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[Canton Resident]

There is no doubt in my mind I had a mountain lion on my ridge at the Canton and Simsbury town line a few years ago. It was more afraid of me than I was of it. When it turned and walk away it had a long sweeping tail with a dark tip. Mountain lions are long, lean, sleek animals with long sweeping tails. The bobcat is named for its tail, which appears to be cut or "bobbed", their face is whiskered, and they have tufted ears. I've seen bobcats, coyotes and foxes up close. The difference is obvious.

[Bob Y]

I came to this site in search of information or sitings on bobcats, as one just walked across my lawn in West Hartford on Avon Mountain (March 2009). He was moving slowly, so we had a good look at him and for certain, it was a bobcat. As far as mountain lions go, I too believed they do not range as far as CT, but I saw one climbing an embankment while on rt 291 in South Windsor heading west. Nothing climbs the way a large cat does and today's siting of the bobcat just further convinces me that what I saw recently on the highway was in fact a mountain loin.

[Jungle Jim]

Anne Cox wrote:

I just got back from the store. At 6:oo pm, still light, I braked as a large tan "bobcat" loped across the road. But waight, it had a long tail, with a black tip, that wasn't a hugh bob cat. I had no idea what it could be. When I discribed it to my husband he suggested a mountain lion. I didn't think we had them in Ct., but when I pulled up a photo, it is exactly what I saw, right here on Loomis St. in North Granby! Bears, Bob Cats, Fisher Cats, Cyotoes and now a Mountain Lion, happy for the wild life, a bit nervous for my kids and dogs. Hikes will require more caution and awareness!

I carry pepper spray (two sizes) when I walk in the North Granby woods. Now you know why people never find their lost dogs or cats. Free lunch!

[nck]

FrankNWCT wrote:

A few years ago, they wouldn’t even confirm it but so many people have seen them now. I’m surprised that there hasn’t been uproar from the paranoid city folk.
I have friends in VT and every year there are stories of wolves moving further and further south. I've heard the sound of a pack of coyotes taking down a deer in my own back yard in Norfolk, and I know what the aftermath looks like. Being an avid hiker the thought of having wolves in the region does not make me feel comfortable. Granted they are timid with humans, but so where the bears a few years ago.

I wouldn't be so sure of predetors being "timid" of humans any longer. They once had a REASON to fear us, but that reason has LONG passed. In fact, we HAVE to be about the easiest "calories in, calories out" creature in North America.

[fenster]

Irving wrote:

Last week, I was near Holcomb Farm and saw a large creature roaming the fields. It had black and white markings all over its body and a strange apparatus hanging from the underside of its body. I can identify most animals (bob cats, mountain lions) but this one really stumpted me.
Have any of you seen this creature?

i think you saw the elusive, ferocious "cud chewer". they are known to congregate near wire fences, so, be careful. these frightening animals also produce copious amount of methane gas, they musr be aliens.

[Ezra]

I thought I was going nuts! I was driving in Simsbury around 5:30 last evening on one of the side streets that bisect Bushy hill which is framed by woods, and a I swear a small mountain lion ran across the road in front of me! I almost didn't believe, rationalizing what animals it could possibly have been ... But lo and behold.
What an unlikely and incredible animal to have seen!

[Alex]

On Sunday, July 27, 2010 I was driving with my wife and family over the ridge of Mountain Road in West Simsbury, CT and a large mountain lion that weighed at least 125 pounds crossed the road about 50 feet in front of our car. It was very powerfully built and has large shoulder muscles. It was the size of a very large dog. I have seen many bobcats before and this cat was massive compared to a bobcat.

[Ex-Granby Resident]

FrankNWCT wrote:

That’s right by golly! Don't worry a Fisher Cat wont kill you. Believe me if your walking in the woods it'll be gone before you see it, the same can be said for the Mountain Lions. What you should be scared of is Moose. The cats are after small game, mostly rodents. A Moose weighs 1200 lbs, I almost hit one in Norfolk late one night it was much bigger than my truck. I have also heard stories of people getting seriously injured and killed by them especially while their rutting. On another note, a friend of mine spotted a Bassalope last week in Colebrook.

Not true about Fisher cats. While hunting in N. Granby years ago, had a Fisher Cat follow/stalk us through the trees for over 30 min. Never came down to the ground, just stayed in the trees following us.

[Davis]

I saw a Mountain Lion crossing the road in Simsbury,Ct- on its way to the dump! I nearly ran off the road! It happened a couple of years ago and I wasn't sure what I had sesen at first because it was NOT a Bobcat, a Coyote, Fisher cat, or deer or fox or horse. It was the size of a shetland pony and was so agile- it was beautiful - a buff color and very fast moving. I will never forget that beautiful buff color!