5/18/18 Fact or Fiction: Are There Still Catamounts in Vermont

[@MrMholla]

Yes! I swear on everything I saw one outside my job in Florence Vermont about three weeks ago.

[@cherylyoung440]

I believe you I saw one in Connecticut but nobody believed me even called me crazy until one was killed on the highway

[@michaelalexander5637]

I graduated from UVM in 1969 and remember RINK at the football games. Beautiful animal. With such a large deer population in VT, two pairs of catamounts /puma let loose in the state could bring them back in a few years. Extinction is not always permanent.

[@kylelandrum8346]

There is most definitely catamounts still left in Vermont, I have seen one multiple times at my old house about 5 years ago looked to be about 6ft long and weighed maybe 200 pounds.

[@richardmorrow5060]

My wife and I live in the Catskills of NYS. The DEC says there are NO mountain lions in our state. But we have seen them on a couple of occasions.

[@deborahliveli6510]

I also live in the Catskill Mountains. I was sitting in my car at work, having dinner. I didn't see anything, however, I heard something roar. I believe it was a mountain lion.

[@marksullivan5885]

I hunted in the Berkshire in the 80 and 90s and have seen lions. Hunted with a club, and several of us have seen them. Wardens told us they were bobcats - not. Several years later, we saw it on the news that they had released several mating pairs in the Catskills back in the 70s and some had moved into the Berkshires. So ya you got them.

[@m8s4lif]

14:27 Mountain lions don't just live in areas with large open areas. The forested areas with plenty deer would make really good habitat for the big cats. By the way, they are very territorial. If the population of mountain lions goes up much in an area, the less dominate cats will either get killed off by the more dominate cats or they will find new areas to live. Because of this, it would nor surprise me at all that there would be some mountain lions in some of these {beautiful} areas.

[@mj1234321]

I've heard of mountain lions, cougars, pumas....don't think I ever heard the word catamount until stumbling across this video!

[@ATFence]

Thanks for the comment, Matthew. Glad we could help expand your vocabulary. ;-)

[@joelamphere1497]

I have seen the same one twice in Brandon VT. Massive muscular chest, looked like a body builder. Just staring at me threw the sliding glass door for like 5 minutes then mossied off. Beautiful huge cat defined muscles and long tail. This was in 2009, and just recently in Sudbury I saw one on Burr pond road. Go cats go

[@Colbyobrien378]

do you have a photo?

[@cherylyoung440]

Kill it!

[@Li_Am_17]

@@Colbyobrien378exactly! No one has photos

[@fishingmaster99]

So what??? A lot of times they are gone by the time you can react. Its so dumb that people always say " wheres the pic??" Not everyone has a phone or camera glued to their hand

[@Raymo2u]

​@@fishingmaster99they provably wouldn't believe it if they see it anyways

[@robbobcat7286]

i have a trail camera picture of a cougar in eastern maine

[@Timber81]

I've seen two cats here in my mountain near Bethel Maine. Both sitings were within 100 feet of me. Both ignored me. I thought at first it was a lost tan domestic dog. But they both were cats. Not huge but the try color and tail were a tip off. Also they had what looked like a scar running down it's head and for head. And it's ears seems damaged or scruntched up? Not sure what it was but the ears keep coming up in memory. Both sitings were in 2014

[@lhaviland8602]

My uncle saw one in East Montpelier about 10 years ago.

[@MrMholla]

No man I know what I saw. They are not extinct. Golden brown like a deer and about the size of a teenage tiger, long curved tail.

[@lalaniathielen8917]

Mountain lion in CT 2021... Also coyotes .. possibly bear.. tons of deer, fox, bobcat.... Mountain lion walks up the street.. and has long tail.. turns and looks at us then saunters off in between the brush or huge trees in between our yards.... It's the sounds of the cat that has 100 confirmed it for us... No doubt

[@paulroarke7895]

My cousin had campsite in Arlington, VT for many years. They were right on the Battenkill River. They're campsite was in the back side of the campground, kind of isolated. They swear that every summer they would see a Catamount 2-3x by their campsite. Almost always very early in the morning. They also would see bobcats, which looked very different, much smaller and different color.

[@BlueHawkenator]

Cougars still exist and breed in Sussex county, Delaware. Our first sighting was most of my family sitting for dinner at my Grandmother's, in front of her bay window. 3 kits were playing on her woodpile. Then my father saw them while mowing late evening, lit up perfectly in his tractor's lights. NO mistaking that tail, and size that close.. Just across the street, on a small dirt road, a neighbor came across one eating a freshly killed White-Tailed Deer. Sketchy situation. Nearby a LOT of the woods nearby has pushed a majority of the deer there to our woods. I'm going to try my predator call, and hope to get footage. Someone also found Department of Resources (DENREC here) where they supposedly brought in western cougars to help with the continual overpopulation of our White-Tailed Deer.

[@carolmartin2503]

Thank you, Mr. Kessler ! We know they're around. Not only saw one that had just been shot, but know several neighbors and friends, most very reliable, who have also seen them. We are not far from the Vermont boarder (Green County NY) and I wonder how many will have to be seen and recorded before it's accepted by the Dept. of Conservation?

[@kellythomas5392]

Hello Carol how are you doing today.

[@MrAM4D3U5]

Why would anyone shoot one?

[@dewaynejay1032]

Because you don't see them in the wild don't mean these animals doesn't exist.

[@Lelelelelelebro]

I saw one by saxtons river I just assumed it was a mountain lion as I am from Colorado and never heard of catamounts. I saw it about two months ago

[@mattgraham296]

Catamounts are mountain lions. They are also called pumas, cougars and panthers. I just found out, my mind is blown

[@mattgraham296]

@Sims 3 Forever Dude dude, no way you have a Dalmatian. I had a Dalmatian for 10 years until she sadly passed away in May. Great dog, ran like a cheetah. She was a beautiful animal.

[@Colbyobrien378]

do you have a photo?

[@tonyprice2256]

@@Colbyobrien378 Many people without cameras have seen them apparently.

[@alansenecal5548]

Over the past 20 years I have seen a mountain lion in southern Vermont at least three (3) times.On one occasion it was a stare down. I definitely wish I'd had a camera or at least a smart phone.

[@maryhanley-phillips517]

I saw a large cat 3am in southern vt on my way to island pond from my home in norwood ma 1998

[@kellythomas5392]

Hello Mary how are you doing today.

[@maryhanley-phillips517]

@@kellythomas5392 hey!

[@kellythomas5392]

@@maryhanley-phillips517 Am from Arizona Tucson, where are you from?

[@maryhanley-phillips517]

@@kellythomas5392 essex vermomt

[@kellythomas5392]

@@maryhanley-phillips517 Am from Columbus Ohio Lake,where are you from?

[@shinetotalwellness]

My family lived in Hinesburg, VT from about 2000-2012. My parents saw one on our 4-acre property twice within the same week. The first time my mom saw it outside walking through a field below our yard, and the second time my father saw it walking the same path and called my mom to come watch and they both watched it together for a few minutes before it walked into the woods. I lived in CA after college and didn't think it could be possible, so I grilled them. They described it as tan colored, about the size of a German Shepherd, but very much feline in the way it walked. They both mentioned the long tail that reached the ground and curled up, and the black tip on the end. We'd already seen plenty of bobcats, Black bears, foxes, and coyotes many times in VT. The weird thing is growing up my mom used to take us to a zoo at least once a month and we'd spend 10+ minutes each time watching the mountain lion pace in it's enclosure (so awful to think of now but I was a kid and they were my favorite). So my mom was very familiar with what they look like. My mom called VT Fish & Game and they came to try to find tracks/scat but didn't turn up anything, however they told her that their official stance is that they're not here because they would need to put their entire budget into conserving mountain lions if they were "officially" back.

[@ATFence]

What a great story!

[@fishingmaster99]

Probably true i lived here my 43 yrs and its more about government controling it being Extinct and not uaing man power to prove its here over a very small population.

[@bradwhitham4115]

Lived about 8 miles away Southeast from Hinesburg for several years around the time you mention. Never saw the cougar myself but the tracks in newly fallen inch or two of snow. I have size 12 feet. In a hiking boot they leave a good-sized print. The roundish (definitely feline) footprints were easily half the size of my boot print or more and the gate was approximately three- four feet at a walk. The hind feet all stepped into the depressions left by the front feet. This was no Bobcat, Lynx, Dog, Bear or anything else. It was a Cougar.

[@scotsmanofnewengland7713]

While visiting a friend in Northern Vermont late one night with the windows open I heard a howl and I knew that wasn’t no coyote but a wolf. I told a local about it and he said “ there’s all kind of critters out there “ which wonder

[@magetaaaaaa]

Have you guys seen a catamount? I bet there are some people out there who have seen it in recent times.

[@duckaroo8497]

I haven’t yet

[@aarongrabowski5620]

Seen one in tolland massachusettes

[@aarongrabowski5620]

They are not extinct!!!

[@vincentrobinson9325]

Why do they always downplay the fact that they do exist in the whole Northeast area ? you make a statement like you know it to be pure fact when it's purely false !

[@LaurenceDay-d2p]

With abundant forests and huge numbers of deer, New England is the ideal environment for pumas. They are probably rare, but still there.

[@carolmartin2503]

Some 'authorities' continue to claim there are NONE [ in NY or Vermont ] and I DID see one that had just been shot by a farmer / neighbor in Green county NY. It was still warm and soft and beautiful. Authorities are lying when they claim there are none here in the east. HOW would they know - UNLESS they could be in every cave, tree, bush, and behind every rock, brush, barn and house ..... AND all at the same time. hmmm!

[@iSPELLinAMERICAN]

I came here because I literally just saw one in fair haven.

[@Trumplican]

7:39 your car is right in the video behind him! you're telling me you got 100 yards from your car and found a cougar track? doubtful.

[@ATFence]

Good eye! I never noticed how close we parked to the brook where we found the track.

[@Trumplican]

@@ATFence it just seems unlikely but i guess if he already knew it was there i can see why you would have drove that close. The guy surely seems to be a very experienced tracker.

[@loyddussaultsr4181]

If they want to see big cats again perhaps Vermont could capture mountain lions out west and release them in Vermont.

[@Sunshinexoxo4795]

What's the problem with seeing them? Besides we are in their habitat. We got construction trucks, built homes, businesses on their habitat. So what's the big issue? Thank you professor for agreeing you wouldn't mind they were here their part of nature.

[@olentangyriver1191]

People see them in Pennsylvania

[@yxngbt387]

This is a true statement, I caught a mountain lion on my trail cam In the pocono mountains it was 3 years ago and I only spotted it once

[@jacksonmarriner8506]

do you still have the picture/video?

[@yxngbt387]

@@jacksonmarriner8506 yeah I should still have it in my files

[@jacksonmarriner8506]

@@yxngbt387 id love to see it

[@yxngbt387]

@@jacksonmarriner8506 have a social?

[@yxngbt387]

@@jacksonmarriner8506 got a bobcat on camera today as well actually too lol

[@michaelanderson3096]

Mountain lions are in the Province of Ontario 😮.

[@curtyct5389]

There all over New England A couple years back there was aa horse Attacked In Western mass (Worcester county) The predator left behind some Fur and blood is which what Tested by multiple labs and confirmed to be mountain lion The Is Massachusetts fishing wildlife also Have confirmed scat samples trail camera photos and tracks Photo In the snow they took In the last 20 years and Even crazier than that 1 was hit by a car on the merit Parkway in Southern Connecticut 🙀🐾 (obviously comuting to NYC)🐾🙀

[@nicksilvestro6307]

I believe they very well may be there but I have one question why don't you put dogs on the tracks and tree him and prove it

[@carolmartin2503]

THAT IS AN IDEA ~ But there are so many deer, raccoons & woodchucks for them - and few cows & sheep to feed from = that they're NOT causing any environmental problem / so no one really cares !

[@S.T.Rugglin]

Ever since I read “Where the Red Fern Grows,” I don’t think any animal has brought about such a real fear in me as the Mountain Lion… For some reason other animals are just a thought or a theory in my head, but just thinking about a mountain lion and how powerful and silent they are… Yikes.

[@eilenekellogg7017]

Catamounts/cougar/mountain lion, goes by many names.

[@kellythomas5392]

Hello Eilene how are you doing today.

[@YoungShoLive]

It’s like Bigfoot at this point

[@cdc3]

Catamount - Puma - Mountain Lion -Cougar. Same beasty. They range all over the Western Hemisphere. Why would it surprise anyone if one showed up in Vermont? They are beautiful animals and actually can be quite compatible with humans. Had the chance to pet a fully armed 140 lb. male years ago and would love to have one as a friend. Problem is, like owning a Pit Bull, you have to understand what it's capable of doing, not what you think it will do. It can kill people...

[@thomasmartin4281]

Yeah that’s what I think is happening, there have been occasional mountain lions wandering east from western areas. One was hit by a car in Connecticut a while back. Unlikely there’s a breeding population yet and the Eastern catamount has to be extinct by now, but with other animals returning there could be someday.

[@catherinegrace6406]

Game Commision knows they are there.. They put them there just like they did here in Pennsylvania. They deny it ,, but a farmer had video proof of the cougar.. Others have witnessed it and 2 black panthers..

[@magetaaaaaa]

Lol, do they just pull up in the truck and let the animal out the back and drive off?

[@catherinegrace6406]

@@magetaaaaaa oh your just so funny..NOT…

[@magetaaaaaa]

@@catherinegrace6406 I wasn't trying to make a joke, I was wondering how they go about putting these things out in desired areas?

[@kellythomas5392]

Hello Catherine how are you doing today.

[@catherinegrace6406]

@@kellythomas5392 I’m in the hospital right now.. How are you.?

[@scottmarion2547]

If these two people saw a Catamount they wouldn't be so authortatively dismissive of all those who have. 1 degree of separation shows that sightings are not so rare in time ...If you followed the lead you'd speak with someone directly. I saw a Catamount in Warren Vermont in 1984 walking down our stone wall. I remember Its shoulder blades moving up and down like pistons. My 3 cats were completely freaked out and ran into the house. Years later I went to UVM and read a book called North Woods and it makes reference to a sighting that took place in Waitsfield, just 4 miles from Warren, also in 1984. I have friends in Charlotte Vermont who also see them on a regular basis. They live in a marshland area. I wonder how Environmental policies would change in Vermont if catamounts were recognized...and this may explain why they are not. Developments, pipelines, windmills, forestry practices etc...Just an idea.

[@carolmartin2503]

Same in the NY mountains ! Officials shy away from it = but they're here !

[@rosscronkhite9722]

iF YOU HAVE A THICK FOREST THEY WILL BE THERE.

[@vincentrobinson9325]

Fish game and wildlife have no clue what they're suggesting in this video they are making a strong comeback in the Northeast many many witnesses to their existence even my buddy seen one in dutchess county New York

[@brianmartin3084]

I hear experts say "they're just passing through". If they came from the west, and they're passing through, where are they going?

[@sarban1653]

Just aimlessly wandering for food.

[@fishingmaster99]

They are ABSOLUTLEY still here! Too many people have seen them and recently. Not everyone is dumb and misidentifies cats. We are full of hunters qho know what they look like. The government always denies everything they cant control

[@rogermorrill1563]

they are I have proof and fish and game was useless in any help! they wanted me to track this female ..ME.. and said that there here but they don't live here and just pass through . what B.S