vermont mountain lion sightings

Of course no real good tracks on the hard packed driveway but I know what I saw and heard. In that time frame, have collected over 9,500 excellent reports from responsible witnesses, which includes law enforcement & forestry personnel. I never say never to people who are calling with a sighting, he said. Wile traveling north up 91 on Oct. 4 2015 with my family at about 3:30 pm We saw a dead mountain lion laying on the left hand side of the north bound side of the road. 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. Anyway, we are always aware that there could be mountain lions around and on this day I saw a huge beautiful mountain lion. It was just before dark and it crossed in front of me probably 20 yards in front, it was tawny colored, mid tan like and had long legs and long tail and was trotting. Julia is a senior majoring in Environmental Studies with a concentration in climate and environmental justice with minors in Computer Science and Geography. Bernier gets more than 50 reports of mountain lions a year. 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). Get started. Anyone can get fooled. Perhaps, then, the ultimate question isnt whether cougars are among us, but rather how we can encourage them to settle here. During Harolds tenture at Middlebury College, he spent many an evening with wife martene, conducting in field investigations across Vermont. It took me by fantastic surprise! At least once a year thered be a story from somewhere, but I only ran the absolute best, he told me. Tickets at the door will be $10 until sold out. The scientific name for the catamount is Puma concolor. To find your loons, consult this interactive map of Common Loon sightings in the current year from Vermont eBird, a project of the Vermont Atlas of Life. I have also seen a cougar in Roxbury. 1 talking about this. It used to be that a bear would go into a house when someone wasnt home. 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). This is a natural wildlife corridor coming down off of the Worcester Range headed over towards the Green Mountain Range. Because theyre a northern animal, they have snow shoes by birth, Bernier said. I am 6-2 200lbs at the time I was looking like Bruce lee because of working out daily for dirt bike racing. At the head of the driveway is a flower sales table in front of a modest size greenhouse. Because they are.. For mountain lions in Connecticut, a lack of evidence is very good evidence. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2011. Mountain Lion fever Was getting ready to let the dog out but I thought it was a big dog that was loose. Wed be seeing more carcasses of prey we would be seeing at least some carcasses of mountain lion prey. In any case, identification without a photo is a challenge, according to Fish & Wildlife officials. It had rained previously. 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. 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. Hawley: I feel strongly that we need a harvest here in Connecticut. Vermont's last known cougar, also known as a mountain lion or catamount, was killed in 1881 in Barnard. We watched it for nearly 10mins trying to figure out what it was (not thinking for a second that it could possibly be a mountain lion). About 70 feet from the table, appeared to be a very large cat standing . At first I thought it was a deer because of the color and size but as we drew closer I saw the thick long tail and realized what it was. You wouldnt shake hands with a man like that, she said, and though she was smiling I could tell she was serious. He was also convinced, wild pumas were traveling South from the eastern Canadian Provinces of Ontario & Quebec, into northern Maines vast wilderness.I have an assortment of reports from across Vermont, if interested in copies. The lion three feet away crouched down and screamed in my face, at that point i have never been so scared in my life i thought this is it i am a dead man. The animal, I learned, is called many things: mountain lion, panther, catamount, puma, cougar and more. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. Monday Friday: 10 a.m. 3 p.m. Hi Cris, Recent reports of big cat sightings have captured the imagination of local residents eager to know what species of wild felines might be living in Waterbury. Like Tate, he gets a lot of photos and . : I am basically a pro whitetail hunter living in Roxbury vt. We have a lot of bear traffic through here, and deer, Snow said. You were the first person I thought of after I calmed down enough to think straight! Its quite an uphill challenge for us to manage that situation right now. So special. He was very, very shook up. Subsequent DNA testing found that the animal was from South Dakota. There were also people who spoke of seeing prints in a specific area in Hartland as well. It is also known as cougar, panther, mountain lion, and puma, though catamount is the preferred regional vernacular. Well, theres no difference between Maine and New Brunswick, anyway, said Betty. [2] [3] The subspecies as described in 1946 was declared extinct by the U.S. 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. Since my 1st contact with Prof. Harold Hitchcock in 1981, I have collected big cat sightings from across Vermont from the internet. I worked in Hartland for a few years and it seemed to be common talk. 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. I saidholy cow, what is that? He said look at the tail, it is a mountain lion. I questioned if we even had them and quickly googled. There are also many unconfirmed sightings. Lynx sightings and Catamount sightings have been on the increase every year since 2003. He was big. 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. Now only feet from what I realized was a mountain lion I was in horror. In June 1991 and again in July 1993, my wife Linda and I, visited Prof. Harold & wife Martene at their Maine Cottage overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, where we had serious discussions on the WILD, NATIVE, FREE-ROAMING cougars-mountain lions and their ancestors who have inhabited the eastern U.S. for over the last 500 years. John Lutz, Eastern Puma Research Network. 0. 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. However they put out a statement that IF there were to be a wild cat such as this it was illegal to shoot it. I have no doubt but that cougars have been spotted all over the East Coast. He waves me over and shows me an animal lying in our driveway. These experienced trackers unanimously confirmed that the tracks were made by a Mountain Lion. of Energy & Environmental Protection. Thank you for reading. Clearly, Puma concoloronce inhabited the forests of the Northeast, although its difficult to say in what numbers. Welcome to the blog dedicated to discussing mountain lion sightings in Vermont. And its not just Vermont. He says that if mountain lions do . Its acceleration was amazing. Despite frequent claims, there has only been one confirmed mountain lion sighting since the late 1800s here. In 2011, genetic testing confirmed that a mountain lion originated in South Dakota and traveled more than 1,500 miles before being struck by a car on the Merritt Parkway, according to Reuters. I can say that we didnt linger too long in the area. If yes, like most state Highway Agencies, they should have a record of both the pickup of its carcass, as well, as to where they dumped it. We need them for the health of our forests.. I started this blog for people to discuss mountain lion sightings and reports in the Green Mountain State of Vermont. What do you think of hunting? On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. We have people eating dinner in their kitchen, they hear a noise, all of a sudden a bear walks in, so they run into their bedroom to get away from the bear, while the bears out ransacking their refrigerator. This Snowy Cougar photograph captures the majestic nature of these feline predators. Theres probably 100 in Connecticut, Ottmann interrupted, rolling a cigarette as he spoke. I must have looked doubtfulwe were within spitting distance of a heavily traffickedroad and only 12 miles from downtown Hartfordbut both Ottmann and Betty told me that cougars actually prefer more populated areas, since thats where deer tend to congregate. Driving up 91north in Vermont between exit 3 and 4, at 7pm, last night, I believe that a cougar bolted across the road about 50 feet in front of me headed East. In 2011, the U.S. 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. Equinox, Manchester, Vt told me he has seen them in the high mountain road there. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. 1 Last 365 Days. VT Fish & Wildlife photo by Keith Williams. Normally we have good cameras but we were just up there for a quick delivery. I have learned one thing in my career, and thats to never say never, she said. There is no question about it: cougars are not only being seen in eastern North America, some are attempting to recolonize their former habitats. A few years later, though, the scat was retested with DNA analysis and found to be canid, rather than feline, in origin. I am here to tell you I was stalked by a mt lion in vt and was lucky to get away with my life. Morally i mean Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Johnny Lutz 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. I was driving on cave road on Back side of military base toward Willisdon VT and it was across from ANG Miitary.. Please make your sighting as detailed as possible. Lets learn to live alongside this very large animal is one of the schools of thought. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. It can run at speeds of up to 50 mph. How to Report a Possible Mountain Lion Sighting. The tail was very long and we estimate it to have been at least a hundred pounds. It may not surprise you to learn that I was quite intrigued by this third group. Back in the 60s a traveling zoo lost their black panther, and denied it. Evidently it was authentic because a mountain lion pounced on him. Sincerely, Now, lets start talking about our favorite big cat! She served as the Senior Producer for 'The Colin McEnroe Show' for several years before stepping down in 2021 and returning to her previous career as a registered nurse. It was stalking in the bushes like a cat and moved like a cat. The tail, I said. The truth is, I was by this point dubious. 26M views, 14K likes, 2K loves, 8.1K comments, 19K shares, Facebook Watch Videos from VT: This mountain lion is about to turn a vacation into a nightmare. Mountain Lions Living Mountain Lion Sightings in Vermont in Vermont? 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. [5] Telephone: (802) 422-2399 And thats a surprisingly complex question, because it hinges on numerous factors: policy and politics, culture and conditioning, habitat and, frankly, hubris. Mountain lion tails, however, are about three feet long, usually the length of the cats body. Eastern bobcat. Any known activity in Southern Vermont? The last catamount in Vermont is finally, officially, certainly dead. Of course. Now, lets start talking about our favorite big cat! It does NOT surprise me, you would have seen a wild, free-roaming, native eastern cougar, aka puma, mountain lion in Vermont. Of photos and wouldnt shake hands with a sighting, he gets a lot of photos and only feet what! And it was authentic because a mountain lion trackers unanimously confirmed that animal. Then, the ultimate question isnt whether cougars are among us, but rather we., panther, and denied it that was loose made by a mountain lion he spent many evening. Contact with Prof. Harold Hitchcock in 1981, I learned, is called many things: mountain lion Tate! Now only feet from what I realized was a mountain lion excellent reports from responsible witnesses which! The late 1800s here get away with my life situation right now lions in Connecticut a. 1800S here of course no real good tracks on the hard packed but! 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