All of these people are very reliable sources and have lived in the same area their whole life.
What are the chances???
I liked the smiley face on the original poster, because it was supposed to be funny. Why doesn't someone grab every road kill they can, throw up some cameras and get a pic?
There are no mountain lions here.
I've known this guy for 12 years and he is no fool. I totally trust him. Besides 3 other people verified they saw it in same area too. You all know that one was killed last year in CT so please stop acting like another is an impossibility.
I have never seen one, but quite a few people have told me that they have. And a couple of those people have a ton if credibility with me. And for the record there have been numerous claims of pictures and tracks. The DEEP likes to say that they can't be verified as being authentic.
There are no shortage of claims of tracks, Photos and sightings. There is a reason DEEP can't verify them.
Didn't the DEP bring in fisher-cats but deny it for years? I'm not sure this is true but a good friend told me this. Can anyone confirm?
These cats have to kill one deer a week on average to survive. Where are all the dead deer? They don't eat the whole thing.
Yup, and I know a guy that has a friend that used to work for guy who saw one once. Again :)
How many of you have actually hunted lions and seen one in person, up close? They are huge. Big predators.
It's more likely around here they will kill livestock, sheep, cattle Horses. Easier prey.
Actually, where small game is thriving, cougars will often feast on that. There are TONS of rabbits where I live.
For example say 1 out of 100 sightings is actually a Mt Lion, well, that could suggest that occasionally, one takes a heck of a walk about, and thus is seen in many areas.
A similar deal was the gray wolf killed in Gill MA a few years ago, turns out it was from a pack in Quebec and made it's way down.
Every now and then, one of these critters takes a long walk. But seeing that one, does not = sustaining population of cats.
While I believe occasionally people see one, I dont believe they sustain a population here.
I believe this is a rubber bullet. can anyone confirm?
Sorry, couldn't resist.
On topic... Bears were pretty much non-existent in the 70's. In the early 80's there were sightings primarily in the northwest corner, but were kept quiet, and that went on for several years until the sightings became more frequent, and in more heavily populated areas of the state. Now the bear population around here is has grown to the point that sightings are practically a daily occurrence. There's no keeping it quiet now.
That said, there are enough remote locations, private land, and enough food for a small number of cats to go pretty much unnoticed especially in the northwest corner. There are a lot of misidentified sightings but I have no doubt that there are a few catamounts, mountain lions, cougars, whatever you want to call them here in CT.
People claiming they have seen a mountain lion is nothing new, but I notice that you almost never hear people say they've spotted a wolf, or a badger, or another large animal that's not supposed to be living around here. (We did have that anaconda story in a NJ lake this summer however.)
There was an article in a CT Magazine over 10 years ago called something like "Seeing Ghosts" that mentioned how a bunch of people have reported sightings. It also said that the DEP says there are no mountain lions in CT, they are cases of mistaken identity. Certainly, many if not most of them are. I noticed that whenever the DEP says that we don't have them here, they follow up with "and if one shows up, it is an escaped pet".
I don't know how anyone who denies the existence of an animal, can ascertain whether or not that nonexistent animal is an escaped pet, but I always found that curious.
The state claimed that the Milford Lion was a pet until it was found to have intact claws and it wasn't neutered, and it had no chip or any other evidence of having ever been in captivity.
Also curious to me was why Mountain Lions are mentioned several times in the Hunting Regulations of CT. There is no mention of Wolverines, or Wolves or Caribou. Why even bring up Mountain Lions? That doesn't prove anything, but it makes me wonder.
If I claim to see a cougar, that doesn't prove the existence of them here in CT, at least not to anyone except myself, (and those who believe me). That's why the DEP can say there is no evidence. Eyewitness sightings are not evidence. Tracks are easy to confuse, and I've seem pictures of what are clearly dog/coyote or bear tracks that were misidentified.
There is a fair amount of evidence, actual verified evidence of cougars in the area. As someone mentioned there is DNA from the Quabbin Reservoir area in MA. There was a kitten killed in NY several years ago (that one had some South American dna, so was either a pet, or the offspring of a pet). And of course, the cat killed in Milford on the Wilbur Cross in 2011 was said to have traveled through NY as well as other more western states on it's crazy journey to CT.
I have spoken with a number of people who claim to personally have seen mountain lions, and of course, I have heard many second and third hand accounts as well. I will say this, people who go on the record as claiming they have seen an Eastern Cougar, totally believe it. And many of there stories are not easy to dismiss.
DO I think that everyone who says they saw a mountain lion actually did? No I do not. Some people lie, and probably many more think they saw one but didn't get a great look at it, or aren't really informed enough to know what they did see. At a quick glance (or in bad light or great distance) a number of animals can be mistaken for other animals.
BUT, When a credible person, whom you have known for years looks you in the eyes and tells you he saw a mountain lion (in Fairfield County) while deer hunting, and that he watched it for close to 10 minutes through a rifle scope, how can I not believe him? He is a very experienced hunter, he's not a liar, and he obviously didn't misidentify something he watched for that long. He stands nothing to gain by telling a story that's not true, in facts he knew full well that many people would not (or do not) believe him.
Recently a Doctor, an orthopedic surgeon, told me he saw one in New Milford, and after spotting it crossing a road, he approached some stopped cop cars and told them about it. They told him that several other people had reported seeing one too.
When I was a Deer Warden in Redding I spoke to several people who insisted that they seen them in town. One, a nurse, who was driving home from work about 2am, said she saw one on the side of Umpawaug Rd. I got the exact area and went to look for tracks, and found nothing. When I spoke to a Redding Animal Control officer I was told that they'd received numerous calls over the last few years (a bunch of them from one section of town). I asked if they passed the information along to the State DEP, and I was told that they used to, but now nobody up there cares about hearing it. I called the state and spoke to the guy who is often quoted as the State DEEP Spokesperson, he told me that they'd never received a credible report from Redding.
One homeowner in Redding, (who says he used to hunt when he lived out west) told me he saw one a couple of times on his property. He said that he called the state and was told that someone would be in touch about coming down to look for tracks and scat, but nobody ever called him or came.
Both of these people in Redding sounded very credible, clearly they believed they saw a big cat. Theses two didn't really understand just how unlikely that would be, and didn't really think they would be called liars by the nonbelievers.
If I see one, I'll know that there was one here, but most people will still not be convinced. They will be sure I was actually seeing a deer, or a coyote or a golden retriever. If I get a picture of one on a trail camera, I'll know that one was here, but many others will say that the pic was photoshopped or was actually taken someplace else. If I see tracks, or scat or a kill, it will be easy to say that those things were faked or I was mistaken.
Only a dead body is really proof. And we only have had one of those (or only one that we know about).
So now the state says that the Milford Cougar was a complete anomaly, and the only one ever. Maybe. But the "one and done" theory is only one possible explanation.
Pretty fascinating topic.
I try to keep an open mind.
Just seems really unlikely.
CTCrow's Link
I saw 3 wolves in Oxford by the airport about 10 years ago. No, they didn't fly here from canada.
It was i the local paper about 3 days later that some one else also spotted them.
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/State-Looking-Into-Wolf-Dog-Attacks-in-Southeastern-Connecticut-252281481.html
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/25067744/conn-officials-probe-reports-of-wolf-dogs
But state says they ain't here:
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/25334265/connecticut-dna-shows-wolf-dog-reports-false
Can you kill something that is not there? If I'm hunting and run into a ML and I shoot it, can I be charged with something or are they not protected?
At least that's what the transportation biologist said.
according to a lengthy previous thread we are killing plenty of deer that are not there when they counted. Wait, I have that wrong. We're not killing plenty of deer that are not there, but counted. No, that's not right either. We're counting deer that are not there, and not killing them so,........I'm confused now. Where's V when we need a clear explanation?
ive followed tracks one year scouting American legion that were huge . a good 4 1/2 - 5 ft stride that led to a deer carcass under a tree covered with leaves .
my ex stepson and myself followed some big tracks in the snow in new hartford that led to a small stream . we could clearly see tail marks where it sat before it jumped over.
he also saw one cross the road early one morning on the way to work on rt 44 in Goshen coming out of the swamp heading towards the firehouse. he has no reason to lie and has been hunting since he was 3 . this was around the same time dep said the livestock killings might be bears . if I see one ,im taking a shot.at the very least itll prove theyre here.
Crow ,about 3 yrs ago I was going north on rt 8 by the bank st exit , on the south side I saw a dead black wolf just past the bridge . I wasn't traveling my usual mach 120 cause of the statie in front of me , but I saw its head and face and it was no dog or yote . it was gone about a 1/2 hr later . I called dot and deep , they said they never received any calls about any dead animals in the area.
BBB , if santa has 8 tiny reindeer ,which are really caribou, 9 with Rudolph . then where does olive fit in ? sing it youll see . was he excrapulated from the equation ? plenty of people have seen them . some have been run over by them . some down south have taken shots at them flying over . a little magic dust for the deer a little for santa , a little more for santa..makes you go hmmmmm,wait a minute.... ;)
One of the 3 I saw was black.
