So I don't understand really how how this this idea came to be but it is the main reason why folks believe that fishing game is is covering up the fact that there are mountain lions in the state again with no evidence. Let us know your story and share your photos. And you know it's rather interesting because certainly there are those you as a case of mistaken identity or they wanted to see something that perhaps they actually didn't. We're going to talk a little bit more about habitat first but then we'll get into sightings. The engineers Dan Colgan our senior producer is Allan Grimm. 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. We'll be right back. Tim Yeah. Have it reported down in the Keene area. "Of those three to five reports,. Windham Life and Times - November 15, 2019 And I I have this great text history of New Hampshire game and fir bears and I think by Helen Silver who used to work for fish and game and she sort of I kind eyes this animal in one of the quotes from 1892 stating that the catamaran was the most ferocious of all the wild beasts of New Hampshire his great size strength and agility of movement together with his formidable weapons rendered him the terror both of man and beast. And it's not really strong. We'll push great photos to the front page. The Lions of New Hampshire: MD44 Links. 19 I mean no doubt a seen Bobcat seen his stuff. So there is definitely no downward pressure by anyone. And then just up behind it you know at about 11 o'clock on one side and whatever that would be on the other side it's black. Residents believe cougars still roam New Hampshire's forests Thanks very much. 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. In fact, Pat Tate concedes that hes been told of sightings from folks that he considers to be very credible, very woods savvypeople who know what a bobcat looks likebut those folks have never snapped a good photo or found a good track. Patrick Tate: So one thing I'd say is DNA would definitely identify an animal animal's Mark line or not. Patrick Tate: If I could just say one thing. Residents believe cougars still roam New Hampshire's forests - AP NEWS Peter Biello: Well Mike thanks very much for sharing your story. Peter Biello: We at this e-mailed comment from Michael. www.wildlife.state.nh.us, Buy or Renew Your Saltwater Fishing License, Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. So I certainly can't dispute anything that they said there's no evidence for me to go by to verify or say what my thoughts are on the situation. 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. Caller: I got home to my wife that a gene that you should have seen the cat. Updated: 9:53 AM EST Dec 6, 2016. I noticed it had a really big sweeping tail that kind of curled up behind it and all but still at that point because everyone says there's no mountain lions here. Peter Biello: So let's say Rick that it was confirmed that there that there are mountain lines here in New Hampshire. And those are not the same things. 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. Patrick Tate: Yeah yeah. You need you need either a really good photograph or you need you know fresh scat that can be sent to a lab out West that can they can be identified there. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. They absolutely do. Like why would you want one wildlife. John thanks. Peter Biello: Mm hmm. So you want identifiable backgrounds. Mountain Lions are a mythical creature in New Hampshire with strong feelings on both sides of the question: are there Mountain Lions in New Hampshire? So I hate the idea that there's some sort of upward you know downward pressure from the bosses saying Don't you know don't tell about the mountain lions because it'll scare away the tourists. Well within there. Rick van de Poll: 80 90. Peter Biello: Sam I wanted to ask you a little bit about that first and then turn to Patrick Tate efficient game. Thank you for visiting the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department website. The big cat has been extinct at least the eastern mountain lion has been extinct here since the mid 80s hundreds. But having read a bit of information about his cougar there are a darker subspecies. Pat ruse and he was sampling doing DNA samples from cats in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Well let's talk a little bit about that. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference. And I think a lot of folks would like them to be around. For over 38 years the Saddleback Mountain Lions have offered people a chance to give back to their community. Caller: And then there's the Lily Pond Road and then there's a six foot tall fence. Our guests today Patrick Tate New Hampshire Fish and Game Wildlife biologist Sam Evans Brown host of an HP podcast outside in. Gap Mountain Lions Club If it's just in the middle of a greenfield you can't prove anything. And those and that's how you can go from a story that Pat says I have nothing to say about that to a story that you know could be the first verified sighting in over 100 years. So I've been convinced the whole time that I saw a big cougar plume or whatever you want to call it standing there in the road in Greenfield. Peter Biello: What about the idea of tourism like us leaving aside the fact that it is not on the Endangered Species Act is it. There'd be there'd be all sorts of you know basically a lot of hassle required if that were to happen. Every other Friday on Morning Edition NHPRs Sam Evans-Brown tracks down answers to questions about the environment and outdoors for our listeners in a segment we call Ask Sam.. Can you tell us about that story. Patrick Tate: I would say well when social media first started they picked up the hoaxes became much more prevalent in the last four or five years hoaxes have died down completely. Sam Evans Brown. and territorial animals are much more inclined to create a problem with passer bys than dispersing animals in fact I'd be totally shocked if a dispersal would encounter with a human purposefully unless they had already had some type of training to do so. I'm Peter B yellow. M from Tree Hill author series presenting Diane lay back. Second when I when they did forward it from Wyoming to to Michigan you know this was coming right from sample 18 and 19 had no remarkable differences from known mountain lions from Michigan or Wyoming. Theyve always said when we have verifiable evidence to say a mountain lion has been, is, or was in the state that wed acknowledge that and give that information out, says Pat Tate, the furbearer biologist with New Hampshire Fish and Game, who insists theres no conspiracy. Sam Evans-Brown: One in fact Helena silver in that sort of tome that Rick van de Poll read from at the beginning is she. But no proof was offered. But if you do if you think you're looking at a wild Puma their tail is very thick and especially in the winter is very thick and ponderous looking. HOLDERNESS, N.H. (AP) Two of the known mountain lions in New Hampshire have spent their 15 years in close proximity to humans. 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. 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! Mountain Lions in NH - Facebook Yeah 13 to 15 years ago 13 to 15 years ago. Here she is talking about how to identify a mountain lion. The views expressed in this program are those of the individuals and not those of an HP are its board of trustees or its underwriters. Sam Evans-Brown: Well this might be a good moment to talk about hoaxes. So what I'm getting back is the verifying and confirming of evidence what that was not there. There's a lot of photographs that you can see that it's very clearly a tabby cat that someone has thought was a mountain lion. Mountain Lions in New England: Sightings, Science & Bobcat vs Mountain Lion I really really enjoyed listening to this program so thank you all very much. And so. The DNA the DNA that they were able to pull from the cat suggested that it was a dispersed mountain lion that came. By, March 2023 Fund Drive Rules and Regulations, Persons with disabilities who need assistance accessing NHPR's FCC public files, please contact us at publicfile@nhpr.org. New Hampshire Public Radio | Which which I think Pat and I have both experienced. Peter Biello: Rick I believe you did mention that that they do leave carcasses up in the tree from time to time but are there any other species known in New Hampshire to do this on a regular basis. The big cat has been extinct here since the mid-1800s. I saw that had this giant the bobcat had this giant sweeping which is John Bobcat don't have big sweeping tails. NHPR is nonprofit and independent. Anyways after three weeks I finally found the image on line on a field and stream photo contest and the explanation in the end was the person that set the camera out with another individual and they believed that someone who knew of the camera location saw the similarities put the can't picture on their SD card so it looked like that camera recorded the image that is. It's completely possible that it may have spent time in New Hampshire and went undetected but had it stayed in the area ultimately it would have been detected over time. OK. Think you've seen a mountain lion? Listeners give us a call if you'd like. Caller: Hi. Yes. Somewhere the way they travel the things they do they're going to leave evidence. And so so with their limited staff and limited budget that is that is more and more limited every year because you know fewer people are buying hunting and fishing licenses. So I think in that story there's there's something for the believers and the nonbelievers and I and you know Mark L. Brock is who is a gentleman with the cougar Network told me this story is evidence that that if they were here we would know about it. But the state always denies it, and none of us know why they deny it. So you know until I found those two scats I didn't think that mountain lions were here in the east. So let's let's go to the phones. But I was riding a mountain bike not far from my house. Caller: Hey guys how you doing. So it's six months of a large large predatory animal that moves great distances on the landscape that is not known if it went northeast west Salt and how many circles it did. Don't miss your chance to win three two thousand dollar gas gift cards at any station of your choice not to mention the grand prize twenty five thousand dollars toward a new car. Which brings us to the next question, what are the odds that some of these reported sightings (which, when I posted about this on twitter, I immediately started to get as well) are actually people seeing a mountain lion? Peter Biello: We got an e-mail question from Robert in Epsom who asks are sightings or encounters with these big cats less dangerous here where they're passing through than out west where those same mountain lines might be establishing territory Rick. This is not the same as saying that there has never been a mountain lion seen in New Hampshire. Is that typically what was happening there. Course like Sue said you have to see it and it's not always that visible. 50 feet above the most. All of that remains unanswered but it is an extremely interesting question. They used to roam the entire continent, but have become extinct in most US states. Author of The last woman in the forest on Saturday July 13th at 7 p.m. at Warner town hall Warner historical dawg. I actually been interviewed a couple of times by reporters and with all due respect for the media you know facts aren't always communicated correctly. I've collected scat samples I've got several in my collection. List of Mountains in New Hampshire is a general list of mountains in New Hampshire, with elevation.This list includes many mountains in the White Mountains range that covers about a quarter of the state, as well as mountains outside of that range.. We live around Cold Springs Campground and it was undeniably a mountain lion. It's not a skinny rope like tail like a housecat. Residents believe cougars still roam New Hampshire's forests. A lot of times. Peter Biello: So Patrick today Fish and Game no downward pressure on you to deny the existence at all costs of mountain lions here in New Hampshire. So so in 2011 a mountain lion was killed in a car accident in Connecticut a car hit a mountain lion and killed it. So what those ranges. So so. 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. 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. I mean there was this one lady I remember and tough tomorrow. If you go on YouTube and search mount lion Pat you can see people patent their hundred pound kiddie like its regular mascot cat. Not one picture of him online while the person meet with us. Give today. Peter Biello: Mm hmm. Patrick Tate: So it's interesting it's brought up. Pat do they typically just move around a lot. 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. You know perhaps poke around where you saw it and see if you can find a track. 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. Patrick Tate: Okay. And I was probably about a half a mile from downtown all village on the right. It's bigger but bigger and better world. And they asked me about the tail which I just did not remember that tail out of that whole experience. Can you look into this picture. Since 1917, Lions clubs have offered people the opportunity to give something back to their communities. Can we go to the site. It doesn't make much sense because you know mountain lions are as we as we said before. And maybe it's a no holds barred nostalgia for a better world a wild or Fuller world not a world that's constrained by our boundaries and our taxes and our highways. So. He says when youve got a mountain lion in town, its kinda obvious. How to Report a Possible Mountain Lion Sighting. My wife and I saw a mountain lion. DNA from scat or from fur, a clear track that is confirmed by an expert, or a photo that clearly shows a mountain lion. But along the lines of the conspiracy theories as you mentioned earlier there there was a bit of a sense on behalf of what I'll call the promo online community who felt that fishing gain maybe not even so much in a spoken policy but maybe sort of an unspoken policy did not want to find themselves in a situation where they had to spend money to create a management plan and so forth. So when we talk about the threshold of evidence required to say for sure you have seen a mountain lion it is rather high. Residents believe cougars still roam New Hampshire's forests - AP NEWS Rick van de Poll: Rick your thoughts. Today on the exchange we discuss what residents may have been seeing and what breeding mountain lion pairs would mean for our ecosystem. Yet this young male traveled about 1,800 miles. 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. Lions Clubs Int'l Links: LionNet NH Links 2011 -2012 . I just stood there just a second and I came to a complete stop and then I ran away. We'd love to have you in the queue. 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. Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. Rick van de Poll: Well the mountain lion of course has been sort of an enigma in the wildlife suite for years and years. Peter Biello: Wow. And the cougar embodies that. They're very loyal to what the handler which makes them very dangerous to everyone else. 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. 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.. There are mountain lion in Massachusetts. Are there Mountain Lions in NH? I'm Peter Biello in for Laura NOI. Erler is a senior naturalist at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness. People have asked me about the genetics of eastern mountain lion. But my experience was that the majority of these accounts could not be taken lightly. Right. Do we have native species that could have exhibited this type of behavior leaving leaving a deer carcass up in a tree. Really appreciate it. As wildlife biologists, wed be fascinated to say 'look look what was found in our state.'. Known to exist in the state for over well over a hundred years. Gotcha, so the Deep State is suppressing mountain lion news in order to prop up New Hampshire tourism? I live pretty much on the town line of Greenfield just a couple of miles down in the Greenfield. So they're not afraid of humans and they'll show up like a regular housecat. 1957. Sandy Hodskins, owner of West Meadow Farm in Bradford, New Hampshire, took time from shoveling Wednesday to enjoy the snow with her horse, West Wind. 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. Thanks also to Rick van de Poll naturalist and founder of ecosystem management consultants of New England and Sam Evans Brown host of an HP podcast outside in about the natural world and how we use it. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com. They reported seeing the big tail and everything everything. The species that once inhabited the Northeast, known as the eastern mountain lion, is now extinct. And when provoked no animal could stand before him elegantly put. HOLDERNESS, N.H. (AP) Two of the known mountain lions in New Hampshire have spent their 15 years in close proximity to humans. I didn't see him online. So before we get to the the the the stories of sightings we're getting a lot of calls. Enable JavaScript by changing your browser options, and then try again. 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. NH Wildlife News and Info | NH Wildlife We're gonna talk about sightings in this part of the program as well we'd love to hear your story. When they were landing or taking off and it seems like it's been there for like. I have no doubt that there are mountain lion roaming New Hampshire. 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. Some are included in lists of mountains, such as the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) list of the Hundred Highest peaks of New England, or the . Mike Guyton pressure was almost Greyhound like very muscular large back legs on it and the coloration on it was almost an orange brownish orange color and so I stop and I look at this thing in the field and as the animal looks at me the face was very chiseled definitely not a bobcat. No evidence and other states where Mountain lights have turned up. Monday, December 5th: Mountain Lions in New Hampshire? Part I What do you think that. NH Fish and Game Wildlife Biologist Patrick Tate reports that so far, mountain lion reports accompanied byphotographs have been misidentified bobcats or housecats, or pictures of mountain lions taken from the Internet and reported as being recorded in New Hampshire. And why would they what. If you missed part of today's program listen to the exchange.