And why would they what. So Michael follows with the question. Are there other powers that be worried that scary mountain lions will scare off people from camping in New Hampshire. And so. Having not found any evidence is not the same as saying there are no mountain lions, its the same as saying we dont know. Patrick Tate: I've had hunters hang deer carcasses forbidding wildlife entries. It was not a bobcat. We discuss what residents may have been seeing and what breeding mountain lion pairs would mean for our ecosystem. Something along those lines. So I will just say this is a big reason why there have not been confirmed sightings I think is that the evidence required first. DNA from scat or from fur, a clear track that is confirmed by an expert, or a photo that clearly shows a mountain lion. What do you think that. There have been several sightings of mountain lions in New Hampshire recently. I saw that had this giant the bobcat had this giant sweeping which is John Bobcat don't have big sweeping tails. Ecosystem Management Consultants of New England, Ask Sam, and recently fielded question about mountain lions, 10 things to do in NH this weekend: Dartmouth Dance, Hamilton De Holanda & more, Turkish restaurant in the Upper Valley aims to help those affected by recent earthquakes, RFK Jr. tells NH crowd hes considering a presidential run, Epping woman pleads guilty to threatening Michigan election official in 2020, We also hear excerpts from an interview with, Read about the most recent cougar "sightings". However, dispersing western mountain lions have left evidence as close as Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. As recently as 2011 there was one young male mountain lion that cruised all the way from the black hills of South Dakota, up over the Great Lakes, down through New Yorkgetting spotted all along the waykilled a beaver near the Quabbin Reservoir in Central Massachusetts, left behind prints and DNA at that site, and then was hit by a car in Connecticut. 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. Yes. And here we're talking about in this situation we're talking about it migrated from the West. Women control our lives. Rick van de Poll: Rick van de Poll so I was a non-believer as well. Are these big cats back?Subscribe to WMUR on YouTube now for more: http://bit.ly/1lOjX9CGet more Manchester news: http://wmur.comLike us: http://facebook.com. Is that typically what was happening there. We'll also hear your stories if you have them again. Residents believe cougars still roam New Hampshire's forests. So and so they so they do get pretty involved. Rick van de Poll: Oh yeah absolutely. Some argue that it's a leap of faith. NHPR is nonprofit and independent. And it came out we could see it had and we could see its long swooping tail. 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. Post your sightings and NH photos here! If youve got photo trap evidence of a Mountain Lion, send it in, and we'll send it along to the appropriate state or federal agency! For me as a person who's handled many bobcats and looked at many pictures Bobcat the White chin Bobcat right off is what comes out to me and then the black the the roughs on our Bobcats we'll have sometimes have black fringes on them. The big cat has been extinct at least the eastern mountain lion has been extinct here since the mid 80s hundreds. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal. Well thanks for sharing. And I think this is a really interesting story for a couple of reasons one is that it proves what Pat was saying which that basically from New York state where its traces was really picked up on a game camera around Lake George all the way down to Connecticut there was numerous. Let's go now to to Kyle in Keene I believe Kyle is this Kyle Jarvis from the Keene Sentinel a former reporter and former reporter. I tracked cats and all the western states. Sue Morse: First and foremost if you have color or if you could see details of color look at the front of the face around the Pumas muzzle the muzzle itself is pure white. On Oct. 10, he gave a slide talk called "Wild Cats of New Hampshire," which included the bobcat and the lynx. 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. NHPR is nonprofit and independent. Peter Biello: Nice to be here. Early in the morning. And the second question is this a behavior mountain lions exhibit. Sam Evans-Brown: So I just had two thoughts which is that we hear a lot of these stories and all of us here have heard these stories. So before we get to the the the the stories of sightings we're getting a lot of calls. It's you know I recognized their report and. And today we're talking about the mysterious elusive mountain line with folks who know something about it. That's why we always go back to the physical evidence to support what they're reporting. Patrick Tate: It's wow interesting that you brought this up because I've had people report I saw cardamom. People were calling the New Hampshire Fish and Game director's office saying why are you dragging your feet on this. We'd be inundated with scouts in the past when newspaper articles have been written about DNA and scouts. Peter Biello: Give us a call 1 800 8 9 2 6 4 7 7 you can also send us an email exchange at an HP morgue. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. So if you were to ask me has a mountain lion ever passed through New Hampshire and been spotted by somebody who wasnt able to get hard evidence? Id personally be willing to say "probably, yes.". Well they are the same. So try to take photographs if you see something like this. Sue Morse: The big cat really commands the utmost respect not so much fear but fascination. New Hampshire Fish and Game Department says there's no proof. There's no attraction. Peter Biello: There have been several alleged sightings of mountain lions in New Hampshire recently. Peter Biello: Mm hmm. Theres tracks everywhere. And that the Florida panther was more closely related to the eastern outline than the western mountain lion was. By Eric Orff. The way that we define species has undergone a revolution with the advent of DNA testing. I hope she's listening and she had spoke to a lot of different people ended up having a couple of sightings of her alone without sort of by accident. But you've done some reporting on this. Current conditions in New Hampshire would support a mountain lion, according to Tate, as forests have returned, allowing for prey species to become more prevalent. Do you get a lot of these these these things that end up being hoaxes. But having read a bit of information about his cougar there are a darker subspecies. From "History of New Hampshire Game and Furbearers" by Helenette Silver, Research Clerk, NH Fish and Game Dept. And I saw you cat about four feet long from nose to tail come across from the water across the road and just leap over a six foot perimeter fence in a single bound. Patrick Tate: So I'm not sure what subspecies of cat they're using to differentiate by those markings but once she was describing the White other face in the black. Think you've seen a mountain lion? Peter Biello: Yeah some of what she was saying sounds like it would require getting pretty close or at least having a nice zoom lens right Sam like. Peter Biello: The number is 1 800 8 9 2 6 4 7 7. Are there Mountain Lions in NH? So I reached down to grab the camera and looked back and like a ghost it's gone. When they were landing or taking off and it seems like it's been there for like. And they were using all the habitat. Pelosi story here we go. Mountain Lions in NH. But I was riding a mountain bike not far from my house. Can you look into this picture. That's the real story is they can't follow up on every one of these sightings. I've actually had to walk in on one or two now and look at what was going on and figured out what was going on. And sometimes I've seen pictures of those where it's the question is What is that is that a bobcat. Deer Bear Moose Wolves Fisher Mountain Lions. From came from out west they tracked it all the way back to the Black Hills in the Dakotas. 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. Patrick Tate: Exactly I was gonna bring that up juvenile male of. He studied Politics and Spanish at Bates College, and before reporting was variously employed as a Spanish teacher, farmer, bicycle mechanic, ski coach, research assistant, a wilderness trip leader and a technical supporter. BUT THAT SAID, Id love to be proven wrong. Some of the reports that I looked into that were actually on file at the local fish and game office were even from people who did not live locally. I came to a stop and it was and I've seen a lot of bobcats in my time and I just came to a stop it was just sort of confused about what I was seeing. We'll be right back. Caller: It had just left that field and was out. I think that you probably are. Sunny today high temperatures low to mid 80s it'll be clear tonight overnight lows in the 50s for tomorrow sunshine with high temperatures mid to upper 80s. The Lions of New Hampshire: MD44 Links. 1,470 likes. They lived perhaps elsewhere in New England and they were just passing through and happened to have an encounter of some sort. What's interesting about Bobcats is here in the Northeast we have some very large bobcats. So what counts as verifiable evidence? Absolutely there are a lot of folks out there who for some reason need to create something that raises a stir and gets the attention of the media etc.. Rick van de Poll: Well I didn't. Thank you very much for being here. So I know it's another unconfirmed report but you string enough of these together. nh.gov | privacy policy | accessibility policy In my New Hampshire career I have written several, and seen at least 20, stories along the lines of "local person thinks they saw a mountain lion but there's no actual evidence aside from. 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. Peter Biello: And that will make identification for a layperson rather difficult. So so they're just a very resilient species and they're pretty they're pretty neat. Peter Biello: And then it ran away okay. There's always been physical evidence to prove those situations like hair or fur scat hair prints pictures of the animal print scat hair. Have a photo. Mountain lions live in the state. She quotes a biologist in Lyme New Hampshire who who is keeping two mountain lions himself so in the not too distant past in the early nineteen hundreds it was perhaps more common and still in Maine. Thank you. Sam Evans-Brown: Certainly that is a thing I've heard but again you have to think of the incentives involved here. So the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station has a database on mountain lion and they can identify. Peter Biello: From New Hampshire Public Radio I'm Peter Biello in for Lark Knoy and this is the exchange. 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. And listeners this has been a lively conversation we're sorry we didn't get to all the the e-mailed comments and the phone calls your stories are appreciated even if we didn't get a chance to hear them today. So here in New Hampshire when a person turns in something that the Department believes is possible mountain lion and believes it should be investigated further. Part II. We we hear that there is allegedly a government conspiracy to deny the existence of mountain lions here in New Hampshire so I guess a local government conspiracy. They get a lot of media attention but compared to the the amount of times that a mountain lion could attack a person but doesn't because they don't typically view us as prey. John if you're still on the line here I was going to I don't. Caller: I cannot recall or see the tail in my in my image of it. Peter Biello: So if they were female mountain lions here they would be more males just because that's what they're looking for. So for those reasons I don't believe the standards are too high the amount of game cameras out on the landscape to record images department alone through contracts had over 150 throughout the state biologists go through various deer yards throughout the year. So and so the idea that they can follow up on every individual sighting is just crazy right. As wildlife biologists, wed be fascinated to say 'look look what was found in our state.'. WMUR uLocal: On this trail cam video, an unidentified feline is spotted. Can you tell us about that story. And they used to be this whole list of the different subspecies of mountain lion and it has since been reduced to just to the North American and the South American. It was really muscular looking cat I mean is that like a side angle to me. They just end up in these places. Patrick Tate: I don't believe it is. Patrick Tate: I've from all the situations I've read and learned about wildlife. But are there mountain lions living in New Hampshire? Thanks for taking my call. Sam Evans-Brown: Well first I want to sort of explain why what the theory is but then also throw a bit of cold water on it because I don't think there's much much logic behind it but essentially is that if fish and game were to acknowledge that there was a population of Mount lions in the state there's a chance that something like a listing under the federal Endangered Species Act might happen and then there'd be you know some they'd have to put a plan in place to protect the species there'd be you know restrictions put on development. Sam Evans-Brown: Well this might be a good moment to talk about hoaxes. Contact the Wildlife Division at (603) 271-2461 or wildlife@wildlife.nh.gov to request an observation report form. However the scarring on the trees did not and the angles were off. Peter Biello: Ok. Peter Biello: This is the exchange on an PR. For instance, Floridas wildlife officials have a similar ghost cat: the black panther. And it was unmistakable. So we're fixated on natural but there's other possibilities. They were able to do all that by genetics. Rick van de Poll: Absolutely. So one thing I'll add we're talking about natural dispensers but talking with the conservation officer in the 1980s they recall going to a residence telling a person you can live here but your mountain lion can't. Caller: Yeah I hadn't experienced blastoff fall so this was around September and I was driving from Webster into Concord on Horse Hill Road and anybody in the area would know I was right near the Red Barn and all of a sudden this animal jumps out of the woods and it bounded across the road in about two two giant leaps and stopped in the field just on the other side. Sam Evans-Brown: You know the North America had a number of large predator species when humans first arrived in the continent. 44-H Links. But also I think it proves the opposite point which is that sometimes they're pretty secretive because all the way from Minnesota where the where was the first time was picked up on a game camera to New York. No doubt in my mind it was. Part II. We had six copies printed out each. And so maybe before I go to you recommend I ask you Patrick Tate is the standard too high. And so I just wanted to share my share my experience with you guys and it was pretty awesome to see if you get to see one albeit it was in the brush. Caller: And then there's the Lily Pond Road and then there's a six foot tall fence. Let's look for other evidence. Patrick Tate: So it's interesting it's brought up. But if you were to get Western dispersing mountain lions just would just sort of expanding into New Hampshire. Mountain Lion | Squam Lakes Natural Science Center All exhibit and hiking trails are CLOSED for the season. So when we talk about the threshold of evidence required to say for sure you have seen a mountain lion it is rather high. John is calling from Bennington. You know perhaps poke around where you saw it and see if you can find a track. There was no sign of it. There were several sightings in CT over the last few months. The exchange is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio. Thanks for your call. Long before NASA was asked to put a man on the moon one engineer had already figured out how to get there. (Cue the X-Files music: The Government is denying the cougars exist!) This decision was primarily for nerdy phylogeny reasons, though, because the eastern cougar probably never existed. 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. For all the men out there that don't realize it. Patrick Tate: So the individuals can say that but for an agency that's based on science and what not to to go off with no evidence and then get into that giant debate and all these other issues and put credibility at risk I don't think that would be a great path to take. Right. So for our scientists to do the lumping and whatnot. Author of The last woman in the forest on Saturday July 13th at 7 p.m. at Warner town hall Warner historical dawg. We mentioned that one cat that was hit by a car where it has it that it was a male looking for me. So give us a call now. I was a Bobcat we saw it and I have a picture of it. It was in the spring flash kind of early summer and my wife looked at you look at the size of an adult bear and we were up in arms. So you know until I found those two scats I didn't think that mountain lions were here in the east. I'm gonna send you a letter that we researched this report and we spoke with those labs and the lab wrote in their letter to us that they could only say that Scott contained white Tea Party fur and that they could not say what deposited the scout because it's far too degraded listeners we'd love to hear from you about your mountain lion sightings if you have seen one or if you if you think you have give us a call we'd love to hear your story 1 800 8 9 2 6 4 7 7. They're just moving around freely. Our guests today Patrick Tate New Hampshire Fish and Game Wildlife biologist Sam Evans Brown host of an HP podcast outside in. 50 feet above the most. Well let's talk a little bit about that. If you have them email exchange at an HP board or give us a call to tell us your story. Share. But you won't find evidence of their existence in paw prints in the snow or a deer carcass in a tree. But on the other side of that coin there is this sense that there have been so many sightings locally and you guys Patrick you might recall the name the Wyndham McCracken she kind of turned herself into a local authority off authorities the right word but she was very dedicated to this. Well let's hear from from Sue Morse again science director for the organization keeping track. Well I can't tell you what you saw. You've got you've got biologists right who are trying to make their make their way in the world make a career if you are the biologists who confirmed a sighting of mountain lions in the state that would be very good for you like you would be all over the news. Lions Clubs Int'l Links: LionNet NH Links 2011 -2012 . So. Give us a call if you have a question or comments or story about perhaps seeing a mountain lion here in New Hampshire. Oh you saw him online. HOLDERNESS, N.H. (AP) Two of the known mountain lions in New Hampshire have spent their 15 years in close proximity to humans. Seems reasonable! Fish and Game then deny the evidence. So I want to start the program with a comment from someone who is not in the studio with us today. N.H.'s Fish and Game department says there's no proof. Now Bobcat is a completely different species. Mountain lions ( Puma concolor) are one of the six native species of wild cats in North America.
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