new england mountain lion sighting bulletin
Mountain lion sighting-By Virginia June 25, 2017 at 11:23:56 AM. Evidence considered could include "the body of a dead mountain lion or a live wild-captured animal; photos or video, in which a mountain lion can be identified and MassWildlife can confirm the location; DNA evidence from hair, scat, etc. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. By now, I knew the answer to that one. If it's just in the middle of a greenfield you can't prove anything. So when we hear mountain lion there's also cougar there's wild cat there's Bobcat which is not a mountain lion maybe Patrick could you sort of spell out the different terms which are synonymous and which are completely different animals. Ottmann grew up and still lives just minutes from the tavern; his familiarity with the establishment was obvious (after we met in the parking lot, he led me into the building through the kitchen, greeting each of the staff by name). We actually have the largest subspecies of bobcat in the northern part of our state which they can get up to 40 and over 40 pounds which looks like an 80 pound the animal to visually and quite large. And it was unmistakable. Tim Yeah. bobcat in new england article-By katchaya May 23, 2017 at 06:22:02 AM. Listeners give us a call if you'd like. Top-requested sites to log in to services provided by the state. Peter Biello: Or send us an email exchange at an HP board. ghost, Re(2): didnt win the pwrball. Clearly, Puma concoloronce inhabited the forests of the Northeast, although its difficult to say in what numbers. by BCR. People often get very emotional about it, Hawley says. Mountain Lion - By Steven Dupuis October 3, 2014 at 02:26:51 PM. The feedback will only be used for improving the website. There's no logic for why they'd be listed as an endangered species. When evidence is submitted, MassWildlife carefully reviews the evidence in its entirety and attempts to verify the report. We're going to talk a little bit more about habitat first but then we'll get into sightings. John you're on the air. We're gonna talk about sightings in this part of the program as well we'd love to hear your story. Peter Biello: Nice to be here. However, there have been two confirmed reports of mountain lions in the state in the last 30 years. Peter Biello: I did mention four feet nose to tail would be kind of small for a mountain lion. It traveled all the way from from you know Minnesota to New York without being so seen Patrick take. If mountain lions returned to Massachusetts, there is no need to update current forest management practices. 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. But my experience was that the majority of these accounts could not be taken lightly. Im gonna get hammered for it, he sighed. Or years or so. And just one more note about this danger question when even when you look at the states that have extended populations stable populations of mountain lions attacks are relatively rare. So I know it's another unconfirmed report but you string enough of these together. In the 37 years Ive been working, things have changed in ways Id never have predicted. The cat is dead. From came from out west they tracked it all the way back to the Black Hills in the Dakotas. And boy it was big it had to be at least 200 pounds the thing was you and and it just made a little bit of noise and it was gone. Records suggest that cash bounties for cougar kills were relatively common in the late 1700s and early 1800s; in the Adirondacks, a trapper named Thomas Meacham was credited with 77 cougar kills. So theres fresh mud. In the second camp, there are those issuing the denials, pointing to the lack of photographic evidence, or the absence of tracks, or the simple truth that many people dont seem to know the difference between a cougar and a bobcat and a lynx and even, in some cases, a golden retriever. I could hear the steady rush of traffic on Route 315. She is renowned for tracking. If you missed part of today's program listen to the exchange. Peter Biello: Ok weird question but do they make good pets. I wanted to get your thoughts on the mystique of the mountain lion start with you Rick. Harrigans interest in cougars was sparked in the late 70s, after he took ownership of The Coos County Democrat and began noticing the steady influx of reported sightings. Before I departed the Old Well Tavern, Bo Ottmann offered to lead me on a walk into an adjacent stretch of woods, where, he assured me, cougars might be found. Both cases meet the evidence requirements of MassWildlife. I wasn't employed as biologists at the time of a situation that's been reported but so I started digging into this report and spoke with another wildlife biologist with the agency and said Do you know anything about this. I saw the tail end of a literally from behind the shoulder The Long Tail mountain lion crossing the highway going from Password to often Village downtown. And really whenever you hear tiny code and long rope like tale it's kind of hard to pin this sighting on any other creature rather than an outline or just nothing else really matches that description. Peter Biello: Hmm. MassWildlife uses evidence-based criteria to confirm reports of mountain lions and does not investigate or confirm reports without evidence. Indeed, one of her steadiest sources of funding for Keeping Track is a presentation on cougars that has been known to draw more than 500 audience members. So hard to know hard to refute if there's no interest in making up a story which many people of course do then I would respond the same way as Pat did. It was some sort of a Lion Mountain Lion animal. It's not an emerging endangered species no work no there are there are populations in specific states so the Florida panther is is an endangered species that sub population is in fact listed under the Endangered Species Act. I would say that there's going to be the truth in here somewhere. Many people do not realize how large a grown Bobcat is. Peter Biello: So Rick seems like you agree that the tail is a big giveaway whether or not it's a mountain lion Absolutely. ml central ma. Rick shaking his head so Rick now correct me please. So and so they so they do get pretty involved. We'll also hear your stories if you have them again. Phone number 1 800. There was the vaguest of trails, crisscrossed by deadfalls and a sharp-thorned bush that soon drew blood from Ottmanns right hand. So here we have you know a very qualified biologist who who found a print took a plaster cast found a scat send it to a university. Peter Biello: Well Karl Jarvis a former reporter for The King's son Nile thank you very much for for calling in and sharing your perspective and to his point Patrick T. I mean yes we haven't met the scientific burden of proof here in New Hampshire as far as physical evidence is is concerned but is there room at Fish and Game For A kind of an informal nod to all of the people who have somehow convinced themselves and possibly some others that yeah there may be occasional sightings here. Caller: Hey guys how you doing. Get your tickets today and one for fifty dollars or six for 150 at NH PR and board. And the second question is this a behavior mountain lions exhibit. Three females confirmed well ahead of predictioins, Re(1): Mountain lion confirmed in SW Quebec, Possible big cat sighting in Barrington, RI, Re(1): Possible big cat sighting in Barrington, RI, Re(2): Possible big cat sighting in Barrington, RI, Possible Belchertown mountain lion sighting, Re(1): Possible Belchertown mountain lion sighting. Peter Biello: Well John thanks very much for the story really appreciate it. I have no choice but to take this seriously, he told me. They sent he sent his scent those two samples with his to Wyoming an unfortunate Fish and Game Commission there did not get a positive read on it but send it back to Central Michigan University where they did a nuclear micro satellite DNA analysis and found no significant difference between that scat and other scats that were tested from the Rocky Mountain region. Is this kind of a typical story. You might think that it would be easy to tell the two cat species apart. So one thing I'll add. So I hate the idea that there's some sort of upward you know downward pressure from the bosses saying Don't you know don't tell about the mountain lions because it'll scare away the tourists. And the cougar embodies that. Peter Biello: Let's go to Mike in Epping. (I don't get the daily Eagle but I get The Berkshires in Brief [online newsletter] and read it daily.). I really really enjoyed listening to this program so thank you all very much. We'd be inundated with scouts in the past when newspaper articles have been written about DNA and scouts. So for me as a person who's had the Bobcats right off my grits similar carries sticks to a bobcat The Long Tail obviously very different but those facial markings were overlapping for me. If you dont think cougars are coming to the East, think again, she said, leaning forward for emphasis. The females disperse a shorter range and once they find a vacant home range they stay in that location and live there. Sam Evans-Brown: You know the North America had a number of large predator species when humans first arrived in the continent. Can we go to the site. 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. ghost, Re(3): didnt win the pwrball. Mistaken reports of mountain lions are most commonly bobcats. Hawley: Yeah. If you believe you have seen a mountain lion and want to report it to NH Fish and Game, please contact the Wildlife Division at (603) 271-2461 or wildlife@wildlife.nh.gov to request an observation report form. 50 feet above the most. Pat ruse and he was sampling doing DNA samples from cats in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. And it came out we could see it had and we could see its long swooping tail. Let's talk to Bob in Laconia Bob. When they were landing or taking off and it seems like it's been there for like. Peter Biello: But clearly you know you're saying like hoaxes people who claim to have seen a mountain lion but knowingly have not or are appropriating photos taken elsewhere of legit mountain lion say out West where they people acknowledge that they exist certainly knowingly or unknowingly in this case the person who sent it to me said hey a friend of mine sent me this photo and said he took it on his back porch also. I also had the vague notion that when it comes to cougars, people tend to sort themselves into one of three camps. Want to put this to to Patrick Tate who may have heard some some info or info from listeners like you about these these these cats. So you know until I found those two scats I didn't think that mountain lions were here in the east. Tell us your story. Good morning guys. Support NHPR by becoming a sustaining member today! So that that's more or less I think why I'm here and why I got into this in nineteen ninety nine I found a what appeared to be a print of a mountain lion and that was in the Osprey mountains and I thought well OK that's that's a print. The scarlet pimpernel, a sprawling plant with scarlet flowers, is a non-native species brought over from Europe. She lives near the end of a gravel road in a modest, low-slung house tucked into the flanks of the Green Mountains. ML Sighting - By Joe September 19, 2016 at 00:31:14 AM. We'll hear from her periodically through the show. ; track sets or photos of track sets; other tangible physical evidence verified by qualified professionals.". You need a permit to have that. I mean so what what is the practical change that it would bring to New Hampshire if any. You're on the air. They just end up in these places. Not yet. For mountain lions in Connecticut, a lack of evidence is very good evidence. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal likely trekked more than 1,500 miles from South Dakota, a journey that was captured by trail camera (above). I tracked cats and all the western states. And I think a lot of folks would like them to be around. We want answers. Have you seen one. Caller: Yeah. Is there a way we can learn more about these dispersing mountain lions that may travel through the Granite State and that I would ask you certainly part about whether or not a he's spending too much time chasing down these kind of false leads or B would rather be doing something else that is more informative to whether or not we actually have or can prove that we have dispersing mountain lions in the state. Mountain Lion report and as a biologist for the state that's a situation where if he said to me what did I see. There is some information that suggests that it spent a portion of its time in Massachusetts near the Claiborne reservoir. Thanks for calling. Fish and Game looked into the labs to have them confirm the information in the reports which the labs did not. I was able to look up the particulars and photos online. Most mountain lion sightings are reported without any evidence other than eyewitness descriptions. Sam Evans-Brown: Certainly that is a thing I've heard but again you have to think of the incentives involved here. And thats a surprisingly complex question, because it hinges on numerous factors: policy and politics, culture and conditioning, habitat and, frankly, hubris. Sam Evans-Brown: And second the evidence required is is you know pretty pretty tough to gather. People have asked me about the genetics of eastern mountain lion. There are always rumors about what state fish and wildlife agencies in the eastern United States know about mountain lions. So I don't understand really how how this this idea came to be but it is the main reason why folks believe that fishing game is is covering up the fact that there are mountain lions in the state again with no evidence. Caller: I got home to my wife that a gene that you should have seen the cat. ghost. Of course. Hear the full interview: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators. You could have 50. It was really muscular looking cat I mean is that like a side angle to me. And trying to figure out the little pieces to identify him so I bring up the names the differences but the appearances can be confusing for some. So I just brought up the bobcat thing because the location is fascinating to me that that that location we have Bobcats existing but that location we have a mountain lion report because it's a developed area and which brings me back to earlier what I had said it's a bouncing ball. I just don't understand the mechanism for how that would happen. We strolled across the tavern parking lot and ducked into the forest, where Ottmann maintains a portion of his $15,000 worth of wildlife recording equipment (hes had no luck capturing a cougar on camera, though, despite more than a decade of trying). Big cats used to be kept as pets in the U.K . He coined the term landscape of fear to describe the relationship between predator and prey in the wild. Re(1): ANOTHER female disperser in addition to the one BELOW! Here's where sightings have occurred since. Rick van de Poll: Rick van de Poll so I was a non-believer as well. And Im assuming whatever were doing right now, its not working. An adult male bobcat can reach four feet in length and 35-40 pounds. We'll be right back. Have a photo. Michael Brindley is our program manager our producers our Jessica Hunt and Christina Phillips and our theme music was composed by Bob Lord. A harvest is kind of twofold. All the latest news and updates of New England Mountain Lion Sighting Bulletin Board's Message Board. For instance, a favorite food for deer is the seedlings of forest tree species. Its OK, he told me. Here's a look at 8 commonly found in the Berkshires. Peter Biello: Sam I wanted to ask you a little bit about that first and then turn to Patrick Tate efficient game. If it's someone that has an illegal captive animal that is accustomed to humans those leave a lot of evidence because they want to go around humans to find food meaning they're used to being fed by humans. All these photos were taken in a state other than Massachusetts. And there's there's no evidence of that cat's movement in that entire you know 12 hundred miles stretch of its journey. Sam Evans-Brown: I just want to say the bang and word you just heard I think to me exemplifies why it's really hard to come up with with positive you know 100 percent certain evidence that you've that what you've got is a mountain lions. About two years ago I was at the Laconia airport on the way home from the airport and there's a big lake on one side called Lily Pond. So Marty can you see what I'm getting at is the public sees different names and thinks that they're different animals but it's all the same animal. Sam Evans-Brown: Pretty well I was going to say it is nice to hear about how to identify the facial markings but probably I'd being a to identify the tracks is probably the more useful useful tool that one can have in their tool box. Caller: So I've been telling this story for five years or so and very few people believe me. m from a weed family Automotive on store Street in Concord is serving the Concord area families automotive needs since 1995. All of that remains unanswered but it is an extremely interesting question. Some argue that it's a leap of faith. Patrick Tate: So Cougar Mountain Lion katama. I met with Morse at her home in Jericho. And last year, Ben Tanner, a Lady's Island resident, captured video footage of what appears to be a large cat stalking a deer. Well they are the same. This assessment is echoed by the aforementioned Christopher Spatz, who has been studying cougars for better than 20 years. As far as I could tell there was a positive DNA sequence coming from the scat sample Patrick. You know interactions are pretty unusual. Peter Biello: Well Mike thanks very much for sharing your story. But but I've also seen it cited the opposite way that look they're very secretive. MassWildlife has only confirmed 2 mountain lion reports in the last 30 years. And so far we have not had any positive mark lion scats or any DNA. Mountain lions also have tails that can grow up to 3 feet. But he said, the odds of seeing one are "infinitesimally small." So why do people see mountain lions? Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. I think they never left, Ottmann piped in. The tails gotta be there. I have learned one thing in my career, and thats to never say never, she said. And I I have this great text history of New Hampshire game and fir bears and I think by Helen Silver who used to work for fish and game and she sort of I kind eyes this animal in one of the quotes from 1892 stating that the catamaran was the most ferocious of all the wild beasts of New Hampshire his great size strength and agility of movement together with his formidable weapons rendered him the terror both of man and beast. Course like Sue said you have to see it and it's not always that visible. These were normal everyday folks. Not one picture of him online while the person meet with us. Indeed, in 2011, a male cougar was hit and killed by a car in Milford, Connecticut; through its DNA, wildlife biologists were able to trace the cat back to South Dakotas Black Hills, some 2,000 miles distant. Your support makes this news available to everyone. Is that typically what was happening there. So I did a bunch of research and all the documentation I found was there art are not any pieces of DNA of Eastern online. Hawley: Wildlife biologists across the United States know where the current mountain lion range is. 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. Put bluntly, Morse does not believe that New England is home to cougars. For all the men out there that don't realize it. Because while male cougars eventually strike out on their own and occasionally wander far from home, females are, as Morse puts it, hardwired to remain close to their mothers home range. Attracting the black swallowtail butterfly to your yard is as easy as planting parsley and carrots in your garden. Rick van de Poll: Absolutely. Peter Biello: So Patrick today Fish and Game no downward pressure on you to deny the existence at all costs of mountain lions here in New Hampshire. In April 1997, tracker John McCarter found scat near a beaver carcass at the Quabbin Reservation. Still more confusion ensued when a lab technician said she might have gotten some samples confused, and thus the canid result was thrown into doubt. This mountain lion was documented by DNA samples from Minnesota and Wisconsin between December 2009 and early 2010. I found a second scat scent both to him. I have seen them fly and do so especially into trees when in danger, either real or imagined. And I have to use that word allegedly because there is so much dispute about what people see and what they actually see. Fish and Wildlife Service unofficially declared the Eastern cougar extinct. Rick van de Poll: Rick your thoughts. 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. Sighting of this animal also occurred in Michigan and New York. Have it reported down in the Keene area. Wed be seeing more carcasses of prey we would be seeing at least some carcasses of mountain lion prey. Rick van de Poll: Yes. It used to be that a bear would go into a house when someone wasnt home. If the observer claims to have seen a Mountain Lion more than once, it is nearly certain they have not. None of the rumors are true. There was no sign of it. Having retired from a career at General Dynamics, he devotes many of his waking hours to cougar research, a passion hes cultivated for nearly twodecades. We're gonna cue you up and bring into the program listeners in just a moment but I want to ask about the role that Mountain Lions play in the ecosystem we've been talking a lot about mountain lions traveling and being sort of hard to track as they move. Tracking experts Paul Rezendes, Charles Worsham, George Leoniak, and Dr. Mark Elbroch examined the photos. Just one quick point I think I think when we we talk about these conspiracy theories the real story is that fish and game is an agency that that is short on budget and staff. A hiker fought off a mountain lion that ambushed him in a canyon in Utah by throwing rocks at it, wildlife officials say. I saw that had this giant the bobcat had this giant sweeping which is John Bobcat don't have big sweeping tails. Both labs confirmed the sample came from a mountain lion. 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. Sam Evans-Brown: What he would have stopped as well I think is way way that the reason that mountain lion kept moving is because he wasn't finding anybody. Well let's hear from from Sue Morse again science director for the organization keeping track. Peter Biello: There have been several alleged sightings of mountain lions in New Hampshire recently. So we tossed these terms around but really the term subspecies has been sort of redefined in our lifetimes. Really appreciate you guys being here as well. What's interesting about Bobcats is here in the Northeast we have some very large bobcats. The term is because mascots notwithstanding right that they're referred to with a lot of different terms and sometimes they can be confused with a lot of different terms. Thank you very much for being here. It's good to talk to you. ml central ma. I couldnt tell you how happy I would be if mountain lions were actually recolonizing the state of Connecticut, Hawley says, but its just not happening., Hawley spoke about bobcats, mountain lions and bears on The Colin McEnroe Show: Megafauna mania: our obsession with mountain lions and other large predators.. It lowers the population in a way thats not going to affect the long-term population. Because they are.. People go through great lengths to create hoaxes like this. And so when they come to him with a sighting, hes prepared to believe. We send out DNA samples to the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station. Fish and Wildlife Service unofficially declared the Eastern cougar extinct. The females are where its at, she said. And a lot of people around the county airport have seen a lot of pilots coming in said they saw huge. Just. Coyotes have been mistaken for mountain lions. And it was you know 10 or 12 people saw it all at once. Thank you very much for listening. Think you've seen a mountain lion. The DNA the DNA that they were able to pull from the cat suggested that it was a dispersed mountain lion that came. [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. Today she talked with us a little bit before the show about why the mountain line is so compelling and why we want it to be part of our world. support for an HBO who comes from you our listener Sam from advanced in you a local New Hampshire nonprofit specializing in college student loans and student refinancing options. 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.. If you would like to continue helping us improve Mass.gov, join our user panel to test new features for the site. Don't miss your chance to win three two thousand dollar gas gift cards at any station of your choice not to mention the grand prize twenty five thousand dollars toward a new car. Something along those lines. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. So so it is possible in Maine to still to to to have one but you have to be sort of professional handler as it were. In April 1997, experienced tracker John McCarter found scat near a beaver carcass at the Quabbin Reservation. Peter Biello: So if they were female mountain lions here they would be more males just because that's what they're looking for. Rick Davidson is the author of the exciting thriller "Catamount. And so we come to the great divide over cougars in New England. Information that weed family automotive dot com sunny for today high temperatures low to mid 80s clear tonight overnight lows in the 50s tomorrow sunny highs in the upper 80s.
Maphite Green Bible,
Which Caribbean Island Has The Highest Crime Rate 2022,
Teesside University School Of Health And Life Sciences,
Why Isn't Jedediah Bila On Fox And Friends,
Articles N