Mountain Lions in New Hampshire-Fact or Fiction
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- čas přidán 30. 07. 2019
- During my thirty-one career at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department I was the "keeper of the mountain lion records". We actually had a form that was distributed to each Fish and Game office so accurate information could be collected on each sighting. Some years I would get nearly a hundred. And in a few case that were fresh enough Fish and Game staff tried to investigate if there was any tangible signs. We were never able to find any. Even the well documented scat turned out to be bobcat based on actual DNA evidence.
As a New Hampshire resident, they are here. I personally know people who have seen them in the Ossipee range. I’m sure the more remote places in the state have even more.
Agreed I am from carrol county and know of loads of sightings
@@SuperBikerboy101 I lived in Wolfeboro when I made this comment originally. Everyone knows they are in the state, just the state government doesn’t recognize them. Most likely because it would bring hiking tourism numbers down
@@Zer-db1bp Not only that but I believe they haven't got dna evidence as of yet with such a low population
9:15 in the morning one crossed Rt 9/202 by Keyser Pond summer of 2013. Clear as day, long tail dark brown tuff on the end, little darker than a Golden Retrever and about the same size. Saw him from 50 to 100 feet away square boxy profile, walked across the nightly like a boss!
@@rcdogmanduh4440 My brother lives in Bradford NH. He had a Mountain lion in his driveway last summer. His neighbor told him that there's two of them in that area that he's seen. One is the standard tan color. The other is much darker.
In Vt, many claim to have seen them. But the tens of thousands of game cameras out there have not captured images. I think it's extremely hard to eradicate an entire species. So for my personal stance, it's possible that they are here and I hope they are.
Just yesterday, I saw one in my driveway. I was sitting in my deckchair and it came out of the foliage next to my garage. It was a cub. Black muzzle area, thick/stocky build, long tail with black tip. Anyone who says they're not in the state are full of it! I know what I saw. I was 30 feet away from it and the weather was clear + sunny. There's no mistaking what it was.
@@jswan2580 lol yeah because you know lol everything lol right lol lol lol
@@jswan2580 Bobcat have a non-existent tail. Did you read the comment? I know people in Vermont that have seen the same thing. The state game agencies know that they are here but having that information public would cause hysteria. Grow up child.
@@jefftobey1102 Exactly. To everything you said. We know for fact they’re in CT, upstate NY, & Canada. Why not NH or VT? Also, what about wandering males? The male lion hit by a car in Milton CT (beach area FFS) was from the Dakotas, confirmed w/ DNA. Males wander hundreds of miles looking for mates. So even if there isn’t a breeding population I have a VERY hard time believing they don’t pass through.
Very interesting! My dad claimed to see one in Temple, NH maybe 20 years ago - but like you mentioned, it’s hard to know for sure! Really appreciate you covering this topic, and looking forward to watching your other videos. Thanks my friend 👍🏻
Thanks very much for giving us the timestamp in three second sentence!
I wish everyone would either say it, or at least put it in the description.
Just one thought. The unregulated hunting in the 18th and 19th centuries was an intense evolutional pressure. If any of the cats survived in the eastern US it was the most cryptic and secretive individuals. The culture of secrecy would have been passed down through the offspring of the survivors, assuming there were some.
See, I’m of the belief that no cats native to NH (or NE generally) survived. For sure NE gets nomadic males, from Western states or Canada. That’s been confirmed via body & DNA. But breeding pops? I’m not so sure.
@@t.l.1610 You could very well be right but there are some big chunks of forest in Maine, New Brunswick and the Gaspe peninsula that have never had many people roaming around.
@@tadblackington1676 True, good point. I suppose its possible a pop survived & remained hidden. There’s been stories of cat sightings 1900’s-now 🤷🏻♀️. Or as you pointed out, rapid cultural adaptation of extreme secrecy, possible. My fav title for them is Ghost Cats; highly intelligent & already secretive by nature.
Cougars are very elusive and wary. It is probable that some of them survived in the remote mountain forests despite all the relentless hunting. Hundreds of people in the Appalachian states have seen them.
I have never seen a mountain lion in nh, lots of coydogs, which don't like to be sited, especially in the woods. when I used to go to the grain store, the owner had a mounted wild boar on the wall. he said he got it in northern nh. never saw a wild boar either.
I think any mountain lion sightings are passersby from other regions - like Canada and the Midwest. As for boars and stuff (even mountain lions?), they could've escaped from Corbin Park. Maybe?
Agree. Thank you for posting.
We have mountain lions here in the river valley (Minnesota). I saw a lion in Kansas while turkey hunting 10-15 years ago. Most biologist claim mtn lions just pass through Minnesota & there’s no record of lions in Kansas in the past 100 years (even though it is literally a few miles away from Colorado lmao).
There was a mtn lion ran over by a vehicle 2 months ago in Bloomington Minnesota. Bloomington is a lot of swamp, marsh area. There has been wildfires in CO within the past few weeks/months so I’m sure some are getting pushed.
Mountain lions have a long tail & a long back.
I don’t believe they should be shot. Though Ik many ppl that would.
Are there any wolves in NH? I have heard of sightings in Vermont
No known confirmed sightings in my 50 years as a wildlife biologist in NH.
When you se a very large deer up in the tree, you know there is a mountain lion somewhere nearby. Rockingham county nh
I saw two, one near twin mountain when it ran right in front of my car at 5 AM (very long tail) and the other in Jaffrey, and it tried to stalk me but I ran to my car so it couldn't get me. These were not bobcats because I think bobcats are very weird looking, these were lions, tail and all. lol
They have been spotted in massachusetts also.
Three years ago, at the school I worked at in Charlestown NH, I spotted a mountain lion at night under street lights. I got pretty close before it took off. Absolutely was a mountain lion, scared me pretty good, I love NH! Expanding Knowledge 🌎
Except it wasn’t lmao 😂
@@jswan2580 Really, then what? Come on late hear it!
seen in jaffrey at the Shattuck CC
Eric, Craig Laramie here. If you have any writings from my grandfather that you don’t want to get lost in time, I would love to get my hands on them!
I know if do have some moose files from him. Do you know he has wildlife management area named for him? I have my testimony of the hearings.
Feel free to contact me.
Years ago someone gave me a whole box of his Moose notes. I still have them upstairs in my garage. They are all yours.
You still around?
Of course there are
New England should reintroduce them to balance the exploding deer population.
I want so bad for them to confirm mountain lions in Massachusetts/ New England in general. My uncle has told me he has seen them in the Quabbin resivor MA. My cousin also seen one in that same area seen one plan as day in while she was on a picnic. I live in ware Ma n hope to catch a glimpse
They’ve been spotted out in hubbardston believe it or not
My girlfriend saw one in southeast ma (taunton area) some years back. I have no reason to doubt her. She is woods savy and not BS artist in any way. I myself have seen some wildlife that you would not think would be in a city enviorment in the late sixties and early seventies. And don't even get me started on how much more we see in the last ten years. Coyotes and bobcats in your back yard are a common thing now in the greater Boston area.
One stalked me in Jaffrey during 2018, and another ran across the street right in front of my car near Franconia Notch at 4-5 AM during 2019. It was right i front of my vehicle and had a 3 foot tail. Not a bobcat, they are weird looking. I heard a hunter saw one in the area of Franconia Notch where I saw it.
Probably not a mountain lion they move too much someone would get one on a trail cam
Was it around Cannon Mtn? We saw paw prints (not necessarily a mountain lion) deep in the woods by a cave in the early 2000s.
@@TheINFJChannel Closer to the Twin Mountains as I was driving down Rte 3. Due to its color I thought it was a deer at first until it ran directly in front of my car, and I saw its 3 foot tail. There is no mistaken what is was because it ran right in front of me with my headlights on it. I have no idea why NH denies they are here.
Contact Ware gun and rod club in MA. Their trail can caught a mountain lion in their archery range. I saw the picture first hand in 2013. It looked nothing like a bobcat
We know they have traveled long distance in recent years. Like from the Dakotas to Connecticut a decade ago. So not impossible. And actual pictures would be great to have. And there are now thousands of cameras that can capture them. But not likely a breeding population yet. They have continued to move eastward across the northern states for 40 years now. Plenty of deer for them to eat. Just need some females to move this way.
@@newhampshirefishandwildlif3434 I'm assuming NH wildlife officials have no plans to reintroduce mountain lions to the state?
@@robertfaucher3750 I don't think it has ever been considered.
Please show us the image.
No way are all reports mistakes. I COULD accept NH saying “No breeding populations”, but nomads? Males travel hundreds of miles mate searching (see: Milton CT). Ontario has a healthy population. 🤷🏻♀️
all these comments are proving his point ... "no way, I definitely saw one!" if in fact all these people saw mountain lions in NH out and about, they would be captured on trail cameras (or a clear picture/video at the time of sighting) time and time again - but there is none of that. you can be sure of what you saw, but that doesn't mean you're right. he summed it up best, there is a chance for a transient male or two to pass through, but there is no established population. we would know
hmm...
They are ABSOLUTELY in NH . I’ve seen them in Sanbornton NH
No you haven’t lmao 😂
My ex saw one in Mason NH
@@jswan2580 One was run over in Connecticut lol
@@jswan2580 bro y is it so hard to believe they are very discreet animals and have been spotted as far south as Massachusetts and Connecticut
@@dangang4927 dude I’m not lying when I say I wish so bad they were out there, but take it from someone who literally walks trails and is in the bush every week, if they where here we know about it, so many hunters,so many trail cam’s, I wish people appreciated real animals that are actually breeding And living in NH as much as fantasy one’s
Until there is any physical evidence, You'd probably find Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster first.
No Prints no fur no evidence.
I promise you I spend more time in the woods than most people.
I have criss crossed Northern New Hampshire Vermont and Maine all my life.
I'm a Hunter of moosesheds rockhound and gold prospector, I have spent thousands of hours in the New England woods.
I also lived out west for a few years. I saw and tracked many mountain lions especially in Utah.
I promise you what people are seeing their bobcats.
No way. There is a huge difference between the two.