According to the Connecticut DEEP, the bobcat is the only wild cat found in Connecticut. It says genetic testing revealed that a mountain lion hit by a car and killed on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford on June 11, 2011 originated from South Dakota and had traveled to Connecticut though Wisconsin and Minnesota a distance of around 1,800 miles a record distance for a land mammal. After all, if one mountain lion had wandered here, didnt that mean that others could have? Mountain lions inhabit the badlands and Missouri River breaks regions of North Dakota. Habitat. Mountain Lions:They can have similar coloring and their tails can look alike, which has lead to some house cats being mistaken for them, even though mountain lions are much, much bigger. Description. Or at least theyre not supposed to be. WOODBRIDGE Police are offering tips after they said there have been several mountain lion sightings in town. 3 Last 10 Years. DEEP says Connecticut does not have a mountain lion population. But that doesnt stop people from seeing them. A mountain lion in winter. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. Bobcats are most frequently misidentified by the public as mountain lions, but theyre not the only animals mislabeled. On another large animal that is most definitely here: bears. 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They also have facial ruffs and ear tufts on the tips of their ears, as well as shorter tails. Betty displayed several maps of Maine and New Hampshire, demonstrating the trend. And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. So theres fresh mud. Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Email editor@connecticutmag.com. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. The Canada Lynxs geographic territory in New England only extends as far south as northern New Hampshire and parts of Maine, though. She had seen an animal on foot in broad daylight. Are there any mountain lions in CT? On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. Re (2): Mountain Lion sighting in Brookfield ct - By Ryan January 31, 2016 at 11:16:51 PM. Over a period of a year and a half, this mountain lion left DNA evidence in at least four states. The next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an, on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. Massachusetts and several other New England states have bear hunting, or harvest, seasons, which proponents say help control populations. (Throughout history, people have had a deep fear of these creatures, hounding and hunting them mercilessly.) But what might be his most compelling argument is that since this is Connecticut, the budget is too limited. 60-108 inches. You can highlight your store locations with custom colors and elements. According to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, mountain lions became extinct in Connecticut in the 1800s, and bobcats are the only large wild cats found in the state. Speaker Bill Betty presented evidence and proposed theories that could prove that Connecticut, including, is home to a native population of Eastern mountain lions. Not really, Rego says. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. In the decades that followed, many cougar enthusiasts came to share Wrights conclusions, at least at first. Rumors of their hidden presence persisted. Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. Mountain Lions:100 all the way up to 200 pounds, Mountain Lions:Can grow up to 6 feet long. Rego says that if there were many other animals like the 2011 cat that died in Milford, there would be more visual or physical evidence. He said that the conservation organization,Cougars of the Valley, has compiled 300 sightings in the Farmington Valley region of the state alone. Over time, Wright became convinced Eastern cougars lived in small pockets in the deep woods. Once at dusk driving in the Berkshires, he saw what he initially thought was a cat-like creature that was far bigger than a bobcat leap across the road. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. That maybe, just maybe, what my wife and others saw wasnt a bobcat that seemed bigger in the thrill of the moment, but a real, honest-to-goodness mountain lion, a long-lost ghost of the forest. Sightings can be reported to the McCall Fish and Game office at 208-634-8137. According to authorities, the mountain lion was reportedly seen on Friday including on. As a Mountain lion spotted in Connecticut town On Monday, DEEP said that Connecticut does not have a mountain lion population. The last confirmed mountain lion sighting in Connecticut occurred in 2011. No, there are no mountain lions in CT, and there havent been for quite some time. State wildlife experts say those big cats have been extinct in Connecticut for more than 100 years. Mountain lions would have inhabited all of what is now Nebraska, roaming the hills and plains as an apex predator, hunting deer, elk and other large game. It had rained previously. Genetic testing placed the animal in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the cat had been sighted at several different points during its long journey east. TPWD Confirmed Mountain Lions. Its a cool story with how far that animal walked. About 80 people gathered at Tolland High School Thursday night to take in a mountain lion lecture sponsored byConserving Tolland. of Energy and Environmental Protection. building a betterand more civilConnecticut to live, work, and play. Beautiful clear day just like this, and there in my backyard I see this huge golden animal, walking through the yard, Bachelder said. Sometimes in our shock and excitement at seeing wildlife we see what we want to see. And there are different schools of thought about that. Throw rocks, sticks, etc to scare it off. And even the home entries are kind of changing. For decades afterward, there were reported sightings of the mythical creature prowling the woods around town. The only types of lynx that are indigenous to New England are the Canada Lynx and the Lynx rufus (bobcat). Most mountain lion sightings are reported without any evidence other than eyewitness descriptions. Your support makes this news available to everyone. It was a flooded area. Roadkills can be reported to 860-424-3011. Now the bears, they dont even care if people are home, theyll go right in the house. It is the only confirmed presence of a cougar in recent years. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection receives 50-100 reports of mountain lions each year, says Paul Rego, a wildlife biologist with the department. 1.Customize your maps Style your maps with custom markers, lines, colors, polygons, and images. Hunters and property owners have also set up tens of thousands of trail cameras at various locations throughout the state. (My wife didnt get a look at the tail.) The main habitat requirement for mountain lions is stalking cover to successfully hunt prey. mountain lions in washington. For decades, wildlife experts should have been seeing occasional scat and paw prints in the winter. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons. Mountain Lions: Large tan cats with a distinctive two to three-foot curving tail, that can almost touch the ground as they walk. There also should have been evidence of animals killed by the predators and roadkill. Over time, this will help us evaluate problem areas, movement barriers for wildlife, and potential for human-puma conflict. Technical Discussion: Rain tonight, then an *ALERT* heading into the weekend! They also want to foster the formation and protection of migration pathways for them and other animals to enter new states. 4:30 PM. Bobcats, also, only hunt small prey. Mountain lion, cougar, puma, panther, painter, and catamount are all different names for the same animal ( Puma concolor ). Mistaken reports of mountain lions are most commonly bobcats. Ive lived here 23 years, Ive seen coyotes, Ive seen bobcats, Ive seen foxes, everything else, never seen anything like this before, said Bachelder. You know, weve had so many home entries this year. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal . Joseph Uscinski, professor of political science at the University of Miami, and a conspiracy theory expert, says these types of theories are not uncommon. Hawley:Were sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. Hey, I know what I saw. Got a question or comment? Officially, the last mountain lions were hunted to extinction here in the late 1800s. Grandson of an old swamp Yankee, trapped, hunted , fished my whole life. NHPR is nonprofit and independent. You really couldnt ask for a better place for mountain lions.. I know the difference between bobcats, lynx, & mt lions. Bobcats: They are about two to three times larger than their distant relative. So its this gathering storm. Adult males typically weigh between 18 and 35 pounds and measure from 32 to 37 inches in length. Stay facing the animal and try not to turn your back to it. But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. Mountain lions are also great jumpers and swimmers. Give users the ability to create and share their own custom maps and use zoom, pinch, rotate, and tilt to explore maps in more detail. Even so, Abbott has heard of mountain lion sightings from what he deems reliable sources and believes its possible that other animals have made the difficult, some say almost miraculous trek, from the West to Connecticut. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. Didnt it? Hawley, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, says data dont support a breeding population of mountain lions in Connecticut. As unlikely as it sounds, it was a more believable theory than some of the alternatives, among them that the cat was evidence of a breeding population in the state that was being kept secret by, . NOW - 4:30 PM. Connecticut Dept. More recently, unexplained animal sightings in Connecticut and other states became more and more associated with mountain lions. Fight back. I always hold out the possibility of a sighting to be genuine, but at the same time, over decades of experience, we know that the vast majority are misidentifications and a small number are actually hoaxes, he says. Hawley: That animal was documented. Be as loud as you can paired with being as big as you can. If you follow local news outlets and local social media pages, youll notice a common theme when it comes to wildlife sightings people often mistake one type of animal for another. People have been known to submit photos of real mountain lions taken in other states and claim they were taken in Connecticut. Rego says that the way bobcats stride when they run, often times a rear leg is kicked up in the back and that could be mistaken for a long tail.. Do not run. 105 of 119 106 of 119 A dead mountain lion, killed on the Merritt Parkway in Milford in June 2011. My heart was saying, Maybe this is it, he recalls. Mountain Lions: They are officially extinct. Pepper spray has also been proven as an effective weapon against the animal. Wright, however, didnt agree with his mentor and began writing publicly about mountain lions in the East. You cansubscribe here, orfind the current issue on sale here. Tolland resident Loren Gerber said that he and his wife have both seen cougars in the area. 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