But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. When it comes to mountain lions, (also called cougars, pumas, or panthers) is there really a chance you will come across one in the wild, or will you need to visit a zoo to see one of these magnificent animals in real life? Hey, I know what I saw. Initially, officials believed it had been released from a private handler. According to the Connecticut DEEP, the bobcat is the only wild cat found in Connecticut. As a carnivore biologist, Hawley says he would love it if mountain lions were here. McEnroe: Scientifically, this is a case where absence of evidence is kind of evidence of absence, right? Genetic testing placed the animal in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the cat had been sighted at several different points during its long journey east. They usually either don't disperse at all or they'll kind of overlap their mother's home range, or they'll disperse very short distances.. Join as a sustainer and support independent local news for your community. Theyll say, Hey, you can see in the picture that it has a long tail, and when I look at the picture, I say, I see how you would see that because they way these cats walk, theyll kind of stand and trail their rear leg. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. One on Salem Rd and another in the area of Pease Rd in our town. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. But it also sort of instills that fear, a healthy fear of humans and bears. And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. Not long after, what was believed to be the same mountain lion was struck and killed on Route 15 in Milford. Then in June 2011, there were reports of a mountain lion in Greenwich and, for the first time, a photo. 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And theyre not going to find one, because the females don't disperse like that. They reside in all eight counties, however, they exist in greatest number in the northwestern corner of the state. However, Hawley noted that Eastern bobcats tend to have very few spots compared to bobcats that are out west or even in the Midwest. If they have spots, they are typically in the white, underside part of the bodies or on the insides of their legs. My heart was saying, Maybe this is it, he recalls. State lawmakers have entertained bills to establish a bear hunting season for years, but so far, none of those proposals has passed. Bobcats: Whiskered face and are gray in the winter and tan in the summer, with black spots on their fur that are not always visible. Police said these have been reported to DEEP, but have not been confirmed as true mountain lion sightings. And he said, This is where the mountain lion crossed. We walked in and there were fresh bobcat tracks in there. Weve had housecats misidentified as mountain lions and even deer, Rego says. 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. The big cat. (My wife didnt get a look at the tail.) Theres something in human nature to overestimate the size of wild animals we see, especially if we get a brief glance and if the animal is moving. He adds, Bobcats can get pretty large and some people believe they should have pretty visible spots and very often theyre pretty uniform in color. This is especially true in the summer, when my wifes sighting occurred. Just had one over in Windsor last week. They are very bold. They also have facial ruffs and ear tufts on the tips of their ears, as well as shorter tails. But Bachelder stresses he knows what he saw. A mountain lion from South Dakota apparently made an epic journey to suburban Connecticut. He was previously a reporter for the Danbury News-Times and the Ridgefield Press. She still produces shows with Colin and the team when her schedule allows. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. More recently, unexplained animal sightings in Connecticut and other states became more and more associated with mountain lions. Working in the 1980s in southern California, where there are cougars, biologist Paul Beier said that 95 percent of cougar sightings they investigated turned out to be misidentifications. It had rained previously. The only types of lynx that are indigenous to New England are the Canada Lynx and the Lynx rufus (bobcat). On a mountain lion that died on a Connecticut highway. Young pumas dispersing from Western habitats are being killed at the source, compromising the Easts critical opportunity for ecosystem health and the return of an apex carnivore., Regardless of where they are found, or whether people want to hunt or protect them, people are enchanted by mountain lions. Weve done a lot of work over the years investigating sightings. Report: CT man killed in police shootout after dispute at casino, 24 Connecticut towns don't have stores that accept food stamps, CT pit bull that was almost euthanized goes viral, gets adopted, CT could lose thousands of affordable housing units. 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Democracy is not a spectator activity. We even had a sighting someone here at DEEP, in my office, was convinced they saw a mountain lion. That had to be a mountain lion. You know, weve had so many home entries this year. While this isn't the norm, it is becoming slightly more common as mountain lions are striking out further east in search of territory. Weve done a lot of work over the years investigating sightings. While other states have their Bigfoot and sea monster sightings, in Connecticut, and throughout much of the Northeast, we see mountain lions even when were told such sightings are unlikely, if not outright impossible. The state says no, theyre extinct, that cant be. According to the Smithsonians National Zoo, bobcats are part of the lynx genus, which means they are related to other cats like the Canadian lynx, Iberian lynx and Eurasian lynx. We even had a sighting someone here at DEEP, in my office, was convinced they saw a mountain lion. There is also something appealing about the idea that there is an animal out there so cunning that it has escaped our notice and the eyes of our cameras. But further inspection revealed it was a very large coyote. According to authorities, the mountain lion was reportedly seen on Friday including on Salem. To answer these and other questions about sightings of mountain lions, I turned to DEEPs Rego, who has investigated many purported cougar sightings over the past three decades. No, there are no mountain lions in CT, and there havent been for quite some time. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. We had a mountain lion go thru my property was about 125 lbs left his paw prints in the mug, which were a bigger than my hand and have pictures of it we also had bobcats come through. Sometimes people feared fishers (erroneously attributing the blood-curdling screams of foxes to these hard-to-spot creatures), and in the late 1930s, after several animals were slain under strange circumstances in Glastonbury, the. My wife is not a wildlife expert, but is not prone to flights of fancy. Im no wilderness expert, but it sure looked like a mountain lion to me, he said. Over time, Wright became convinced Eastern cougars lived in small pockets in the deep woods. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection thinks it's unlikely. Officials used DNA to genetically fingerprint the mountain lion as the same one spotted more than 18 months ago in Minnesota. What would motivate DEEP officials to do this isnt clear. Im confident that we get occasional outlier animals.. . Hey, I know what I saw. Instead, people should remain facing the cat and not turn their back on it, make noise and make themselves appear as large as possible by raising their arms over their heads with a jacket. BOSTON (Reuters) - A mountain lion killed on a Connecticut highway in June was a wild animal from South Dakota that prowled more than 1,500 miles eastward before meeting his death 70 miles. It had rained previously. What about mountain lions, though? Mountain lion Over 7 ft in length Over 100 lbs Uniform tan color Long tails Bobcat Under 3ft in length Under 50lbs Dark spots Tufts of fur in ears These 2 big cats also behave differently. 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. His mentor, Aldo Leopold, a prominent wildlife biologist, also believed this, but felt if people learned about these populations, they would be hunted to extinction. not all bobcats are heavily spotted either - just to add to the confusion.. It was a flooded area. Hawley: I feel strongly that we need a harvest here in Connecticut. But its also a great story that lays out how an animal this large, at 150 pounds, traveling through even rural areas, leaves signs and is detected. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. Fight back. About two years ago in July 2020, there were around 1,500 reports of bobcat sightings in the state, with some bobcat sightings in Brookfield and Ridgefield that year. According to Hawley, if mountain lions were present in the state, there would be evidence and not just unconfirmed sightings. My first thought literally was, is that a lion?. A young male was hit and killed by a car several years ago, but. Hes even had his own false sighting. "The journey of this mountain lion is a testament to the wonders of. Connecticut Dept. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. Paul Rego, a wildlife biologist with the DEEP, told Connecticut . Black panthers, which are not found in the U.S., are actually black jaguars or leopards. By, March 2023 Fund Drive Rules and Regulations, Persons with disabilities who need assistance accessing NHPR's FCC public files, please contact us at publicfile@nhpr.org. But it also sort of instills that fear, a healthy fear of humans and bears. Im always amazed at the sheer volume of people who are interested in cougars, more even than wolves, she says. When you look at a state like Connecticut, with all the people we have here, all the trail cameras we have in the woods, all the cars we have driving you can imagine if we had an established population here in Connecticut, we would know about it pretty quickly. 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, . 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. The next week, on June 11, the cat was hit and killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. . They have NEVER observed a single mountain lion track. Walking our dog in the woods, she had just seen a giant feline saunter across the path. Due to mountain lions large size, they require larger meals. 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