Required fields are marked *. "There are about eight to 10 reports of mountain lion sightings a year, some by tourists, some by veterinarians, and some by a wildlife photographer," Linzey said. Welcome to the blog dedicated to discussing mountain lion sightings in Vermont. Perhaps, then, the ultimate question isnt whether cougars are among us, but rather how we can encourage them to settle here. Hawley: Yeah. Hawley:Were sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. Now, lets start talking about our favorite big cat! I have seen plenty of bobcat in my life and my son and I were even lucky enough to see a lynx about 8 years ago. Even in the controlled environment of a lab, the truth about Eastern cougars seems to be almost willfully eluding its seekers. The dogs did a 180 a pulled me away. The cat traveled down through New York and was last sighted at Lake George in New York state before it was hit by a car and killed on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Connecticut. Its tail was gigantic and it was swishing it back and forth. As livestock farming came to dominate the landscape, pressure on the big cats slowly mounted on two fronts: The number of farmers wanting them dead was increasing, while the rapid transition from forest to farmland meant their habitat was shrinking. We all feel so blessed to have sighted them, and have no doubt we saw cougar. Glad to hear that they're not gone. It was a beautiful golden red color (like a red squirrel), about the size of a medium dog (maybe 40lbs?) My husband hunts and tracks. Let us know the date, time of day, how long the sighting lasted for, where you saw the cat in Vermont, and describe what the cat looked likeand was doing. if you send me a USPS mailing address, will forward to you, a few of the many Eastern Puma Network Newsletters, we have published on an irregular basis since 1973. Proctor to vote on what constitutes a public nu Hartland board appoints acting town manager, First spring flowers are in bloom in Rutland, Rutland Area Robotics receive 2016 challenge, EPA honors Efficiency Vermont as 2023 Energy Star Partner of the Year, We must have courage to address gun problem, Confused about Affordable Heat Bill? And there are different schools of thought about that. Vermont's last known cougar, also known as a mountain lion or catamount, was killed in 1881 in Barnard. When seen in Florida, they are of approx. Though not native to Vermont, Canada lynx occasionally make their way down into Vermont. Those are the two closest populations that we have here. 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). At the head of the driveway is a flower sales table in front of a modest size greenhouse. I was traveling west on Route 131 in Wethersfield just west of Downers 4 Corners on January 22 about 12:15 AM during a light sleet and snow storm when a big cat ran across the road in front of me. Bernier gets more than 50 reports of mountain lions a year. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. About 70 feet from the table, appeared to be a very large cat standing . We need them for the health of our forests.. Your email address will not be published. While . Hi Annie, I dont know if you still keep up with this blog but I thought Id give it a try. She lives near the end of a gravel road in a modest, low-slung house tucked into the flanks of the Green Mountains. Running into a mountain lion can be a scary experience. He said there were two, he called them mountain lions.. The presentation promises to be a magnificently illustrated introduction to cougar biology and ecology in the broad diversity of habitats where Morse has studied them, from Alberta to the Mexican border. He can be reached by phone at 860-275-7297 or by email: pskahill@ctpublic.org. In Vermont, it was 1881. Massachusetts, Virginia, Vermont, and Wyoming. 3 Last 10 Years. 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. In that time frame, have collected over 9,500 excellent reports from responsible witnesses, which includes law enforcement & forestry personnel. The cat was a goldish / tan color not real big but at least twice the size of a full grown fox,very long thick bushy tail.The tail was almost as long as its body. She still produces shows with Colin and the team when her schedule allows. ), or someones coworkers mother had seen one from the back porch of a summer camp back in 07 or maybe 08, and shed tried to get a picture but this was before she got her first iPhone, and by the time shed retrieved her camera from the living room, the cat was long gone. When I 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. What else could it be so big I thought it was a deer with a long cat tail? Morse, 70, comports herself in a friendly and no-nonsense manner. Like Tate, he gets a lot of photos and . Lutz, P.O. 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. McEnroe: It is an uphill challenge. We were both very startled and when it ran away it had a long tail with white and black at the tip.I lived in Colorado for several years, in the vicinity of mountain lions, never saw one and never thought for a moment that they could possibly be in Vermont. So theres fresh mud. The way that people see [bobcats] in the woods, when they're running through, [their tails] can even seem longer than they are, Bernier said. It took a rest in the shade of our driveway for about ten minutes. So this is the best we could do for a photo. I was driving yesterday (July 31st '13) around midnight on northbound I-89 about half way between Wight River Junction and Montpelier when a beautiful cat creature a size of a greyhound jumped from the midroad bushes and sped in front of my car across the road. I know what they look like and this silhouette was very much the same as that cat last summer. The truth is, I was by this point dubious. This is Christina, I used to work with you at the YMCA in Burlington. Visit VAL and learn more . Take some great pictures, leave it alone and enjoy the experience, Barrett said. At first my husband thoughtwow huge dog and it turned its head and it was a cat. So I walked out of the driveway turned right when I saw a pair of yellow greenish eyes under an apple tree I asumed it was a deer because I had seen many deer their earlier in the day. It stared at him for a few seconds and then took some steps towards him, eventually turning the other way and sliding into the undergrowth. In early 1980s I saw a large tawny colored cougar in Leyden, Massachusetts, crossing a dirt road with uninhabited woods with many deer and critters to eat and hills with cliffs and likely caves for dens. 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. Here's a link to one of his columns. At around 9:30, Snow said, I was outside working and I heard the horn blow. The cat is dead. During the Summer of 1991, my wife Linda and I, took 3 days on our vacation, to meet both Harold & Martene Hitchcock. She will also discuss the latest confirmations of cougars in the East, including the recently documented suitability of a substantial amount of wild habitats from Manitoba to Louisiana and Maine to Georgia. 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. Curious if anyone has spotted any cougars in the area? I was awakened by a wailing sound that I thought was a woman in great pain and fear in my front yard. These are huge animals that make a lot of distance to the day. You dont even have to go out and look for it.. Just like cats do - it waited to the last moment and then ran across in front of me. COLCHESTER, Vt. Catamounts. Pictures are pretty clear. Prof. Hitchcocks experienced led him to believe, a minimum of 10 wild cougars, inhabited the various forests of Vermont. Lucky the house cat got away. 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. Cougar truthers are certain that the big cat is living and breeding again in New England. One, Waterbury resident Jeff Kilgores sister-in-law, came across the cats while walking a dog on Ripley Road on a Monday morning. Since my 1st contact with Prof. Harold Hitchcock in 1981, I have collected big cat sightings from across Vermont from the internet. It lowers the population in a way thats not going to affect the long-term population. On the other side, there are those (as represented here by Bill Betty and Bo Ottmann, along with a number of others I spoke with) who say the overwhelming quantity of anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. Now the bears, they dont even care if people are home, theyll go right in the house. We met for lunch on a Sunday morning in early March, and it didnt take long for me to understand why Harrigan is such a popular columnist. Whats happening in Waterbury? The deer dont eat the exotics, but they eat the competitors. I started this blog for people to discuss mountain lion sightings and reports in the Green Mountain State of Vermont. Lets learn to live alongside this very large animal is one of the schools of thought. This was a large tan colored cat with a long tail. All reports are the wee hours of the morning. We see Bear every day, and Fishers it was none of those, nor a Bobcat as it was twice the size of our Belgian Shepherd dog. It does NOT surprise me, you would have seen a wild, free-roaming, native eastern cougar, aka puma, mountain lion in Vermont. What do you think of hunting? October 30, 2015 by Dana Kobilinsky. Spatz and Sue dont want to go where were going.. I think the only reason the lion did not attack was because of the dogs. Its important not to rule any possibilities out, including the chance of a mountain lion, according to Bernier. The tails gotta be there. I showed several farmers and they all said wow that is a huge cat track. Betty, for instance, has presented on Eastern cougars more than 300 times, gathering many hundreds of sighting reports in the process. Laura: Did you report the dead mountain lion to the state Highway Dept. 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. [2] [3] The subspecies as described in 1946 was declared extinct by the U.S. It is also known as cougar, panther, mountain lion, and puma, though catamount is the preferred regional vernacular. I worked in wrj,VT. Now only feet from what I realized was a mountain lion I was in horror. 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. Its closest living relative is the cheetah. Part of this belief is rooted in his journalistic experience, which across the decades has cultivated his nose for sincerity. Yet dozens of. I reported it to Fish and Wildlife but I bet they are laughing- I am in shock! 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 the clincher, What would you say was the most distinguishing feature? I have also seen a cougar in Roxbury. Let us know the date, time of day, how long the sighting lasted for, where you saw the cat in Vermont, and describe what the cat looked likeand was doing. Apparently, Barnaby is blind because he couldnt see it. It walked with a calm, cat stride, stopped and turned towards my husband. 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. So all the other states in the Northeast that have bear populations have a harvest on their bears. Canada Lynx. Tom Stearns, a Vermont Game Warden says they get reports all the time. A rare Missouri mountain lion sighting was reported recently after one of the big cats was hit by a vehicle in Franklin County. Any known activity in Southern Vermont? I encourage everyone who has seen a mountain lion or heard of a report to please leave a post here. My understanding is that they can roam a 50 mile radius as home, so seeing one there could mean it lives 50 miles away in the woods. According to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, only four confirmed sightings occurred in the state from the late 1700s to the early 2000s. 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? Yet I also remembered something Sue Morse had told me months before, as we sat in her living room drinking beer and chatting cats. 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. What color was it? While on vacation last summer in the Sequoias we had a lion cross the road in front of us at about 11 at night one night. But that was OK. Bo Ottmannknew they were out there. dr bondra fremont, ohio obituary; is francis leo marcos related to ferdinand marcos Morse will present evidence on cougars returning to the East. Because he lives among them, Harrigan understands that no one knows the woods better. The animal was shot in the town of Barnard on Thanksgiving Day 1881 by a man named Alexander Crowell. She lives near the end of a gravel road in a modest, low-slung house tucked into the flanks of the Green Mountains. I saw an animal hunting in the back of a graveyard but couldnt tell what it was. More information visit www.nature-museum.org. My elderly mother lives with us so I got up to investigate and saw a large animal with a tail at least a foot long walking between the cars in our driveway. Photo courtesy National Wildlife Federation. Massachusetts and several other New England states have bear hunting, or harvest, seasons, which proponents say help control populations. Its distinctive featurethe one that sets it apart from other North American wild catsis its tail, which is thick and often as long as its body. While the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks department hesitates to give solid numbers because they feel methods for tracking the population need to be improved, their estimate in 2019 was about 4,000 - 4,500 mountain lions. Saturday Sunday: Closed. Nowhere in New England is the matter definitively settled. I did a triple take as I gazed up to a rocky cliff and saw without a doubt a mountain lion. 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