Email: info@grnvt.com. 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. Wildlife management programs succeeded in reintroducing species to areas where they had not been seen for years. Harrigan nodded. Some people thought that the Fish and Wildlife professionals went into these investigations determined to debunk the sightings. He set down his cigarette and looked me in the eye. It has nothing to do with trophy hunting, public safety, etc. Threat of Being Attacked Its closest living relative is the cheetah. The reason why experts wont admit to a breeding population existing is that there is NO PROOF. Of course no dash cam or accessible phone camera at the time! Several years ago, I was bicycling with a buddy up Quabbin Reservoirs Administration Rd. All those deer hunters represent a kind of ad hoc search party. Lizzie Post Would Like Your Attention. 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. Blodgett and I were returning from a day spent looking forand finding timber rattlesnakes, a species that is endangered in Vermont. There was no tracking microchip implanted in the animals body, which is usually the case with captives. And thats a surprisingly complex question, because it hinges on numerous factors: policy and politics, culture and conditioning, habitat and, frankly, hubris. Everglades Panther With the price off its head, the lion gained new stature, and in July 1965 . It can run 50 miles an hour and clear a twelve-foot fence. Nostalgia for the Wild This guy was very intelligent, he had abandoned a professional career to pursue his dream of guiding. Morse introduced me to her cat, Allister, whom she referred to as her portable puma. Then she fetched me a beer. I saw one yesterday in Windsor Cty Vermont. An expert said it was probably a basking shark. These things happen suddenly and they are over quickly. 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. I have no choice but to take this seriously, he told me. 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. Mountain Lions - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service) NPS.gov Park Home Learn About the Park Nature Animals Mammals Mountain Lion Mountain Lion Last updated: May 4, 2018 Was this page helpful? Looking at the mounted animal, behind the glass, had made me feel kind of well, sad. 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. Dismissing most of the sightings as probable bobcats, Morse asserted that the scientific evidence has not been proven. ), 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. I was deer hunting with my father, it was in the fall about 7 years ago, in Barre Ma towards the Templeton Ma lines. Of course. Ottmann nodded. As I looked at my daughter and then turned to follow the direction she was looking, I saw the animal in my side mirror. near Greenfield with an experienced guide that hed worked with several times. Westford, MA, crossing Dunstable Rd from Long Sought For Pond into the woods. ), 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. So long as the tails there, that is. We really must establish first that these beautiful animals SHOULD be in every state that was once THEIR habitat. I mentioned this to a neighbor who spotted one a few miles away. Earlier in the year, Id attended one of these presentations, and even in the tiny village of Woodbury, Vermont, on a stiflingly hot summer evening, nearly 100 people showed up to hear her speak and see her photographs (Morse is a magnificent wildlife photographer). I had a pair of good binoculars in my coat pocket. 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. You need to understand that every biologist that works for the state has a duty to deny mountain lions. Betty, for instance, has presented on Eastern cougars more than 300 times, gathering many hundreds of sighting reports in the process. Body coloration can range from tan to gray and cubs are usually covered with blackish brown spots. About six years ago, my mother and step-father were traveling some back roads down to New Boston, NH to visit my sister where she lived in an extended care facility. We need [an apex] predator back on the land, Sue Morse told me. Yet I also remembered something Sue Morse had told me months before, as we sat in her living room drinking beer and chatting cats. I had a clear look, through the glasses at a bobcat. Until 2011, that question rested upon a hypothetical. No way to proveor disproveit. Spatz and Sue dont want to go where were going.. The Great Divide | Are There Mountain Lions in New England. Videos. Interesting how tree stumps or boulders assume the shape of an animal in this kind of light. In 2011, the U.S. 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. We hadnt seen a cougar, nor any evidence to suggest a cougar had traveled these woods recently. And its not just Vermont. Green Mountain Lion Corp #256 34 Blair Park Road Ste. So, traffic had been slowed from both ends for a good 3-5 minutes. Around 7:10 pm this evening August 02, 2022 my wife entered our Oakwood Farm business off 6 Weed Road in Essex Center with headlights on. This is part of the cougar business. 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. 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! The animal, I learned, is called many things: mountain lion, panther, catamount, puma, cougar and more. It had moved a little and was standing unconcealed, now, in the middle of the logging road. 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. 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. If its not, you just thank the person and say good-bye.. Im gonna get hammered for it, he sighed. But, yes, thats exactly what it was. The mountain lion can weigh upwards of 200 pounds and it can move like well, like a cat. Reported mountain lion sightings are popping up all over Vermont and convinced onlookers say the proof is in the pictures. There is a reason that millions of people were afraid to go in the water after they saw the movie Jaws. 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. 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 my mind, I went through all the nots. Green Mountain Lion Corporation, Inc. Business Consulting and Services Williston, Vermont 5,563 followers Boutique management recruiting firm focusing on heavy equipment manufacturing & distribution. This could, of course, be projection on my part. But my eyes picked up something and I knew, right away, that it was alive. They are there and thriving!!!! 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. Success stories being more fun to talk about than the other kind. At Green Mountain Lion Corp, we specialize in placing professionals in a variety of industries. Indeed, one of her steadiest sources of funding for Keeping Track is a presentation on cougars that has been known to draw more than 500 audience members. It was a striking animal, certainly, but it was no mountain lion. Also moose. 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. Mountain lions are large, tan cats. In the states where there are robust mountain lion populations, they are a threat to livestock, pets and, occasionally, humans. Black markings decorate the tip of the tail, ears, and around the snout. 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. A deer is a wild animal and it is always a pleasure to see oneunless it is in the high beams, at night. His mention of these encounters was so matter-of-fact that I found myself nodding along. He never found the evidence. Coyotes, for instance, found their way into Vermont with no help. Refuge volunteer Dale Erz originally. They have a right to exist here and they contribute to healthier prey species. [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. 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. Actually, Blodgett says, something of the opposite was true. After 20 minutes or so, we turned and stumbled our way back to the parking lot. Because he lives among them, Harrigan understands that no one knows the woods better. Videos - Industry Stories; Find Candidates; Distinguished by a boxy head, big paws and a VERY long tail. If you are a mountain lion, looking to relocate, there is good quality real estate and plenty to eat here in Vermont. 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. [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 animal was too small and it lacked the long, sinuous tail of the catamount. Last documented and killed in Vermont in 1881, the catamount, also known as a mountain lion or cougar, could be making its way back to the Green Mountain State. Regarding a breeding population that is the unknown. Large swaths of Vermont and nearby states along the Appalachian spine have gone from cleared land back to the kind of second-growth forest that is excellent habitat for deer and, thus, their predators, the most efficiently lethal of which is the mountain lion. Blodgett liked talking about this subject. The last catamount in Vermont is finally, officially, certainly dead. Our wildlife biologists and enforcement agents are mostly political bureaucrats who dont often venture more than 100yards from the truck. Although the US Fish and Wildlife Service declared the . Dont forget, south Texas also used to home to two other species of cats ocelots and jaguarundis. What are the chances of wolves coming back to Vermont? 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. To date, Keeping Track has helped conserve 40,000 acres in 12 states and inQuebec. 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. When a cats around, its not hard to find evidence. Now, ocelots are critically endangered and jaguarundis might be completely gone. I also had a coworker report a similar experience around the same time. 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 . But other hard evidence of the big cats presence is elusive. Length of body. But the landowners were excited enough by the possibility that, persuaded by Blodgett, they bought a trail camera and set it up on the site. 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. If the mountain lion is a certified killer of sheep and, sometimes, cattle, it has also occasionally attacked humans. Out & About | Best New England Holiday Events for 2019. I live in Vermont and have seen, in broad daylight, a mountain lion (catamount, cougar, puma). People said that the catamountas the animal is called in Vermontwas still around and you heard stories about someone who would swear to having seen one. 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 Life of a Predator and The African Lion. I think I may have pissed her off since I was up in that area X2 this week. 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. In Vermont, in the late 19th century, this meant, especially, sheep. My mother always said she saw one across the street from our house one night in the late 50s early 60s. Wildlife is unpredictable (and several people go missing in wild areas, parks especially, every year -Probably not because of alien abduction). They denied it until a cougar was hit as it tried to cross the very busy Merritt Parkway. No doubt of what it was; size, color and recognizable tail. There, too, is Crowells photograph, grainy and old: the hunter leaning against a tree stump, his head propped casually on his left hand, elbow to stump, shotgun cradled in the crook of his right arm. vital part of this countries ecosystem. 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. Im not surprised that various state officers deny the presence of cougars in new England. 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. Beautiful creature. The mountain lion can weigh upwards of 200 pounds and it can move like well, like a cat. A species that is and plenty to eat here in Vermont and convinced say! 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