And trying to figure out the little pieces to identify him so I bring up the names the differences but the appearances can be confusing for some. However, as far as I can tell theres no Deep State Conspiracy to cover up a breeding population of cougars in the Granite State. And so far we have not had any positive mark lion scats or any DNA. 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. However the scarring on the trees did not and the angles were off. While State Denies Mtn Lions are in NH, Numerous Sightings Say N.H. Residents Report Mountain Lion Sighting - NECN The trouble with accepting every reported sighting as a confirmed mountain lion is that there are so many mistaken identifications. 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. Sam Evans-Brown: But I mean the video I had been sent was you know a recording of a animal growling but it was in slow motion and when I asked the person why is this in slow motion the denied that it was so there's a lot of weird stuff that happens in regards to people claiming they've seen they've seen these things. Since 1917, Lions clubs have offered people the opportunity to give something back to their communities. Mountain Lion report and as a biologist for the state that's a situation where if he said to me what did I see. When they were landing or taking off and it seems like it's been there for like. 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. It's got a a smudge of black and bobcats and links just don't have that we don't have any other cards. Thanks for your call. N.H.'s Fish and Game department says there's no proof mountain lions live in the state, yet residents from Bedford to Berlin have been reporting sightings for years. Just one quick point I think I think when we we talk about these conspiracy theories the real story is that fish and game is an agency that that is short on budget and staff. Wildlife biologist breaks down mountain lion sightings in CT | New Peter Biello: And Carl before you continue I think Patrick Tate just give me a second. It is also known as cougar, panther, mountain lion, and puma, though catamount is the preferred regional vernacular. Give today. Residents believe cougars still roam New Hampshire's forests Caller: Well I think Patrick I recognized your name. Ask Sam: Why Won't New Hampshire Admit There Are Mountain Lions Here Squam Lake: Home of mountain lions - Concord Monitor Are there other powers that be worried that scary mountain lions will scare off people from camping in New Hampshire. The book MAMMAL TRACKS & SIGN by Mark Elbroch has pictures of mountain lion scat found at a multiple beaver kill. There are mountain lion in Massachusetts. Can we go to the site. Because I mean as we've heard in the past 10 minutes like there's there's some disagreement or at least some some vagueness about what an actual mountain lion should appear like in the wild assuming we can even get close enough. If so that's for us as an agency. Sam Evans-Brown: Well this might be a good moment to talk about hoaxes. So one thing I'll add we're talking about natural dispensers but talking with the conservation officer in the 1980s they recall going to a residence telling a person you can live here but your mountain lion can't. Good morning guys. 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. Not one picture of him online while the person meet with us. I think as Pat was saying you know 35 to 50 pounds on a male be reasonable range whereas mountain lions you're up to 100 110 maybe even 130 pounds on a big male. Caller: It had to be a mountain lion convinced I was about 30. Peter Biello: Well Mike thanks very much for sharing your story. Patrick Tate: It's wow interesting that you brought this up because I've had people report I saw cardamom. Pat what do you think the mystique of the mountain lion. It's bigger but bigger and better world. The supervisor that hired me in the game division in October of 1978 passed on to me this whole big folder of mountain lion information and sightings going back probably a couple decades. 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. They sent it already. Sam Evans-Brown: Well and I think and the last takeaway here is everyone I think probably agrees that any possible sightings that have been seen. Let us know your story and share your photos! On Oct. 10, he gave a slide talk called "Wild Cats of New Hampshire," which included the bobcat and the lynx. Incredible sighting and I called him the fish and game and they immediately sent me to a website to look at all the bobcat pictures. And why would they what. I can't. Now that to me seemed to indicate that they had done the secondary workup that in my opinion proved the existence of probably a disperse or possibly from South Dakota like the one in 2011. Patrick Tate: Nice talk to you too. Let's talk to Mike in Webster. They don't know the direction they're going. Rick van de Poll: Rick your thoughts. Peter Biello: Today on the program Patrick Tate New Hampshire Fish and Game Wildlife biologist and far better project leader Sam Evans Brown host of an HP podcast outside in which is about the natural world and how we use it. nh.gov | privacy policy | accessibility policy Peter Biello: We mentioned that the eastern cougar and the Western cougar are they were separate eastern cougar believed to be extinct. Yet this young male traveled about 1,800 miles. GAP MOUNTAIN LIONS CLUB Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire (USA) District 44-N . Peter Biello: I did mention four feet nose to tail would be kind of small for a mountain lion. I would just suggest that in my experience as a reporter covering this covering this issue for a few years at least at what point do we reach a certain critical mass for lack of a better term of accounts where I'm not to suggest that you guys aren't taking this possibility seriously. And there are thousands of mountain lions killed every year legally through hunting, and there have been untold tens of thousands of mountain lions killed by hunters over the last hundred years, says Mark Elbroch, the Puma Program Director for Panthera, a global wild cat conservation organization, So even the folks who live with mountain lions still have a fancy and see something thats not there to me thats incredible.. Well let's hear from from Sue Morse again science director for the organization keeping track. Tell us your story. Rick van de Poll: Rick van de Poll so I was a non-believer as well. Peter Biello: Mm hmm. Mike thanks for your call. So that's the specimen that you find going long distances. So yeah as far as wildlife species that put deer and trees know there aren't any others that I know of that put deer in trees just just humans might be responsible for that. David Erler says some of them probably have. And they used to be this whole list of the different subspecies of mountain lion and it has since been reduced to just to the North American and the South American. Here it is. Mountain lions remain an enigmatic animal for residents of New Hampshire, with New Hampshire Fish and Game reporting three to five sightings per week. Fear for others and those two polarizing opinions on the situation is what I believe brings out mystique and Sam you know I take kind of a long view on this. Peter Biello: The number is 1 800 8 9 2 6 4 7 7. You can see two of them at Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness NH. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference. Caller: And the more I thought about it the color of it it was definitely not a bobcat. Sam Evans Brown. There's never, ever, ever, ever been a documented case of a black mountain lion. Caller: Oh yeah. The great thing about pictures isn't the animal itself it's the background. Id like to hazard the explanation that we really, really want to see a mountain lion. There was no sign of it. 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. Pelosi story here we go. Rick van de Poll: Well a report that you know as John Harrigan up north has in co-ops County for about 15 years I kept track of reports and people would call me and tell me where they saw the mountain lion they thought they saw it and it varied right from you know downtown villages all the way to remote highlands of the North Country and and everywhere in between. Caller: Yeah. If it's just in the middle of a greenfield you can't prove anything. So that did it for me. The term is because mascots notwithstanding right that they're referred to with a lot of different terms and sometimes they can be confused with a lot of different terms. And it was you know 10 or 12 people saw it all at once. And so. You know I'm like seriously I can't get a picture of the thing but what it what it is. So and so they so they do get pretty involved. I have no doubt that there are mountain lion roaming New Hampshire. Fish and Game then deny the evidence. for some excitement. No that's a little bit outside the range. But you won't find evidence of their existence in paw prints in the snow or a deer carcass in a tree. And just one more note about this danger question when even when you look at the states that have extended populations stable populations of mountain lions attacks are relatively rare. Caller: I got home to my wife that a gene that you should have seen the cat. Right. Yes and you want to share what you learned. Thank you. Peter Biello: So let's say Rick that it was confirmed that there that there are mountain lines here in New Hampshire. Sam Evans-Brown: Well first I want to sort of explain why what the theory is but then also throw a bit of cold water on it because I don't think there's much much logic behind it but essentially is that if fish and game were to acknowledge that there was a population of Mount lions in the state there's a chance that something like a listing under the federal Endangered Species Act might happen and then there'd be you know some they'd have to put a plan in place to protect the species there'd be you know restrictions put on development. 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? I live pretty much on the town line of Greenfield just a couple of miles down in the Greenfield. The big cat has been extinct here since the mid-1800s. We'll be right back. Peter Biello: So a little bit of nostalgia maybe for it for a better world embodied in the mountain lion. Really appreciate you guys being here as well. Monday, December 5th: Mountain Lions in New Hampshire? - WMUR Kyle I think about Rick Tate wants to jump in here. Patrick Tate: So I just got to throw a little interesting side note in this. Patrick Tate: It became a very interesting investigation over time because it started becoming. Share. Almost all species disperse greater distances than females. And Rick Van de Poll naturalist and founder of ecosystem management consultants of New England. But no proof was offered. Patrick Tate New Hampshire Fish and Game Wildlife Biologist thanks very much for being here this morning really appreciate it. Right. And it came out we could see it had and we could see its long swooping tail. Do you want to see real, living mountain lions that do exist in New Hampshire. So. We mentioned that one cat that was hit by a car where it has it that it was a male looking for me. Is there a way we can learn more about these dispersing mountain lions that may travel through the Granite State and that I would ask you certainly part about whether or not a he's spending too much time chasing down these kind of false leads or B would rather be doing something else that is more informative to whether or not we actually have or can prove that we have dispersing mountain lions in the state. So Pat you field a lot of calls about people seeing or reportedly seeing mountain lions. 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 wasn't employed as biologists at the time of a situation that's been reported but so I started digging into this report and spoke with another wildlife biologist with the agency and said Do you know anything about this. Caller: It had just left that field and was out. So hard to know hard to refute if there's no interest in making up a story which many people of course do then I would respond the same way as Pat did. Absolutely. We had six copies printed out each. But I was riding a mountain bike not far from my house. BUT THAT SAID, Id love to be proven wrong. The states never denied mountain lions are here, and theyve never admitted mountain lions are here. Peter Biello: Wow. She is renowned for tracking. As wildlife biologists, wed be fascinated to say 'look look what was found in our state.'. 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? However if if and when it does happen it takes up a lot of resources looking at that situation and identifying what's going on because when you start out you don't know it's a hoax. So I did a bunch of research and all the documentation I found was there art are not any pieces of DNA of Eastern online. Patrick Tate: So it's interesting it's brought up. People have asked me about the genetics of eastern mountain lion. That's next time on one day. The DNA the DNA that they were able to pull from the cat suggested that it was a dispersed mountain lion that came. From: Boomerdog in OK 08-Oct-07 Somewhere the way they travel the things they do they're going to leave evidence. Let's talk to Bob in Laconia Bob. I saw the tail end of a literally from behind the shoulder The Long Tail mountain lion crossing the highway going from Password to often Village downtown.