Cougar, Catamount, Puma, Panther, Mountain Lion? In Maine?
By NETrailhead • Mar 13th, 2007 • Category: Maine, Wildlife | 6,186 viewsThe Portland Press Herald had an article about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seriously examining the the status of the Eastern Mountain Lion. I guess they are officially examining whether it should stay on the endangered species list. But, it has brought the number and frequency of reported sightings to our attention.
Read more of the Portland Press Herald on Mountain Lions in Maine.
NETrailhead is your guide to Northern New England outdoors.
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There is NO doubt of native, free-roaming cougars are surviving in Maine’s wilderness today, as they did 150 years ago.
For the last 30 years, we’re had several hunters, trappers & a few now retired Maine wildlife officers send us pictures of the big cats tracks & a few photographs of the cougars or mountain lions themselves, that Maine & USF&WS Officials do NOT want the average person to see.
IWe would like to hear from anyone who knows of or has information on big cat sightings across northern New England since the early 1900s…….as registering such data can help in proving a continued presence of cougars since the days of the early pioneers 150 years ago.
Send your information to us at epuma@hardynet.com or Eastern Puma Research Network, HC 30 Box 2233, Maysville, WV 26833.
Our data has been shown on the History Channel MonsterQuest Series, Animal Planet & all 4 commercial TV Networks.
Thank you
I saw a mountain lion run past my window towards the Piscataquis River in Abbot, Maine, in 1999. I know two other people living within a mile of me who have also seen a mountain lion – we are all in law enforcement. Many of the local men who sit around and drink coffee at the corner store claim to have seen mountain lions in that area.
My parents, not exaggerators, sighted a cougar in our lower fields in rural Southeastern Vermont about 15 years ago. The cat strolled out from the forest, and stretched out on a rock crop, lying there for about 5 minutes in the sun. My father, usually an avid photographer, was so stunned by the occasion that he failed to capture a photograph. Both of my parents saw the cat, and both swear it was enormous, with at least a 4 foot tail. I’m sure they would be willing to corroborate this story.
This evening, May 5, 2009, just north of Poultney VT on Route 30, I saw a catamount / mountain lion about 5:30 pm. Others saw it too as the immediate traffic slowed to see it. It was only about 15 ft away from me on the side of the road and appeared it may have been in some distress. Unfortunatley I did not have my camera/cell phone with me. At first I thought it might be a fox, but the coloring was different and it had a much heavier build. The head was definitely catlike or a female lion. The ears were rounded and not pointed, cub-like. It was amazing to realize what it was and I so wished I had a camera as it was so very close. Hopefully someone was able to photograph it or better document the sighting. A couple of years ago I saw one at a distance in a field Middletown Springs and it was larger. I thought it was a mirage,but I later heard of others sighting it too. I believe the animal I saw today was a younger animal because of its size. It was pretty amazing to see.
A few years ago my parents saw a catamount in an elderly neighbors yard while they were mowing her lawn. The catamount was completely unafraid of humans and actually walked toward the mower. The catamount returned to this persons yard on several occasions to swim in a small pond/mud puddle. It also approached the elderly neighbor on several occasions when she walked outside. Animal control wouldn’t even look into the matter unless she was able to obtain a picture. She called us on several occasions to come over to try to take a picture for her but we got there too late each time. She was afraid to leave the house to get a picture as it was completely unintimidated by humans. This was about 5 years ago in Bennington County VT. Two summers ago we heard a horrific animal call that sounded very similar to a catamount mating call (we listened to clips of those online).
Near the White Mouintain National Forest at the Chatham, NH, Stow, ME border on Rte. 113 approx 7:30 pm 8/8/09
I sited a large cat like creature. Definetly larger than my 95 # Golden Retriever,longer, and very muscular around the neck and shoulders. This animal was beige to yellow in color and had a darker line or stripe down the ridge of his backbone. Ears were not tufted, but rounded. I cannot be sure about the tail length. It seemed to be tucked between his rear legs when I got close enough to see. He was traveling on the opposite side of the road away from me as I was driving my car. When I first saw it, it was running. As I got closer, it stopped briefly turned it’s clearly large, cat-like head slightly in my direction and then lept over a ditch and was gone. I’ve hiked the Maine and NH woods and mountains all my life, but this is my first siting of anything like this. I had just spent the day hiking in the Evans Notch region, alone in the woods all day. This siting was a gift, as I believe all wildlife sitings are, but this one has truly left me wondering exactly what I saw.
My wife came home after having to stop the car, in the middle of the afternoon for a large cat, low slung, with fur so black that it was almost iradesent, slowly crossing the road, green to bronze eyes,and a very long stride, my wife estimates that it was about 24 inches at the sholders
As I was traveling on route 111 east to spend the weekend at my northesat kingdom camp in Vermont and before reaching Seymour lake in Morgan on August 22, 2009, I noticed a fawn deer only eight feet from the roadside. As I slowed down a bit I noticed somthing moving at a slow prance about seventy yards behind the fawn in a grassy farm field that was light brown in color. Initailly, I assumed it to be the mother doe. After getting a few second longer look as I continued to drive past the sight, I was completely taken off guard before I realized that this was no deer at all but a very large cat-like animal. I have 20/20 far sight vision and I am an experienced deer hunter of forty years and have seen several bobcats, fisher cats and one linx. What caught my attention was the color was a lighter brown, more of a tan and the head was boxy shape with a short muzzle that had partly white markings. After breifly being in a state of shock, my curiosity made me turn around to get a better look and hopefully get a picture with my digital camera that is always ready to go in my truck. At this moment in my mind, I was thinking that this was defineltely a mountain lion. As I approached the site again there was another car that had already pulled off to the side. As I continued to park my truck behind it, a women imediately jumped out of her car and with extreme excitment asked me if I saw that large catamount and then asked if Vermont has catamounts. Right then and there, she confirmed what I thought it to be. Apparently, she witnessed the cat stalking the fawn for a few seconds until it started running after the fawn in trying to cutt it off before both went out of view. I told her that poor fawn is probably not around anymore. Boy was that a large cat!! It had be seven feet long well over 100 and maybe closer to 200 pounds. My nephew, two years ago killed a 175 pound male mountain lion in Arizona on a paid hunt. They made a full mount out it and the cat that I saw I beleive was all of that size.
Three weeks ago my mother and I were getting back from picking apples. She lives in Rutland Town in Vermont. Upon pulling into her drive way sitting on the hill in back of her home was a large animal. It was tannish in color, had a white mouth with black running around it and two other black lines running down its face near the eyes. It sat their looking down at us for about 2 minutes. I have a Rottweiler which weighs 125 lbs. Comparing the size of my Rottweiler he was close to double the size of my dog. When he took of he swirled around and dug his back legs into the hill and was gone in a flash. What we saw was definitely a Mountain Lion.
While bird hunting on Oct.29 @ about 5:00 pm. I came upon a mountain lion standing in the middle of a tote road about 100 yds. from me. This sighting was in township T17 R4 about 4 miles SW iof Sinclair. How rare are these sighting? Is there a estimate of how many loins live in Maine. I’ve heard of sightings in Mapleton & Squa Pan Lake areas.
On 11 November 2009 at around 7:30 am while white tail hunting in Perry, Maine , witnessed myself a rather large cat. Upon searching the web, it definately was a mountain lion, the tracks measured four inches in width.
Me and my friend drivinig in the allagsh on some logging roads on one of our canoe trips saw a golden colored moutain lion chasing a large hare across a very wide logging road about 50ft wide. we clearly saw it cross about 50 ft in front of us.
A Mainer at the hunting store said he’s never seen one in over 30 years….
This was 2 years ago.
In Franklin County Maine 1991 a family member observed a female and her two cubs in a two acre field on the edge of a heavily wooded area behind her house on a regular basis during the summer, most often in the early morning. She was very lucky to have had this wonderful series of experiences. She was quite secretive about these sightings. Only a few of us new of it . Maine Wardens and Biologists were not contacted, she was very protective of these Cougars and didn’t want any kind of intrusion. In the fall of 2009 a man observed one on his land several times and eventually captured this Cougar on a trail cam. This occured two miles from where my family member had her encounters in 1991. Wardens were notified and spent two days in the area. They kept the findings secret, as there was no publications of this photo. It is not suprising since Eastern Cougars are a protected rare species. I have never seen one,although several Mainers in the Franklin County area have told me they have encountered one of these rare creatures,here. One man told me of an experience while hiking, observed one following a woman hiker ahead of him and frightened off the Cougar as he warned the woman of the encounter. They reversed direction together leaving the area and she thanked him for being on the trail to intervine and possibly thwarting a bad situation, as the man said the creature seemed to be stalking her in the woods just off the trail. Not to say the Cougar would have attacked, but this is alarming. These are credilble stories. Let it be known that there are Cougars throughout Maine. New England has vast wilderness areas with plentiful prey food sources to sustain a breeding population. Cougars prefer cottontail rabbits, beaver,woodchuck,squirrels, chipmunks,mice, moles,ruffed grouse,waterfowl, and yes whitetail deer. they also eat herbs and berries, an occaisional trout or salmon and plenty of other sustainable resources. Yes folks there are Cougars in Maine.
My mother lives in lincolm vermont, and was walking her dog very early in the morning when she see a very large black cat climb up the ditch and cross the road. Her dog, a beagle had his nose snuggled in the snow, while this cat crossed the road, about 25 feet from her. My mother was too awed to be scared, but she said the cat did look up at see her, and continued to cross. The head bobbed while he walked and the tail was very long. She was interviewed by a professor at middlebury college and the infomation is in the archives in montpeiler. Two years later while coming home from Bristol vt. she spotted another black cat crossing the road about 3 miles from where she see the first cat. She still speaks of this and can’t believe she twice spotted what she calls a black panther.
About 10 yrs ago here in Brownfield myself and my 2 grandchildren saw 3 of them right across the street from my driveway. We stopped at the end of the driveway and watched them for about 10 minutes. They just starred at us There were 2 of them and 1 10′ to the right. The next day we went to Gray wild animal farm and sure enough they were the same thing. this was next to the church.