Connecticut Cougars

[Anonymous Professor]

Just had a mountain lion cross my path in Sleeping Giant State Park while on a trail run. Just moved here from Colorado and know what a mountain lion looks like. This one was about 4 feet long and tan. Seems like we both scared each other..

[Brookfield Cougar Witness]

Michelle Brookfield wrote:

My son was riding his motorcycle and saw a cat run in front of him and then 50 feet away was a huge cat that growled at him. It was about 100 or more pounds. I said or you sure it wasn't a bobcat. We showed him pictures on the interent and he said I know what a mountain lion looks like with the paws and long tail. It was a mountain lion no doubt. We called and reported it.

I saw one the other day while driving my son home from Shoprite in Brookfield, it was right near the Jewish cemetery and was walking across the road. It turned and looked at our car (was about 20 feet in front of us) and then jumped over the guardrail into the thicket. I was quite amazed.

[Reality Check]

I have spoken with retired police officers, MDC officers, and farmers. We have mountain lion. This retired police officer sounded credible, he was called to an animal hit, discovered it was a mountain lion got on the horn to DEP. They came took it away. Apparently, no report was filed. According to this officer, DEP introduced some lion years ago in NW CT to handle the deer population because hunters alone were not successful. I tend to believe this, as the amount of open space by the Barkhamsted Reservoir and surrounding areas, is enough to support a population of these cats. Remember when bear and moose sightings were considered mistaken identity?

[Dr Ruth]

Depending upon the outcome of the upcoming prostrate surgery, Judith Clegg Dodd may soon be entering the ranks of the CT Cougars.

[Reality Check]

Dr Ruth wrote:

Depending upon the outcome of the upcoming prostrate surgery, Judith Clegg Dodd may soon be entering the ranks of the CT Cougars.

She will be single for a long long time....

[Dr Ruth]

Reality Check wrote:

<quoted text>
She will be single for a long long time....

That may be true, but the ravenous hunger will be there. But look at the upside, perhaps the good senator will return the cases of free viagra samples to Pfizer for redistribution before their effective dates expire. Never too late to turn your life around and build a positive legacy.

[Lloyd]

Hello!
My family and I were driving north along Interstate 95 in Connecticut. Just before exit 69 my daughter saw a dead carcus ahead. Its head and face looked like a mountain lion. I was shocked to see one in the north east. We live in New Jersey and were heading to Cape Cod for a vacation. The location was just south of Rocky Neck State Park.
If you find out any new information from the State Police or highway workers in this area, please let me know.
Thanks
Lloyd

[jennifer]

I agree with the thought that they don't want to identify these animals for the direct reason that they would have to protect them. We have so many wetlands areas and other such protected sanctuaries that the state and towns would have to hire a lot more people and tax dollars would go to following these animals that roam freely across town lines. Each town would have to hire more wardens or a warden if they didn't have one already. That would add up and for the simple siting case of one or two. When they become more populated within the states they will then be forced to deal with the situation. I too saw a large gray wolf in my yard several times and they say it is a coyote. I told them it was much larger than that and they said we haven't had a wolf in CT since the mid 1700's but then they admitted it could be a wolf/coyote hybrid and left it at that. Who ever thought we would have moose so far south but now they have approx 120 moose tagged in CT now. Nothing surprises me anymore. They are free to roam anywhere.

[Mary]

10/27/09 this morning at 9.30 am I saw a couger\mountain lion crossing Rt83 on the border of Somers CT and the East Longmeadow line. I am still in awe about it .I see plenty of wild life .
The way it ran was a site to see.