Comments on: Cougar, Catamount, Puma, Panther, Mountain Lion? In Maine?

By: Sylvia

Sylvia — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:39:42 +0000

Freeman Twp. Franklin County Maine. Yesterday morning at 7:30 I stepped out onto my porch heading for the clothesline and stopped immediately when I saw what I thought was a yellow cat that was the largest cat I’d ever seen. It was standing broadside down the lawn from the house and was in a shadowy area but in full view. I realized it was not yellow but a tawny color with some very minor striping. It was not a bobcat or lynx as it had a long tail and was much too large to be a house cat. I looked for pictures on the internet and it seemed to match the pictures of a mountain lion or cougar. It was not spotted and did not have a bobbed tail. It would have to be a young immature cat, certainly not full grown. It just stood there looking at me. I didn’t dare go in and get my camera because I knew it wouldn’t be there when I returned but when it started to move I stepped back inside the house and picked up the binoculars on the window sill and watched as it sauntered off into the woods. As it walked away I could see the long tail but didn’t notice if it had a black tip. At the time I didn’t know mountain lions had black tipped tails. My husband later searched the area to see if he could find tracks but I only saw it on grass and there were none. I wish I could have gotten a picture.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:21:21 +0000

I saw a Mountain Lion on Rt 1, going west from Bath to Brunswick Maine. This was on December 26th, 2009 at about 9:00PM. It was headed toward Merrymeeting Bay. There was about a quarter inch of snow on the ground that night. I wanted to go back and find tracks to take pictures but I would have had to drive for a while and then reverse directions and then do it again because it was on a one way stretch of Route 1. I went back a couple of days later but the weather had warmed and most of the snow had melted. The cat looked to be about 90-100 pounds. The tail was very long and it was dark on the end. It crossed the road right in front of my truck and went into the woods. It didn’t look like it was in a very big hurry. Wish I would have gotten some proof.

By: Philos Smith

Philos Smith — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:19:06 +0000

In 1990 in Gorham, Maine a cougar ran across a horse pasture belonging to a neighbor. I wasn’t there, but the neighbor, my husband, my father-in-law and several drivers on Rt 115 saw it. That section of South Street (Rt 115) is adjacent to a large section of the Rachel Carson Refuge and is heavily populated with deer, turkey, fox, coyote, and other common wildlife. Both the men and my neighbor are familiar with the local fauna and were sure it was a cougar which was supported by some of the drivers who stopped, one of whom was a local taxidermist. Also, it was broad daylight and the field had already been hayed, so visibility was excellent.

By: Peggy Lipscomb

Peggy Lipscomb — Fri, 14 May 2010 01:16:21 +0000

I live in Greensboro, and tonight I was driving up The Bend Road at around 6:30 p.m. when I saw ahead a VERY large tawny cat cross The Bend Road in a purposeful but unhurried fashion. The coloration was like a very large and elongated boxer dog, but it was definitely a cat. By the time I drew abreast it was in the woods fringe on the right side of the road, and it turned its head and looked back at me, but what I most noticed was its black tail tip because that was the part of him/her closest to me. When I got home I decided it couldn’t be a lynx or a bobcat. Too large, too solid-colored. And the black tail tip points to a catamount– perhaps a youngish one. Free range chickens abound on The Bend Road. Bon appetite!

By: Jenny

Jenny — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 23:35:24 +0000

My husband was on a road in acton maine and called me saying” I can’t believe what I just saw, I don’t even want to say it, but it had to be a mountain lion, it ran like a cat and had that long swooping tail” We have heard people say it before but sometimes you just have to see it for yourself to believe it” Not to long after that a game warden saw one in Barnstead N.H. I am sure they are around and it is a little scary but wonderful. Why does the state deny they are here when sooo many people have seen them? Shouldn’t we be aware of what is there? Like someone already said the fear of people in most animals are diminishing… coyotes watching you while they attack your pet, entering barns and other animals as well, bears show less fear as well… this happened last summer on a rainy day, he is an avid hunter and outdoors man, if he says it was a mountain it surely was!