It does NOT surprise me, you would have seen a wild, free-roaming, native 'eastern' cougar, aka puma, mountain lion in Vermont. It is also known as cougar, panther, mountain lion, and puma, though catamount is the preferred regional vernacular. Defenders of Wildlife developed funding to support wolf predation on cattle which I believe worked. Part of this belief is rooted in his journalistic experience, which across the decades has cultivated his nose for sincerity. As I turned a corner going north toward Waterbury, I saw the cat come up from the cornfield, saunter across the highway, turn and look in my direction and then amble off into the brush. She lives near the end of a gravel road in a modest, low-slung house tucked into the flanks of the Green Mountains. He didn't want to dispute what people are saying they saw, he simply says they need proof to substantiate it. Mid Vermont Christian School Eagles forfeited their girls basketball playoff game on Tuesday against Long Trail School Mountain Lions. Spring Loaded to See Something Morse founded Keeping Track in the belief that getting citizens interested and engaged in wildlife will have the knock-on effect of getting them interested and engaged in how land-use decisions affect wild populationsand might provide the impetus for conservation efforts. Anyway I got to see that set of eyes way closer than I ever wanted, by the time my hand got on my pistol she was gone. If the mountain lion is a certified killer of sheep and, sometimes, cattle, it has also occasionally attacked humans. Because while male cougars eventually strike out on their own and occasionally wander far from home, females are, as Morse puts it, hardwired to remain close to their mothers home range. In the second camp, there are those issuing the denials, pointing to the lack of photographic evidence, or the absence of tracks, or the simple truth that many people dont seem to know the difference between a cougar and a bobcat and a lynx and even, in some cases, a golden retriever. If seen bobcats and moose and coyotes and coy dogs ! Then, follow-up DNA researchmatching samples from the carcass with those from scat and hair collected in other locationsestablished that the animal had come to Connecticut from the Black Hills of North Dakota. All of us with rifles, most of them scoped. Some people say they have seen a catamount in the woods. One cat will leave more than 10,000 tracks per day. I was curious enough at the time to do a little research. She IS, perhaps, the most knowledgeable and experienced person in this arena and I listened intently to her presentation (Richmond, VT 2018). Vermont offers plenty of habitat in which mountain lions could thrive. If these people say they saw something, Im going to listen., If theres one thing people on all sides of the debate can agree on, its that a breeding population of cougars is essential to the overall health of New Englands ecosystems, which currently lack an apex predator. 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. 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. Everglades Panther Then saw him a few more times from further away across the road and along the edge sometimes of the woods. It has, in fact, more names than any animal in the world. Put bluntly, Morse does not believe that New England is home to cougars. 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. But there was not enough evidence to either prove or disprove that a mountain lion had done the killing. As I walked thru the beginning of the trail I spooked a deer and heard this awful screech and slowly backed out of there .. Mountain Lions have been more prevalent to the west in the last 100 years, but many of the pockets of breeding populations east of the Mississippi River have been wiped out over the decades due to habitat loss and hunting. 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. The tails gotta be there. Obviously, this is the reason why the experts are loathe to admit that the species is here. It fled when I resumed my walk down the logging road and on to my truck. In this case, there was the carcass of a deer, recently killed in the area where a couple had reported seeing what looked like a mountain lion on land they owned. They are much larger than bobcat and lynx, young adults can still have spots too. This, said Vermont Fish and Wildlife fur-bearer project leader Chris Bernier, is why he takes reports of mountain lion sightings seriously. Honestly, leaving this out of your article would seem to perpetuate the notion that there is a conspiracy to keep us all in ignorance. 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. Morse introduced me to her cat, Allister, whom she referred to as her portable puma. Then she fetched me a beer. Now that USFW has declared them extinct, why not formally reintroduce them. This was after the department sent him out west to study the behavior of mountain lions. 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. At the head of the driveway is a flower sales table in front of a modest size greenhouse. We clearly have migratory male cougars coming through. I live in Vermont and have seen, in broad daylight, a mountain lion (catamount, cougar, puma). So Blodgett brought what he had learned in Wyoming and Arizona back to Vermont with him and began following up on catamount sightings. Those who believe the growth and expansion of mountain lion populations to be a good thing routinely make the old, you face a greater danger of being struck by lighting or drowned in the bathtub argument and it is no doubt accurate. My stepfather had been a hunter and was no stranger to seeing animals in the woods and countryside, so when they came up over a knoll in the road and saw a large cat looking at them, he saw the face and thought, bobcatuntil they then saw the rest of the animals body: huge, beautifully tawny colored, and in possession of what my mother described as a very long tail, that was as thick as my wrist. Inslerman said the DEC received about a half-dozen calls reporting sightings of mountain lions last year; two calls this week. Vermont-based naturalist SueMorse has spent decades studying, tracking, andphotographing cougars outwest. There was never, of course, a photograph. Dont forget, south Texas also used to home to two other species of cats ocelots and jaguarundis. Still, I wanted to believe those sightings were real. But right now youre dealing with top-notch guys. 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. Vermont Girls' School Strikes Back Against the Trans Madness. Dismissing most of the sightings as probable bobcats, Morse asserted that the scientific evidence has not been proven. Photo courtesy of Dave O'Donnell. I wasnt the only one to see the big cat. He/she was UNMISTAKEABLY a mountain lion: stretched out straight, long tail straight out behind him, golden/beigey color, and smallish head, little ears. Bill and I are full-throttle. Of course no dash cam or accessible phone camera at the time! He knew it was only a matter of time. In the states where there are robust mountain lion populations, they are a threat to livestock, pets and, occasionally, humans. In the states where there are robust mountain lion populations, they are a threat to livestock, pets and, occasionally, humans. Id splurged on them. 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. 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? I wished it were a camera with a long lens to document the sighting. These sightings usually took place at night or in fading light, like that of my bobcat encounter. I saw on three occasions in about the same location a beautiful mtn lion with the long bushytail that curves at the end. First about the animal, itself, and then about the lore and the possibility that the catamount was not, in fact, extinct in Vermont. Fish and Wildlife Service unofficially declared the Eastern cougar extinct. We were talking about those animals, like coyotes and turkeys, that have re-established themselves in Vermont and, unlike the rattlers, are thriving. So you can imagine there. They denied it until a cougar was hit as it tried to cross the very busy Merritt Parkway. Things seem to move at twilight and you never know. 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. Not a bobcat or a coyote or a fisher or anything else that might be mistaken for a mountain lion. His mention of these encounters was so matter-of-fact that I found myself nodding along. There was no denying that the carcass, which was examined by experts, was that of a mountain lion. 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. Westford, MA, crossing Dunstable Rd from Long Sought For Pond into the woods. I think I may have pissed her off since I was up in that area X2 this week. 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. 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 Strafford & Area Lions conducted its Food From The Heart food drive February 11th through the 18th, collecting 981.6 pounds of food and receiving monetary donations of $1,262 which were used to purchase food and other items to be donated to the Sharon, Vershire and Thetford food shelves. Geoffrey Norman is a Dorset author and a frequent contributor to Stratton Magazine. Among the mountain lions typical behaviors is the way it will revisit, for several days, the carcass of an animal it has killed, moving it and cacheing it until there is nothing left to eat or the flesh has turned. And so when they come to him with a sighting, hes prepared to believe. And there have been fatal attacks. . 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. Our county. Typical species behavior is for males to disperse from an area when the population reaches the carrying capacity of the habitat. Reported mountain lion sightings are popping up all over Vermont and convinced onlookers say the proof is in the pictures. The cat is dead. 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. Wildlife biologists, as professional scientists, require a higher level of documentation and proof. But never a catamount. We also had bobcats that we saw quite often but I am positive that these were mountain lions! Body coloration can range from tan to gray and cubs are usually covered with blackish brown spots. Bernier gets more than 50 reports of mountain lions a year. 3 talking about this. The solitary animal seeks out new territory and eventually a new population will be established. No An official form of the United States government. The Christian school also dropped out of the state . Yes, of course they are here, transients. Around 1830, the . Still, there are those of us who know what weve seen. 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. It has, in fact, more names than any animal in the world. I saw one about 10 years ago, on our road. The discussion of whether federal lands should be a place to subsidize cattle ranching is another question. It jumped 28 feet across the road. Ottmann grew up and still lives just minutes from the tavern; his familiarity with the establishment was obvious (after we met in the parking lot, he led me into the building through the kitchen, greeting each of the staff by name). Well, I KNOW there was at least one mountain lion in NE because years ago (maybe 35 or so) I lived in Longmeadow, MA. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Apex predators like the cougar and wolf make for a healthier ecosystem. Wildlife management programs succeeded in reintroducing species to areas where they had not been seen for years. 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. Until 2011, that question rested upon a hypothetical. Maybe, I thought, but the shape seemed wrong. Just like we dont need any slimy humans on earth period. Several years ago, I saw what was definitely a cougar walking along a street. Some of them, he says, we could close the books on pretty quickly. Interesting how tree stumps or boulders assume the shape of an animal in this kind of light. "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. In fact, jaguars used to be native to south Texas, as well! But I learned something else in my ad hoc researchesnamely that this was a question that aroused a lot of passion in people. I lived in Woodstock, CT in 2005/2006. They knew what they were doing, Blodgett says. When I shared their story with the staff at the center where my sister lived, I expected surprise and interested. It was fast as hell but there was no mistaking its not only long,but THICK tail as it disappeared into the woods. A deer is a wild animal and it is always a pleasure to see oneunless it is in the high beams, at night. He soon developed a five-question litmus test: How far away were you? Indeed! 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. I will never forget what I saw! 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. They especially come down from the mountains when there is a big water shortgage. Others have seen cougar in neighboring towns . At least once a year thered be a story from somewhere, but I only ran the absolute best, he told me. 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. Its range was once similarly vast; from the high north regions of the Yukon to the Straits of Magellan. Most of those sightings were misidentifications, Doug Blodgett says. All with eyes to see and spring loaded to see something. Some with cameras. For several years, Blodgett, a wildlife biologist with the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife, conducted those follow up investigations. 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. Their bodies are mainly covered in tawny-beige fur, except for the whitish-gray belly and chest. By now, I knew the answer to that one. They are there and thriving!!!! 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. 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. This is a site for people to discuss mountain lion sightings in the Green Mountain State of Vermont. We witnessed a mountain lion stalking a herd of deer. The Vermont woods would be a lot more interesting with mountain lions in them. The animal, I learned, is called many things: mountain lion, panther, catamount, puma, cougar and more. And thats a surprisingly complex question, because it hinges on numerous factors: policy and politics, culture and conditioning, habitat and, frankly, hubris. If this habitat can support them, it should. So long as the tails there, that is. Vermont Mountain Lion Sightings. Even though the experts say there arent any mountain lions in CT, there are. But that was OK. Bo Ottmann knew they were out there. 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. 9 Grace Christian (9-11). I came across a dead adult deer carcass high up in an oak tree. This assessment is echoed by the aforementioned Christopher Spatz, who has been studying cougars for better than 20 years. It had moved a little and was standing unconcealed, now, in the middle of the logging road. 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). 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? But it was also a male. A mountain lion was responsible for that too. Even in the controlled environment of a lab, the truth about Eastern cougars seems to be almost willfully eluding its seekers. In 2011, the U.S. In my case, I had seen just about everything else in the Vermont woods in the several years that I had been going out, and not just during deer season. But my eyes picked up something and I knew, right away, that it was alive. When that last catamount was killed by a deer hunter, the state was paying a $20 bounty for pelts or carcasses. It can run 50 miles an hour and clear a twelve-foot fence. 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. We told him what we saw, and he confirmed other sightings on the property. Green Mountain Lion Corporation, Inc. Business Consulting and Services Williston, Vermont 5,563 followers Boutique management recruiting firm focusing on heavy equipment manufacturing & distribution. Id need proof if I wanted people to believe me. Lizzie Post Would Like Your Attention. Videos - Industry Stories; Find Candidates; The last catamount killed in Vermont stands under glass just inside the doors to the Vermont Historical Museum in Montpelier, a hop, skip, and a jump down the block from the statehouse. But a deer is not a predator, like a bear can be, and certainly not a pure predator like a mountain lion, which is a majestic animal precisely because it is also a dangerous one. Its not a bear, not a dog, not a deer, not a bobcat. Its not my call. [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. Before I departed the Old Well Tavern, Bo Ottmann offered to lead me on a walk into an adjacent stretch of woods, where, he assured me, cougars might be found. When I came out, the cat appeared in front of me coming up a rise (incredibly close to some ski condos). Even in areas of high cougar density, the there are far more attacks on humans by domesticated dogs or deer/car collision fatalities than those due to cougar attack. With the price off its head, the lion gained new stature, and in July 1965 . But they would certainly pay attention if they did see one. Black markings decorate the tip of the tail, ears, and around the snout. 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. Betty folded his arms across his chest, where they rose and fell and rose again with his breathing. Sue Morse, a professional animal tracker, believes that means cougars will, eventually, return to Vermont. 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. Also moose. Especially by one that he remembers involving a kill site.. Predator removal was steady and unforgiving from the early 1800s . Well, theres no difference between Maine and New Brunswick, anyway, said Betty. vital part of this countries ecosystem. 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. The name " Camel's Rump " was assigned on a historical map made by Ira Allen in 1798. The real reason that they wont admit that a breeding population exists, is that listing a population of endangered species would wreak ECONOMIC havoc in a number of arenas, mostly logging/forestry. My husband and where riding our Motorcycle down Rte 110 near Milan NH It may not surprise you to learn that I was quite intrigued by this third group. Now, ocelots are critically endangered and jaguarundis might be completely gone. Ive attended talks with Sue Morse. 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. Video - Trade Show Recaps; Videos - Can We Find a Time to Talk? As land was cleared for farming and the cats prey species declined in number, it went after livestock. We hadnt seen a cougar, nor any evidence to suggest a cougar had traveled these woods recently. I saw a Mountain Lion in 2007 in Northfield, MA at the junctions of Rtes 10 and 63. And why not? And, according to people who swear they know what they saw the catamount. Mr. Betty and Mr.Ottomans passion and efforts are impressive. Regarding a breeding population that is the unknown. My mother always said she saw one across the street from our house one night in the late 50s early 60s. 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. These things happen suddenly and they are over quickly. on route to stone tower on Quabbin Hill. 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! There is no shortage of deer for all apex predators whether they are canine, feline, or human. 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. 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 !! Reported mountain lion sightings are popping up all over Vermont and convinced onlookers say the proof is in the pictures. At Green Mountain Lion Corp, we specialize in placing professionals in a variety of industries. If you are a mountain lion, looking to relocate, there is good quality real estate and plenty to eat here 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. The last time a mountain lion was captured in New York was in the . Morse has been tracking cougars for 45 years, mostly in the mountains of the West, where their existence is not in doubt. Growing up in northern Vermont, Id heard stories of sightings, though always a few steps removed from the tellersomebodys cousin had seen a cougar cross the road on their way home from deer camp up in Canaan (or was it Coventry? 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. 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. Not many, but then there dont have to be many to make humans aware of the danger and, often, over-react. 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