mountain lion vermont

Wildlife do really crazy things, and you just never know.. New in PJ Media: The world having gone absolutely insane, the Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) girls' basketball team is likely to get a lot of heat for this, but in a sane world, they would be the heroes of the story. 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. 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. Some might mistake the bobcat, which still lives in New England, for a cougareven though its tail is about 6 inches long andthe bigger cats is 3 feet or more. They are here & ..just a matter of time with photo or kill on a highway/road. I was aware, too, of how a certain mythology surrounding the animal had taken root in Vermonts culture and even its identity: The University of Vermonts athletic teams, for instance, are known as the Vermont Catamounts, and their logo features a snarling cat lunging through the cleft of a V., I met with Morse at her home in Jericho. But, yes, thats exactly what it was. 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. Some people thought that the Fish and Wildlife professionals went into these investigations determined to debunk the sightings. Its range was once similarly vast; from the high north regions of the Yukon to the Straits of Magellan. 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. 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. 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 have heard several accounts from sober, sane, intelligent people who have seen them (especially a latre, good friend who was a very competent spokesman and hunter.). 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. Yes, of course they are here, transients. They are here in the Catskill Mountains, so named for the magnificent felines. The last catamount in Vermont is finally, officially, certainly dead. (The cat I saw when I was a young boy was on the Gulf Coast.). Until 2011, that question rested upon a hypothetical. Not a bobcat or a coyote or a fisher or anything else that might be mistaken for a mountain lion. 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. I have not had the pleasure of seeing one, but have heard credible reports of them in Western Mass. As I looked at my daughter and then turned to follow the direction she was looking, I saw the animal in my side mirror. 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. A mountain lion was responsible for that too. 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. Interesting how tree stumps or boulders assume the shape of an animal in this kind of light. At Green Mountain Lion Corp, we specialize in placing professionals in a variety of industries. Females ranges are much smaller so it will take reintroduction or a few savvy wildlife biologist in the dead of night. Raised them carefully to my eyes. Dont forget, south Texas also used to home to two other species of cats ocelots and jaguarundis. Clearly, Puma concolor once inhabited the forests of the Northeast, although its difficult to say in what numbers. A 2,000 Mile Journey Two mountain lion encounters in his driveway. I had seen bear, deer, coyotes, foxes, that one bobcat all the usual suspects. I live in Vermont and have seen, in broad daylight, a mountain lion (catamount, cougar, puma). Yet I also remembered something Sue Morse had told me months before, as we sat in her living room drinking beer and chatting cats. Feb 28, 2023 4:00 am By Robert Spencer 1 Comment. 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. Just like we dont need any slimy humans on earth period. vital part of this countries ecosystem. 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? 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. I knew it had to have been from a mountain lion Ive seen bobcats and their tracks and from the size of the deer carcass Im convinced there are mountain lions amongst us in Massachusetts! Id need proof if I wanted people to believe me. We need cougars and we need wolves back in the Northeast, because a landscape of fear is a well-balanced landscape.. 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). It is what wildlife biologists call an apex carnivore, which means it can overpower pretty much any other creature in its environmentwith the exception of an armed human. I lived in Woodstock, CT in 2005/2006. 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. But that was OK. Bo Ottmann knew they were out there. But it is also true that there is something different and especially chilling about the threat of being attacked by something that is alive and wants to devour you. o" which translates to " the mountain like a seat." Samuel de Champlain's exploration party in the 1630's called the mountain " lion couchant " or resting lion. That was plain, right away. 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. You could have 50. 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. The reasons for this conspiracy vary depending upon whom you talk to, but they coalesce around the idea that wildlife agencies would be inconvenienced by the cougars presence, as theyd be forced to respond in ways that would tax their resources. There are also many unconfirmed sightings. 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. [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. Mid Vermont Christian School Eagles forfeited their girls basketball playoff game on Tuesday against Long Trail School Mountain Lions. There was no denying that the carcass, which was examined by experts, was that of a mountain lion. There was one young kid, in his 20s, who had been doing it since he was in high school and he walked and thought like a cat. 104 Williston, VT 05495. If its not, you just thank the person and say good-bye.. 5-7 yards from me. Cougars, Lynx, Bobcats, Wolves, Bears etc were and are a The big cat on the ground before him, motionless, yet somehow still embodying that particular feline litheness, as if, with the flick of its tail, it might bound to its feet and disappear into the woods. One wonders just how tolerant Vermonters would be of a healthy population of mountain lions after one attacked a child waiting for the school bus. The mountain lion can weigh upwards of 200 pounds and it can move like well, like a cat. 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. Well, theres no difference between Maine and New Brunswick, anyway, said Betty. Beautiful creature. Until 2011, that question rested upon a hypothetical. It may not surprise you to learn that I was quite intrigued by this third group. When I came out, the cat appeared in front of me coming up a rise (incredibly close to some ski condos). Part of this belief is rooted in his journalistic experience, which across the decades has cultivated his nose for sincerity. As pets or for exhibit. Was INCREDIBLE! Betty had driven up from his home in Rhode Island. So it is possible that, on occasion, someone would catch a glimpse of one of these animals. 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. My encounter was in Middlesex, VT along the river road (Route 2) just below I89. A deer is a wild animal and it is always a pleasure to see oneunless it is in the high beams, at night. Length of body. 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. You need to understand that every biologist that works for the state has a duty to deny mountain lions. 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. And so we come to the great divide over cougars in New England. Maybe, I thought, but the shape seemed wrong. I saw one about 10 years ago, on our road. This was, after all, a long, long way from the nearest known population of mountain lions and virtually the heart of the suburban East. Could be a deer, but it didnt seem to be tall enough. Videos. 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. Theyre here. As they watched in amazement, the cat casually moved off and disappeared into the surrounding woods. I reported it to Connecticut DEEP, only to be told there are no cougars in Connecticut. But there was certainty, or near-certainty, on the part of the witnesses who, it seemed, would swear to having seen a catamount. Lizzie Post Would Like Your Attention. Middlebury, Vermont | Could You Live Here? Spring Loaded to See Something 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. 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. Our county. They were inevitably fleeting. I went back and told the tale to anyone who would listen. 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. 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? They have a right to exist here and they contribute to healthier prey species. It is healthy to have respect and caution, but fear shouldnt drive ecological decision making. The animal, I learned, is called many things: mountain lion, panther, catamount, puma, cougar and more. I must have looked doubtfulwe were within spitting distance of a heavily trafficked road 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. The mountain lion is also known as cougar, panther, or puma. If there is a follow up investigation, it turns out that people were mistaken about what they saw.. Defenders of Wildlife developed funding to support wolf predation on cattle which I believe worked. The debate rages in Maine, where the last confirmed cougar kill occurred in 1938, and in New Hampshire, where the last confirmed kill was in 1885. My daughter said to me thats the biggest cat Ive ever seen. I was just amazed as I watched this scene in my own back yard. Most of those sightings were misidentifications, Doug Blodgett says. It was definitely a cougar. Lacked, almost any tail at all, for that matter. I came across a dead adult deer carcass high up in an oak tree. In Vermont, it was 1881. Beautiful animal. I also had a coworker report a similar experience around the same time. And DNA analysis shows us that felis concolor is genetically the same across the USI think it is irrelevant, but interesting. Probably because of all the hunters that would be out trying to get their trophy and endangering others. Harrigan nodded. She favors plaid shirts, green Dickies work pants, and hiking boots, and she chided me for shaking her hand too gently. 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 . Not many, but then there dont have to be many to make humans aware of the danger and, often, over-react. I moved very carefully to get my hand in my pocket and my fingers around the glasses. Bennington, VT (05201) Today. Wildlife is unpredictable (and several people go missing in wild areas, parks especially, every year -Probably not because of alien abduction). 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. One one occasion she had two little ones with her so their den must have been sort of closeby. Our wildlife biologists and enforcement agents are mostly political bureaucrats who dont often venture more than 100yards from the truck. In his driveway exactly what it was we dont need any slimy humans on earth mountain lion vermont of one these... And told the tale to anyone who would listen the shoulder ecological decision making a (. Up a rise ( incredibly close to some ski condos ) of cats and... His nose for sincerity and can stand 24-30 inches tall at the shoulder in amazement, cat... Get their trophy and endangering others in placing professionals in a variety industries. 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