cougars seems to be almost willfully eluding its seekers. There is no shortage of deer for all apex predators whether they are canine, feline, or human. At Green Mountain Lion Corp, we specialize in placing professionals in a variety of industries. Much as I liked Ottmann and Betty, and much as I found some of their evidence compelling, I was struggling to reconcile their more provocative claims with the restraint expressed by the many other experts Id spoken with. 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. After 20 minutes or so, we turned and stumbled our way back to the parking lot. 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. I noticed that there were many great websites, blogs, and discussion boards devoted to mountain lion sightings in other states of New England, but not one just for Vermont. This was after the department sent him out west to study the behavior of mountain lions. In Vermont, the last known mountain lion was shot near Barnard in 1881, ending an era when the predators were such a nuisance that the state offered a $20 bounty per pelt. Had trouble sleeping last night cause that was to close and I think she may have stalked me from where I was in the woods. 104 Williston, VT 05495. Snow accumulating 3 to 5 inches.. . Apex predators like the cougar and wolf make for a healthier ecosystem. Ive heard some biologists say it is not a distinct subspecies. I went back and told the tale to anyone who would listen. One cat will leave more than 10,000 tracks per day. 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. Geoffrey Norman is a Dorset author and a frequent contributor to Stratton Magazine. I also had the vague notion that when it comes to cougars, people tend to sort themselves into one of three camps. 3 talking about this. Green Mountain Lion Corporation, Inc. Business Consulting and Services Williston, Vermont 5,563 followers Boutique management recruiting firm focusing on heavy equipment manufacturing & distribution. 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. In the states where there are robust mountain lion populations, they are a threat to livestock, pets and, occasionally, humans. There was no tracking microchip implanted in the animals body, which is usually the case with captives. The mountain lion is also known as cougar, panther, or puma. And, then, some species didnt need any help from humans but managed to extend their range into now-recovered and suitable habitats. Also moose. Spatz and Sue dont want to go where were going.. People clearly arent lying when they say they saw a cougar; [the sighting] has a profound effect on them.. I heard from Neighbors that they have been sighting from the mass pike which runs along this area but also very close to Quabbin! 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. And some people might decide to release them into the wild rather than keeping them in their possession. A deer is a wild animal and it is always a pleasure to see oneunless it is in the high beams, at night. Saw one on old mountain rd Peterborough N.H. a few years ago on my property followed it and ran to get my camera have a photo but in distance by time got it was amazing animal t Metcalf. Phone: . 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. We hadnt seen a cougar, nor any evidence to suggest a cougar had traveled these woods recently. 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: It is possible that cougars of unknown origin may be breeding to a limited extent in Vermont. 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. Its closest living relative is the cheetah. It continues in Connecticut, where that South Dakota cat was killed in 2011, and in Massachusetts, despite two credible reports in the past quarter century (in one case, DNA-confirmed scat; in the other, verified tracks). Still, Spatz acknowledged that the word hope is very different from the word believe. So it is possible that, on occasion, someone would catch a glimpse of one of these animals. They are most definitely here. Length of body. The mountain lion can weigh upwards of 200 pounds and it can move like well, like a cat. Some of them, he says, we could close the books on pretty quickly. 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. It jumped 28 feet across the road. Wildlife biologists, as professional scientists, require a higher level of documentation and proof. My parents friend in Deposit, NY, posted a young catamount sitting on the front porch on Facebook. People could have been looking at a catamount that was not, in fact, a wild animal. Theres probably 100 in Connecticut, Ottmann interrupted, rolling a cigarette as he spoke. When we reached tower, a ranger arrived in a pickup. It was a bright sunny summer day. . Americans called the mountain " Tah-wak-be-dee-ee-wads. 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. Our county. I also had a coworker report a similar experience around the same time. I started to get nervous so I was scanning the area low and high in the trees. 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. I saw an adult cougar/catamount twice within a two week period. Refuge volunteer Dale Erz originally. But that was OK. Bo Ottmann knew they were out there. 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. and with my friend Chris Christinat who lives in hartsville we saw one stalking a rabbit on her lawn about autumn of 2009. It may not surprise you to learn that I was quite intrigued by this third group. 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