Where once it was flatly dismissed as impossible in the so-called developed East, scientists have now documented cougar dispersals and reoccupation of a growing list of eastern states and provinces. Well, theres no difference between Maine and New Brunswick, anyway, said Betty. Normally we have good cameras but we were just up there for a quick delivery. Not yet. Laura: Did you report the dead mountain lion to the state Highway Dept. 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. If its not, you just thank the person and say good-bye.. What time of day was it? Sincerely, But a high-profile sighting in 2011 stirred up renewed interest in the animals here, when a mountain lion from South Dakota was hit and killed by a car on a Connecticut highway. Saturday Sunday: Closed. If theres a middle ground in the cougar debate, it belongs to John Harrigan, a veteran outdoorsman, newspaper reporter, and widely read syndicated columnist. Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators., Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators, Subscribe To 'The Frequency,' Our Daily Morning Newsletter. 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? What a site. But one day. Hi Annie, I dont know if you still keep up with this blog but I thought Id give it a try. You know, weve had so many home entries this year. 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. I have learned one thing in my career, and thats to never say never, she said. Please make your sighting as detailed as possible. The topic was discussed at the town's June 10 city council meeting after a potential sighting on June 1 in the Savanna area of William O'Brian State . I saw an animal hunting in the back of a graveyard but couldnt tell what it was. 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. Its tail was gigantic and it was swishing it back and forth. Anyway, I hope you see this message. Sincerely, John Lutz, 99 Beagle boots Lane, Maysville, WV 26833 or epuma@frontier.com, Hellomy husband and I were at our Vermont vacation home taking a furniture delivery. The scientific name for the catamount is Puma concolor. You were the first person I thought of after I calmed down enough to think straight! VT Fish & Wildlife photo by Deb James. Would love some feedback just do not see how to upload photos. : I am basically a pro whitetail hunter living in Roxbury vt. [Betty] and the other guys dont do this shit. They set the stage for the exotics to move in, and this has a huge impact on our ecology, he said. Cougar truthers are certain that the big cat is living and breeding again in New England. A few days ago my husband was jogging at 5 am near our farm in Morgan Vermont, and a huge BLACK Cougar stepped out onto the road. Im gonna get hammered for it, he sighed. If there are mountain lions skulking around Vermont, they wont stay hidden for long, Bernier said. Box 313, Maysville, WV 26833. 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. Welcome to the blog dedicated to discussing mountain lion sightings in Vermont. Stay clear and give 'em space. 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. Hi Mike. 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. Glen Gunelic Vermont Mountain Lion Sightings. It took a rest in the shade of our driveway for about ten minutes. Collection. 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. Vermont Fish and Wildlife say they get between 50 and 75 sightings here in Vermont, annually. Get started. They were very large, light tan, with long legs, and long white tipped tail, Kilgore wrote, relaying the account. This is a site for people to discuss mountain lion sightings in the Green Mountain State of Vermont. 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. What color was it? Bernier gets more than 50 reports of mountain lions a year. Anyway, we are always aware that there could be mountain lions around and on this day I saw a huge beautiful mountain lion. Back in 2002 I saw a full grown mountain lion in Dummerston Vermont on east/west road. Tickets at the door will be $10 until sold out. Founded in 1971, the paper has gone through many transitions, now expanding into web and mobile platforms in addition to its weekly newspaper and semi-annual magazines. I started this blog for people to discuss mountain lion sightings and reports in the Green Mountain State of Vermont. of Energy & Environmental Protection. 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. John Lutz, Eastern Puma Research network.. Hi I am from Arlington, vt. could you email me the pic and the story behind it please, thanks. Equinox, Manchester, Vt told me he has seen them in the high mountain road there. The scientific name for the catamount is Puma concolor. I did not run but walked briskly away looking back cat was following me and it did so untill i was half way to the house. 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. The Network's interactive map also shows confirmed sightings in Quebec, Maine, Connecticut and New York State. So its this gathering storm. I studied the track it was the front paw left in the silt while the cat was drinking from the brook. 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. Morse introduced me to her cat, Allister, whom she referred to as her portable puma. Then she fetched me a beer. On Jan 22, 2015 while walking in North Fayston, VT I came across what I believe to be a Catamount paw prints. I appreciated Ottmann and Bettys confidence and commitment, but here I was, poking through thorny thickets behind a bar, trailing a bleeding man whose devotion to proving the presence of cougars was beginning to seem like a quixotic quest with no end. Lets learn to live alongside this very large animal is one of the schools of thought. And so we come to the great divide over cougars in New England. This isnt to say she believes none of these animals has stepped foot on New England soil over the past century. Responding to complaints about a predator eating a local farmers sheep, Crowell and a small group of fellow hunters had tracked the big cat through the snow. Also the hotel keeper at top of Mt. 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. And the clincher, What would you say was the most distinguishing feature? Hawley:Were sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. Massachusetts, Virginia, Vermont, and Wyoming. We watched it kill an animal (a woodchuck or something). Just found this site, two weeks ago a good friend took a number of pictures of a large cat 100 feet from her deck. I have also seen a cougar in Roxbury. We watched the entire time. I was awakened by a wailing sound that I thought was a woman in great pain and fear in my front yard. The last catamount in Vermont is finally, officially, certainly dead. McEnroe: Scientifically, this is a case where absence of evidence is kind of evidence of absence, right? I thought it was a deer and slowed in case it ran in front of me. I was proud to acknowledge the fact, of being a CLOSE friend to both the Professor & his wife Martene. 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. It lowers the population in a way thats not going to affect the long-term population. Back in the 60s a traveling zoo lost their black panther, and denied it. Cat. Put bluntly, Morse does not believe that New England is home to cougars. On another large animal that is most definitely here: bears. Though not native to Vermont, Canada lynx occasionally make their way down into Vermont. Prior to the mid-1990s, the late Wildlife Professor Harold Hitchcock of Middlebury College, became Vermonts Official Big Cat hunter, who sought evidence of the Big Cats across the Maple State. These are huge animals that make a lot of distance to the day. NH Fish & Game deny all reports but recently someone got a photo of one killed on the hwy before State Police told them to move on and "there's nothing here to see" as the carcass was being loaded into a Fish and Game truck. You might enjoy reading the comments, > There are plenty of places for a family of animals. It was dark so I couldnt get a good look but I waited till it came out past a vehicle and saw the outline of the entire body. Kimberly King. He can be reached by phone at 860-275-7297 or by email: pskahill@ctpublic.org. 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. [5] Curious if anyone has spotted any cougars in the area? His mention of these encounters was so matter-of-fact that I found myself nodding along. They certainly have, you know, lower levels of conflicts and home entries than we do here in Connecticut. T here've been several reported mountain lion sightings around Marine on St. Croix, Minn. in the last month. 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? Lutz, P.O. 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. 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. If we end up with a population, it will be the result of a colonizer female who gets here somehow, some way, and the rest will be history.. The Grandfather of eastern Cougar Studies, began investigating big cat sightings in the 1940s. I dont know what they are, bigger than my 50 pound dogs foot prints. 35 wild cougars, known as the Florida Panther, of which a few are totally BLACK, and known as panther, but are actually of the jaguar family In the last few days, 3 sightings have been reported to us, large brown cats in Tennessee and Indiana, a total black cat, in Virginia. By now, I knew the answer to that one. Bobcats have a white-tipped tail and mountain lions don't. If you search vally news archives I believe its there-its clearly not a dog. There was the vaguest of trails, crisscrossed by deadfalls and a sharp-thorned bush that soon drew blood from Ottmanns right hand. Of course no real good tracks on the hard packed driveway but I know what I saw and heard. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. Your email address will not be published. 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. Telephone: (802) 422-2399 E-mail it to epuma@frontier.com And its not just Vermont. Thank you for reading. Despite frequent claims, there has only been one confirmed mountain lion sighting since the late 1800s here. 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? 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