OK guys, my DNR relative confirmed what it is. Bobcat. But a very large one. I still want to see if that tasco bummer can be removed.
It would be nice to have the banner remove however maybe the banner isn't covering the picture and its an add on boarder. Do you have any other pictures of anything else in the same location? Deer, yourself? Anything for a size comparison.
Ok, just don't be surprised when one shows up. Don't know about PA but here in Ct our forest rangers used to constantly tell us there's no mountain lions, bears or years ago rattlesnakes. The proliferation of camerphones and highway kills has changed their tune.
They (the officials) tell us there are no cougars in NH too. However, the reports from experiences woods people (old-time farmers, hunters, foresters etc) who are used to seeing bobcats and lynx, the large prints, and the game camera pictures (with the really long tail) are hard to ignore. We most likely do have some, just not a very large population - but that is just my opinion and not based on any of my own experiences. They also say we have no wolves, although others believe we do; albeit, again, very rare who probably come down from Canada and I don't believe anyone thinks we have a self-sustaining breeding population. However, most sightings end up being the Eastern Coyote, which over the years has evolved to be much larger than your Western Coyote - perhaps to fill the niche voided by the wolf's eradication. Interesting that they would say that since even NH has some. Very small populations and only in a couple of known spots (which are kept secret from the public)
Not any markings to indicate Bobcat imo. Our DFW didn't admit to Coyotes for many years either. Don't understand the need to keep information from the peasants. Guess it's a function of power.
The rattler thing was years ago 40+. Used to be quite prolific in my area way way back. I live about a mile from one of the last known den areas. I'm fairly certain there's another in the opposite direction putting me right in the middle. In the early 70's when I was a kid they began developing in my area. It was then they shook up the snake population and they began roaming in search of new habitat. FWIW they're not confined to the known den areas either. As the population grows they begin spreading out looking for new areas with food. I think some states have chosen to use denial as a means to,protect species. Just read a snippet of news the other day. Scientists are considering creating a new species to account for the eastern Coyote. They've been interbreeding with Wolves and wild dogs long enough and with such change they are considering reclassifying it. The biggest noted change was in the size. Yep, they're getting darn big.
And getting brave. They are getting accustomed to humans and see that being near them also means being near a food source. i.e. your farm animals and house pets. there have been hostile encounters while out in the woods. Our state still denies the big cats being here, but there is too much evidence showing that is just not true. I don't know what the state's agenda is, but is just about the same as saying the world is flat.
Yep, forgot that part. They are getting brave. Down here in congested Ct everything besides deer seems to thrive in cycles. First they brought back the Turkeys. Worked so well it was hard to drive around the flocks of birds wandering around. Then the yotes came back and ate most of the turkeys. Now the yotes are deplenishing. Mountain lions and beers while nowhere near plentiful are making thier way down. Heck if they're in Ct they sure didn't skip Maine.
I'll fix the beer problem all by myself, but it sounds like there's enough for other FHC members to help me out too.
Kinda late to this thread. Fun read. Im no expert but even before I read the comments it didn't look like a cougar to me. We have a healthy population here of Grizzly, black bears, cougars, wolves and coyotes. When I put Tundra to bed at night I can often times hear the coyotes yipping. Sounds like they are all over. Sometimes the wolves howl to but they are more distant.... they dont like people. Cougars worry me big time. My youngest is 10 and we wont let him play in the woods to far from home. We had a cougar crouching in the tall grass watching some kids pick berries one year. Scary. Also the RCMP went to a call where a young boy was playing in his fenced back yard two blocks from my house. A cougar jumped into the yard. The child had the sense to grab the little dog and go inside. When RCMP got there the cougar was still in the yard and wouldnt leave so they shot it dead. A tenant of mine who was new in town was drinking a cup of coffee one early morning staring out the back window at a young deer in the trees doing what deer do. She didnt notice the cougar sneaking up on it. It grabbed the deer and killed it (she said the deer made an awful noise when attacked). As a side note she also noticed a week later a woman walking her dog was running down the street being chased by a black bear lol. Oh yeah and then there was the time this guy was walking home late from the bar when a cougar came up behind him and knocked him over. He yelled at it and it ran away.... Lots of cougar stories around here. I have more but my post is already long winded....
Sure looks like a Mountain lion to me. A coworkers neighbor was having real problems with them killing his sheep few years ago.... The video isn't the greatest.
December 1993, the first winter we moved into the foothills (into a small summer cabin) I closed the door behind me and went to to my car and got in intending to go to a night class. No keys in my purse. Checked the front door I just closed behind me, yep, locked. Then I felt eyes on me, I could not find the eyes but it gave me a chill. Ran around to the back of the house and jumped the 5' fence like it was nothing (yes I was in my 20's with adrenaline pumping), crawled up the doggie ramp and thankfully the upper back deck door was open. I still made it to my class that night despite the snow and the scare. The next day the neighbor asked if we had seen a cougar, he was reading a book and looked up to see one slowly walking past the window on his deck. A week or two later we returned late from Christmas party a few hours away, first thing I let the dogs out, first thing for WWW he went out front again to bring some splits in. The wind often vibrated the ancient front door bulb loose. He felt eyes on him, walked back and tightened the bulb in the light....and saw....a quite large cougar crouching in the shadow of a scrub brush getting ready to clear the same 5' fence I did to make a meal of one or both of our dogs. WWW yelled to me to bring the dogs in and hightailed it back towards the light himself. The next summer we found a couple deer and a couple fawn skeletons in the surrounding scrub brush that cougars, likely the same one, had hidden in them, guess we were lucky.
That sounds pretty scary. How do you think you felt eyes on you? Not saying you didnt experience the sensation just curious. I think there are senses that we have that arent known to us. Something in you warned you of the danger before your eyes could confirm it. I did a solo snow shoe trip through thigh burning deep snow into a hike in only lake for ice fishing. Its about a one hour flatish hike through steep canyons, up to 300 ft sheer cliffs, boulder fields and a dense fir, birch and larch forest. Its a spot that I frequent almost every year once or twice. I spent the entire day there. I remember marveling at the quiet while sitting on my little stool. I heard hounds on top of the cliff that sorounded the lake. I heard a faint voice saying "get that cat, get that cat" I guess a couple of good ol boys treed a cat. Around here people will tree a cougar, take pictures of it and then leave. Better than shooting it I guess. Anyways I had a bunch of kokanee salmon (land locked sockeye) and rainbow trout on the lake and it was getting dark. Ive been told by friends that the cat was likely so scared I would have been fine. Smelling like salmon and walking out in the dark by head lamp with only a knife and tundra to protect me felt a bit off and I paid attention to my surroundings very closely. Wont stop me from going back though. I love it there. Thanks for sharing your story. Cougars are amazing beautiful creatures. They just scare the chit out of me. I tried to load a panorama of the lake but its to big. Ive been wondering... what does www mean? Im sure it will be obvious when you tell me but I cant seem to figure it out. Thanks
