I started this blog to report on sightings and other reports of mountain lions in New Hampshire. If you have seen a mountain lion in the Granite State, please Leave a Comment with as much information here as you can. Detail on location, time of day, time of year, length of time, distance, color, size, activity etc are very helpful. Photos are welcome! If you can leave an email address for followup, that would be great!
Hi, I live in south nashua, NH. I was going to market basket on DW Hwgy. I was traveling on spit brook rd and low and behold a Mt. Lion ran across the street in front of me! I couldn’t believe my eyes! I got home about an hour later and was putting my stuff away and was outside in my backyard and saw him again! Traveling along the fence along the back yard! I made cat like sounds to try to see him better and he toluene’s toward me, looked at me, and kept on walking! It was gorgeous! We live along the Dunstable, MA line and there is a huge conservation area that I’m sure he was heading for. I told everyone I know and no one believes me!
On June 9 2021 I saw a Mountain Lion along the Connecticut river in Clarksville New Hampshire . It was a 3:45 pm on the east side of the river . He was just walking along the river then went up into the woods . The next day I crossed the river and took pictures of a paw print he left behind . I did not have a camera with me at the moment when I saw him . He was 4 to 5 feet long with a long thick tail light brown with all the cat features . I had a perfect side view of him . I have paw print pictures with a tape measure next to it . 3.5 inches and this is a paw print on a hill so it is only the front part the paw with a claw mark in the ground .
Can you please post this location to the Facebook Page Mountain Lions in NH?
Post photos please.
Can you send the picture ok the track to nhtrackerk9@gmail.com
Today March 7, 2021. I was coming up I95 North right before the Seabrook Exit. He was standing off to the right side of the highway on a fairly large grass patch. Just eyeing the cars, looked very very similar to a mountain lion. This was at about 12:30pm. I also had an encounter about 4 weeks ago at night time with an animal running directly in front of my car across all 4 lanes of traffic heading south on I95. Again in the same location, right near the Seabrook exit. Both of these looked like a very large cat, strong and fast. With a blonde/dark blonde fur to it.
Kirsten Manning
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Security lights in our backyard went on at @ 2 am this morning. With new high power flashlight, looked out to see what was there and saw a huge cat hanging around our chicken coop. Totally freaked me out. I live in Brookfield near Moose Mountain, which has thousands of acres in which to hide.
This morning, around 7am, my wife called to me from the kitchen to identify some big cat in the back yard.
The location is about 200′ from our kitchen window at the edge of our mowed area, walking along the edge of the woods.
It was definitely a large, stocky cat of some type, medium brown, about 4 to 4.5′ long with a long thick tail slightly shorter than the body.
She said she saw it turn toward her as it was sitting there before I got to the kitchen and she at first thought it might have been a wolf or coyote/coy dog, but when it turned to her it had a cat’s face, not a dog’s, so she knew it had to be some form of large cat.
She had 8x binoculars and got a decent look at it, but when I got there, it had started moving along the treeline, she handed me the binocs and unfortunately they weren’t adjusted for my eyes, so I looked at it for a few seconds, then tried to focus the binocs, then the adjustable eyepiece, but by the time I actually got a good look, it was walking away, up the bridle path behind the house, so I got a good look at from around 200′ with my eyes, then just a look at it as it was walking away from me up the bridle path, so I didn’t see any details clearly till it was just it’s rear end/tail by the time I got the binocs focused.
From what I saw, I think it’s a mountain lion, had to be at least 100#, probably more, maybe 120 or 130#, but just wondering what the experience has been with true mountain lions in this part of NH.
Unfortunately, I didn’t grab my handycam on the way to the kitchen, otherwise I could have caught a decent hi-res zoom of it as it passed along the treeline . . . now that I know something’s around, I’ll take the game camera (cheap Tasco one) and set it on a tree pointed in the direction of where this animal was and hope that it is on a perimeter walk around it’s present territory, unless they are just wanderers and don’t stake out a defined area and we’ve likely missed an opportunity to document this sighting in Sandown.
We’ll keep an eye out for it and leave the handycam on the kitchen counter, ready to go if we see it again.
Property is just off Rt. 121-A in Sandown, near Angle Pond.
See attached Photo. Was taken Nov 3, 2020 in my field, Salisbury NH. it was head down going for a flock of turkeys. Tail end is a bit turned away in photo, total length thus much longer. Grass hides full length of legs. Color and body structure closely matches Mt lion. But is smaller, maybe a younger one. /Users/alvinetanner/Desktop/MFDC2410 – Copy.jpg. Can’t get photo into this message. But I have it clear, it’s in my files. Photo near perfect match with that of stuffed animal shown in someones earlier post. My photo is real and current.
I was running at 6:50am in Nottingham, NH. On the dirt road close to the town beach I saw a huge cat (much bigger than a bobcat) with a long looping tail that had a different color at the tip. It looked grey but I was about 15 feet away so I couldn’t clearly discern its color. It appeared to be eating or drinking as there was a wet area on the dirt road where I saw it. As soon as it saw me it ran away into the woods. I slowly walked back to the road with my heart pounding. I’m positive it was not a bobcat given the size, coloring and long tail.
Saw a big cat from 150 yards away in our huge backyard in North Hampton two days ago. Not a canid. Not a lynx or bobcat. Dark gray or brown, long cat tail about 2/3 as long as the body. Noticed it after it was already halfway across the yard. About 5-10 seconds before it went into the woods.
My gf and I were driving down 111 in windham and passed bunch what was certainly a mountain lion grabbing roadkill in the middle of the road. It was large, tan and thick long tail .. we were both certain what we’ve seen. I’m not from out here and never even thought of a mountain lion out here. But got home and looked I think up on internet and was shocked to see all the other sightings.
Mountain lion spotted October 2019 and again in September 2020 in south Newbury/Bradford NH area. Large, long thick tail almost touching ground With curve at end…wasn’t fast enough to snap picture. This was in my backyard!
9-9-2020, circa 2.5′ high 3.5′ long with 2.5-3′ tail cat in back yard checking out chickens. Got very good look at it. Sure it was a mountain
lion.
16 Sept 2020 4:30 pm about a mile and a half off route 118 in Canaan, NH, I saw a cat with a similar description as Jeff George posted. (One possible exception is that the one I saw was black.) From his described location I would estimate the sightings were within 3 miles of each other.
Last Wed 9-9-2020 I saw a mountain lion in my back yard. It was dusk and I drove my car down to the chicken pen upon arriving home in order to close it for the night. I left my car running and walked to the chicken pen and at about 10 feet away I saw what I thought was a coyote walking away from me and the chicken pen. It was narrow from behind and about 2 feet high. At about 50 feet away it climbed up a banking and I was able to see the length of its body and its tail.. The body was about 3.5 to 4 feet long, and the tail was about 2.5 to 3 feet long, and looked to be about 2 inches in diameter and held just off the ground. It moved away from me until it was out of sight, and I moved to the high area it had left and it appeared from a low area going up a field until it crested the hill and I no longer saw it. It was not a great big animal, but it definitely was a cat and definitely not a housecat. It never seemed panicked, just moved away until out of sight.
Previously that day I saw my dog acting very skiddish in the back yard. We’ve had coyotes there so I thought it was probably that that she smelled.
2017…around 12 noon..near the biron street bridge dam.manchester nh.goffstown nh line.i observed a fox in distress.it was running along side my property fence.it kept looking behind itself as it was bleeding and trying to get away from something.as i lost view of red fox i spotted a very strange animal walking stauking the same area fox had pass thru.first thing i said to myself was omg.mountain lion.very strong looking animal.no dought at all what this was.i was on a 3rd story porch face to woods.100 feet from fence.it clearly was stalking the fox.ive hunted 20 years and never ever seen mountain lion.i became a believer that day.snow on ground.was hard.i also called fish game dept of nh..incredible experience it was…and no it was not a bobcat.
Are you talking below the bridge along the river or up upon the main road fore or aft the bridge?
On August 19th,2020 at 5.00 am I was backing out my driveway in Derryy,NH I saw my cat under my daughters car so Ipulled back in and in front of my eyes was a large tan colored animal bigger than a dog with a long thick tail that curled up it didnt even flinch at my headlights just kept strutting toward the back of my shed had a long stride of a walk. I have never seen what appears to be a mountain lion
I would love to show my photos but cant figure out how to post them
Today, Sunday July 26 2020 about 1pm. While driving in New Hampshire, along Rt 118, somewhere between Cannan, NH and Dorchester, NH, I’m 99.9% i saw a Mountain Lion. Crossing the road no more than 50yds in front of us. Just before a piece of occupied piece of property on both sides of the road. Unknown address.
I had a clear side view, it was not in a rush to cross the road. Absolutely reminded me of a large cat. A bit larger than a bob cat. Body size was about 4 ft long, plus it Definitely had a long thick tail, guessing about a 3ft. Face and ears had the resemblance of a cat.
The wife saw the back end, just the long tail.,
Was NOT a bobcat, I’ve seen plenty of them to know it wasn’t.
I believe they are in NH
I was camping the week of 8/12/19-8/19/19 and shinned the flashlight into the woods at camp Ivanhoe in Wakefield N.H. and saw 2 green eyes a tr airing back at my wife 19 year old son and my self then it popped up and walked away the next morning I had found a trail of paw prints which I had photographed I will send the pics as well. It was an amazing but scary meeting where he was only 50 or so yards away.
I was at Moore park last night in Candia NH. I left about 7:30ish and was heading down that main busy road the one that if you take a left you can get onto the highway by exit 3. Instead of going on highway i went local passed brown road and proceeded to chester turnpike intersection had to stop abruptly due to a large lion like animal crossing the road. IT ran into the woods and It looked just like a mountain lion! I know what a bobcat is and it was definitely not one of those. I would say it weighed about 100 pounds and a light tan color. This was June 25,2021 @7:35ish at night.
Someone else saw it and posted it to the Facebook group “Mountain Lions in NH” as well.
I was walking near the Heritage Trail on 2/26/20 and saw what I thought to be a deer, it was very tall. It then turned its face toward me & it was a cat face. My pulse immediately spiked to 180 something according to my Fitbit. I tried to calmly walk away from it, I made some noise & waved my arms up and down. It was terrifying. I reported it to the Bedford Police & NH fish & game. They both said it was probably a large bobcat. Needless to say, I avoid that area now.
On Tuesday, February 25, at approximately 6:35 a.m., I was driving on Rt. 4 from Canaan and was on the western side of Enfield, NH, near Hersey Construction. A large black cat sprung from the oncoming lane in front of me in one huge leap, coming across Rt. 4 from Mascoma Lake. I estimate it was 4-5 feet in length, with a long tail – likely 85-100 lbs. It bounded up the hill to the right of me. I am positive that it was a black cougar. My husband had also seen one 25 years ago in Orange, NH, on the side of Mt. Cardigan. I was glad to find your blog and see that others post sightings. Interesting that the mountain lion’s range is up to 175 miles!
Bedford is where I saw one on the way to work. No mistake . It was ten feet away and moved very slow. I was totally shocked.
Two years ago I was driving home at around 10 pm on North Amherst road in Bedford, NH. I saw something in the road from a distance I believed to be a deer. When I came up to it l, it initially froze for a bit, long enough for me to see its droopy, long tail and distinct face. It was a majestic but scary creature. It ran into the woods and I never saw it again. I’ve seen bobcats before, that was no bobcat. This was next to the power lines that run in Bedford (not the huge ones but the smaller wooden ones, they run through Van loan preserve)
There have been two credible sightings in Bedford. One on Ellis Drive and one over by the Christmas Tree Farm off N Amherst Rd.
I was biking in Bear Brook State Park on the road to the campground. At the top of a hill, I thought I saw a deer standing on the side of the road. But then it turned and I saw how long its body was and it had a tail as long as my bike! It was a beautiful, tan colored possibly young mountain lion. We know and have seen many lynx and bobcats and it definitely was a mountain lion. We asked an employee who works at the campground store and they said there was one other sighting today too.
This particular situation happened about 20 years ago in Lee NH. We lived on that pond off of 125. Coming from I’m the traffic circle if you’re heading towards the speedway there’s a diner on your right hand side it’s right before that on the left. My husband, myself, and two of our closest friends were in complete shock when we pulled into our yard and they’re on the brick patio near the open fireplace, Was an extremely large black feline. I’m not talking Garfield fat I mean a beautiful majestic animal and it was black. All of us excluding my husband have grown up in New Hampshire we know what wild life looks like. When we first pulled in the ENORMOUS cat was literally laying down like it was the thing to do. Needless to say we did not get out of the car until it decided to get up and disappear off into the woods. It was one of those your rub your eyes 1 million times kind of moments because you do not believe what you’re seeing. This animal didn’t even move when we came in and the floodlights all turned on. The tail was so long. There was no mistaking the tail for a leg we all saw the same thing. Definitely not a bear, definitely not a dog, I don’t care who you are you know a cat when you see one even if it is bigger than you. What an experience it was amazing. But this was a time before cell phones and everybody could whip it out and take a picture. It’s definitely up there in the best top 10 things I’ve ever seen in my life.
We own a lot of land surrounded by bear brook (on the Lost trail side) a few years ago my brother in law and a close friend who were together in a truck and saw a mountain lion cross the gated road to our camp. Both of these guys Grew up here and are hunters familiar with the wildlife around here. We have a very healthy bob cat population and we can easily identify the difference. I am very confident they know what they saw and they both fully agree they saw a mountain lion very close cross the dirt access road in front of their truck towards a field. It was daylight. My husband and I had also found a huge sporadic Boulder deep in the woods (we mainly explore off trail) with many huge clawless tracks encircling it. I quickly took pictures, sent them here and was then contacted by a biologist who wanted more information on the location and seemed to find them to be credible cougar tracks.
On September 18, 2019 location Bedford, NH at approximately 3 PM I spotted a mountain lion in my backyard going up the side of waterfall into the woods. I watched it for at least 20 seconds as a continued to walk up into the woods.. I had to do a double look to confirm that this wasn’t a large cat or is Shar-Pei dog it was definitely a mountain lion/bobcat… It’s coloring was golden blonde , bulky / fuller body, Resembles a large cat, but with larger pointy ears, and a thicker curled black tip, short tail like A Shar-Pei dog has… It probably weighed approximately 35 lbs. I couldn’t react quick enough to take a picture of it, as I was stunned. Definitely very pretty, but frightening at the same time… Please be safe and aware of your outside surroundings.
Sounds like a bobcat, given size and tail (they can get quite big). Thanks for the post!
Blonde coat, defined muscular rear body large eyes. This may be a juvenile or a very large albino Bobcat. Caught on game cam Londonderry NH late night. It’s a ghost and has never been seen since. 40 lb size approximately based on coyotes caught on cam. Not sure how to upload pic.
If you email me the pic, I will post here. John.f.ranta@gmail.com
Thanks!
Will you share it with us please?
Post on FB and it will show up right away. Mountain Lions in NH
They never provided the photo.
I saw a mountain lion crossing route 202, as I was driving from Jaffrey into Peterborough.
It was just before 9 in the morning…
Very long tail on a large tan colored cat…
On August 12, 2018, I saw a mountain lion in the woods behind my house in Hollis,NH. No doubt about it. Color was pure blonde. Viewed it clearly for about 30 seconds before it turned away from my house.
Did you report to the authorities and if yes, how did they respond?
My daughter was hiking up Miller state park beginning of this summer with her dog,when she heard some ruffles and a loud lion type growl,her dog a pitbull started to shiver,,she wasn’t sure which way to go so scared,,,she turned back down the mountain and several people stated they saw a mountain lion,the rangers were there as well,,she asked why they didn’t tell anyone who was climbing the mountain,,,,she was terrified
OMg I just went outside to walk my dog I live in Madison New Hampshire there was A mountain lion right across the street. he was 10 and a long tail looked right at me he was probably like 30 feet away from me I am in shock right now
Sherry- can you describe the cat, size, color, shape of head etc? What does ‘he was 10’ mean? Have you seen any evidence such as tracks or scat?
Thx
Sighting in Strafford: I believe a cougar I had seen before was back today, briskly striding along the edge of my back field again. I first saw it on July 30, 2013 and have not seen it again until today. I had presumed it was dead. It was smallish, light tan like a deer, and had coloring and head exactly like the photo above of the Eastern Cougar. FYI: My father, a former F & G officer in the 1940’s, believed that what I saw in 2013 was an Eastern Cougar. His old job included tracking cats and he always believed they were not extinct.
Before I saw it in 2013, I had seen wet tracks across the road where he came out of one field and crossed the road into another, where I then saw him. Also, I had been puzzled by remains of an eaten deer carcass in the back field. After I saw the cat, I knew it had been killed by that cat. By that time though, the field had been hayed and the remains were gone.
I suspect that this cat is the same one that is being sighted in Barnstead, as well as has been sighted in Strafford in other places and times.There is a greenway of forests that connect all the way from Strafford to Barnstead and I believe this cat travels it.
I have never had a camera handy, but hopefully I will if I ever see it again!
I saw a large black cat bigger than a large dog. He was blue black with a very long tail crossing Covered Bridge Road in Thornton around 5 PM.
Saw a mountain lion at 7:15pm tonight on Moultonborough Neck Rd in Moultonborough.
It ran across the road right in front of me. It had a very long tail and looks very similar to the picture you show above.
Today
Route 28 barnstead
Big cat long tale definitely not lynx or bobcatl
Crossed
This morning near Farnum Hill Reserve in Lebanon, NH I saw a mountain lion crossing the street in front of our house going into the woods behind our yard. I was sure it was a mountain lion because of the body and head shape, and the sandy brown coloring. Our cat was outside and had fur stood on end when we found her near where the mountain lion had been spotted before going into the forest.
I was driving on route 11 between Gilford and Alton bay in 2015 during a snow storm. Not many cars were out on the road but I had to come to a complete stop. At first I thought dog but as it continued to slowly cross the street and climb up the rock wall on rt.11, there was no mistaking it was a mountain lion it had a long tail. Wish I took a picture
My two children reported last week after the large snow storm that a mountain lion was in our back yard. They both said it was tan with a long tail and bigger than my chocolate lab Lily. We live on Bow Lake Rd Barnstead Nh. Just off Rt 126
Saw a Mt Lion crossing 93/3 in Franconia Notch near Cannon Ski area. No mistaking the long tail with the much longer and bigger body. I assumed it was a Bob Cat at first glance because I’ve seen a few but within seconds I realized it was a Mt Lion. Up until know I thought they weren’t around and people who don’t know their big cats were mistaken but I was wrong, they are clearly here.
2/28/2018 I saw a mountain lion run across the road in front of me on RTE 10 heading towards grantham from newport. The cat that looks exactly without a doubt like the cat you have posted ran across the road coming from Coniston tore to The Village School.
I saw one yesterday, 1/31/18, on Beede Hill Rd in Fremont. It was about 8:30 am. I was headed towards the highway and it crossed the street from left to right and went into the woods. I’m unsure of the weight, length, etc. I did not get a photo as I was driving.
We have a mountain lion roaming our area probably because of neighboring chickens on both sides of our home in Goffstown NH. I personally saw him about a year and a half ago late at night but didn’t get a picture. This morning I took my dog out and found fresh tracks in backyard from him/her again. Don’t see a way to post pictures here but feel free to contact me and I can post or upload with tape measure measurements for reference. Thanks.
Yes please post pics
You can post pics on Facebook directly. It’s a bit easier… Mountain Lions in NH
Posted to FB page and emailed to Mr. Ranta
On Jan 29, 2018 10:07 AM, “New Hampshire Mountain Lion” wrote:
> Gadsden Gurl commented: “You can post pics on Facebook directly. It’s a > bit easier… Mountain Lions in NH” >
Is the blog still active? Haven’t seen messages lately. Any comment on the recent decree that Cougars are extinct in the east?
That is because we are covered in snow and they migrated south so no one can find their tracks. Don’t worry many posts and sightings will happen when the snow is gone if you catch my drift.
Seems like alot of the action has gone to the FB page of the same name.
I am not associated with the Facebook page, or with Facebook for that matter (not my cup of tea). I’ve hosted this site for 10 years, for people to post sightings and photos. And I’ve done my best to provide a scientific analysis of those reports. This site will still be here for folks. I’m still waiting for the first verifiable evidence.
Kings highway New Durham NH there was a mountain lion shrieking at 1:00am I’m the morning. My dog was in my house barking like crazy. I could hear it and when I looked it up online, it was a perfect match as to what I heard. Like a women shrieking in sooopp much pain, awful…gut wrenching sound. I looked out my windows but I never saw it.
I’ve heard something similar, except mine was during the day. I was on Gary Rd Middleton close to Silver St.
Hello all..saw a tan ghost cross the road in harrisville at around 930 at night. Tail was long and thick like nautical rope. My son was in the truck and saw it too. It was Jan 12 2018
I spotted a Mountain Lion in Dover at 8:55 am on 12/15/17 off Sixth st. at Olive Meadow on the first house on the right.
I just saw a mountain lion 15 minutes ago. I was driving home, it was on Shirley Hill Road in Goffstown NH just after Wallace Road and where the road curves. It walked across Shirley Hill Road as I was driving up and it crossed over to the left hand side and slipped into the woods.
I can’t even believe what I just saw!! I’m pulled over now googling “mountain lion nh” and I feel like I should be calling someone to report this but I don’t know who.
11:11 pm, Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Jessica Vigneault-Rodriguez
Jessica.n.vigneault@gmail.com
A mountain lion ran out in front of me in new ipswich on Ashburnham rd after the dog kennel headed away from the mass border the mountain lion was headed east. 10/29/17
When I posted on this site about a year ago telling people how I saw a mountain lion at approximately 3:30 a.m. on the Merrimack Bedford New Hampshire line. I was still awestruck about what I had seen there is no mistake there is no doubt it was 100%a mountain lion that is the only thing that could have had a big tail like that and been a big chiseled cat that color and that size. All I have is my vision of it to share with you no proof no pictures I ask myself why me why was I the one to have seen that and have to explain it but I will never forget it it was the most unbelievable thing to see I wonder why no children have been attacked. I did call Fish and Game they did call me back and we discussed the tail they were very interested in the tail.
Jeff, it’s very possible since I get multiple sightings in Bedford every year. One woman has seen it twice in her own yard. The ones reporting are not dumb, they are not children and they know the difference between bobcats and mountain lions and even take photos of the bobcats. One woman had her story and pictures written up in Bedford Patch (look it up) She absolulely knows the difference.
Even though I did have my phone with me and it crossed the road in front of me it happens fast it is just not time enough to get your phone out and turn your camera on and take a picture although I wish I had tried
Has everyone heard or read that a second lab has verified that the DNA from an animal attack on a horse in Petersham is from a mountain lion?
I read that the lab determined it is from a male and is trying to locate the likely geographic source of the cat.
Have the results of the DNA analysis on “the Nittany Lion” been released yet? The last I read was that the analysis was completed but the results had not been announced.
Has anyone ever done a DNA analysis of the lion on display in Vermont?
Interesting stuff.
I entered 10/11/17. Not 10/13/17.
I saw a mountain lion on 10/11/17 leaving one wooded area and entering the next by a tennis court parking lot in Bow, NH. There were people near, but don’t think they noticed, and it didn’t deter the animal.
It was 5:40pm, dim out turning toward dusk.
I saw it for about 20-30 seconds.
It was dark brown, VERY long (5-6 feet long), shorter legs in comparison to body length….
there have been MANY reported sightings in greenville and new ipswich in about the past month. i heard one in the trees around 9 pm last friday. and im pretty sure it ate my cat.
This is the same as a report we got from Bedford.. sorry about your cat. The owner heard it screeching… 😦
9/2/17 at 1:30 pm I saw a mountain lion in my gravel pit at 224 Hurricane Road in Belmont, NH. I drove up on it as it was walking along an interior pit road and was able to see it for about 5 to 7 seconds. I was able to take several pictures of the tracks. It was a light tan, its body looked like a HUGE house cat on steroids (Very well muscled) it had a tail that looked out of proportion for its body- very long and very thick- On 9/4 after the rain on 9/3 I scouted extensively the area in which I saw the animal and didn’t find any new tracks.
Howard, no pics? Can you set up a trail cam in that area?
John your site is not working well… getting a lot of script errors. It needs updating badly. Do you know how? It’s very hard to use.
I have a friend on Facebook who posted a very compelling video on his timeline. I don’t know how to save it to my phone to share here, but if you want to see it, I’ll be happy to send it to you via messenger. My name on Facebook is Adria French Tolman. The video was taken on 8/16 in Richmond, NH.
If you share it and set it to public we can see it on your TL. Or you can have him post it to the Mountain Lions in NH FB page.
I was driving south on Rt 89 yesterday and the traffic slowed because a State Trooper was on the side of the road and out of his car. As I drove closer, I saw a large black animal dead in the middle of the two lanes. It had a very long tail and the body was about 4ft long. I was stunned because my eyes were telling me that it was a mountain lion–but my rational brain told me that there are no mountain lions in New Hampshire. It was a mountain lion. No doubt. And, the state police certainly have a record of it because they were there…
I believe my location was in the Hopkinton, NH area….
I doubt they will admit it if it were cat of some sort. Unless a species they have already admitted to like Bobcats.
Could it have been a dog?
I suppose it could have been a dog–I was driving slowly by it on the road, so I did not get out and examine it. Still, it sure looked like a big cat to me. It had a long tail that did not look like a dog’s tail. It also had thick, stocky real legs and big feet. Is there any way to determine if the State Police can offer up an account? Surely, the trooper knows what it was.
Here’s the email I just got from NH Fish and Game. I sent them an email seeking any information to explain what I witnessed on I-89 on Sunday.
“No Police Officers have reached out to me about the event. Therefore I have no knowledge of the situation.”
Patrick Tate, Wildlife Biologist
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
11 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301
603-868-1095
I was in North Monroe, N.H today on my way to Littleton, around 2 p.m. when a big black cat crossed in front of me up the road. It looked like a panther. It was jet black about as tall as a labrador but much longer and slender with a long black tail that curled up at the end. It did’nt run across the road but very gracefully sauntered across. I could not believe what I saw and I stopped the vehicle when I got to where it crossed so I could hopefully see it closer up. The woods were too thick and I did not see it again. What a very amazing sight!!
HEATHER I SAW THE SAME TYPE OF BLACK CAT IN BOSCAWEN , IN THE MORNING RUNNING ACROSS THE ROAD AND FELT THE SAME WAY YOU DID (IN AMAZEMENT) THIS WAS ABOUT 11YRS AGO
Bedford
On Thursday August 17, 2017 at just a little before 7:AM looked out my bathroom window saw what I believe to be a mountain lion, only got a look at the head no time for a pic it didn’t hang arround long. my neighbor around the same time had company and said he had seen a large cat cross there back yard.
I just left a comment below. The mountain lion was in Bath New Hampshire Cross Road. The size of the mountain lion in comparison I guess would be four or five times bigger than a large pet cat. That’s just my estimate. I seen it for a good 10-15 seconds so once it made its way into the woods it stopped and looked back and stared at us for a moment then took off. It was definitely that goldish traditional mountain lion color. It was a Sunday sometime between 4 and 6 p.m. . It was summer kind of a warm day 85 Degrees or so. It was the 13th of August. Also I seen baby deer all over the fields. We have about 240 acres 200 of it is fields. They’re all divided into a little 20-30. We have roads that passed through all of them. I was just taking a ride through and I noticed lots of little baby deer. Possibly it was hunting probably the perfect size for that size cat I saw.
I was up in Bath New Hampshire yesterday over off of Cross Road. I was driving a path into the field. Right before I got to the opening of the field a mountain lion past in front of me. My phone was dead I couldn’t get a picture but I’ve seen a bobcat before a few times, definitely not a bobcat. Mountain lion for sure.
Also on a second note a friend of mine lives up in Wentworth New Hampshire and I guess his mom has a picture of a mountain lion lounging in her backyard. I will work on getting that picture for you.
I have seen two mountain lions within the past two weeks. I know they were not bobcats because of the tail. The first sighting was two weeks ago on my way to work between the Littleton Pet Center and Two Bodies on the Saint Johnsbury Rd in Littleton. It was 3:30 a.m. and dark, but it crossed in front of me and I could tell by the size, tail, etc. that it was not an ordinary cat – this may be questionable because it was dark, but I am certain of what I saw. Last week on Tuesday in broad daylight on my way home from work at 10:30 a.m. in Twin Mountain just before the turn off area for the state trucks another one walked – not ran across the road in front of me, I was driving and had to come to an almost complete stop for it to cross. It was absolutely a mountain lion! No doubt about it. There was another SUV behind me that I know saw it too… It happened in an instant and I was in awe and my phone was in my purse, so you only have my word. I am thinking about getting a dash cam as I have seen so many “unbelievable” sightings in the 19 years I have been making the commute from Littleton to Twin Mountain! I also saw a very large black cat crossing by the big field in Twin Mountain about 12 years ago and shortly thereafter there was a story in the paper about another woman who had seen one in the same area.
I didn’t see it but I woke up about 2 am and I heard loud screaming sounds from my back yard.i hit video on my phone bc I couldn’t believe the sound!this morning I tried bobcat first but that’s not it,soo I tried mountain lion and the video I watched you couldn’t see the mountain lion but you could hear it and BINGO!Same sound!I live in Franklin…..
Could you post the link to the recording you thought sounded like what you heard? Usually screaming is FOXES. It’s almost like a screeching puppy bark (I just recorded some very loud ones out side my house)
When I first moved to Sunapee in 2008, I was going to sleep around 10:00 pm and there was this loud screeching animal sound. I didn’t realize until I happened to be trying to figure out what it was and used Google to find the sound. It definitely was a mountain lion. It made the screaming sound right by my door, then I heard it down the road a bit. The distance travelled between screams was pretty far, so it had to have been a larger animal. I could not figure out what it was until I listened to the mountain lion scream, a terrifying noise!
Saw two large black cats crossing route 153 about 3 miles south of conway nh approx 2 pm on wednesday august 2nd. They crossed the road about 100 feet in front of my car. Each Appeared to be about the size of a full grown labrador retriever without the weight
Hopkinton Everett flood control area. 9:51pm. Visual sighting of a mountain lion
A large black cat was caught on camera in Ontario five years ago. Black jaguars can’t live in the cold. But the photo not to scale they believe was a black cougar. Also Great Briton has had reports of large black cats roaming the countryside, two reports of attacks. The call it the phantom cat, maybe an exotic animal someone released.
There is a good picture of a cougar in Maine, the woman lives within three miles of New Brunswick, Canada.
Are there black mountain lions in New Hampshire because I saw a big black cat Crossing Route 109 and moultonborough New Hampshire yesterday afternoon I think it was around 3 pm
There is no evidence of wild black cats of any kind in North America, never mind New Hampshire. There are reported sightings of black cats (like yours and the one from yesterday) but just uncertainty as to what they might be. JR
Bobcats can sometimes be black I had a grey and blackish one living next to my house for the longest time.
I saw a large “black” crossing 109 about an hour ago in Melvin coming out of Wolfeboro and just before crossing into Moultonboro. It had more of a charcoal color than a true black color. It looked like a mongrol/pit bull mix of some sort from a distance but once got close it crossed in front of me and clearly was a cat of some sort. I saw someone mention the possibility of an exotic cat having been released by someone. This cat was 40 to 50 pounds with a short bobcat like tail. I looked at pictures online and they appear to have a lighter colored coat.
Clarification: Melvin Village and it was traveling right to left toward the lake. It had visible striping on its legs and looked beefy like the lyynx in this picture except darker.
7/26/17
I kid you not, I was just driving home from New Boston to Goffstown on River Rd, and I saw a huge black cat – seriously mountain lion size. I know it seems impossible, but it crossed the road, moving like a cat and had a long tail. When I got to where it crossed I stopped the car and saw it’s huge paw prints. I drove on, not even thinking about taking a picture. Then I turned the car around to go back and take a photo of the prints, but couldn’t find them, as they had dried. Seriously. I was like shaking. This cat was huge… seriously, it looked like a black panther. I called the police when I got home.
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Might not have been jet black that you seen. But I’ve seen a hundred percent for sure a grayish almost black bobcat in Pelham New Hampshire. I grew up in Pelham there was a pond right next to my house. As a kid we would go down there fishing constantly. I seen that Bobcat a good hundred times. We’re going back 25 years at this point but it wasn’t a mountain lion it was a bobcat for sure it could definitely be easily mistaken for black. I would say it was more black than Gray. But it had a big gray spot on its chest. I’m guessing what you saw was a bobcat
I don’t usually post on blogs but thought I would share as I was researching what I saw yesterday in Chester NH and have no doubt it was 100% a mountain lion. It was on at 3:00 p.m. on Fremont Rd in Chester NH right before the Fremont Town Line, the mountain lion came out of the marsh area on the left side of the road and crossed straight across the road into the right side of the woods were the march turns to a stream. The animal looked to be approx. 45-55 pounds and was about 4 feet long with a good size tail and was light brown or what I would describe as Red fawn. I have lived in that area for over 12 years and regularly see Deer, wild Turkeys and many other animals but this was a first.
Joel, I live off 121A and Wells Village. My husband saw one at the treeline in the field across the street last year and my son’s friend saw one in the treeline out front. Both have grown up hunting/not new to wild animals. Neither time were we able to scout the area for tracks, but no doubt in my mind they exist in NH.
I have pictures on this website of tracks found in those same woods. I’ve had mixed speculations some claim large bobcat but the people I showed and did not mention the location said mountain Lion. I figured if there was one back there it had moved on. This was last January. Off pomp road
99% sure this ran in front of my car both my son and I saw it on long hill in Bethlehem NH Tuesday 7/11/17 around 2 pm. Not huge in size but much biiher than a big fox. Tan in color long tale
Mountain lion cited in Newton New Hampshire at 3:45 AM around my chicken coop July 9th 2017 roughy 50-70lbs (it was dark out) had a spot light rite on em. Light tan, beige, cream in color. It wasn’t afraid of me or the 3 other people that were with me. It sat at the end of the lawn when we came out and it stared at us swiveling it’s tail back/forth. It didn’t make any noises. We threw rocks, it didn’t phase em. Ended up leaving after I made a very loud bang noise that was aimed it’s way. It’s still out there. What should I do -Ricky
honestly if you had trouble getting it to move, could you not have taken a photo???
On July 3 in Hudson NH I saw animal tracks roughly 4″ in height and width and the span of the stride for all four paws covered a distance of 8 feet! The animal seemed to go from running to walking
I emailed the pics to John Ranta. He provided excellent feedback and will post pics. Not sure if the tracks were from a mountain lion, bit can’t rule it out either.
Taking a picture of mountain lions. Ok, that’s not easy even with a cell phone. Think about pictures that have been taken in other states: Mt Lion killed by car in Conn, it was dead not moving, most pictures I’ve seen on news have been in people’s back yards by their security camera. Others were attacks on humans, by themselves, hiking, biking, but no picture of animal, just a mention it was caught and killed. Most people who live in the woods up here don’t have security cameras. Hunting camers normally don’t get the good pictures of the whole animal, Mt Lions if here have a lot to eat, don’t wander to close to the homes, they have small animals in the woods to eat. Our 22 turkeys this past winter are all gone, killed by unknown virus or animal. I found turkey bones in my yard. Most people keep their trash inside because of bears. When a mountain lion is around you might not see it and if you do their quick to move on or jump on you. When I saw the possible mountain lion they were moving in the woods, in a blink of a eye, they are gone from sight in the brush. The state don’t want us to think mountain lions are here, because most tourist come here for outside activities, camping, hiking, fishing, etc. it would hurt the tourist business. I watch the animal show on Saturday mornings, they helped a big black wolf back to health and put a GPS collar on him, they released the wolf in the woods up on Mt. Washington, NH. Don’t remember the date, but one night a month later news we’re talking about a possible sighting of a wolf and NH Fish and Game said there were no wolfs in NH. Why release one and no mates around. So you see, the North Eastern Cougar will stay as a mystery to prove, camera shot will be by accident, camera ready, security camera set, maybe a good photo on a hunting camera, or one hit by a car. Cats are sneaky, have enough to eat in the woods right now and just prowl around, That’s when we see them. Hopefully they don’t come looking for our pets, chickens, or us. Maybe we can blame the coyotes. Camers waiting!
I have been on here for a number of yrs.now.has anybody submitted any pictures at alleast of the big cat?
Eugene, I (blog owner) have been sent many pictures over the ten years I’ve been hosting this blog. Pictures of bobcats, of house cats, of fishers, and pictures of mountain lions that were claimed to be taken in New Hampshire but which a quick search showed were from elsewhere. I have yet to receive a legitimate photo of a mountain lion taken in New Hampshire.
This was taken in claremont, NH in 2016
On Thu, Jul 6, 2017 at 6:18 PM, New Hampshire Mountain Lion wrote:
> johnranta commented: “Eugene, I (blog owner) have been sent many pictures > over the ten years I’ve been hosting this blog. Pictures of bobcats, of > house cats, of fishers, and pictures of mountain lions that were claimed to > be taken in New Hampshire but which a quick search show” >
What was taken? Is there a photo?
i do have a photo but having a problem sending it i will try later
On Thu, Jul 6, 2017 at 7:24 PM, New Hampshire Mountain Lion wrote:
> johnranta commented: “What was taken? Is there a photo?” > Respond to this comment by replying above this line > > New comment on *New Hampshire Mountain Lion > * > > > > *johnranta* commented > > on About New Hampshire Mountain Lion > . > > > in response to *Cory*: > > This was taken in claremont, NH in 2016 On Thu, Jul 6, 2017 at 6:18 PM, > New Hampshire Mounta
Almost certain I saw one in the neighbors yard around 11 at night in Gilsum, NH. Loomed to be 4 feet from head to tail and maybe 60 lbs. It was behind a tree a bit and I noticed his eyes watching me when I shined a flashlight on ir
There’s been one sighted up the Belvedere Rd and on Rt 10 for a number of years.
On June 9, 2017 at about midday on New Road in Lyndeborough I believe I saw a cougar/mountain lion crossing the dirt road. It seemed to be stalking something and wasn’t afraid of my car at all. It stopped and turned to look right at me from the brush as I pulled up to drive past. It was tan, about 2 1/2 feet tall, 4 to 5 feet long (not including tail). I’m still horrified that it was there. I had no idea animals were in NH.
Over the years I’ve heard of several sightings in Lyndeborough.
I think one was by a mail carrier.
Wakefield, NH (just off of Route 16)
On June 23, 2017
approximately 16:45
clear & sunny
I saw a Cougar / Mountain Lion cross my property. I viewed this cat in a well lit, clear opening, at a distance of approximately 35-45 yards. I saw a full, left side profile of this cat (with the exception of it’s paws) it was light brown in color, it was approximately 2-1/2 to 3 feet tall, and appeared to be 4 to 5 feet long with it’s tail down (6-8 feet long, if tail were to be extended). This cat did not appear to be in a rush as it moved, but it move very quickly and smoothly through the clearing. The cat moved across the property so quickly that I would have been unable to get my camera and take a photograph of it.
I saw a mountain lion while driving this sunny morning around 9am. Route 10 in north Grantham, NH about 1/2 mile north of Smith Hastings Rd. It ran across the road in front of me. I pulled over to watch it as it crossed a yard/field, maybe for 400 feet. It only stopped once it had passed into the edge of the woods to look back at me. Long, thick tail. Long body. Coloring like an African female lion. Big, strong, stout legs. I live up the hill, where it was heading, and have never seen one before. Bobcats, coyotes, moose, deer, and bears sure. But never a mountain lion before. Wow.
megandearden at hotmail dot com
Wow that would have been great if you’d gotten a cell phone picture, even at a distance. I’m setting up a GoPro on my dashboard for trips. I do not want to miss one if that happens to me.
Hello my name is Tom Sewell you can contact me by phone: 978.241.2921. So sighting og Mountain Lion was in Sandwich,NH JULY OF 2008. Mid day weather was perfect NO OVER CAST BRIGHT NEW ENGLAND SUMMER DAY. No question of it being a Mountain Lion maybe 100 lbs. Call me anytime
Location of sighting: Tuftonboro near junction of routes 109 and 109A. Around noon on April 29 2017. My son in law described what he thought was a bobcat, but his description was of a long tailed cat, the length of his dog (70lbs) but shorter in stature. Grayish in color. We’re not sure what he saw but it didn’t sound like either a bobcat or a dog-like animal. (Coy-dog, coyote, wolf)
2001 my husband and adult daughter saw a mt lion cross Bean road in Center Sandwich chasing a deer. Very clear sighting.
tolafsen@gmail.com
I saw a photo on Facebook today of a mountain lion. The photo was reportedly taken in Acworth, NH.
Has anyone seen it?
Yes and its been claimed to be from here before. It has been proven that is was a trail camera picture from a place in Texas many years ago.
Thank you.
The one showing a lion dragging a deer in front of a feeding station? If it is that bogus Ackworth post on Facebook, it goes back to 2012 (at least the one I saw, could be many more!). You can google search images. https://images.google.com/imghp?hl=en&gws_rd=ssl. If you drag and drop that claimed Ackworth image it comes up as a photo from out west. Would love to see a real photo as I think there are/were some here in NH recently.
Thank you.
Wishing the very best in your quest David…keep the updates coming.
Just wanted to let you all know I have seen a mountain lion in the Lakes region area a while back and I have been in the woods setting up game cams trying to get this animal on cam I have been tracking this cat all over wolfboro nh Alton nh and ossipee New Hampshire and also effingham nh Tuftonboro Nh i have game cams all over the place I have spent 2500$ in trial cams to prove this cat is here I have gone out on atvs to set cams up in all towns in the woods and all I have got so far is pics of bears moose fisher cats bob cats cyotes Links pine Martin turkeys but have not got this mountain lion on cam but when I do I will post pictures of it I will be out all year long with my go pro cam on in the woods at alll times in the white mountains and lakes region I hope I got this cat this year on cam ..wish me luck 😎
Good luck – we look forward to your reports. JR
Hey Dave when you say you have been trackin it across those towns are you talkin tracks or reports?
Tracking and herring reports of them from people in them towns
Hey, I live up in Center Ossipee. I told my neighbors I saw two animals in the woods across the street. First I thought dogs. One was bigger than the one behind it following. I went out to porch to see closer. They were walking West, sorta light brown, maybe tan, didn’t see the ears, no long mussel but what stood out was the very long tail. I called out to them, they kept moving. I sat back and said that tail was long, it might have been a female cougar with a young one following. Neighbor said maybe hunting dogs, I said no, I didn’t see collars, don’t remember ears up, it could be coyotes. But I think it was cougars. So I decided to see if anyone has seen any in NH recently. One night last year, a very strange loud cry from a big cat from outside my front window. I told people it wasn’t a bob cat. That’s when some people said they have heard people say the have seen cougars in our area. We had at least 22 or more turkeys during this winter. We fed them, during winter. We have maybe two left. I found large wing bones in my front yard and other bones. Neighbor told me he found five or six dead in the woods. He didn’t know how they were killed.
I really want to find out if that was cougars I saw a few days ago. It was before lunch, I had been working in yard. Heard neighbors dogs barking for several minutes I looked out back. Didn’t see anything and took a break. Across the street in the woods there they were heading West.
LP
My teenagers and I saw a very large, tan colored, wild cat with a long tail (bigger than a Bobcat or Lynx – believed to be a mountain lion) on Main Street in Ashland NH as we were leaving for the airport between 4a – 5a January 8, 2017. We followed the cat by car across the street and watched it’s backside stroll behind the neighbor’s house into a wooded area up a hill between other houses. My daughter (18), son (15) and myself couldn’t believe what we saw and discussed whether or not mountain lions exist in NH? Thanks for your blog – glad to hear others have had a sighting experience ; ).
back in 1980 I worked at the Mt Washington Resort and was living in Twin Mtn, NH. I walked home one night about 10 pm and walked to the back door where there is a small porch. I stepped up on the porch and low and behold there was a full grown Mt. Lion with his extra large head in our trash barrel … He popped his head up and stared right in my eyes. I of course stared right back, showing no sign of fear, although I was extremely concerned as you can imagine. I said one sentence to the big cat and that was “Take it easy big boy, I’m not going to hurt you” While still keeping eye contact I slowly backed down the stairs of the small porch and back out of sight ,,, Once out of sight I darted for the front door. When I entered the small cabin, I quickly told my room-mates that there was a Mtn Lion in our trash! We turned on the back light and he was already gone, but he left evidence,,, trash everywhere and the can was knocked over… Never been so excited in my entire life!
I was talking with a fellow dog enthusiast today at a training session in Manchester, NH.
She said she lives in Barnstead. During the course of conversation she said they are definitely up there and that someone had gotten photos of one on a trail cam several times.
I’ve heard of other sightings in Barnstead over the years. Has anyone spoken with locals and/or investigated the area at all?
Just curious.
Hey Robert barnstead has been investigated. And te locals interviewed about the sightings most recently this past summer it was in a couple of the local newspapers in nearby Pittsfield. There was a fish and game officer I believe that was following up on a sighting in barnstead that had allegedly seen it if memory serves me correct. Perhaps John could correct me on any of this?
There have been a few flurries of reports around Barnstead over the years. There was one from 2009 confirmed by a fish and game warden, I recall. Here’s a link – http://www.fosters.com/article/20090919/GJNEWS_01/709199855
JR
Thank you.
I live in Barstead and there is definitely mountain lions, I’ve seen a few driving to work in the morning
I have pictures of tracks…Not sure how to upload?
Email them to me. John.f.ranta@gmail.com
Just saw one on 93n between exit 16 and 17 walking along side of highway!!!
It was at 330am
My husband said there was a large cat, mount lion, dead in the middle of Interstate 93 southbound….Today. Anyone else see this?
Too bad no one took photos????
I told my husband if I had been in the car with him I would have asked him circle back to get a better look. He said he thought it was too big to be a bob cat.
I also got a look at one of these mysterious black cats. Clearly, feline and very elusive. I’m certain it wasn’t a fisher the tail was completely wrong and the legs were longer. Tracks about the size of a bobcat, but this fellow had a long black tail. I have no idea what it was???
Yes, mine had very long legs and a skinny waist. It looked like a black cheetah except it’s hair was odd: lots of long fur around the head and three inches long from the knees down. The rest of its fur was wavy like a Kerry blue dog rather than smooth like a cat’s fur.
I personally believe it’s a Miracynonyx Trumani or the American Cheetah, which supposedly went extinct 12,000 years ago, but I have no idea what else would have that build.
I have seen long legged, thin black cats with curved tails online from here to NC and CA, but no one knows what they are.
Where did you see yours? Mine were in Cheshire County.
Linda, your description reminds me of a Chinese Crested. A type of dog that has long hair around neck and on legs, but not on body. Or possibly a black Maine Coon cat? They’re really big. You said you have pics you only share with professionals. Why only professionals? Of the 3,000 cougar sightings you’ve had, you never got a pic? Cyndi, why didn’t you take pics of the cat you observed for 15 minutes, and only the tracks? Someone needs to get pics.
A Chinese crested dog is small. The black cat is 30 in. tall, 30 in. long plus a 30 in. curved tail. I’m sorry, but photos are difficult to get of any cat. They are secretive and gone in seconds. There is a misunderstanding. The photos I have are of tracks, not cats. Since the professionals disagree, I don’t want to get started on everyone disagreeing.
Okay folks, let’s not start a “black cat” Bigfoot mythology here. Real facts only. You can make a claim about a mysterious wild black cat in New Hampshire IF you can provide solid evidence. Sightngs are not enough, because sightings are brief, unreliable, and unverifiable. The existence of wild, black cats in NH is merely conjecture, unsubstantiated. It’s enough of a challenge to provide evidence of a known species, such as a mountain lion, as I’ve learned over the past 10 years on this blog. Let’s not introduce mythical wild cat species for which there is zero evidence. I maintain, citing Occam’s Razor, that such sightings of medium sized “black cats” are most likely fishers. Which are cool animals, proven to exist but rarely seen.
I’ve seen many fishers in real life, but especially on my game cameras, which I use for researching mountain lions.
That is how I also saw the two black cats while researching cougars.
I have photos of their tracks, but I only share with professionals, who so far haven’t been able to say what they are (answers ranged from coyote to snowshoe hare to cougar). I’ve collected 300 sightings of black cats and 3000 of cougars, so all I can do, is to keep at my research, but they are real, if very rare
.
There’s no scientific evidence of a species of wild black cats in North America. Claims of sightings are not evidence, for a couple of reasons. One is that sightings are subjective, and often unreliable. Two is that sightings are not reproducible, or testable.
For evidence we need pictures or videos (that can be verified), scat and/or hair samples (for DNA analysis), or a carcass.
Over the past 10 years I’ve been running this blog, many people have sent me pictures of the “mountain lions” that they’ve photographed. Not one of those photos has proven valid. Some are of fishers. Some are of bobcats (including an irresponsibly bogus story from a local TV station, that edited bobcat footage to make it look like a mountain lion because it got them more website clicks). A couple were of house cats. A bunch were taken in the west, or in Canada, and then claimed to be from New Hampshire. I have received one set of photos of tracks in the snow that fit all the criteria for mountain lion prints. That’s it, so far.
Over the past twenty five years there have been a handful of verified mountain lion sightings/visits in New England. One, that I was indirectly involved with, came from the Quabbin Reservation in Massachusetts, and was verified by dna testing of scat. One was a wild mountain lion killed by a car, in Connecticut. There are a couple of other highly probable sightings in New England, verified by game wardens and/or dna. That handful is all of the confirmed sightings, from over the past 25 years. Yes, there have been thousands of claims of sightings, and some portion of those might be valid. But they do not provide scientific proof.
As a naturalist and outdoorsman, I have long been excited about the possibility of mountain lions in New Hampshire. That’s why I created this blog in the first place. As a scientist, I remain skeptical, awaiting hard evidence. Despite all of the game cameras and smart phones that we have today, we don’t have photographic evidence. That makes me wonder.
I know a reliable person, who saw a black panther on top of arrowhead mt. In claremont nh while snowmobiling. It jumped a cross the trail 20 ft in front of her.she has hunted her whole life. She said head to tip of tail 8 ft long. Easily 100 pounds plus. One out of every mt lion cubs is born black.
I know a reliable person, who saw a black panther on top of arrowhead mt. In claremont nh while snowmobiling. It jumped a cross the trail 20 ft in front of her.she has hunted her whole life. She said head to tip of tail 8 ft long. Easily 100 pounds plus. One out of every mt lion cubs is born black.i mean one out of every 15 mt. Lion cubs is born black
There is no scientific evidence of black mountain lions. This is a common topic, but so far it remains hearsay. JR
Mel – I do appreciate the importance getting pics. You misread my post, however, the dark/black cat was in sight for only a dozen or so seconds. “I waited 15 minutes before going out to take pics of tracks” in order to feel safe in the woods. My cell phone was upstairs on my nightstand when I saw the cat out my kitchen window. I did go into the woods and took pictures of the tracks, which were not perfect with the fluffy falling snow, and I forwarded them to John. That is the best I was able to do under the circumstances.
In the morning on Feb 1 I saw a large dark (black?) cat slowly walking at the edge of the woods beyond my backyard fence in Londonderry. It paused with its front paws on a stonewall. I could clearly see the tail which hung down and the turned up at the end. I waited about 15 minutes then went out and took some pics of the tracks. It was snowing so the tracks are not perfect, but are about 2 in. I am not sure what kind of cat it was.
It’s hard to say for sure what you saw, but a likely possibility is a fisher cat. Here are links to a couple of photos, one to give a sense of how they look in the snow, http://vtecostudies.org/blog/walk-with-the-fisher-on-outdoor-radio/ and the other to give a sense of scale http://www.heraldnews.com/article/20160130/SPORTS/160139705. You’ll see the dark, almost black, fur, the long tail and the cat-like face. Although they have a very cat-like appearance, they are actually members of the weasel family.
This dark/black cat had long legs, a long tail (2-1/2ft?) that curved up at the end, and was thin through the midsection.
Thank you John for the links of fisher cat pics. We have seen fisher cats and even photographed one at the edge of the yard a few years ago (I can email u that pic taken by my son). The dark/black cat I saw last week did not have the appearance of a fisher cat. I appreciate your guidance and information.
I’d love to talk with you further. It sounds very similar to the cat I saw. My email is lmccracken2002@yahoo.com
I would like to hear more information about this black cat. How tall and long was it, the tail lenth, etc.? What did the legs, belly, fur and face look like?
There is an unknown species of black cat whose tail curves up at the end. I’ve seen it twice. It’s got two claws only on the middle toes of its paws and they are 1 7/8 in. long. They are retractable. The front tracks look cat-like and the rear look like a canine.
A fisher’s tail does not curve upward, nor does it head look like a cat as it is in the weasel family.
From Windsor NH the kits born in my back yard are like 3 years old now
I have pitchers of mountain lion tracks going in and out of my yard the track’s are 4to5in long wish I could post them for you
I am a student a UNH and after I heard about all the mountain lion sightings around NH (some from fellow classmates) I decided to make a mapping program for it to track them all to see if there are any trends. You can add a report here :
https://wildcatsnh.crowdmap.com/main
I started the map for a class, but I will be up-keeping it and am open to any suggestions or comments you may have to make it more user friendly.
I just saw a mountain lion in Hopkinton on thain road at about 3 o’clock on Friday, February 3, 2017. No mistaking this beautiful animal it was only 15 feet behind my truck
Several days ago I was visiting a friend on Dublin Road in Jaffrey. He has a large field behind his house. Two days before that he saw a large, tawny colored feline taking a drink out of a stream about 75 yards away. The lion then bounded into the woods. He was described as having a 3 1/2 to 4 foot long tail and muscular haunches. There was a Verizon service man there who witnessed the entire episode. I was going to look for tracks but in the last two days it had rained and then snowed so I considered it unlikely.
My partner and I both saw a bobcat from our kitchen window yesterday. It visited a “wildlife habitat” I had built in plain sight from our kitchen window in the woods. I built it for smaller woodland creatures, to hopefully attract a larger hunter some day. We both saw it clearly and said “boy that was bigger than we expected a bobcat to be”, but we saw the short tail. Location was just off Hill Road in Temple, decided to share just in case anyone else has seen a big cat in the area. If 35-45 lbs is a big bobcat than this was a big one for sure. I got some track photos in the slushy snow.
EXCELLENT! It’s fund to see a wildcat no matter what kind it is. I was listening to a podcast about another ‘cryptid’ the other day and the person was from Maine and said there have ALWAYS been Mountain Lions there, he finds pieces of their bodies that have been chewed up by some unknown predator. BTW, this website is very hard to use. Considering the traffic it gets, I wonder if the owner would let me make him a more professional site?
I also live in Temple and spotted a big cat in my backyard in February on West Road against the ridge so we’re not far from you. At first I thought it was a bobcat and it was tan and somewhat spotted. I believe it was a 35-45 pound cat. But the tail was not short at all. It was quite long and dark at the end. Possibly a juvenile mountain lion? Or maybe a lynx?
Maybe I didn’t explain clearly. Back in the 60’s when F&G was denying coyotes in NH, they were calling the animals which people had seen “coydogs.” The coywolf is a new breed, often a loner, brash, stands up to people, can be the size of a yearling deer. There was a TV show about them showing that they come down from Toronto area, but they are here in NH, seen in Keene and in Alstead that I know of. One ate my cat. Ate 5 cats in my neighborhood, one right in front of a neighbor.
Re. Robert Rosen’s post about coyotes, I saw a 1966 Yankee Magazine story in which F&G officers debated the presence of coyotes in NH. It featured a picture of a dead coyote which was called a “coydog,” intending to mean a cross with a domestic dog.
I confess not to know the difference between a coyote and a coydog, but the ones in my yard are definitely not dogs and should not be approached especially in the daytime. The ones I hear howling at night down in the holler are healthy but I would not want to meet them during a night hike!
They are coywolves…larger than what once once known as the eastern coyote. I actually had one follow me while walking my lab and it was barking aggressively. We made it into the garage and he stood in the driveway and continued to bark.
Like Al, I have had encounters with large, aggressive wild canines. I know that DNA studies have shown wolf genes. I didn’t refer to them as coywolves because I wanted to make a different point.
I lived in Peabody, MA at the time and the local government officials were saying coyotes hadn’t arrived in our area yet despite the fact people were seeing them.
BTW, I had a run in with a large, aggressive wild canine a couple of years ago when walking my large, aggressive German Shepherd boy at night through a Danvers, MA neighborhood. The wild canine was not impressed with my big boy. He circled around us with an attitude that seemed to say, “not only am I not afraid of you, but if you didn’t have that other critter with you I would have you for dinner”. It’s hard to accurately judge the size but he had a large head and a real chest. He looked like 80 lbs but maybe was only 60. I don’t know. His boldness was somewhat disturbing.
Another BTW. There was a book titled In Search of the New England Coyote in the early 1980s. I guess this was before the advent of modern DNA analytical techniques. The author said the scientists took head measurements of known specimens and boiled the measurements down into a number and plotted them on a graph. He said the Eastern coyotes fell somewhere between wolves and western coyotes, supporting the hypothesis they were hybrids.
Interesting stuff. Good book if you can find it. Interviews with people who had claimed to have seen Eastern cougars too.
I just had an interesting exchange with some people in Goffstown, NH. I had been over at the slaughterhouse and saw a stuffed lion they had on the wall. I asked about it and the man behind the counter said he shot it in Wisconsin because it was harassing his chickens. A random customer in there however, said they see them all the time in that town, and one of his friends took a clear picture of one and notified Fish and Game who just accepted it without saying a word.. They know they’re here, and they are becoming quite common… apparently in that town. This second man was a hunter so I’m sure he knows the difference between a wildcat and a lion.
It reminds me of the coyote situation in the 1980s.
People reported seeing them and the government kept denying they were here.
Then, in the 1990s the coyote population grew to the point that the government couldn’t deny their presence anymore.
At some point, and it likely won’t be very far in the future, the government will have to fess up that lions are here.
Oh yes! I have PACKS of coyotes howling on a summer night down below me where there is water and they regularly run through my yard. My Dad hit one in Kennebunk Me. 20 years ago… on Route 1. I have bobcats in my yard too. There is a nice story on Bedford Patch about bobcats and the pictures ARE real and were taken in the woman’s yard.
Also the man I spoke to in Goffstown owns a ‘sugar shack’ and says while someone was INSIDE, a lion was pacing around the building because he came out and saw the tracks. These guys are all hunters, outdoorsmen and probably can identify tracks properly. The slaugherhouse even had a moose in the front yard and it’s a busy street.
This is an interesting topic and you would think with the 1000s if trail cams in the woods this time of year someone would get a pic.. Mountain lions typically shun civilization and live in very remote areas though, they also have ranges that can span many 1000 acres.
This was mentioned a few days ago here on this blog. I’m surprised there were no replies. Petersham, MA is only about 20 miles from New Hampshire’s southern border. In summary, a horse was injured back in June. The owner suspected an animal attack. The horse was injured when it ran into a fence/gate trying to flee from whatever was spooking or attacking it. Fish and Game said it was probably a bear or coyote and that the horses injuries were from running into the gate. After F&G left the scene, the owner found more hair and blood evidence on a lower fence post near the gate. She sent it to a lab. Here is a link to the article.
http://www.telegram.com/news/20161129/petersham-owner-of-injured-horse-says-it-was-mountain-lion-attack
FYI
WMUR-TV NH Chronicle show on Monday, December 5th at 7 PM is “Mountain Lions in New Hampshire? Are these big cats back?”
http://www.wmur.com/article/monday-december-5th-mountain-lions-in-new-hampshire/8387728
summer 2015.. my wife and I driving on rt 109 in Moultonborough.. saw mountain lion.. i know the difference.. the bog round face, no points on ears, long thick tail.. it was coming out of a vacant under construction house lot, i stopped, it looked in our direction at my truck about 50 yards away, crossed the road without a big hurry, and went into the woods across the street. thick cover, never saw it again on this road.
It’s only a matter of time before a picture shows up. I know firsthand they exist here in NE. As I posted last year, there was one directly in my front yard. I stood on my porch and watched it walk across the yard 30′ away from me. A neighbor behind my house saw it as well. Channel 4 news was onsite and did an interview with my neighbor. Of course F&G gave every excuse as to why their existence in these parts isn’t possible. Laughable. The ironic part is that an employee of F&G came across one as well but didn’t get a picture. Everyone involved knows the animal has migrated back to NE…only a matter of time till F&G will have to acknowledge this fact.
People have to remember that a Bobcat has the long fur coming off the cheeks, black points on the ear tips, and striped or spotted face and coat, with a tail that is no longer than around 12″
A lion has a round face, rounded ears, tawny even color and a very long tail that looks as if it were dragging on the ground. Friends have sighted them in Bedford NH often. There are plenty of turkeys and deer in their yards, herds of deer are seen feeding off ornamental shrubs in suburban neighborhoods, much to the chagrin of the homeowner!
Didn’t a MT Lion get hit by a car here in NH a while back, maybe in 2014? I thought I remember seeing that story. I do remember one being photographed in Barnstead 2 or 3 years ago…”experts” said it was a pet Mt Lion that must have escaped lol. If you think about it, southern NH with the exploding deer population is perfect habitat for a Mt lion. I have found partially eaten dead deer while out snow shoeing…they could have died by starving, or brought down by a bobcat or coyotes but, it’s a ready and easy food source.
Why, when people mention they have posted pictures they never show up here? This is a tease, really.
With this WordPress site, I’m the only one who can post pictures. I always contact folks who say they have photos, and post them if you send them to me. Often I don’t hear back from those people.
My bad.. I do see now that you have them on a separate page. The only way to get a picture of something you are looking at without having to fumble for your iPhone is to have a GoPro attached to your headband while hiking!
worcester telegram 11/30/16 page A3 mountain lion tested from attack on horse last June in petersham mass. Dna results from university of florida Gainsville. What is fish and game to say now??
Second hand report, spotted today 11/21/16 Newport NH,. Large, bigger than Rottweiler, mid afternoon. Coyote and turkey are abundant.
11/11/2016 1am EST a light/medium brown mountain lion, stood at least 3′ from ground to shoulders, 4-5′ nose to tail, within 30 yards of my position on my back garage steps. Neighbor recently bestowed me with a large container of chicken waste for my garden, and i’ve had it in my garage until i can dry it; he was stalking my garage thinking i had chickens, saw him on 3 separate occasions using my headlamp shining directly at him he just calmly stared back at me in curiosity, it was unmistakable, i’ve had coyote, bear, fisher, fox etc. in my yard and woods behind, but this was a large cat, i heard him clearly because of all the leaves being down; he was noisier than normal. I live in Goffstown, NH
I forgot to write the date of my sighting described below: Wednesday, October 26, 2016 around 2:45 pm.
I saw clearly a large cat, about the height (or slightly taller)of my dog- 2′ to middle of her back, but more muscular with larger paws and a long tail. The animal’s fur was uniformly light brown, no spots, and its head was round with small ears held back, not pinned closely to its head, as it loped across the road in front of my car. I’m guessing it was 75′- 100′ away. I drove south on the West Hopkinton Rd., a dirt road in the northwest corner of Hopkinton. The cat crossed the road from a heavily wooded area along a stream (Hardy Spring Brook) to a marsh on the other side, heading west. It was around 2:45 pm.
As i was driving on 28 in Alton just about to hit the Wolfeboro line. A road I have driven countless times. about 2:30 p.m. Very windy and after 2 days of rain. Cold at elevation. I was immediately shocked at the size of the cat slinking across the road in front of me, giving me a look as it crossed. I had a clear line of sight at about 100 ft.I pulled over immediately and it paused at the tree line to give me a second look at its beautiful eyes. I have seen bobcats in the wild and have a Great Pyrennes dog which it looked just smaller then in my mind anyway.
Sap house road Sutton NH.
My daughters friend lives there and they have seen a “cougar” on their property.
Last week I spoke to my next door neighbor who claims to have seen one cross in front of her car next to her house last winter (Dec of 2015) Large Mt Lion with a long tail. They claim to have later seen it in another neighbor’s yard while with a small group of friends. Knowledgeable outdoor folks. This would be Kings Hwy New Durham. Our property borders 35k+acres of conservation/state land. Second hand report I know, but I found the Lilly pond/rt 28 Alton sighting below interesting since that is just a few miles through the woods. I have a trail cam and will keep my fingers crossed, so far I have photos of every other large and medium sized animal living in the state after just 6 or 7 months. The fish and game comments make me smile, unless you have a body or a photo with a lion holding the local newspaper with the days date…
I saw a large animal that looked like a mountain lion in Walpole, NH at Alyson’s Orchards on Thursday, Oct. 13 at around 11:30 p.m. I missed it crossing in front of my car by about 20 seconds. I saw it at the base of the hill and it was bounding up the hill at a rapid pace.
I spotted one on Four Rod Road in the summer of 2003
While hiking the back side of RT 2 last weekend, we came across several large cat prints. We hiked the ledge trail then headed straight across to lookout ledge. Lots of prints imbedded in the thick moss near the lookout. We looped around descending down Sargent path and there were several spots with claw marks on the rocks. The paw prints had three clearly defined pads. We saw marks the year before wet on a dry day on a flat rock while hiking down from mossy falls via the amphibrach trail which is almost directly across RT 2 where we spotted prints this year. Not sure if it is bobcat or mountain lion. Fish and game should definitely check this area out the trails are more remote and not heavily traveled.
Oct. 7, 2016. 8:40 am. Just saw a good size mountain lion cross the road on Old Sutton Road, Sutton, NH.
I was driving rt 16 in ossipee NH when I seen a big cat cross the road by big moose rv and walk in the woods I stopped my car and watch this thing go in the woods it was not no Bob cat this was for sure a mountain lion I have seen them before at swam lake Science Center and in Montana so I know what I have seen I have seen this cat now twice with in the last three days ..I put up a trail camera and I am hoping to get pics of this big cat soon ..
On September 27 I was hauling my bulldozer up ragged mtn fish and game club in Andover when a black panther mtn lion made two leaps across a 20 foot road approx 50 ft in front of us As I let off the peddle Ryan my passenger and I both looked at each other and said did you see that The tail was as long as the body and the head looked to be wider then the front shoulders
Full grown mountain lion crossed rt 13 Milford NH ,1/2 mi before Lull farmstand about 3pm today 9/24/16
What does NH Fish and Game say about this? I hope you reported it!
I saw a large mountain lion in my yard this past Saturday 10/22/16 at 3PM in Milford NH. I called fish and game and reported it.
Today, at about 4pm, headed home from work on Rt. 3 North, between Whitefield and Lancaster I saw what appeared to be two juvenile mountain lions. I was traveling about 50, and noticed something crossing the road. I was able to bring the car to a stop before a second one followed the first, about 20ft. in front of my car. They both kind of took their time, so I got a pretty decent look. They were a solid fawn color. No spotting. The second one looked right at me as he walked across the road. They were identical to one another. Size wise I would say they were about the size of a 3-4 month lab pup.
Hi. About 8:00 this morning I was looking out the kitchen window when I saw what I first thought was a large tan/brown dog moving through the yard and up our hill. The more I looked at it and saw its walking gait, I realized it wasn’t a dog, but a very large cat. I could tell it was not a wildcat/bobcat because it wasn’t grey and it was much bigger. I had no idea cats of this size lived in NH. In any case, it went up our hill and I watched it with its slinking kind of gait as it walked occasionally stopping and looking back. I kept staring at it amazed at how huge it was. We are only about a mile from route 4 in Epsom, yet here is this big cougar or mountain lion. Wow!
I hope both you and Lance reported what you saw to the Fish and Game dept? Folks have your cell cameras ready for when this happens!
Where in epsom?
I live about a mile off route 4 in Epsom as well, and I’m 99% sure what I saw in my yard was a mountain lion based on its size, gait, eye spacing, and the color of the reflection of the eyes. It was about 1:30AM and it’s killed some of my chickens 2 nights in a row! My house cat was not afraid of it at all, which was also strange. Using my truck’s headlights and a headlamp we lit up the yard and I could tell it was very large and tanish/brown. I had to yell at it repeatedly to make it leave and it stared at my for a while and slowly walked away, stopping every so often to look back at me. A few minutes after it left I looked out and it had come back! It did this a couple times until I decided I really needed to get back to sleep. It’s very unnerving though.
I was training my dog with a group in Killingly, Connecticut today. As I usually do when meeting new people who “live in the hinterlands”, I asked them if there are mountain lions.
Every single one said it’s well known that they’ve been in the area for at least the last 15 years.
One gal said that someone she knows personally in an applicable government agency told her they know lions are here but not in great numbers and they don’t want to scare the citizens.
Nothing you haven’t heard before but just interesting stuff.
I saw what I think to be a mountain lion today, in Campton, NH. I was sitting by the Mad river off route 49 in a secluded area I like to go to. It came out to the other side of the river to drink. It was less than 100 feet away and out in the open. It was a little taller than my 25 pound dog, all grey or brown, no markings. It’s tail didn’t quite reach the ground but was longer than a bobbed tail.
Derry NH 1055 AM Thursday September 8, 2016 walking across a field into forest off of Bypass 28. A beautiful sleek tawny colored mountain lion with long tail just meandered into the forest.
Where specifically on bypass 28? Past pinkerton? Closer to whispering pines?
I have followed this site for some time and am convinced that at least some of the sightings are indeed of Mt. Lions. Especially as the grandfather of a small child and the great uncle of several others I’d very much like to know if there have been any attacks on children reported.
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To Paul, In general, no, a wild cat (bobcat or mountain lion) will not attack people. Such attacks are very rare, even out west where there are thousands of mountain lions.
Somebody else in Derry and Wyndham NH had to see this animal. It was spotted same time very close area last summer Aug 15 for 3 weeks. It was during the day. I think it was looking for water. The brooks and ponds are dry in all the areas surroundings.
I am starting to believe now it may be a large bobcat that I saw. The same day that I saw the cat going into the forest near Humphrey Road in Derry NH , a woman’s rabbit cage got attacked on Humphrey road and she has photos of the animal. You can see them on Facebook Bringing Derry together. The cat does look very similar to what a saw but I really thought I saw a long tail but I could have been mistaken since it was far enough away.
Near Humphrey Rd. Bypass 28
Yea last year around aug 11 but there never came anything of it however fish and gamr actually came out to check on it which is unusual. They reported all they found was fox tracks. My belief is it probably wouldn’t stick around tbat long if it was infact a cougar and if it did it may be seen more or atleast we would pick up on. Signs of a resident cat. Again that’s just a thought
Humphrey Road area
I saw a large black cat walking down my street! It was definitely a cat. All Black, large green eyes, and a long heavy tail. I was thinking it was a black bob cat but the picture in this blog looks just like the cat I saw only black. No doubt at all, I did not mistake it for another animal. It was broad daylight and the cat was walking down the street! I live in Epping NH
Where in epping did you see this? Are you close to Holt Rd?
Just had one of these black cats in our backyard and we are in Gonic
Was this near Holt Rd/Mill Pond Rd area?
I did a paper route for the Union Leader and Concord Monitor for about 8 years and covered the Sunapee region. While going up to deliver to Mount Sunapee ski area, a big black cat (long tail) ran right in front of my car going quite fast across the street. It had a Mountain Lion body but was black. Immediately I thought it was a black panther. I had told many people about the sighting but nobody believed it could be one since they are not in America. This was some time ago. Sometime in 2011.
I also have seen many bobcats in the Bradford, NH area. I used to see them every night on my newspaper route but never saw any mountain lions.
Did you get pictures of the prints? If not could you sent a better description of location so I could
A few days ago I was riding in New Ipswich, NH and I stopped to allow the horse to stretch his neck and rest a minute. I caught motion out of the corner of my eye. When I looked there was full grown mountain lion standing watching us. It was ~75 feet from us. Close enough that I could see the yellow eyes, long tail, facial features and tan color very clearly. I estimate it to be about 100 -120 lbs and about 24-30 inches at the shoulder. It stood and watched us for 15-20 seconds. The wind was at our backs so the horse did not catch the scent or sight of it thankfully. I watched with my mouth literally agap as it slowly turned and walked back up the trail with it’s tail swishing in an annoyed fashion. We see bobcats and coyotes frequently.. No doubt in my mind whatsoever about what it was given the size and 2-3 ft long tail. The tracks in soft sand were 4-4.5 inches across. I have caught glimpses a few other times, but in each case it was so fleeting as to be highly questionable. Not this time.
Someone else just reported a mountain lion today on Appleton Rd in new Ipswich
Details?
https://m.facebook.com/groups/364766793556316?view=permalink&id=1292081680824818. Its on the life in new Ipswich Facebook page
i would like to report that I saw a mountain lion last night in Alton,NH
I was walking down Rt 28N at dusk, last night and one crossed rt 28 near Lilly Pond Road about 200 feet in front of me. It took a minute to register as I have never seen one before and I have lived in Alton pretty much all my life.
it was both neat to see and a little scary as I reversed my direction and headed home maybe a little faster than normal but watching to see if I could spot it again. I did not see it again.
Last night 8/30/16 I saw a mountain lion, in Alton,NH, I was walking south on rt 28 from Bowman Road to Lilly Pond road when about 200 feet ahead of me I saw an animal run across the road, it took a minute to register what is it? too big for a bobcat but still a cat…..a mountain lion, which might explains why the deer population is not as abundant as previous years.
I was walking in Pittsburg NH on the Deadwater atv trail on August 23’rd around noon. I was about 3 miles in and turned around on the trail to make my way back when I saw it. I was about 100 feet away and it took me about 20 seconds to register what I was seeing. I’m not an avid hiker but I love to walk in secluded areas and have thought about all the animals I might run into. A mountain lion never crossed my mind. I’m 55 and they were around when I was a kid growing up so I know what they look like, but I thought they were pretty much gone. I would say it was about 3-4 feet long, a long tail, the color of a deer and very muscular looking. We looked at each other for about 30 seconds and I picked up some rocks (I was sort of at a loss as to what to do) and it slunk off into the woods. I had my camera but was surprised and scared and needless to say I didn’t get a photo. I glanced over my shoulder frequently the whole way back.
The picture was taken from my kitchen window! I want to say I saw a long tail, but not sure if in the picture it is bring wagged to the side ? I watched it for a minute… It was up against my neighbors deck wall… My 2 year old daughter whom I was holding said, “look a cat” and I turn to look out the window and realized that was no car! Next, I watched it saunter up a wood hill in our backyard… I wanted to go outside to get better pictures, but I was afraid to get attacked!
Yes, I have a photo! How do I share it with you? It was less than 100 ft away. It had tan color fur…. It was HUGE! It was in my neighbors yard beside her deck/wall I would say it was 3 feet tall, over 100 pounds. I wondered if it was in my neighbors yard because she has cats inside the house that it might of smelled? I am nervous because the time was only 5:45 pm my kids sometimes play outside at this time! Please advise… Do we not go out ever again to play in the yard? Would it attack? I called animal control but they weren’t very helpful?! 🙁🙁
Email the photo to me at john.f.ranta@gmail.com. I can post it here. Thanks!
SO where is the photo? I”m curious to see how she could have mistaken a Bobcat for a Lion.
Where was this?
In general, no, a wild cat (bobcat or mountain lion) will not attack people. Such attacks are very rare. They might attack pets.
Michelle (emailed me a photo, which I will post in photos), that’s a bobcat. It’s a great coincidence, someone else emailed me a similar photo of this bobcat, in Salem, a couple of hours ago. A beautiful animal, and big for a bobcat. It’s acting pretty bold, to be in a backyard in mid-day. Likely a female, hunting for her cubs. A friend of mine, here in Hancock, had a female bobcat stalking her chickens in mid-summer a couple of years ago, and took several pictures. Impressive, and a bit scary to have a big predator in your backyard.
Bobcat video
Sent from my iPhone
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Last question? Do you have a Facebook page?
Sent from my iPhone
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No, sorry, I don’t do Facebook.
Michelle, there is a FB page for ML sightings where you can post your pics directly. It’s called Mountain Lions in NH.
I was startled when I looked out my kitchen window to see what I thought to be a Mountain Lion in my neighbors yard! It was hugeeeee! At least 3 feet high easily over 200 pounds! I am nervous about this because it was 5:45 pm, light out and I have 4 young children that play outside! Could you tell me if in fact it is a Mountain Lion ? And do they attack? Thx!
Michelle, it’s hard to say, without more evidence. Where was this? What time? What did the animal do? How long did you see it? How far away was it? Can you give us details on its appearance, in particular, its tail? Did you get a photo?
Try to be more exact with reports. The reason most reports are ‘laughed off’ are due to these types of misrepresentations or exaggerations. A 200 lb cat is more like an African lioness or Jaguar.
Please show us!
I just saw a mountain lion in my back field. I live in South Sutton 03273. It looked exactly like your picture. It is 8:50am and he was about 100yds. away. I was able to get a picture, which is a little blurry but good enough to tell what it is. It was about 100lbs give or take. Same exact color as your picture. I spooked it when I tried to get closer. He was just walking north to south, very slow.
Woah boy is this it?? Stephen look down and find John ranta’s email. And also could you please send it to me too? Fitnessfx@live.com
Are you posting the photo?
Tuesday August 16, 2016 NH route 89 north near exit 8 at 6:15am mountain lion crossed the highway safely and alone.
What’s the deal with big black cats? I have been under the impression there are no black Panthers in truth or no black Cougars only melanistic Jaguars and leopards which are not wild in north America. So what’s going on with black cougar claims ?
Good question! Seems like it would be tough for a 150lb+ animal, black to hide out all winter in the New England snow.
That’s for sure, my rottie is 145lbs and this thing that went across the road was defiantly bigger than him. The only black cougars I’ve ever heard of are in the everglades and very scarce. Im looking into a dash cam to capture all my driving, in the last year I’ve seen bear, a wolf and now this. My wife thinks I’m crazy!
I had read the Black Puma is in the everglades, but no freakin way it would make it to NH without being spotted!
Large, wild black cats in New Hampshire are exceedingly unlikely. Worldwide they are very rare. In North America, large wild black cats are non-existent. I’ve received two photos over the past couple of years of large “black cats”. One was a house cat, the other was a fisher. With all due respect to the person who made this report, it’s very doubtful. JR
Professionals say there are no black cats except for jaguars and leopards, however I’ve collected hundreds of sightings reports of black cats. Most look like black cougars (one person saw a tawny and a black cougar together), two had spots like a jaguar and a smaller number were long-legged, skinny waisted cats (like a cheetah) with long curved tails that may also be interbreeding with both cougars and bobcats from some of the stranger descriptions of a few of the cats that don’t fit into any category!
I was driving a truck from Moultonborough to Center Tuftonboro today. I was headed south on Sodom Rd. at approx 11:30am. In front of me about half a football field from right to left a big black cat walked across the road, when I first spotted it I thought it was a dog, but it was to big with a small head and no pointed nose. This thing made my rottweiler look small. It had a long sleek tail curled at the end. As I went by the wooded area that it went into and I stopped, it had vanished into the woods.I haven’t told anyone for fear there gonna think I’m nuts. Has any one seen a black cat like this in that area? I couldn’t get my phone out fast enough!
Hi, you’re not crazy. I have seen two black cats in SW NH. Also, in my database, about 20% of big cat sightings are black. I don’t have any sightings of black cats (tan and yellow though) in Tuftonboro, but in Moultonborough, one was seen on 8/30/92 and another on 1/19/00. I’d love to hear more lmcracken2002@yahoo.com .
Aug 10, 2016 I was driving home from work on Baptist Rd. in Canterbury, NH and spotted a medium size cat cross the road in front of me. it was larger than a house cat, was tan in color and white on the ears. it happened so fast that I didn’t see the tail area. The fur was sleek, perhaps a young mountain lion.
Given Occam’s razor, as well as the size and color, it was likely a bobcat. Still a rare, and cool, sighting. JR
It was a young Bobcat.
dminton28@gmail.com
I live off Hackleboro Road in Canterbury and I have caught several glimpses of what appears to be a cat (bobcat or young mountain lion) tan color, long tail, short fur. It has a path near the edge of the property and have seen it pass through the same spot several times. I am planning on getting a video camera to record it.
Ellen
Thank you all for your responses and for the posting of the red fox screaming. If I hear the sound again maybe I’ll be able to get it recorded on my phone. Who knows what it was but I appreciate all of your responses.
Yes, I’ve heard a red fox scream before, which is a rather startling sound, and I’ve heard the yelps and cries of coyotes out in the woods, but this scream was very different. It really sounded like a woman screaming. We saw a video of a mountain lion screaming on you tube and what we listened to and saw was a clip of an actual mountain lion making those sounds. I don’t have any idea what we heard screaming in the woods, but it sounded just like the clip of the mountain lion screaming.
Could have been bobcat, fox or coyote. I’ve heard all three at one time or another make banshee like screams.
The other night, at around 8:30, my husband was in our backyard taking our dogs out, when he heard a loud sound coming from the woods which he said sounded like a woman screaming. I heard that same screaming a few nights ago around 9:00 pm when I was outside with the dogs. We listened to recordings on the internet of mountain lions screaming and what we heard sounded just like the recordings on the internet of mountain lions. We live in Gilford and our house abuts the woods. I have no idea if it was a mountain lion or not but the internet recordings and what we heard coming from the woods sounded exactly the same. It is a very scary sound, freaked us both out and the dogs.
Tamara, the scream sound in the woods is most likely either a fisher cat or a fox. Both have a very scary sound in the night that resembles that of a girl being attacked. The first time I heard it in the neighborhood I used to live in, people started opening up windows in the night and calling out “hey anyone need help”, etc.
Tamara, of course we too have no way of knowing what you heard either, but wondering if it was a red fox, which fits the description of what you described. The sounds of a mountain lion that you found on a Google search, did they include an actual picture of the cougar crying out? I ask because I have found many red fox calls attributed to cougars, fisher cats, and more. Here is a 10 second link to a red fox scream with the visual proof of the sound coming from a red fox. I have red fox denning in my yard (4 acres, heavily wooded) and have had dens in my yard for over 10 years so I hear the screams frequently and have actually seen the fox screaming and have communicated with them. Is this what you heard? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk1mAd77Hr4
Could be a fisher. When I first moved here 40 years ago, I called the police a number of times to report a girl screaming in the woods. It was a fisher, more than once.
Michael Bean,
Very Cool! I saw one on Osgood Road in Sanbornton at about 9:45PM in February 2015.
Was sitting on the Farmers Porch last evening at my Farm in Sanbornton NH
Had just fed Cows & Lambs . It was 6:30 pm on Saturday the 7th of August
I have several pastures that border 93 southbound . All of a sudden I see this
Suede looking animal run through 1 pasture cross the nearly dry Brook and run into another pasture . It stopped behind a rock . I had to look twice as I’ve been here 30 years and never saw an animal like this . I thought a dog but too tan . A face like a cat but big as a dog and a tail that was very long and curved . It stayed only a second and continued running . No doubt in my mind it was a mountain lion . Luckily my cows were on the farm side in the meadow . My 2 Border Collies saw him and we’re just as shocked as I was . Plain as day , a dog with a cat face and one hell of a tail . This animal moved so fast and so sure footed . Wow !!!
No photos? No video? Set up a trail cam of some type or security cam outside your chicken coop, or aiming towards the coop.
That will be proof positive.
8/4. our mountain lion is back. This visit was from the woods behind our chicken run around noon. I guess he’s hoping for a quick meal.
The only concern is that he’s not nearly as frightened of us as he should be. My daughter yelled and waved her hands at him and he slowly walked back into the woods. Not sure if we need worry?
Photos?
Trying to get photo…
This is the second time that we have seen the mountain lion. Same time last year July 30th.
It is small/medium, Carmel color, and a long tail.
We have chickens that were free ranging around 3:30pm this afternoon and it was hoping for an easy meal.
New Boston, nh
07/30/2016 @ 12:15 am
My motion light in the back yard turned on. I thought it maybe the racoon’s or the black bear again. Saw a very large cat. Bigger than a bob cat. Also had a long bushy tail. Brown in color. It only stayed in sight for maybe 30 seconds.
Roy F. Webster NH
My husband saw what he truly believes to be a mountain lion last Wednesday. It walked in the road in front of him only 5 ft away and turned to look at him and then proceeded to walk into our yard. He didn’t have his phone on him at the time to take a photo. He describes it just like the photo above. It was no bobcat. Our neighbor saw it two days later coming out of our yard. We contacted Fish and Game and were basically laughed at but the animal control officer in our town was intrigued and believes they are here. My husband gave an interview for NH1 and was on the news about it tonight. -Sara, Pittsfield, NH
This is a hot area right now another woman in barnstead saw what she believes is a cougar and was in nh1 a couple days ago. Right down the road from Pittsfield
John have you ever read in 2002 that cougar scat was found in the ossipee mountains ? I’ve seen in a couple times through out my reading but wonder why it’s never treacly acknowledged in terms of confirmations in northeast
In the past month Mountain lion on Route 31 in Washington. Another sighted near the airport in Deering, NH. Large beige cat long bushy tail around 40″ tall head to foot.
The week before July 4 a large tan cat with a long thick tail was sighted by 2 people in Windsor, NH near White Pond (during daylight hours, on an unpaved road. The two people that saw it are well known in the area and reliable, not prone to “telling stories”. They both stated it was tan with a long tail, definately not a bobcat. I didn’t post the report here when they (both) told me the story on July 3, since i did not personally see the animal.
It’s a good bit of information. Eventually someone will get a good picture. Perhaps with hunting season approaching and more cameras in the woods?
I was driving on Rte 101 West about 4pm tonight, I saw what looked like to me to be a mountain lion run across the road from Labelle Winery into the woods by the K9 Country Kennel dog park area. Long tail brown and ran low to ground and fast. No picture…sorry.
Hi. We had a sighting in New London NH. I’m not sure how to upload the pic? I can email it to you. Unfortunately we didn’t get the tail in the photo but this big kitty had a long tail with a black tip. We had a really really bad microburst go through and then he/she appeared in the yard.
Email me the picture. john.f.ranta@gmail.com I’ll post it here…
Here’s a picture taken in sullivan county NH on june 3 2016 at 5.14 am fish and game called it a bobcat don’t think so.
ps john this is cory i will email you the photo
Roy E Fanjoy, bushy tail? Not long tubular tail? Bushy tail makes me think Eastern coyote, which has wolf DNA and is much larger than a typical western coyote. Or, a mottled-colored red fox?
Yesterday morning around 10:30am my parents were traveling south on Rte. 3 in Whitefield NH and another car had it an animal. It had ran out in front of the car and traffic had come to a halt. My parent said it was not a bobcat because it had a long tail and was too big to be a domestic cat. They believe it was a young mountain lion and the poor things back was possible broken because it was trying to crawl away.
Did they get a photo? JR
My husband and I were driving last night in Amherst nh. We saw a large cat like animal in cemetery field on Merrimack rd.
We reversed and parked to get a better look. We watched this reddish brown, sleek, cat like animal with a long tail. The tail was white at the tip and came down to the ground. We were far away but got to watch it roam around in the grass before it walked into the woods. It walked like a cat not like a dog and was definitely not a fox. It moved slowly and gracefully. About the size of a medium size dog
We thought maybe a bobcat but the coloring and tail Are not bobcat like.
Did not get a picture. We just enjoyed watching and wondering what it was! I’m pretty sure it was a mountain lion.
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
Hi Sarah. The mountain lion was in our yard this afternoon! It was after our chickens. The kids scared it away.
Nancy Fenter
Mt. Lion spotted in back yard on 7/20/16 in the morning off Hoit Road in Concord, NH near the intersection of Graham Road. NTB.
My husband just saw a mountain lion come across our road in front of him as he was pulling into our yard. It went into our yard. I don’t have any other details because I didn’t have long to talk to him about it. I’m assuming this is something we should report to Fish and Game..?
This morning July 18 2016 at 4:20 am on my way to work, I saw this large animal run in front of my truck on Mitchell pond road in Windham NH. This was not a cat or a bobcat or a fox. After researching the internet I believe this was a mountain lion.
Hi, I just saw a large feline with short brown fur crossing Route 10 in Northern Grantham, NH. It was too large to be a house cat. It looked back at me and it definitely looked like a wild cat in the face and not a domestic cat. It was moving quickly. I am relatively new to New Hampshire and don’t know much about the wildlife so I made a few phone calls and started looking online. My conclusion is that it was a mountain lion. I don’t know what else it could have been. It definitely wasn’t a bobcat because it was solid brown and not spotted and the hair was shorter.
I read the Worcester Telegram articles and those who saw the mountain lion are sure it was no housecat. It was reported to be the size of a german shepherd. It’s reasonable that a lactating feline, or an older one would have a droopy paunch. This is clearly not a hoax. Seeing is believing.
I saw a wild large cat running across Grant Road in Newmarket late yesterday. After doing some research, I believe it was a younger mountain lion.
Not a Bobcat, Pam? There are definitely Boboats in NH. The greatest distinction is made with regard to their tail.
We spotted a large cat on 7/3. It walked across our driveway at 9-9:30AM while we sat on our elevated back deck. I originally thought it was a brown grey hound when spotted out of the corner of my eye. However, once we made a sound it turned in my driveway and I had about a 30 second view of the animal, alerting our friend there was a mountain lion in our driveway. There was a second adult who witnessed the animal then saunter off through the woods over several minutes. We had a 70lb boxer and a 35lb mutt in the back pen. Neither reacted. We were more concerned about the dogs than photographing what we saw. We hoped it was a large bobcat!?. But, after reading descriptions, the long tail (long tail down the back of the leg) size (15-20 lbs bigger than our boxer) and coat (brown, short haired, no spots) describe a mountain lion. Either way, it is a 90-100 lb cat in our midst. We called the authorities. However, I must attest the cat was calm and none of us felt he/ she posed a threat. He/she was calm and could’ve hurt the dogs if he/she chose. But let us get them in safely w/no incident. It was maybe 50 yards away and never threatened any of us. We alerted our neighbors as they have small children but otherwise feel very safe. After reading posts, I wish we had it photographed. We had a 5-10 minute view. We are 100% sure what we saw. I was reluctant to report what we saw because I wouldn’t want him/her hurt. We have had a lot of development in our neighborhood which may be pushing him/her out of her den . Whether it is a large bobcat, lynx, or a small mountain lion..there was no ill intent. He/she was just a large, beautiful animal. Once in a lifetime sighting.
Laura, where was this? JR
Epping, NH
Laura was this near the Holt Rd area ?
That Webster photo was not a Mt. Lion. Having seen one clearly myself you never forget that thick heavy tail. That skinny tail just wasn’t right. No disrespect meant.
Had a lion scream a bit before midnight in North Woodstock last night 7/3. Wasn’t able to actually see it besides the two cat eyes on the edge of the dark forest 30ish feet away – but the call was without a doubt that of a cougar. Gave me and my friends a good jump!
That Webster Ma cat looks like a domestic cat to me. Just by the flabby skin on it. I have never seen a wild animal with that much loose skin on it. Even just after it gives birth. Idk do I have a good opinion?
I agree, the webster cat is not a mtn lion, its too short and as you say, the tail is wrong.
Folks, I just posted two photos of the cat in Webster, MA. On the photos page. JR
Hello! I was so excited to see pictures of a mountain lion! But I would have to agree that the cat in the picture looks to be like a domestic house cat. I have twice seen what I believe was a mountain lion and it looked nothing like that. The cat I saw was very sleek, thin and muscular with a very long thick tail. Oh well! We will all keep hoping for that great picture of a real mountain lion in NH!
July 3rd 2016
I was traveling back on Rte. 11 towards the Walmart mall and right before the Laconia Airpport, a large, muscular reddish brown cat with a long tail ran in front of my car. I had to apply my brakes, but it was very fast. I wondered what it was…..at first I thought it might have been a bobcat….but it had a long tail. It’s’ fur was much sleeker. When I got home I did a little research on the Internet and I think it may has been a mountain lion.
Worcester Telegram 7/1/2016 front page picture of mountain lion taken in Webster Mass.Looks good to me!
I saw the article, and two photos. What’s not clear is how big that cat is. You can see behind it some ox-eye daisies, and other weeds. The daisies (which generally grow 20-30 inches tall) are taller than the cat’s head. It’s hard to know the camera position and angle, but it looks like it was about level with the cat. If so, the top of the cat’s head might be as low as 16-18 inches, or up to maybe 26-28 inches. So it could be a housecat. It would be very helpful if someone stood a yardstick up where that cat was, and took the same picture, for scale.
I think I saw one of these yesterday morning. Little smaller but looked just like this
In Sanbornton on Hunkins pond road just before 8 a.m. saw a small, probably juvenile, mountain lion. Got a good, side on view. Color, body, tail…everything fit.
I saw a mountain lion while walking my dog about 8 weeks ago. It was def a mountain lion. Mountain lions are in NH.
Sylvia, can you provide more detail? Where exactly? Time of day? Mountain lion behavior – what was it doing, how long did you observe it? Anything else noteworthy? Thanks, jr
Approximately 3:30 today, on Long street in Webster, NH saw a tawny gold cat standing almost as tall as the hood of my Chevy Sonic. Smooth coat, long tail, solid in color w/ no markings. Probably got 5-10 second look @ it. Ran out of a field in front of my car. It got spooked and froze briefly looking like it was considering going back the same direction it came from but then continued across the road heading in a roughly northern direction.
I saw a mountain lion cross my path about 100 yards in front of me, in the woods of Loudon, with the street borders of Route 106, Staniels Road, Ricker Road, and Chichester Road, on Monday June 20th, at 6:30pm. At first, i thought it was a loose dog, and kept walking toward it. It kept moving along its path amd I froze, realizing it had a head like a cat, and walked like a cat. It had a long body about 3 feet tall, with a long upward curling tail. I quickly backed uo amd returned home without incident.
hello my neighbor saw one this morning around 8 am in our back yard,he said it was at the edge of the lawn and walked to a small opening in the brush and was gone, this opening is about 40 yards away from the house, we live on the campton/ thornton line in the waterville estates area. This makes me very nervous because that is where my kids play…
One in Lebanon crossed on Rt. 120 a few days ago.
Just last week as I passed through Chester heading toward Auburn, a large black animal cross road appx 75 ft in front of me. As I got closer it appeared to be a mountain lion…certainly too big to be a Bob cat.. he ran into woods.
We live in Chester New Hampshire and have seen two mountain lions we believe. We have chickens maintained in our yard and a very secure coop but we feel that they are interested in them. It’s June 21 at 8:30 pm is when we spotted them and they were lurking in the woods behind our coop. We could see the size, possibly about 3 feet long. they were a gray-ish brown.
June 13th, returning from Laconia in the motocycle via back roads, was on rt 13, just south of rt 130 around 1:40 pm. Saw a large tan animal on the side of the road heading into the woods. Very long, slightly puffy tail, large body and its head was down so I couldn’t see any features from the front. Having had nearly 9 cats in my life, its movement was absolutely cat like. No doubt in my mind it was a mountain lion.
I have a neighbor who saw one cross his yard in Ossipee ( yard boarders effingham ) through his windows while he was doing his dishes at his kitchen sink.
Last year (2015).
june 19 2016 9.15 am traveling east rt 25 in freedom between 153 an the new brige had to slam my brakes on one cat running very fast across rt 25 have hunted an followed the migration of animals over the years this was eather a very large bobcat or a 50 pound or so mountin lion I don’t believe bobcats get that large its was crossing toward Effingham it happened so fast I didn’t notice if it had a tail but I had a good look at its head an it didn’t have the color off a bob cat I have one mounted an this was lighter an looked to be one color . Seems to be a few sightings in this area . I might be wrong but I don’t think bobcats get this big . Wild life population is growing at a fast rate since the ban of DDT an so are the ticks
Tuesday, June 14th, 1:40pm riding back to Mass from Laconia on my motorcyle on rt 13 just south of Rt 130, saw a large tan colored animal on right shoulder heading into the woods. Had a very long cat like tail, head was down so I couldn’t see any facial features. Damn sure that was a mountain lion.
Since the last verified kill occurred many years ago, it’s probably true that so-called sightings of mountain lions in New England are a product of an overly-active imagination or a misplaced desire for fame and notoriety leading to the posting of photos taken in other parts of the country. But what if there actually were mountain lions repopulating New England forests? The knowledge that these beautiful animals are no longer extinct in this area should be cause for celebration, but it should be a quiet, personal celebration, rather than one where you rush to tell the world. Are all the people who have posted comments so naïve as to think that there aren’t trigger happy hunters that are following these conversations and are willing to travel anywhere to gain the distinction of having brought the only remaining mountain lion to the local taxidermist? One of the earliest of these comments was from Marie, who wished that someone would “do something” about an animal that might attack her pets or children. I’m sure that there are a large number of hunters that would be willing to oblige her by “doing something”, whether it were legal or not. With centuries of practice, humans are pro’s when it comes to upsetting the balance of nature, and haven’t a clue that predators are essential for the health of any ecosystem… or, if they do, they don’t give a damn. Typical of the flawed logic displayed by “Great White Hunters” is their assertion that predators must be killed to, for instance, preserve the deer population. What they don’t admit, is that they want no competition when they go into the woods each fall with their weapons locked and loaded. If asked why they hunt…sorry, “harvest”… they say the deer population is too large to be supported by the food supply, and they are simply saving the poor deer from a horrible death by starvation. Hypocrites!
My friend and I saw a mountain lion June 14, at about 10:30 AM in Lyndeborough. It crossed the road in front of the car and ran into the woods. The large, chunky tail was outstanding, as was the gait, low and cat like, not at all like a bob cat’s. It was tan, about 110 lbs. or so.
Wow David,
That is well stated however your description of people who hunt and their view of nature is quite twisted.
I know many who hunt to provide healthy food for their family, and have a great deal of respect for nature as well as a high regard for the animals in the forests.
Most are very well educated stable minded individuals who have no desire to assist with the extinction of any species.
your racial remark ,”Great White Hunters” is not only distasteful and hurtful, it demonstrates a high level of ignorance, and bigotry.
This closed minded thinking you share fuels an industry that teats animals with extreme cruelty, and chemically induced unhealthy meat for the public to consume by the tons with a gilt free consciousness of denial.
The commercial meat industry is built and sustained by folks spouting such statements as you do.
I suggest you do a little research into these industries before judging the naturalist who obtain food in humane healthy ways.
Regarding the Last Mountain Lion Killed, It is the last reported Mountain lion killed in the state. if you do a little research into sightings in New Hampshire, you will find a confirmed and documented sighting by a Fish and Game officer In the State of New Hampshire just a few years ago.
As many accurate sighting that have been reported, as well as Mountain lions killed by motor vehicles in areas where they believed to have been extinct , the Fish and Game responses have varied from escaped pets, and animals that have traveled outside their range.
If you look back 40 years ago it was unheard of to have wolves reported in New Hampshire, and over the past 10 years there have been documented findings of those animals as well.
Check out the Eagles
Okay, I’ve approved your comment, so each of you have expressed your opinion. If this escalates into a blog war, I’ll delete and block further posts. So please play nice. JR
Just one in ossipee crossing rt 25. Awesome!!
might be the same one I saw in Effingham a couple months ago. Going through these blogs it seems to have a range of Sanbornville all the way up to Eaton
Looking at a map I see that I was actually in Effingham on rt 25. 7am it trotted across the road. It is very clear that this large cat is a mountain lion or the like, NOT a bobcat or Lynx. When you see one you know it!! I regret not having the where-with-all to take a pic. It’s a bit awe inspiring to see!
June 3 just after dark my wife and I saw a mountain lion cross the road in front of us as we drove through Eaton, NH. It was tan in color, lighter than a deer. It was a long animal with thick legs and a long tail. It had a very flat movement. I don’t see how it could be anything other than a mountain lion.
I saw a large cat cross 153 just n. of Eaton Ctr. yesterday–I couldn’t distinguish the tail or features as it was raining and I was 50 yds. away. At first I thought it was a deer but immediately realized it was a cat. It was either a large bobcat or a small mt. lion.
Biologists at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado apparently believe mountain lions do cache kills in trees, at least occasionally.
IMG_1021.MOV.mov
Are you able to hear this? Does it sound like a ML to you? It was recorded during the late evening last week in Amherst, NH. A visit from Fish and Game is leaving the videographer to believe he’s recorded a bobcat.
If you tried to attach that .mov file to your comment, it did not come through. At least I cannot read/see it.
Dear Andesitetech, the only response i have for you that over the many years there has been speculation regarding mountain lions and their behavior as it relates to treeing kills. Unless NH has an issue with Leopards killing and treeing…..something large is killing dogs and deer and treeing them. My husband and I are in the process of purchasing surveillance cameras for our property, and a camera to keep in our car. We hope to be ready for the next sighting and be able to prove the existence of the mountain lion — once and for all.
Marie, all I can say is that dozens of wildlife biologists, who study mountain lions in Florida, Colorado, Arizona, Texas and California, are on record as saying they’ve never seen a deer (or other prey) cached in a tree by a mountain lion. They don’t deny the possibility, but in their accumulated hundred or so years of study, they’ve never seen it.
Are you certain of your sources? This would be such an easy thing to photograph. Did they show you pictures? If not, I’d be very skeptical.
As for putting a game camera in your backyard, that’s great! We look forward to seeing your pictures, please keep us posted.
It has been documented that mountain lions DO put kill in trees occasionally if there are other scavengers around. That being said though, if they are present, get some track pictures, or pictures of them and submit them to John. Include some kind of verifiable scenery around them to show where they came from
As reported to me by my neighbor at notch view farm, it attacked his donkey and goat, bit donkey’s tail off, not sure if large goat going to make it through the night, goat was put on anti-biotic, several neighbors on Randall Road in Moultonborough have reported seeing it, one person (Ralph) has pic of paw prints. FISH AND GAME DENYING EXISTENCE WITHOUT PROOF.
Yes, of course Fish & Game seeking proof. Do you have proof that this attack was a mountain lion? Can you send photos of prints?
Lou, I spoke with my neighbor who owns the donkey and goat who were just over the last couple of days attacked by a mountain lion. We had the siting of the mountain lion on our property in March, and then again another separate smaller mountain lion was hunting our property in April while we were working in the yard. The smaller mountain lion looked like it could have been a female and it jumped on top of our yard dumpster in an effort to get to the contents.
We live less than 1-2 miles from the farm owner who just suffered the mountain lion attack to his livestock. I don’t know about everyone else, but we are very tired of the fish and game teams telling us that mountain lions do not exist in NH. We are very concerned that it is going to take a child being attacked before anyone takes this threat seriously. So far, dogs and deer have been found in trees in the immediate area. Mountain lions hunt their prey and are known to take their prey into trees. We should lobby for an acceptable response and action from our state. thanks, Marie
Mountain Lions do NOT put kills in trees.
Yes, some large cats like leopards have been known to bring carcasses into trees. However, there is NO verified account of any cougar / mountain lion bringing a kill up a tree
Marie, Fish & Game need evidence. Did anyone take pictures of the deer found in a tree? Has anyone taken pictures of claw or bite marks on the donkey? Did they take pictures of tracks?
I sympathize with Fish & Game. There have been hundreds of reports posted here over the past 5-6 years. I have yet to receive one valid picture of a mountain lion (I’ve received many invalid photos). I did receive a couple of pictures of tracks that are likely (can’t be certain) from a mountain lion. Until Fish & Game has solid evidence, they can’t issue reports that mountain lions are here. That would be irresponsible.
John, the issue is that most people don’t walk around with cameras on their body, nor does everyone have surveillance cameras in the yards…..unfortunately,
Marie, pretty much everyone walks around with a Smartphone, and hence a camera. And there are thousands of game cameras in the woods behind our houses, including mine. We’re still waiting for the first confirmed mountain lion photo or video. I’m hopeful, but still waiting…
We are located in Raymond, and caught what seems to be a smaller cat on a trail camera we had out back in the woods behind our house. Sighting was on May 21st, didn’t believe it was a mountain lion at first but the size and its length of tail are that of a mountain lion
Send me screen shots, please. john.f.ranta@gmail.com
I live on Depot Street in Antrim and this morning- Sunday May 22,2016 10am. I was working in the Yard. And I saw a big black cat with a very long tail cross the street by the river about 50 yards away from me. Size was a little smaller then a German Sheppard. I know there are plenty of cougars in NH, and Ive watched plenty of videos on them and the they way they move, this was definitely a cougar but I researched black ones and couldn’t find much. And it definitely was more black than brown. Any thoughts?
I measured the distance later, it was about 100 feet away from me. I set up a game camera along the river where it came from……Fingers crossed I get a few photos of it! Oh and the sighting was actually water Street in Antrim, I am on a corner lot. Again any thoughts on a blackish one would be great! Thanks.
HI Scott, I have a place in Windsor and a couple years back we had a big black cat show up, it’s also been seen in Bradford. Check this blog ,I posted a picture a while back. It was definately a big black cat, with a long tail.
Hi David, Thanks for your reply and feedback. I couldnt find the photo of it though. I looked under the photos section. When did you post it? Maybe I am not looking in the right area. Id really like to see it. Thanks again.
David I found the video. Nice job on your comparisons and measurements! The one I saw didnt have any white under its chin, and was by my guess a bit bigger. The tail was definitely longer. Again I really hope to get a few photos of it, assuming it will follow the same path by the river. If I do I will post them for sure.
May 21, 6am, Chester NH. I’m glad I came across this posting site! My husband saw an animal in a field across from our house. At first he thought it was a deer from the color, light tan, but when he saw it moving it was definitely a feline. He didn’t have his glasses on but he grabbed the binoculars and said it couldn’t have been anything else than a mountain lion. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to take a picture and this field is surrounded by woods that abuts conservation land and water and we witness all kinds of wildlife here.
Two years ago, my son and his friends were playing in the yard when they witnessed what they thought was a mountain lion, this one gray with a long tail. They said they could see the muscles in its hind quarters-it was that close! I called Fish/Game who disputed they exist in NH, and discounted it due to no evidence and perhaps the young men were mistaken. There is no mistaking the beauty of these creatures. Thank you all for your posts. You are not seeing ghosts!
Where in chester. I found prints off of rt 121 mile before the center that I believe we’re lion tracks. IM curious approx. where in chester this was
Wow! Less than a half mile from the 121 junction at 121A, right off the main route!! Backside of a huge field surrounded by woods and wetlands. It’s not my property to search for tracks.
It is so frustrating when people who claim to have a picture do not email it to John. It reminds me of the time I received a forwarded picture of a ml on a deck and it was claimed that a homeowner in Stoddard had taken it at his home. I forwarded it on to John and he showed me that this picture had been around on the internet for a good long time and was from out West. I would hate to think that some of our posts are make believe. I saw my (gray) ml on Jan 8, 2014 at 11:45 a.m. in Keene, the same day a teacher saw one (tan) north of town. Both of these had been sighted over time by others. Keep your cameras handy.
Oftentimes people report a photo, but then don’t email it to me. I report on, and post, all the ones that people send me. So if you don’t see anything here, it’s because nothing was sent to me. JR
I can probably speak for all of us when I say we all assume that’s how it works I just wasn’t sure if they reached out to you with anything pertaining to that sighting.
Hi there I saw a mountain lion May 19th 2016 while at work (logging) in deering nh. I was in a skidder and saw something light brown running and thought maybe it was a big coyote so I stopped my machine to get a better look when it stopped on top of a stone wall for half a second before running off and realized it was a big mountain lion with a long thick tail. It was during the afternoon, pretty amazing seeing one in the wild. I’m just glad I was in my machine when I saw it
Rollins State Park Auto Road – This morning around 11:30 a large cat shot across the road and into the woods. It was the size of a German Shepherd, short tan coat and long tail. We immediately thought mountain lion but then when I got online I found out they aren’t here….hmmm. If it wasn’t a mountain lion I have no idea what else it could have been. Definitely not a Maine Coon as I have one of those, it had a tail so not bobcat, but it was definitely a feline.
We just moved to Brookline last night and while drinking my coffee this morning a brindle colored Cat walked right through my yard. The cat skirted my drive way and didn’t care about my truck which he walked within 50 ft of. I’m from the South and used to seeing Bobcats, and initially that’s what I thought it was. This cat had a long tail and was twice the size of any Bobcat I’ve ever seen. Welcome to New Hampshire!
5/12/2016 7:30 am, Merrimack – near to beaver ponds in the Grater Woods Forest 480 acre parcel. Looking into the woods behind the house from a second floor window, I saw movement between the trees. I waited to see what emerged from the other side of the tree. It looked like a plain tawny colored very big cat with a small head and a long tail shaped like a hockey stick. That reminded me of the shape of the lions tails that I saw in Africa. The animal was walking about 30 feet into the woods. What I saw appears to be very similar to the images of mountain lions on the web.
I “enjoyed” my second mountain lion sighting two weeks ago today, April 17, just before dusk. I was sitting on my back steps enjoying the sounds of the turkeys in the woods that surround our field, our dog was with me, snoozing on the grass. Suddenly the dog perked up and started sneaking towards something that I could not see, I was thinking porcupine or skunk and began to discourage his advance.He paid no attention to me, instead taking off at a gallop across our field and toward the bottom of the field next door, with me in chase. Then I heard this weird “bark ” that sounded like it came from something big! I still saw nothing, but my dog kept going towards it. I was now worried that it might be a bear or a coyote? Never heard a sound like that before… Then I saw it stand and shoot into the woods! I mean it was big and fast! My dog went in after it and I figured that was not good. I kept screaming for him to come back and he suddenly came charging out of the woods and headed for the back door, leaving me in the middle of our field feeling pretty scared! Thankfully, it did not follow the dog!!
This took seconds, less than a minute or two, and it was over. It leaves you wondering if you really saw it at all, yet they are unmistakable, nothing else looks or moves like them. Here is what I have taken away from my two experiences. 1, They are around. 2, They like early dusk. 3, Both of my sightings have been on 123 in Hancock, between Pickering Farm Rd and Link Rd. 4, Be very careful in or near the woods and keep your dogs leashed early in the morning and in the evening. (I don’t mind saying that I am feeling a bit spooked. ) 5, They blend in really well! It was hiding in plain sight, I literally was looking right at it and didn’t see it until it shot into the woods! I don’t have any idea how long I was sitting outside with a mountain lion in the field with me!
My neighbor just watched a cougar in their back yard for almost an hour. Got pics and found a whisker from where the animal was lying down. Our platform bird feeder had been disturbed the previous evening and we found some hair caught on one of the screws. Giving all to biologist to check out. April 28, 2016, Springfield, NH
Please send me pictures, to post here. john.f.ranta@gmail.com . Thanks!
What’s going on with this picture?
Nobody replied, I have not received any pictures or video. JR
Glad to have found this blog. I thought I was seeing things last night (early AM). Around 12AM or a little after. This tan, long tail cat like animal ran across the highway in front of me! I was so surprised. Not canine like….feline looking! Shocked! It was 93 north I want to say somewhere in the same general vicinity that Kacy Gomez had her sighting. It looked ‘highway’ savvy in it’s approach to crossing….just amazing! Will certainly keep my eyes open for any other possible sightings in the area. Make this drive frequently at this time of the early AM. Amazing!!
We were on our way home from Dartmouth Hospital on Rt 120 about 100 yards from the light going down the hill when we saw movement to the right. At first we thought it was a deer because of the coloring, but, as soon the animal moved we knew it was no deer! My wife and I both got a quick look at it and both believe we saw a mountain lion based on the way it moved, the size of the head to the body ratio and the coloring.
saw a large mt lion heading 93 northbound windham hudson exit. Very healthy looking looked to be 175 to 200 lbs. Very proportionate. Beautiful animal. Appeared to be waiting for the perfect opportunity to cross the hw. Seems very smart maybe thats why there is no evidence for fish and game via road kill. Feeling blessed to actually see such a magnificent animal in NH.
Mid September of 2012, around 9:00pm, I was traveling along rte.125 heading towards the Lee circle from Rochester, an animal that looks exactly like the photo above crossed in front of my vehicle, from the treelines, right to left, into the treelines on other side of roadway. It was large, tan, long thick tail, and although it was moving at a rapid pace, each stride it took was elegant. This was just after I passed the Barrington elementary school and movie theater plaza, but before the pond area. The speed limit increases and I remember being very surprised at the sight, as I glanced down at my speedometer then back up to the road, he/she was there and then gone just as fast. There was no doubt in my mind at that moment, or now, my mind instantly connected the image to the name, mountain lion.
100% positively seen one 15 feet from me in my backyard in Whitefield NH I was on my ATV came up o. Him or her fast and it junp across the trail that was a good 10 foot leap it took. I say maybe 150 lbs or so. This is the 2nd time I have seen this in my yard the 1st time I was like what was that it happened do fast. But this time 110%. It is always the same time of year early spring. I will be putting the game cam out to see if I can get it on camera.
This morning at 615 am I saw a mountain lion on Perkins pond rd. In weare nh. If I had to guess weight it was 110 lbs. I have a Doberman and the cat was way bigger then my dog.
I saw one in madbury when I was driving home from work around 11:30pm. This was during the summer of 2010. It was crossing the street and stopped right in the middle of the road stared at my car for a second and then walked in to the woods. I told a few people about it but they said there was no way it was a mountain lion but there is nothing else it could have been. Identical to the picture at the top of the blog.
Hello John et al—
After 40-plus years of writing about mountain lions / cougars / catamounts and reporting, in print, on only the best of the best reports, I’ve pretty much seen it all. It’s a good dialogue you have going on down there, John.
With all those trail-cams out there and their quality and ease of operation always getting better, and especially people’s informed interest gaining traction, I think it’s only a meter of time until a good, clear, crisp, daylight photograph of a cougar is obtained. If that occurs I’d urge the image’s owner to come forward with it. Over the years I’ve found that people who have images or information are reluctant to go public because of fears that their privacy will be violated or someone wanting to harm “their” animals will find out the location. There are relatively simple ways around this.
There are of course conspiracy theories out there as to why Fish and Game is reluctant to discuss the mountain lion matter or rush out to investigate every report. My take is that it is not that biologists don’t want to “admit” that cougars are here; it’s just that they and COs are already overburdened with other matters and don’t have the means to chase down every encounter. And it is not that they don’t want the burden of writing a management plan for a new and endangered species. That’s a federal issue and there is federal money available.
Let me put the “escaped pet” business we’re always hearing about to rest. Twice in my 47 years of newspapering—37 years of them as a statewide outdoor columnist—I’ve asked readers to csll me or write to my addresses, which are at the end of everything I write, if they’d ever heard of anyone in New Hampshire harboring a mountain lion, and have received not a single response. Why did I ask the question? Because I would stipulale that it would be impossible for anyone to have a “pet cougar” without everyone in town knowing about it—friends, family, neighbors, and very soon, the police chief and local Conservation Officer.
The more likely “escaped pet” theory would involve someone in a city, say, Manhattan, who managed to find and buy a cute and cuddly little cub (kit) and then, when it approached adulthood and began pissing all over the furniture and tearing the woodwork apart, became desperate to get rid of it, selected “one of those big green places on the map where Nobody Lives (that would be us), drove up in the dead of night, and let it go. This is at least plausible. A “pet cougar” in small-town, small-city, rural New Hampshire without everybody knowing about it is not.
Finally, we can cut down a lot of wasted time on sighting repots by noting that there is only one thing out there that a big animal with a long-rope-like tail could be. This leaves out the bobcat (so-named for a reason) and such other ridiculous explanations as coyotes, Great Danes and fisher (cats). When I get a report and am listening to what someone has to say, I never, ever mention the tail; I wait for the person to mention it instead. And if, when I ask about the most remarkable features about the animal, and there is no mention of the size and/or the tale, then the report pretty much goes into the dust bin.
So, as someone said back there a lot of entries ago, get a good trail-cam photo and come forth with it. If you find good tracks, in mud or snow—gravel and dry sand are worthless—take photos of the best, with a pen or something or preferably a ruler or tape to show comparison, and cover them up with a couple of buckets, and call not only your local Conservation Officer but also your conservation Commission, Fish and Game (all departments available through the State House switchboard, 271-1110), and even the science teacher at your school.
It’s only a matter of time until a cougar is killed in the road here in New Hampshire or one is killed by someone defending livestock. Then the real fun will begin, which is its DNA and other evidence as to from whence it came. There is not one whit of doubt in my mind that mountain lions are out there; too many good, solid, smart people have been seeing them, for year and years. Proof of that will be vindicating for all of you kindred believers out there who have been so patient with Officialdom, but I hope I live long enough to hear something about origins. My believe is that the Eastern Cougar is not extinct, as Uncle Sam has pronounced from on high, but has hung on for all these years in remote parts of northern Maine and the Maritimes (see Bruce Wright, University of New Brunswick, et al), and now that its habitat and abundant food have rebounded, is back in its ancestral range.
John Harrigan
Colebrook
Great to hear from you, John. Your tip about Bruce Wright led me to find some of his writing online. I just downloaded his book “The Ghost of North America” and am looking forward to reading it.
Couldn’t have said nor wrote it any better Mr. Harrigan.
Time is on our side,sooner or later hard proof of sighting.
John ,
I like how you recommend and urge others when they come across a track to take a picture of the track with something to scale. I agree strongly on this matter and I am in disbelief that no one has furnished a legitimate track with todays technology that everyone has readily access to. With the amount of trail cameras in our woods, security cameras, and personal sightings I am always reading about, I am having a hard time believing they are here at this time. I am not saying 100% they are not here but with the odds are telling me they are not. I do want to believe it and be proven wrong honestly. I see many of posts stating they are in southern NH, where as we know is more heavily populated then northern parts of our state. During the fall they’re hundreds if not numbers in the thousands of cameras in the woods to scout animal activity. As a outdoorsman and hunter myself I run 10 cameras in towns that one has been “seen”. I also know others that run up to 20 or more cameras. I can name 5 of us alone have over 150 cameras in the woods at any giving time.
Others state they are “in shock” to see one, as I would be shocked to in seeing one but I rest assure you my camera would be trying to get a picture of it regardless of how long I seen. If I didn’t get a picture I would be spending time looking for a track. There was also a sighting stated in the past of seeing one for over 20 mins. Really? no picture from that has surfaced.
I currently live in southern NH where rumors of one has been spotted in my town and in fact said to be in the woods on the rear of my house. Deer are their favorite food source and I must state I have a buffet of deer in a fence behind my house (yes legally fenced in deer farm) Not once have I had an issue with any deer missing or killed by a predator. I have had coyotes walk by my fencing, flying predators, and even bears in my yard. My fence is the 8 feet tall that is required by our Fish and Game commission. The fence fastened to some trees and would be really easy to be scaled by a bear or a mountain lion.
We see multiple encounters a month if not some weeks. However we still have not solid proof. Why not yet if we have that many encounters? Is it because many want to believe they seen one and are “seeing things” out of hope? Looking to be in the spot light for a couple minutes? Who knows, but till one is killed by car, person, or a carcass is found, I find it hard to not chuckle at some of the stories I read. I read every single comment that comes through this feed. I do want to be proven wrong and have people laugh at me like I have laughed at them. Till then I still say “let’s see the proof”
I hope I didn’t offend anyone in my thoughts. I wouldn’t want someone to be “butt hurt” over someone disagreeing in what they saw or said. Then again we are in that time where words hurt thin skinned people when they don’t see eye to eye on a topic instead of agreeing to disagree on something.
Best regards
Eric
Eric what town are you near? I can say with certainty Ive seen/ documented a lion track in southern nh. I know people here that will disagree but any professional that sees the track without me mentioning its location has called it what it is. So they are here however few that may be. Most of these people on here are not outdoorsmen like yourself and not all but some have in fact probably had a real cougar sighting. Any lion around here is not resident and there for continuously on the move looking for a sign of a mate so if someone saw one in your town it probably doesn’t live there and has moved on by now. Just something to keep in mind when you’re questioning things
Following up on Ryan’s comment – I placed his photos of tracks on the Photos page of this blog. Check them out, they’re convincing.
Ryan,
I reside in Greenfield. Sorry it took me so long to get back, I was unable to respond from my mobile. Great picture you took of a cat track. I kinda have mixed feelings about them traveling so much for a mate. They’re so many sightings in this state that sooner or later a male and female would run into each other. When mated and a female carrying kittens that female would have a pretty close home range for awhile that it felt safe to raise its offspring. With that being said the males would be on the move in search for another breeding chance during that season. On the opposite side of the year (6 months) when testosterone is not driving an animal to breed a male would also have a home range where it felt safe and had a food source to sustain it. Is it plausible yes, but with that being said it’s still tough to believe with so many sightings in a giving year.
Over this past weekend my friend and business partner Matt was shooting video footage for an upcoming promotion video we’re putting on for our turkey box call business. we believe that he has captured a rare sighting of a NH mountain lion…on video. Before we risk releaseing a poor abandoned house cat, we have forwarded to experts for authentication using a lot of the provided guidance in this forum. We will keep ya’ll posted! This animal was was the size of a german sheppard and was a 70 yards. It was without a doubt when I viewed the video just looking at the gigantic tail and color…but what do i know!? -Eric of Plymouth, NH
Please send a copy of the video, or screen shots, to john.f.ranta@gmail.com.
John Harrigan is awesome. He published my story about the blue jays eating my garage doors! First thought they were woodpeckers, but no, I caught them in the act. Seems they liked the glue in the composite wood… needless to say now I have new doors.
Might be the same one I saw this past Sunday on 153 south of route 25. Same general area
I am so glad I found this blog. On Friday March 4, 2016 around 5:00pm my friend and I were driving north on 153/Eaton Road between Ossipee Lake Road and Cushing Corner Road. It was not yet dusk. We saw a large tan animal with pointy ears, huge paws and a long tail cross the road ahead of us and start up the hill towards the woods. It looked exactly like the picture of a mountain lion you have on this site. As we passed (in shock!) it stopped and turned around to look at us. At that time I had no idea what it was, but my research has led me here. It sounds like James was in the same general area!
Sounds just like the cat we saw back in October in Sanbornville, NH. “He” walked across our front yard and he too, stopped and and looked back at us then walked on. Beautiful!
Today at about 11 am I was travelling north on 153 in Effingham just south of Route 25 East. I saw a large brownish/tannish animal cross the road about 100 yards in front of me from my right to my left. When I got to the area where the animal crossed looked to my left and 20 feet from me was a mountain lion sitting a rock with its tail curled up the side of its body staring back at me. This cat was clearly bigger than my dog (70 lbs) and may have been about 100 pounds. When it crossed the road it had some length to its body and its stomach hung low. I AM 100 PERCENT SURE IT WAS A LION. I just regret being a little slow in grabbing my cell phone to take a pic I was very startled when I realized what it was
I saw this lion on Moulton Rd in Freedom NH on the 3rd Sunday in March at around 10:00 A.M. My IPhone was shut off because I just left church and going home. I would of been able to get a picture. He was coming across the street and he stop and turn around and was standing there watching me for a few seconds. I watched him just walk away but kept turning around at me. I told a few friends and they told me it was a bobcat but the pictures I saw I knew it was not a bobcat. I thought to google and ask about mountain lions and was glad to see your website. Now looking at your picture I know it was a Mountain Lion.
Sarah.
Where did you see it in GIW? We have a house on upper suncook lake and would like to know if it is near there. Did your mother take any photos?
Saw one yesterday, 3/12 in Gilmanton Iron Works. My mom watched her for an hour , I caught a good 20 second glimpse. Beautiful animal. Went looking for tracks sfter, but, to no avail.
Last night I was woken up by the sound of what I thought was a screaming house cat being attacked by something, then thought it was a fox, then went online to do research and it sounded exactly like a mountain lion! Didn’t see anything out the window though. I’m in barlett nh. Plus, over the summer I actually spotted one crossing the road late at night in Fryeburg maine.
ML crossed in front of my truck on RTE 27 traveling E in Candia NH 3/4/16 8:10am. It was very majestic and quick. Very surprised on how big it was. Def not a fisher cat or bob cat. Long thick tail. Long body and lean muscular shoulders. It made my day. To be honest I am thinking of telling the police or the folks there because that cat was no joke. I was alone in a truck but if I was out in the woods with my children or something like that I would be pretty alarmed if I came across that animal. A good reminder to maybe think about always being armed hiking in NH? Great exp.
This is not too far from where I found my tracks. Where on 27 Id like to look for tracks there
I also saw a mountain lion on 12/21/15 in Nottingham… it was a clear sunny Sunday morning and it was on Poor Farm Road. I saw it cross the street to my right while I was driving and then I pulled up next to the woods where it had crossed into and watched it go after a pack of turkeys. I have seen bobcats and fisher cats and this was much larger, with a long curling tail, red in color. Definitely an awesome story to tell!
I live in Hooksett near the Auburn border just off exit 2 on 101, in the vicinity of where you saw the cat. My wife was out walking with the kids yesterday, 3/20/2016, and she told me she saw a cat, bigger than a dog, cross the road up in front of her, about 100 yards away, right in our neighborhood. I asked her a few questions and showed her pictures of a bobcat and mountain lion and she said what she saw looked like the mountain lion.
We live in Moultonborough NH and have a massive boulder mass that looks like a glacier boulder masse from centuries past. Our first mountain lion sightings commenced about 15 + years ago when we were walking our dogs around this boulder mass and heard hissing and then saw several “paws” reaching out from inside a cave in this boulder mass. We saw 1-2 heads look out from underneath the boulders – they were definitely mountain lions. We reported the family of mountain lions to the game wardens to ask that they relocate the family of lions and were told that mountain lions didn’t exist in NH. We knew that the game wardens were wrong….. Since our first report 15+ years ago, we have seen these mountain lions crossing and hunting our yard 29+ acres repeatedly. Our recent sighting was yesterday when we were out with our dogs and something caught the corner of our eyes, and our dogs immediately froze and looked straight at a very large 250 lb. mountain lion who was crouched down in a hunting position. After the sighting, we put our dogs inside our home, and tracked the mountain lion. We found very deep pad marks in the dirt where we tracked him/her for as long as we saw the pad marks…..when they disappeared into a heavily wooded and leafed area. The sighting happened so quickly and we did not have our phones on our body in order to take pictures. However, from now on we will carry our phones on our body in our acreage in an effort to take pictures of the lions.
So for 15 year’s you see them repeatedly plus paw prints and location of a den and not one picture lol gimme a break
Summer of 2014 we spent a week in Maine on the NH border in the Fryeburg doing genealogy and ancestry work. My family settled a small town in the area and we were lucky enough to work with an old timer/local historian. I asked him if there were Mt Lions in the area and he said yes but few will admit it to it because f & g would descend upon on and close the few roads that cross from Maine to NH. Just a thought.
Saw a mountain lion cross Rt 123 a few miles west of Hancock NH on saturday morning 01/27/2016 about 10:00 AM . Big cat with long tail.
we have been trying to catch our mtn lions on camera for about 8months. yes, I said lions with an s. last year my husband said he believed we had one on several occasions in our yard. nobody would believe him-at first. then several of our friends have had encounters in our driveway and we have had several instances of clear tracks in the dirt. our neighborh has also laid eyes on them apparently we have a mother with 2 kits. our localf&g has actually acknowledged their existence and had come around and spoken to several neighbors about keeping an eye on small children and pets, esp. at dusk and dawn. there’s an old logging trail that leads from the power lines, right behind our house and across the street up the mountain. we have surveillance cameras on the property but have not seen them. but we don’t usually check the footage of every night unless we hear a disturbance. though one night this paat summer I was out in my driveway painting at about 1am. I kept hearing an animal noise I didn’t recognize from different points around the property but all circling about the area in was in. I was extremely jumpy that night and felt like i was being watched. I even ran Pell Mell into the house at one point when i heard a loud screech, convinced I was about to be attacked (my husband had turned on his power drill lol). later my husband had me listen to Mt lion sounds and sure enough, it was the same as I’d heard while painting. some of the guys around here want to shoot it but I will not allow it. our property is an animalhaven, not hunting grounds, even though I suspect it got one of my cats in august. if I ever capture a pic I will be sure to pass it along
Fransestown NH, February 13, 2015 I spotted one as it ran across the road ahead of our car. We stopped the car at the spot to see if we could see it in the woods but we didn’t. We have returned to the spot several times since and have been walking the deer trails there. There are lots of tracks of the mountain lion fallowing the deer. We found places where the deer have been yarding up and the mountain lion has gone through. It likes to walk along stone walls we noticed.
It would be great if you could put a game camera on that trail. If that’s not possible, can you get some pictures of the tracks, with a ruler or something else in the photo for scale? JR
I’ve seen just about everything sence ive moved to Enfield new hampshire I own a small piece of land 15 Acer,s on bog road but behind my land is state land large piece of property so no houses I’ve seen wolf’s mountain loins bobcats ect..
My husband found tracks and we are really leaning towards cat. I have pics of the prints in comparison to My own hand print and ruler. Prints were found on a walking trail in the woods behind our home in Berlin New Hampshire 3 days ago. They are almost 5 inches wide. 4 inches tall. There’s 4 toes and the pad. No claw marks registered.
Talked to nh fish and game. Gentleman said there us not enough scientific evidence of a breeding population.However I beleive this is baloney.
Ha, standard procedure. They want nothing to do with the subject. We received the same treatment and the cat was directly in our front yard. Someone needs to get a clear picture submitted
The Fish & Game is not spouting baloney. They did not say that no one is seeing mountain lions. They said “there is no scientific evidence of a breeding population”. Scientific evidence would be photos, videos, carcasses, etc of said cats. Even if we do provide valid photos or videos (none of which have appeared) that is not proof of a native, breeding population. It only means that a mountain lion has been here. Said cat could be a transient (like the Connecticut cat) or a released pet. A breeding population would be multiple cats that are living here year ’round, and having litters. Fish & Game has certain scientific standards they must live by. Come on folks, produce the evidence!
It’s not that they’re full of it, they just don’t want to give anyone the time of day to talk about it. The average person would think F&G would be very interested in hearing about sightings and possibly researching the locations. Yet the opposite is true…they give you every reason as to why they don’t exist here and then quickly dismiss anything contrary. They’re NOT full of Bologna, they’re just quick to tell you why you didn’t see one. So you’re right, that is the solution, show them a picture or don’t even bother calling them…waste of your time and theirs.
Without “evidence of a breeding population” there is no funding to support it. We can’t have our already taxed F&G running around looking into sightings that have no proof other than only a visual sighting. Where would that ever get us. Get a camera, game camera or track one down on your own. Provide the F&G with some rock solid evidence and if they don’t work with you on that then maybe then it’s worth bitchin about. Think about it….
“Get a camera, game camera or track one down on your own.”
Exactly. What is NH F&G supposed to do? Spend money and resources chasing down Bigfoot sightings too? Bring a 44 mag with you and a couple of dogs and plop one down on the NHFG office steps in Concord. They are very afraid of dogs (and people) and will climb the nearest tree. Just follow the tracks in the fresh snow that is finally falling!
I don’t think trying to tree a lion or shoot one is sound advice. Shoot it wheb a camera if you wanna get crazy
11 pm last night driving north on 106, it was walking into the forest. Small male or possibly full grown female.
Where on rte 106? Thanks!
Driving north along Route 10 today in Marlow about at the swampy area north of the town, I was behind a small car going very slowly due to what at first I thought was a loose dog running along the shoulder of the road for about 100 yards. It was only after it veered off at a mobile home and into woods that I realized it was no dog. And the next thing was the small car ahead of me pulled over to look at it – this is the lightbulb moment when I realized for sure it was no dog, nor my second guess of a small deer. It definitely did not run like a deer. I saw one (mountain lion) up close in South Carolina (ran across road directly in front of my car) and this was the same size, shape and tail. The oddest thing of all was one day ago, I saw a bobcat, also near my home base in Acworth, NH. This cat was running across 123A just at Vilas Pool (dam) where it runs into 123. Neither time did grabbing my phone camera cross my mind due to the disbelief you first experience when you question what you are seeing (or just saw) and also because I was driving.
Just today I believe I saw one in the same place. Between stone pond and the elementary school.
I don’t have much for details, since this happened a few years ago and at the time, even though I was 100% positive it was a MT lion, I was told that it was impossible as they don’t exist in NH. Anyway, in Concord NH, at the intersection of Lake View Dr and Carter Hill Rd, there is a beaver pond, within 5 feet of the road. It was just after noon time, in late April, when I saw a MT lion walking across the beaver dam, which is about 15-20 feet from the road. At first I thought it was a large dog, but the tail gave it away as a MT lion. It didn’t seem to be hunting, just passing through, and didn’t seem to at care about traffic on the road.
I was driving down route 31 on the Grenville/Wilton line and what I could only describe as a mountain lion ran out in front of my car. I had no idea there were large cats up here but i know what a cat looks and moves like. I started looking online and saw all the other people who say they have seen something similar.
I posted back on AUG 7 about my sighting of a MT Lion on the Chester Sandown town line on RT121A.
Thanks Ryan. It’s only a matter of time before the state recognizes the animal as being in existence. As I posted previously, I viewed one for 45 seconds or so directly in my front yard, about 30′ off my front porch. Clearly a mountain lion…no disputing it. Several neighbors around us also saw the cat over the next week. The reason most of us don’t get photos is because we’re so taken off guard and spooked that we’re figuring out a way to move away from the animal, not snap a picture of it. They’re on the rise. Good luck to all those trying to get that illusive picture…I imagine it will happen soon. Thanks again for posting.
The recent comment(s) about why no photos of a Mountain Lion makes perfect sense.
A suggestion: when paw prints are photographed it would be good to include an object of known size in the picture. A ruler would of course be ideal, but any object of definite unchanging size (e.g. a quarter or even a penny) would serve.
Paul
>
Yes Chuck I remember that and have referenced your sighting as to the tracks o found in just. Few miles proximity to there. I recall asking if I could come check for tracks or scat but never got a reply.
I’ve taken pictures of tracks from chester nh. They have the obvious cat track features and measure approx. 4 inches wide and long. I found them about a mile into the woods on the side of a atv trail I took my truck out to a field for target practice and saw smaller cat tracks in the fields which then drew my attention to keep scanning other tracks. That’s where I found the bigger ones
Thanks to Ryan, his photos can be seen on the Photos page. They are cat tracks (not dog or coyote) and very large for a bobcat. I’ve received a lot of photos of tracks over the years I’ve run this blog. These are the first to be possible mountain lion tracks taken in New Hampshire (the GPS data on the photos check out). Kudos to Ryan for the quality of these pictures.
On 1/22/2016 at 2 pm my husband & I were taking a walk in flintlock farms
In Dunbarton, NH. A large cat came out of the underbrush & crossed the
Road to woods on the other side. We were about a 100 yards from the cat
& had a clear view as it crossed the road. We both noticed the long tail about
Three feet in length. This development has underbrush, swamp &
Ledge. The exact location Birchview (facing mailbox 20 on your right) the
Cat crossed between the telephone pole & next mailbox.
It just snowed out so theres gotta b tracks kills scatt something!
How do I post a picture from my gamecam. Got a picture from it a couple days ago that sure looks like a mountain lion. Have shown it to a bunch of guys I know are outdoor types and hunters. All think it’s a mntn lion. Unfortunately, the snow is frozen solid from the rain last weekend, so didn’t see any tracks. Lot of game in Bedford nh area. Within 2 weeks of gamecam being in woods behind my house, got a few good deer, fisher cat, eastern coyote, gray fox, bobcat. got a good sized black bear on it last summer. love the gamecam. very very cool seeing all the wildlife in the area.
I set up my Bushnell gamecam in the woods behind my house in bedford nh and found this pic on my gamecam. Unfortunately, the snow and rain we got a week or two ago followed by cold weather has frozen the snow solid. How do I post a pic here? Would like to hear comments and opinions. Thx
I think I have cougar tracks in my backyard in Walpole. Is there a way for me to forward you a photograph?
Felicia emailed me her photos. They are either coyote or dog prints. JR
Here’s a very intriguing report – https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/cougars-in-new-england/
Too bad there’s nothing in the photo to give a sense of scale. These are clearly cat prints.
Took a picture (Jan 2014) of this track with my cell phone in Fitzwilliam, NH. It was walking in my 4 wheeler track (Must have just missed seeing it). Measures approx. 4 – 4.5 inches wide.
johnranta commented: “Here’s a very intriguing report – https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/cougars-in-new-england/ Too bad there’s nothing in the photo to give a sense of scale. These are clearly cat prints.”
Seem to be legitimate. Read all the comments at the foot of that article. Many others, including you, asked about a scale of reference. Hopefully she can respond with some measurements.
I saw this mt lion on 12/31/15 tracked into lost valley. It has returned twice since then, the latest was Jan 9 2016. While tracking it I lost its track. While backtracking to find where I lost it I found its print in my track. On Dec 31 I measured its right paw it is 4 1/4″ wide x 3 7/8 long
There was one spotted on 1/7/16 in Brookline NH. Early afternoon in a neighbors back yard.
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Tim, your picture did not show up. Email it to me, and I will post it. John.f.ranta@gmail.com
I just seen a mtn lion this morning and I am 100% sure of it! I was driving on my way to work passing through henniker NH and I just passed the sign 202 east it was about 845 ish. The mountain lion was MASSIVE, about the same size as my full grown Great Dane if not even larger. It ran right infront of my vehicle, I had to slam on the breaks. After that it wondered the front lawn of a home near by.
Last year I had seen a mountain lion on route 101 at about the Peterborough temple line cross the road in front of me approximately 6 feet long with tail early morning early spring it’s a very wooded area and had hills on both sides of the road 1 going down on one side and up on the other I kept doubting myself but there is nothing else it possibly could have been being the length of the tail it was golden like a yellow lab
My daughter swears she just saw a mountain lion on the side of the highway between Manchester and Bedford. We just left the airport.
Details, please. How old is your daughter? What were the lighting conditions? How long did the sighting last? Etc.
Happy New Year!
This is about the 6th sighting in Bedford/Merrimack area. THEY ARE HERE!
I saw a mountain lion crossing the top of my driveway- but only saw it once. It was in 2013, mid fall around 11pm. I lived in Strafford NH at the time on Roller Coaster road. The area has large hills and my house was up a steep incline. As I was cresting the hill of my driveway the large cat strolled in front of my car, jumped onto a boulder and then disappeared into the woods. While fish and game said it was a bob cat- NH doesn’t have mountain lions- this was inaccurate. The cat stood very large on all 4 legs- guessing about 3-4 ft tall, was slightly slender, it had a beautiful face with lines similar to that of a cheetah on the face, the rest was a solid color light tan/ brown and the tail was long- almost the same length as the cat. Bob cats are much smaller and their tails are not long and slender. For what it is worth- there are definitely mountain lions in NH!
Once you see that long heavy tail it stays with you all your life. I saw mine in June of this year. I just regret that I didn’t stop my car and tried to photograph some tracks or scat.
I saw one jetted out of the woods on 93 south. Luckily I was not going so fast, it was very quick. It was long, tannish in color with long whiskers and a long tail. That is all I could see.
I saw a mountain lion behind my college at Franklin Pierce. It was dusk during the winter. I was 5 feet away from it and saw it perfectly. I have seen bobcats, lynx and other cars before, but I am positive there is a mountain lion In the woods near Franklin Pierce.
On my way to work at 3:45 a.m. on the Merrimack Bedford line on DW Highway I saw a mountain lion it was about 2 weeks ago the last week in October 2015 it was a big cat maybe 60 or 70 pounds. it crossed the street in front of my vehicle and sat on the side of the road and watched me go bye. it was a magnificent Animal very regal looking I feel blessed to have seen it this may never happen to me again.
Bedford is a hot spot for these critters and my friends there have set up game cams and intend to get a picture of this animal!!!!
My sighting when i was much younger in Pittsburg. I spotted what i KNOW was a mountain lion along the bank of the Connecticut River exactly where Perry Stream meets with it. I will never forget it
(I’m posting this for April, who for some reason can’t post here)
On October 1st around 5:30 PM I was driving on Rt. 202 from Peterborough to Antrim (I’m not sure if I was in Hancock or Bennington but it was not all that far from Gracie’s Grains in Peterborough) when a very large cat crossed the road in front of me–and it was not a domestic cat. It came out of the brush on the right side of the road and began to cross to the left, and at first I thought it was a large dog because it was so big, but there was no denying it was a cat based on its shape and the way it was walking–slinking and very close to the ground. The animal stopped in the middle of the road, turned and looked in my direction, and I clearly saw it had a round shaped head with pointed ears so I know it wasn’t a fisher cat or anything else like that. From my perspective the animal appeared to be a solid brown. I was too far away to see any real details, and because it had stopped in the middle of the road, I stepped on the brakes so I didn’t get any closer to it, which in hindsight I kicked myself for. I should have sped up to get a closer look at it, but all I was thinking was that I didn’t want to hit whatever it was. I’ve lived with cats all my life and this was not a domestic cat, no way. It was also not a bobcat. I know state and federal wildlife officials don’t believe mountain lions exist in New Hampshire, but if they are here and the population is really small there may very well be no obvious evidence like photos, tracks, or scat. I was driving at the time and even if I was a bit closer to the animal, there’s no way I would’ve been able to get my smartphone out, turn it on, and take a photo before the animal disappeared into the brush on the opposite side of the road. So how many other brief mountain lion encounters have there been in this state that haven’t been recorded? A couple of years ago a friend of mine was walking with her dog behind her house in Berwick, Maine, and came face to face with a mountain lion. Needless to say, she didn’t have a camera with her at the time either but she knew what she saw. If there are mountain lions in bordering towns so close to New Hampshire, what makes us think they haven’t migrated here? I’m convinced what I saw was a mountain lion.
Test.
I live in Peterborough NH. I run/walk after I drop my son off at school. I have now twice seen what I believe may be a mountain lion. It is between 9-10 am when I have experienced these sightings. I have not been able to get real close before it runs into the woods. The first sighting I thought it was a large fox until I got close enough to see the long, thick tail. Today when I saw it I thought it was a small deer until I got close enough to see it was a very large cat. Again, the tail is long and thick and very impressive! The colors of this cat are reddish, tan, and brown. I live in an area with many miles of thick woods. What a sight to see! Can’t wait to see it again!
Where exactly in Peterborough did you see it? Thanks!
Late September 2013, on rte.125 in Barrington, NH (Strafford County,NH-USA) at approx 8:00pm, I was driving towards Lee, NH and about 50Oft past the Barrington Elementary School/Barnz Movie Theater Plaza, a Mountain Lion, the size of an average adult Labrador Retriever breed dog, ran out in front of my vehicle from the woods,crossing the street and into the woods on other side, it was moving at a fast pace and did not stop or appear to even notice me, my vehicle lights or my horn, nor did it seem interested to notice, as if it possibly was focused on chasing something? That was the first and only time to date, but i keep looking for the experience of another sighting.
October 11th, 2015 ~8pm, About a mile from the intersection of Kendall Hill and Brook Rd in Mont Vernon, NH. Saw a large cat crossing the road from a heavily wooded area to the edge of a yard. At first I thought it was a bobcat, but it had a long, full tail and tan coat with no spots or stripes so it seemed (however unlikely) to be a mountain lion. It was 3-3.5′ to the shoulder and about 4′ long from shoulder to hip. It moved casually and didn’t seem to be afraid of the vehicle. I stopped to take a picture but wasn’t going to get out of the car. My realtor visited two days ago and saw a similar, large, tan cat crossing the same road nearby.
Please email me the picture so I can post it. John.f.ranta@gmail.com
Last night Oct 1, 2015 just about 6:00 my husband and I spotted a huge cat strolling down our front yard. We have a densely wooded area to our right but this cat appeared from our left side which is not too dense but has a brook out back. He/she strode down to an area near the road, stopped looked around and appeared to e listening. Then at a quicker pace crossed the road o the wooded area across the street. AMAZING!
Sorry the cat was spotted in Sanbornville, NH.
Spotted one this morning on Roosevelt Ave in Hudson, NH.
I was waiting to see if someone else would post this. The one I saw in No.Andover Ma. I had my camera set up and still did not get the shot. I saw it for about 5 seconds. By the time I figured out what it was through the scope I had no time to put the camera on it.
I just saw one the Sunday before Labor Day in the Hill, NH area. I was on my motorcycle around 3pm and it crossed the road in front of me while riding down 3A. It crossed from a residential field into the woods.
Where in North Andover? I’m curious what street you saw it on?!?
Funny that I grew up in that town now I live in New Hampshire and we see plenty of them here
Pictures, people! I’m certain a huge percent of you have smartphones with decent cameras. It doesn’t have to be a great shot, just start snapping! These all sound like Big Foot encounters. Many sightings, no photos… hmmm.
When an unexpected large creature with a big stride crosses the road in front of your headlights. You are shocked, slam on the breaks and have no time to grab the phone, press the camera button and fiddle with settings. He is there long enough for you to soak it in, but not long enough to pose for a headshot.
Its been proven in areas where the population is small that they are notoriously hard to photograph. It took just under 10 years of intense deployment of game cams by a private group (that was sick of being called nuts) to finally get a good game cam photo of a mountain lion. And it turned out they were right where the hunters and officials said they weren’t. Photos are still scarce, but they have managed scat and other evidence. So hmmm maybe these cats are smart? Try getting a photo of a fisher cat sometime. They are just as hard, and far far more common. Bobcats on the other hand are a bit easier. These cats are not bigfoot, DNA and other evidence has been found in New England. They will get more common with time.
Sorry to clarify, that group that did the photographing mission was in Michigan.
If it took a huge effort with game cams to get an image, I’m going to guess my humble attempt at using just one game cam where I last saw the mountain lion is not likely to be successful. I set it up by the little brook where I saw it, hoping it would trot down the brook again looking for prey. I did get all kinds of things though… house cats, deer (lots of them), turkeys (lots of them too), raccoons, squirrels, crows, even a fox. Surprisingly, no coyote even though they are around here. And, now that I know it is being seen a mile from here, my odds of it coming back to the same spot are probably pretty slim. I wonder if I could set up a cam along the river parallel to Hadley Rd in Jaffrey…. it is likely to return. There’s no houses along most of it, but someone must own it though.
This is a great point and true
That’s why the focus should be on tracks. The state is about to have snow cover for close to 6 months. Go get um!
These are great points. And another reason game cams have yet to be successful yet is because I do believe our population of Cougars is small and our cats are transient. If there was a larger resident population denning local then sure they’d leave a lot more signs and hit a cam. These cats are nomads and they are stalking the game using the game trails the cams are on and not in view of pic
These cats are clearly here in small numbers. You cannot just go looking everyplace for tracks, you have to have an idea where to look. Sightings help if they are accurate. But we do all know some are misidentifications etc. Keep posting!
“You cannot just go looking everyplace for tracks, you have to have an idea where to look”
I have an idea. Look for tracks in after one of the many sightings and in that area? Just a thought.
My mountain lion sighting was in June 2012 in Jaffrey. I happened to be working from home that bright sunny day, and I stepped outside to water my garden. My yard is 2 acres of mostly cleared yard adjacent to the woods, and a small brook runs through woods and follows the property border.
Anyway, I noticed that the crows were going nuts in the woods over that brook area. And, more nuts than usual… they’re always caw-ing about something or other (usually blue jays), but this time they were going bonkers. I was like “Oh cool, I know what this is… there is either a hawk or an owl over there.” I’m an avid bird watcher, so I walked over to the woods to see if I could see the owl or hawk.
I stood at the edge of the woods and peered in, and I was astounded at what I saw… a giant cat proudly walking along the closer side of that little brook, only 20 feet from me, and parallel to me so I got a side view. I had an excellent view of it except for the ferns growing in the woods which obstructed the lower side of the cat. He was tall enough to stand well over the ferns so only his legs were hard to see. He was light brown, short hair, muscular, very healthy looking, smallish head with short hair on head (not big like a bobcat). He was easily 4 feet long from head to butt, not including his tail which was curved down and hard to see due to it extending below the ferns. He did not look full grown to me, more like a teenager mountain lion. He was ripped, a beautiful animal. He was unconcerned about my presence and slowly trotted along the brook in cat-like style as I raced along the tree line trying to peer through to keep getting look at him. As he continued along, he was pointed away from me as the brook exited my yard and entered an area that was nearly impassable so I could not follow him any further. I last saw his butt trotting off into the woods (tail still pointed down). I saw him for a total of about 1 minute.
Since then, in 2013 I happened to chat with the neighbors in the trailer behind my house and they mentioned that there’s a “bobcat” living in the area. They didn’t know much about animal identification and just figured it was a “bobcat”. Then, things were quiet for 2 years. Just last month, I was chatting with neighbors on the other side and they brought up that they saw a mountain lion over by Terrapin Glass Blowing along Rt. 202 and Nutting Road in Jaffrey. I discussed it enough with them to make sure they really saw a mountain lion and not a bobcat… they said yes, definitely, it had a long tail, was large and ripped… they pretty much described exactly what I saw (although it sounds full grown now). And, this past weekend, my wife’s friend bumped into someone who lives a couple houses up Nutting Road from Rt. 202 across from the Coll’s… they have also just seen it.
I’m still kicking myself that I didn’t have my smart phone on me when I saw it… I was only going out expecting to water the garden so I didn’t want to get it wet. I’ve left game cams out since then and didn’t see it again (but I did see almost everything else you could expect.)
I’m a biologist with experience tracking pumas elsewhere, and mountain lions in the US, and have been tracking mountain lions in the US North East since 2006. My impression is that the populations are on the increase. Hunting legislation/hunters aren’t targeting them, and the ecosystem provides an abundance of what they need.
On the east coast, they are still more wary of humans than they have become in say California, for example, but their presence definitely adds a certain excitement to backwoods adventures. Maybe we need to just enjoy the rush, pay a bit more attention, and have the right tools handy, whether they be binoculars and a go pro cam, something pointy and sharp, or an easily accessible .38 load.
I’ve been tracking them since 2000 in NH. Want to combine forces?
Contact me at lmcracken2002@yahoo.com .
I was just driving in Davis criossing Ed in new Durham and could swear I saw a mountain lion cross the road 75 feet ahead of me. By the time I could pull the car over to try to take a picture it had obviously disappeared into the woods
I saw what I thought to be a mountain lion in Ashburnham,Ma yesterday September 9th at dusk. Crossing the road going into the woods. It looked a little smaller than a deer with a long tan tail. I saw it as I was turning onto another road..
I think I saw a mountain lion in N. Peterborough, NH near Gracie”s Grain (route 202) arround 9:15 am crossing the road. It was muscular, short hair, and long tail which was errect. I saw a side view not much of head. Size of a small/medium dog. Coat was ;ight brown and consistent in color not spotted. I have lived in NH for thirty+ years and have never seen anything like it. This happened on 9/9.
September 3,2015. 12:10 pm. Penacook Rd., Contoocook NH. Driving west, about 200 yds from the bridge over the Contoocook River and Bohannon Farm, at the crossing of the old railroad line and the Chesley’s house. One mountain lion.Loaping with a long easy stride. Muscular frame, thick fore and hind legs. Ears pinned back. No tail visible. As though it was pulled underneath. Distinctive profile of body and face. Coloring was spot on for a mountain lion. Like no other coloring I have seen before for an animal. I have seen all other animals near to this size, smaller and larger , in New Hampshire. This was a mountain lion. Paw prints may still be traceable in soft sand along shoulder of road.
A friend of mine has a trail camera attached to his house. He lives in Nashua off of East Dunstable Road, abutting the Field’s Grove swimming area. One afternoon, he checked the film as he usually sees deer, skunks, raccoons, etc.
To his surprise, what he saw on the film was a mountain lion crossing through his yard. I have a couple of pictures of this cat. Looks to be 80-90 lbs.
About 8 years ago, I was leaving my family’s lake house (Sunday PM around 2) on Oak Island, Lake W. Out of the woods struts what I though was a yellow lab except, this “lab” had a long tail that curved upward. The gait was also different than that of a lab. Sure enough, it was a mountain lion.
So why not post the pictures here’s the zoo skin them?
Whoops that didn’t come out right sorry what I was trying to say was it is easy to scan pictures so why not post them here?
Several years ago while driving on Rt 2 through Shelburne NH I saw a mountain lion run out onto the highway chasing what looked like a chipmunk. They ran out of the woods to the middle of the highway, made a 180 degree turn and ran back into the woods. I was probably 400 ft away, but I saw it well enough to be sure it was a mountain lion.
Hello John, et al—
John, I appreciate your blog and read it with great interest as often as I can, which of course is not often enough. The southwestern area of the state has long been an active place for mountain lion sightings and encounters, which I kept track of during the statewide portion of my career. My longtime friend Ted Walski, when he is not speaking in any official capacity, as if that has ever bothered him, will lean back, close his eyes, and begin to recount his own list garnered from his long years afield and as one of Fish and Game’s more dedicated “people persons.”
As you and some of your readers and contributors out there might know, I’ve spent a good chunk of my 47 years (and counting) of newspapering keeping track of cougar (mountain lion) sightings, and reporting in print (first in the Nashua Telegraph, then in the New Hampshire Sunday News, then in the Coös County Democrat, and finally in the Colebrook News and Sentinel and in the dozen papers in the Salmon Press group) on only the very best—the beyond reproach experiences.
Back when I owned the Coös County Democrat, in the county shire town of Lancaster, I began sticking pins on a map on the darkroom door, behind my editor/publisher’s desk, using differently colored pins to denote summer sightings versus sightings in other seasons. And I soon realized that mountain lions, being largely nocturnal, were being seen “in broad daylight,” as one of your contributors noted, mainly during late May, June, July and August—the precise time of year when a hard-pressed Mom would be out there taking chances, hunting at a time when cougars would prefer not to be, to feed her young. These pin groupings, by the way, were fairly tight, indicating that the daylight-hunting animal was ranging no further than a two-mile radius from center, fitting, to me, a pattern of a mother not wanting to be too far afield from young ones at risk.
John Harrigan
Colebrook
It’s great to hear from John Harrigan. For those of you who don’t know John, he lives and writes “above the notches” in northern NH. Among many other topics, John has written about mountain lions for years. Google “John Harrigan and mountain lion” to find his many well-written accounts and analysis.
Oh yes I once wrote to John about the Blue Jays that we’re picking my garage door to death I thought they were woodpeckers until I finally caught them they were just plain old Blue Jays I haven’t seen a Bluejay in ages now
Saw one August 8th around 2 pm on Hadley Rd in Jaffrey NH.
That’s very nearby where my neighbors have been seeing it (over by Terrapin Glass Blowing, where the brook passes by that business).
May I ask where along Hadley Rd? It is quite long (and ends right by Terrapin, actually, where my neighbors saw it.)
Thanks for posting the Wall Street article. I had to laugh though when the biologist said people will just not accept that what they saw was a bobcat. Ummm….bobcat’s don’t have 3′ to 4′ tails. Funny how he kept that part out. Politics
Reporters miss-quote and take comments out of context all the time.
Hi, I’m from Illinois, not around you”all” but I saw clearly a cougar 30 ft in front of my car on our mile long dirt road in the woods, but what I googled, and got to you is that I thought it was “prancing”. I googled do Cougars prance? came to your blog. It was definitely a cougar, I’ve been a registered nurse/since 1977 and am used to observing:details, plus I took my Grandaughter to Jarrett prairie center in Byron, Illinois for a year and studied the stuffed bobcat and the stuffed mountain lion each time so if I saw either I’d know the difference. We live inside of about 150 acres of deep woods, and I’d heard of people around here sighting a lion. Anyway I was sure it was a cougar but couldn’t figure out why I thought it was prancing. Thanks for your blog. (If you really see one you don’t really care who believes it). Sue
August 28th. 10:00 ish p.m. I turned onto Birch Hill in North Conway, NH. As I started up the hill a large cat ran across the road in front of my car. Birch Hill is a well wooded development that abuts the national forest. I knew right away this wasn’t a bob cat or fox or fisher cat or anything I’ve seen before having lived in northern NH my entire life. This cat easily weighed 80 lbs, was all a single color ( light tan ) and the hair was short. It had a tail a foot and a half or longer, it’s ears were rounded and again it was bigger than any wild cat I’ve ever seen. As I started researching more the picture above is almost to a T of what ran in front of my car last night. As I spoke to some locals about this it seems a similar looking cat has been seen else where in close towns.
I posted on this website last summer as my son and I saw a mountain lion in July 2014 in North Conway. We spotted it in the evening on West Side Road at the Schartner strawberry fields. There is absolutely no doubt in our minds what we saw as we are hikers and wildlife enthusiasts.
Sarge Collier
The following article about NH Mt Lions was in the Wall St Journal on August 28th 2015: http://www.wsj.com/articles/eastern-mountain-lions-may-be-extinct-but-locals-still-see-them-1440776646. I will never forget my sighting 2 weeks ago, especially the tail. What other NH species has a 3.5 to 4 foot heavy tail somewhat less in diameter than a tennis ball turned up at the end and weighs 80 to 130 pounds?
North Haverhill nh, dirt part of county road.
Saw it in the middle of the road, just sitting there about two weeks ago, around 6 am, on my way to work. It just casually turned around and walked into the woods, giving me a full view of at least a three foot long tail, big body, definitely not a bobcat. Very familiar with them, as well as fishers. Also, heard from a contractor in the area, today he saw on the other end of the road I mentioned, also early in the am, he swears he saw two cubs. Very long tail, he is also used to seeing the other wildlife, and swears not anything he has seen before. This was told without having heard of other reports. Contacted local authorities to report this, after also hearing of a horse killed in the vicinity, with what was recognized as big cat marks.
Where? Town and location within the town? Time of day? Thanks!
The one I saw in the road, was in North haverhill, nh. On county road, the dirt part, about a quarter mile up past brushwood road crossroad. 6 am. The contractor saw the other two young ones on Daniels road, at the route 25 end, early morning, in pike. The two sites are only a few miles apart from each other, and both border the top of the mountain, basically circling a huge forested area with a vacant huge farm parcel located centrally, I believe known as the mine farm, with a couple hundred acres, posted. For sale. Where the horse was killed in also in the same area, actually where the two roads meet, by country land drive.
I saw this post on Facebook this morning. It’s definitely a Mt Lion, no question there, but not too sure of the exact location in NH. Photo says Acworth, NH.
*Is there a way to post a pic?
Post the URL (link) in your reply. Only the moderator can post pics.
If it’s the mountain lion dragging a buck by its neck in front of a small tower, that’s a fake. The photo was taken in Texas 3-4 years ago. It shows up here from time to time, when somebody claims it’s from New Hampshire. This would be the third time in the past 5 years somebody has made a false claim about that photo.
Hi I was on Facebook when someone posted that looks like a mountain lion that’s was on mt Jesse Middleton nhyou might want to take a look
Can you post the link here?
Had someone post confirmed game camera of a mountain Lion dragging a buck away on my feed.
This is another phony photo. It was taken by a trail cam in Texas https://www.lsonews.com/edited-for-web-by-conor-harrison-116/
I’ve received this photo several times, with claims it was taken here in New Hampshire. It was not.
This is the Facebook post I referred to in my comment above.
Danielle, while that photo is indeed, of a mountain lion, it is of a mountain lion in Texas, from 2009. Whoever is posting it now, claiming it came from their game camera in New Hampshire, is lying. Feel free to tell them that.
That picture has been around, with claims its from at least a dozen states now.
Dear Sir
On Sat 8/22/2015 my wife and I were in Cornish NH on Harrington Road (a dirt road) at approximately 9pm last night. We had an animal that looked exactly like this one cross the road. It appeared to be the same color and size. I never seen an animal like this before. Yet we both saw it and believe it to be a mountain lion.
What I don’t understand is why we have to bring fish n game evidence. Shouldn’t they be the ones getting the evidence!? I don’t know about you but I’m not trained in that field, nor do I have the equipment (ie..tranquilizer gun to protect myself) or the courage to go into a forest I just saw a mountain lion exit! If it’s not fish n games responsibility to investigate, then who’s is it!?
Three points, in support of Fish & Game. One is that there are hundreds of reports of mountain lions sightings in New Hampshire every year. Maybe more. While I’m sure that nearly every person reporting that they saw a mountain lion believes that they did, many of those reports are suspect. As I’ve mentioned here a few times, I have yet to receive a legitimate photo of a mountain lion. I have received dozens of photos claiming to be mountain lions, that turned out to be bobcats, house cats, fishers, etc. Fish & Game have many responsibilities. Chasing bogus reports is not one of them. We need to provide credible evidence to Fish & Game if we want them to respond.
Two is that we live in a state with lots of wild predators that have the potential to do us harm – including bears, bobcats, coyotes, fishers, etc. It is not Fish & Game’s responsibility to insulate us from these animals. It’s up to us to coexist with them. If there are mountain lions out there as well, then we should adjust accordingly. As people living in western states, where there are many mountain lions, have done.
Lastly, Fish & Game are constantly gathering data on their own. They have gathered lots of evidence on New Hampshire wildlife. They’re not just sitting back in their offices, waiting for us to gather evidence.
NH Fish & Game doesn’t want you darting wild animals.
What they do want is a good photo with details in the background that can be proven to be a NH location (i.e. trees in a pattern, pond, building, etc.), tracks (always carry a camera and measuring tape), or the location of a den.
In other words, something that can be proven, evidence, to show that the big cats are here.
People think because something hasn’t been around for a 100 years or so that it’s extinct or a new breed won’t evolve. A 100 years is a very short period of time relative to the earth’s existence. Mountain lions are back folks. Maybe it’s a new type of breed that’s evolved? Maybe they’re traveling east for the dense woods and amount of game? Bottom line, when you witness one, there’s no wondering if what you saw was an actual mountain lion…the tail is enormous and it’s something you’ll never forget.
Jefferson nh right down road from santas village
Several experts have SEEN cougars cache in trees, a known leopard behavior. They only do so in areas where it may be scavenged by other animals. Caches have been found in several New England states.Normally they just cover with leaves or forest litter.
A question I have about cougar caches in trees. Why do we hear about prey being found in trees, but never about bite marks, bite radius consistent with a cougar, etc.? This would be pretty traceable and give evidence of something — at the very least “injuries consistent with the bite marks/bite radius of a large cat.” Canines have very different bite marks (i.e. coyotes, wolf, etc).
Yes. One would think. Mt Lions leave a very distinct bite/kill pattern. We don’t have to send anything into the lab for testing when we come across an elk kill. It’s VERY obvious what got it.
People probably not taking note. Check out the “matanuck” incident in Rhode Island, which is now considered a class 1 confirmation. Initial visit by the DEM there labelled it a “road kill deer dragged by a bobcat”. The witnesses, one of which was a wildlife biologist, took issue with that finding. They called in the RI Enviro police (with help from the providence journal) , who investigated it. They found the carcass, with bite marks and attack methodology consistent with a cougar. The deer was killed in a back yard, and dragged shoulders off the ground over 1000 ft into woods, and covered with litter. Scat and tracks were also found. Tracks were cougar, but DEM was given the scat, and “lost” it. Several witnesses saw the cat leave the scene, hence the request to reinvestigate it. If you pre determine its not a cougar, you miss things. Three national experts all agreed it was a cougar attack, and the finding was reversed. Don’t see that widely published much do you? Google it.
I think the main reason that we don’t hear more about “carcass sign” is because there’s very little of it. I investigated a deer kill associated with a mountain lion sighting in New Hampshire quite a few years ago. When I got there two days later, a bear had eaten quite heavily, followed by coyotes. There was no evidence remaining from whatever had originally killed the deer. There is one confirmed report, from New York, of a cougar-killed deer, in the Adirondacks. Here’s a link to a story – http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/42763.html – posted by New York’s equivalent of Fish & Game.
That is a big problem in New England. If you don’t find the site fast, secondary scavengers destroy it and fast. I’ve seen several that were impossible to make anything of. Here is a saved copy of the providence journals report on the Matanuck incident. Many of the others are now gone off the net I see. http://www.cougarnet.org/sites/original/northeast-desc/RIpublished%20cougar%20story12-16-12.pdf
Thank you. That needed to be said.
You need to look at Michigan. Same story 8 years ago there. Lots of sightings, no road kills, no tracks etc. After a mammoth trail cam effort by the private wildlife conservancy, they finally got a good game cam pic. Turns out there were over 20 cats in the very areas they had been dismissing people for years. As for released pets, to date with the handful of southern new England DNA confirmations, none has been DNA traced to a released pet. To throw that label on (like they did initially with the cat hit in ct) is equally unscientific. There are a large number of confirmations now right over the border in southern canada. A kitten was killed Last summer just north of new hampshire. The evidence will show up with time. And no people, you are not crazy. Some sightings are reak.
You can certainly remain as skeptical as you want but I observed one for nearly a minute in my front yard…not one running by, one slowly walking through my yard. Observed every feature…the animal is no joke. I’m also in a neighborhood with about 50 kids. You may be hopeful they come back but most of us parents wish the opposite…although it really doesn’t matter, they’re here. As far as giving fish and game credit and acknowledging that they need a picture…their own official was face to face with one…that’s not good enough though. They’re here, one was 15′ from my kids. At the very least, if there are several reports of a lion in the same area, fish and game should hold a public meeting saying, “we don’t have a picture but several people in the neighborhood claim to have spotted one. In case this is true, these are the precautions you should take for your pets and children.” That could be done right at the Windham Depot on a Saturday morning for example. They don’t have the resources for one official to come out and hold an hour meeting??? That’s a joke. Instead they just dismiss people who call and don’t want anything to do with the situation. I’ve been on the other end of several of those calls. Most of us who are calling don’t care about proving the lion’s existence…we already know they exist. We just want to be educated about the animal and how to take the proper precautions with our children. That’s too much to ask though. That’s discouraging.
Any photo? One minute?
Since I saw the mountain lion in Windham NH on 7/28, there have been numerous sightings within a 2 mile radius. Pets and livestock have gone missing. Fish and Game has been notified on numerous occasions and they want nothing to do with this subject. They give you every reason under the sun as to why the mountain lion doesn’t exist in NH. Back in the 1800’s, NE was around 80% clear cut for farming and those farmers were also hunting the lions to keep them away from their stock. Hence, the lion went north and west for a better habitat. Fast forward 150 years and NE is now 85% wooded, all sorts of wildlife has made its way back here in abundance, the turkey being one for example. The dense forests are back. The food supply is back and now the mountain lion is back. Makes perfect sense and yet…fish and game refuses to acknowledge it? Why?? They claim they don’t have any pictures. Really? One of their own officials came face to face with a mountain lion. There have been numerous sightings with detailed accounts of the lion’s features. They actually put a game camera in my yard and now refuse to email me the pictures…they won’t even respond to my requests. Again, why? There’s a reason here and I hope the media recognizes this and digs for the answer. Why is fish and game refusing to look into the sightings and / or acknowledge them? They keep falling back on the lack of pictures….Umm….there’s video of one in Manchester NH from a few years ago. They’re burying these sightings for a reason and that’s what the media should be trying to uncover. We all know the mountain lion exists so why the need to cover it up??? I guess they’d rather keep trying to generate money by cracking down on people fishing without a license rather than educating the NH residents about mountain lions and what to do if you encounter one? Makes sense, create revenue over possibly saving a life…what a joke.
turkeys were brought in from out of state.with that said i have seen a mountin lion here in newbury anso did a friend in 103a in newbury.does no good to deal with the f&game. they dont have the money
In my humble opinion, I think you’re being unfair to NH Fish & Game. I’ve been running this blog for 6 years now. On the blog, reports do often come in a flurry, like these in Derry and Windham. There’s usually no hard evidence (as was mentioned by the Fish & Game). Meaning, there aren’t verifiable photos or video. There’s no fur sample, or scat, which could be tested. There’s no carcass. Which makes it hard to validate sightings. My sense is that when there’s a flurry of sightings that come from unrelated people in the same area and timeframe, there’s something there.
What that might be, is harder to say. It might be a bobcat (lots of people mistake mountain lions and bobcats) or a fisher (some people mistake fishers and mountain lions) or something else (coyote, house cat – yes I’ve gotten a couple of house cat photos – etc). Which is not to say that what you are seeing is not a mountain lion. But it is to say that many of the reports I get, and that Fish & Game gets, are of other things than mountain lions.
Then there’s the question of, “if this is a mountain lion, what type is it?” It could be a wild mountain lion. One was killed in Connecticut a couple of years back, that had traveled from Iowa. It is possible that a wild mountain lion is roaming New Hampshire. Or it could be a released pet mountain lion. There are actually a surprising number of people who think that it’s cool to keep a big cat as a pet, and who trade in exotic cats. I didn’t understand this, but after doing some research, I found out that it happens fairly frequently. Apparently, those pet owners often release those cats. The only way to tell if a mountain lion is a wild cat or a released pet is a DNA test, and that’s not exactly easy without having the actual cat (or a fur sample). One DNA sample collected in New Brunswick was of South American origin – which is very likely a released pet, as South America is the source for most cats sold as pets (you can read more here – http://www.cougarnet.org/sites/original/northeast.html)
Which leads to another issue. I’ve been sent dozens of pictures of what people claimed were mountain lions, supposedly taken here in New Hampshire. Many of them were bobcats, a few of which I’ve posted in the Photos section. Others are pictures of actual mountain lions, but all of those were hoaxes. A Google search has shown every one of them, was taken somewhere else, at some other time, and the person sending it to me is, how do I say this nicely – lying. I’ve even received the same photo several times, with claims that it was taken in Greenfield, Wilton, Bedford and who knows where else. There are examples and an explanation of the hoaxes on the photos section of my blog.
It’s not just everyday Joe’s who have misrepresent mountain lion images. You mentioned that a mountain lion was reported in Manchester a couple of years back. That was also a hoax, perpetrated by our friendly news media. CBSLocal ran the story (http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/05/18/mountain-lion-spotted-near-manchester-nh-school/) , with video, reporting that a mountain lion that was seen near a schoolyard in Manchester. The headline was breathless and full of terror. The accompanying video, low quality as it was, had been carefully edited to show only a short portion, of the head and shoulders of the cat. The full video, posted (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=615864142306) by the person who took it, showed that if CBSLocal hadn’t cleverly (misleadingly) edited it, we all would have seen that it was a bobcat (the tail is the giveaway). Many of us wrote to them asking for a correction, they never responded or retracted their story. I guess the clicks and eyeballs were more important than their integrity.
I remain skeptical about the possibility of wild mountain lions returning to NH, but hopeful. Personally, I find the idea exciting. It would be cool. The scientist in me has doubts, which have not been alleviated by running the blog for all these years. For one, outside of that one mountain lion killed by a car in Connecticut, where are the road kills? For two, where are the photos? There are hundreds, if not thousands, of game cameras out there in the woods of New Hampshire (I have one in the woods behind my house). These cameras have taken thousands of pictures of bobcats, bears, fishers, coyotes, moose, deer etc. But nobody has produced a legitimate mountain lion photo. That’s puzzling.
So, I suspect that Fish & Game is seeing what I am seeing. Lots of eyewitness reports. Some that are very credible, many that are not. Some photos, none that are credible (so far). And no hard evidence, no road kills, no scat for a DNA test, no deer kill in a tree 20 feet off the ground (there was one of these, in New York a few years back). Fish & Game needs to see solid evidence.
“no deer kill in a tree 20 feet off the ground ”
Mountain Lions do not put kills up in trees.
@andesitetech – you and I have heard different reports. In googling the issue just now, there are quite a few exerts who say it never happens (cougar caching a carcass in a tree) and a few experts and eyewitness reports who say it does. It’s not a big issue to me either way, and I’ve never got one report here of it here.
“you and I have heard different reports”
Reports? I have hunted them for the last 15yrs, some of my friends for 30+
I know them very, very well.
I have no argument with Fish & Game. They’re busy people. I’m 74, an avid outdoorman and have raised English Setter pointing dogs for 45 years. I hunt grouse and woodcock (no raised birds!) all over New England and have hunted deer with the Sioux in South Dakota. I spend a lot of time in the woods. I have shot coyotes that were killing my lambs, seen fishers 4 times and actually saved my cat from one (evil), seen bears many times (my dogs treed one outside my cabin last spring) and have seen 1 bobcat in the snow. So the animal that crossed 20 yards in front of my Jeep in Peterborough last Thursday was tawny brown, weighed 80 to 100 pounds, had a thick but not bushy tail about 2/3s of the length of its body and a cat-like head. It was in broad daylight and I saw it very clearly. It crossed the road in about 4 seconds So what was it???? One reason they are so hard to photograph is that they move so quickly.
Sarge, like I said, there are lots of credible reports, such as yours. I’m not saying you didn’t see a mountain lion. I believe that you did. You have great credibility. But your eye witness report is not the level of scientific evidence needed to confirm that mountain lions are here, not for Fish & Game. And especially not enough to confirm that a wild, breeding population exists (as opposed to released pets).
I created this blog because I believe that some of the reports (maybe many) are valid. But i understand the level of evidence Fish & Game needs. I don’t think there’s any conspiracy by Fish & Game, just a strong scientific skepticism. And I am really baffled that there are no game cam photos, or even any cell phone photos. Take that report from that couple about two months back here, where they said they were followed pretty closely by a mountain lion, hiking Mt Lafayette, for something like half an hour. Did neither of them think to take out their smart phone or camera and get a picture? And there have been several reports here over the past year or two from people who said they had pictures. I’ve contacted every one of them privately. Not one has sent me a valid photo. What gives there?
I agree. While I do not know any of our NH Fish and Game folks, I do know some in other states. They are people just like the rest of us, not trying to cover anything up, but just doing their job. They would LOVE hard evidence of a mountain lion!
Professionals always say cougars don’t put deer in trees, only leopards do and they don’t live here, however…
Many people have reported animals in trees:
Albany – 1 deer
Alton – 1 deer
Bradford – 1 deer and 1 goat
Claremont – 1 sheep
Harrisville – 1 sheep
Mason – 1 deer
Nashua – 1 dog
New London – 1 fox
Richmond – 4 deer
Stoddard – 1 fawn
Strafford – 1 deer
Thornton – 1 deer
Unknown town – 1 coyote
Warren – 1 deer
Wilton – 1 deer
That means there are 19 animals in trees out of over 3,000 reported sighting events in my database. Although no one has seen a cougar with meat in a tree, there have often been cougar sightings either right before or right after the find, and sometimes tracks as well. I don’t know why no one has ever taken photos, but they haven’t.
I believe cougars are doing it. They are cats and I know they climb trees as some have seen them in trees. If coyotes or other scavengers are after the kill, it makes sense to me that they’d hide it. They are incredibly strong and athletic.
The DNA from the quabbin scat did not indicate a south America source. Melanie Culver tested it and determined it was North American.Mass Wildlife speculated it was an escaped pet at the time. Tracks were also confirmed at the quabbin in 2010.
Thanks for the link to Melanie Culver. I had been told (by people close to McCarter) that it was likely a South American mountain lion, according to the first DNA test. That was many years ago, in the late 1990s, when I was taking tracking classes with Paul Rezendes.
When I googled Melanie Culver, I came across what looks to be a great book (for those of us interested in this subject). “The Quest For The Eastern Cougar: Extinction Or Survival?”
By Robert Tougias
Just an fyi from a person who has seen a Mountain Lion in southern NH two years ago…the Manchester video looked more like a bobcat and I do believe it was confirmed to be such.
Other than that, gotta love the official Staten I was told…”no NATIVE mountain lions here” , to which I responded “Who gives a s**t if it’s native or not?” They are here!
The Manchester one was indeed a bobcat, cleverly edited.
The Manchester “mountain lion” was indeed a bobcat. No doubt about it. CBSlocal was negligent (criminally negligent?) to post a story they knew was false, and scare people like that.
It does make a difference if these mountan lions are native. If North American mountain lions are returning, on their own, to New England, it means they will likely survive, breed and establish a sustainable population. If they are released pets, they probably won’t survive, probably won’t establish a breeding population. Many of the recent reports are of mountain lions in backyards, and neighborhoods. Areas that a wild mountain lion would avoid at all costs. I wonder if that means we’re dealing with a released pet, in Deering and Windham. It certainly isn’t shy around people.
My neighbor on March Hill Road in Alstead, NH, saw a big, muscular, long-tailed tan cat, larger than her 80 lb male black lab, on Sunday August 16th about noon. It crossed the road from a neighbor’s house, walked around her yard, and then walked back across the road and went into the woods behind the neighbor’s house. Here is a link to a google map showing the location: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zJIxBZTPk3LU.kR0x7iy2CUfk&usp=sharing
Hello I clearly observed a mountain lion in Meredith NH last week on August 12th at about 3:30 pm in a field off Powers Road near the lake. I was able to clearly see the lion on the edge of the field at about 30 yards until it sauntered into the woods. What struck me most was the gait of the animal and the length of the tail. I emailed the fish/game in NH but never heard back…….
Good idea to email NH Fish & Game but for some unknown reason they refuse to confirm the existence of mountain lions in the state. I have spent many years hiking, fishing etc and have seen many different types of wildlife. One thing I can positively say is that I saw a mountain lion in North Conway in July 2014 and my son was there to witness the event. One you see one there is no mistaking it for a bobcat or anything else.
It finally happened!!!!! Four hours ago I was driving on NH Rte 123 (might have been on Rte 124) about 1/2 mile from the junction of Rte 101 just past Rosalie’s farm stand in Peterborough. A big cat crossed in front of my car. It was tawney brown and about the size of a great dane dog – say about 80 pounds – but with much shorter legs. Its tail was as long as its body, about 4 feet long. No spots at all so I know it wasn’t a bobcat. The tail curled up at the end. I raise English Setter hunting dogs weighing about 50 pounds. It was far bigger than they are. It disappeared into the under brush. I had my camera and thought about taking photos of its tracks but it was walking so stealfully I decedided there wouldn’t be any. I have seen the birth of my 3 kids and the shuttle chasing the space station to start docking in thesummer sky but this ranks up there with the biggest thrills of my life. If anyone wants to look for skat or tracks, please email me. Thanks. Sarge Collier.
NOTE: My recent post gives the hour as 2:14 am but I saw the Lion at about 6 pm. It was in broad daylight and I saw it very clearly about 20 feet in front of my car.
The following article about NH Mt Lions was in the Wall St Journal on August 28th: http://www.wsj.com/articles/eastern-mountain-lions-may-be-extinct-but-locals-still-see-them-1440776646. I will never forget my sighting, especially the tail. What other NH species has a 3.5 to 4 foot heavy tail somewhat less in diameter than a tennis ball and turned up at the end?
I was hiking Crotched Mountain when I got to the blueberry patches in the knoll I heard a mountain lion scream. This was on Sunday August 16 at around 11 am….
On July 23 my wife and I were working in our yard on Webber Road in East Hampstead when we spotted a large, very light orange or tan animal that sped through the woods only 10 feet away from us. We were startled because we never saw an animal that looked like this, having seen many foxes, fisher cats, coyotes,deer, and even a bear in our back yard through the years. There is now no doubt that this is the same animal, possibly a mountain lion, that people in Derry and Windham have seen as we are only 12 miles away from the Derry sighting that happened on July 24. We tried posting a soundoff in the local paper to warn people but it was never published. There also were two baby deer that were in our neighborhood that we have not seen since our sighting.
Steve Im in Hampstead and would like to come look for prints or scat for the fish and game they refuse to admit of mountain lions in the area and are waiting for positive proof such as scat or prints. Please email or text. Fitnessfx@live.com
603 489 7330
Should be easy once snow starts to fall.
Yes but the subject is hot right now and if this is cat is transient he won’t still be here in winter and we’ll have to wait who knows how long again
I grew up in Hampstead in the 80’s and remember driving down West Road and seeing one run across the road in front of my car. A friend and I first thought it was just a dog, but when we looked back there was a big cat standing on a rock wall. Definitely, was a mountain lion.
about 5 days ago, On Magnolia Lane, Derry NH. I saw a long grayish tail (that at the time I thought was a snake) under my staircase next to my cat. making a screeching noise that sounded just like a mountain lion. on the tail there was some blood. we talked to the police about the sighting though they said that it was probably a bobcat. but, with reading some of the sightings in NH. it looks closer to a mountain lion. my cat is fine though, he lived and I think ran away from the so saw mountain lion.
Sighting: Tuesday 8/11/15 right before 9 am
Location of sighting: University of New Hampshire horse barn grounds
Possible mountain lion spotted in Durham, NH near UNH horse barn fields. It ran across Rt. 4 in front of a moving car around 9 am. It continued running across the horse barn fields. Described as gray in color “easily over 100 lbs”. Described as “cat looking animal the size of a small deer.” I showed the person who saw the animal both separate pictures of a bobcat and mountain lion running across the road. They immediately said it looked like the second picture (the mountain lion) because of its tail.
I had seen what appeared to be a MT Lion crossing RT 121A in Sandown NH near the Chester NH town line this morning 6:20 am. Large and brownish in color. It had a long tail. Clearly a cat type animal except large. It crossed about 30-40yds in front of me and i was at a slow rate of speed where i could slow to try and get a better glimps except it blended into the woods to quickly. I have a large breed dog (135-140lbs) and what i seen was just slightly smaller in comparison. Googling bob cats i knew right away it was not a bob cat as what i seen had a long tail, no print and solid in color. Clearly what i had seen was a MT Lion. I thought to myself as i seen it cross in front of me was ” that looked like something you would see in a zoo”. Odd enough where it has been in my mind all day.
Chuck I live right near there can you show me where you saw it please Id like to go look for scat and tracks
I arrived in Northern Vt today for a seminar. In driving up I stopped at a NH rest stop on route 89 a little before Croydon (sp?). On the wall was a picture of numerous NH wildlife and their foot prints. I was surprised to see the cougar was included.
I asked the attendant if there were cougars in NH. The staff member smiled said it was an open issue. He said the government says no. He added that his wife saw one in the area not long ago. Of course, when she called the govt. to report her sighting and asked them to come out and investigate she got the usual “no need to come out and look at the prints. There are no cougars in NH”.
I saw one on my way home from work on 8/3/15 around 1am it looked to me about the size of a dog and it was standing about ten feet off the road not far from some road kill on route 10 going from keene nh to swanzey i wish i had a pic but i wasn’t about to pull over on my motorcycle
On Wednesday July 29,2015 at 3:30 pm. I was driving on rte 202A Barrington/Strafford NH line a mountian lion crossed the road right in front of our vehicle. This was a very large animal. Medium brown in color.
Regarding my lion sighting of July 30, I probably should not have described it as adult. I would estimate it to have been about 80-100 lbs.
Saw a mountain lion this a.m. around 7:40 on Route 93 North, about a mile south of the exit for Flume Gorge Center in Franconia Notch. It was approaching the center of the single lane, where there was road kill and traffic cones due to roadworks. I
had to honk to get it off the road. It sauntered to edge of road and stopped to stare at me. There was no place for me to stop. I saw it, while barely moving, from about fifteen feet. It was an adult, healthy looking, a dirty- or grayish-yellow color. Looks just like that photo of stuffed lion that is supposed to be the last one shot in NE.
Shane I would be interested in coming to check for scat or prints. I work in Hampstead and do jobs in derry windham daily. I do believe there is some kind of big cat over there as there have been numerous sightings in the area and if you look at a topo map there is a line of forest over there an animal could keep in cover. 603 489 7330. Let’s get some pictures of tracks and scat so we can show F&G they’re here
So reading through the sightings below, I see that two folks saw one on 7/23 in the Berry Rd / South Range Rd area. My sighting yesterday was right off Depot Rd in Windham, directly in my front yard. If you look at a map, it’s all forrest between these streets….the rail trail runs right through it. That means this mountain lion has been in the same area for at least a week now….probably one to two square miles of woods. As a parent, that’s not very comforting.
Shane call me 978 376 2549
Shane a few years age maybe 10 now in Westford Ma( other side of Lowell) a mother was watching her kids in the back yard and saw a Mt Lion run right by the kids. The cat you saw I went looking for it Sunday in the Derry Londonderry area up n down the 128 area, with no luck. That Cat should show up in Dracut next.
How do you know it will be in Dracut?
This could be unrelated but for the last 10 days or so I’ve had a skunk spraying at my house everyday….very annoying but maybe he felt in danger?? Also, in that same time period, I had a single turkey living in my yard. I thought it was weird that the turkey was alone and that he was typically perched up on something high like the swing set or the shed. A few days back I came home and found his feathers scattered on my front lawn…haven’t seen him since.
Do these Mt lions keep moving or do they ever roam in a certain area for awhile?
Hello – yesterday evening 7/28 around 7:30pm in Windham NH I saw a large mountain lion in my front yard. I first went out on my porch around 7:00pm and immediately heard a large crackling sound…I looked up and saw a very large brown animal off in the distance. No biggie I thought, it must be a really large deer. At this point it was walking away from me towards the cul de sac. I went back in the house and a half hour later I came back out to see if it was still there, hoping the “deer” would make it’s way on to my lawn so my children could see it. Sure enough, the same crackling noises and this time the animal was walking towards me. Once I could make out the approx size I thought it seemed awfully large to be a deer. Then as it got closer I started to realize that it walked too low to the ground to be a deer…of course never thinking it could be a moutain lion. It then got right up to the tree line where the lawn begins and started to walk along the edge of my lawn. I immediately saw the large shoulder movement and realized this certainly wasn’t a deer. Then I saw the tail and froze. This tail had to have been 3′ long…huge. The lion walked very slowly and I observed it for about 20 seconds. I clearly saw all of it’s features as it was only about 30′ or so from me…brown in color, muscular and bigger than I would have imagined. I was awestruck by the size of it. I slowly opened my door and whispered for my daughter to come get a look…she witnessed it as well. As the mountain lion walked into the woods we could hear it for at least another 20 minutes.
The part that has me totally freaked out is that my two children were just playing by themselves in the yard about 20′ from where the mountain lion was. I live in a residential neighborhood (although heavily wooded) and there’s lots of children nearby. I don’t even want to let mine outside again. Any ideas or suggestions on what I possibly could do would be appreciated.
Let your neighbors know. Tell children to stand still if they see the cat and put their hands slowly over their heads to make themselves look larger, watch the cat and walk slowly backwards to safety (if a lion attacks, it will probably go for the back of the neck).
A lion probably won’t attack unless a child screams and/or runs. Then that child looks like prey. Here are a couple of websites: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/cougsf.htm and http://www.mountainlion.org/portalprotectencounters.asp .
I just saw what I think was a mountain lion as I left Dartmouth Hitchcock medical center. It was about the size of a 40 pound dog. Tan. Skinny. Long tail. It was running across the road in front of my car may be about 10 yards. 5:15 PM, July 28. It ran into the woods before I could get a picture.
Do you know which road you were on when you saw the mountain lion?
Thanks.
July 27, 2015 :: New London , NH
Approximately 6:30 pm my son and I spotted a mountain lion crossing Route 11 heading up the hill to Four Corners. Rusty brown in color 4-5 feet long we were at a distance of 20-30 yards. Locals believe its range is the New London side of Mt. Kearsarge.
I saw my first lion track in 2001 at the foot of Mt. Kearsarge, so they’ve been there a long time.
Hi kids,
I own an undeveloped subdivision in Canaan. 30 acres with road but no houses. I have a trailer on the end. I walk the “road” every time I’m up there at least 5 times a day…just watching. I have seen turkeys, deer, porcupine etc. last weekend 7/25 I was walking down the road and heard this huge crow on top of a pole start squawking. I laughed as I thought it was squawking at me and across the road walks a mountain lion. I was 50 yards up wind and neither one of us broke stride! I walked behind this cat for 200 yds (I went back to mark it and check for nice prints) before he walked into the brush. Mad exciting and let it be know that I was carrying a fully loaded 40 cal! I have been to Africa and I know cats. This cat was not quite full grown, 140 lbs if I had to guess and unbelievably beautiful. Probably a once in a lifetime thing but I hope to get another sighting someday. For any doubters of ML’s in New Hampshire, ( and all others) don’t walk the woods without a firearm
Peace
it was 7/23/15 at 445 am i was headed south on rt 202 in Hancock and just past norway hill rd and before the guard rails a large black cat crossed in front of me about 100ft away. it was very relaxed looking in its moving. going from west to east. i am well aware of cougars in the area and have seen one in antrim in my side yard on gregglake rd about 12 years ago.havent heard of black ones before though. very exciting
Gordon, back in July 2013 there were some (larger) black cats spotted in Windsor and Bradford… I caught a picture of on my game camera and posted to YouTube.(and here on this feed) .
If you scroll down this page to July/August 2013 you’ll see both postings. There are definitely some big black cats in the area,
They may be part domestic cat and are living in the wild (like a Coy-Dog), but based on the images they are definitely larger than your average house cat!
David, nice work on the analysis. It is a puzzle. One possibility is a fisher (aka fisher cat) which would be a rough fit. Here’s a link to a picture http://www.massaudubon.org/var/ezdemo_site/storage/images/media/ma-assets/images/fisher-at-irws-phil-brown/35985-1-eng-US/fisher-at-irws-phil-brown.jpg
Spotted Not far into the woods behind Berry Rd in Derry, NH. Extremely rare for this area but if it was not a mountain lion- it looked identical.
I also saw one on my walk today in that area, where Miltimore Road meets South Range Road (same woods, behind Berry Road), around 5 p.m. today.
To clarify, it was standing on the road as I walked in that direction and remained still as I turned around and walked away from it.
Ah just another day camping out in the woods. I set a trail cam up on a tree. I woke up at 5:11 am was getting ready to pack up and leave until I heard leaves cracking I didn’t know what it was until I was brown fur ah just a deer as I was walking back to my tent, I hear something walking back. “Uh oh” I did not know what this was so I grabbed my trail cam and left I know it was a wimp move but, I check the cam 4:58 am there was a cat on my cam I didn’t know what kind until I out lined it. it has a long tail and it had a decently small head thought it was a coyote but.. I saw the tail long and skinny. good thing I got out.
Can you post the picture?
Thank you!
07/14/2015……..9:00 am or so……..old Nashua road Londonderry, nh…….saw a large mountain lion cross the road……extremely rare for this area…..must have been lost…..rusty-brownish color….tail as long as its body, curled at the end with a blackish/darker tip……beautiful animal….not sure why it was down here.
I was driving on Rte 31 (just before Pillsbury State Park) in Washington, NH this morning and saw a very large dark colored cat/lion cross the road. It looked black, the size of a medium bear and sleek looking. What would that have been? I have seen Bobcats and they are lighter color and short tail, this had a long tail and curled at end.
The one I saw was gray-brown, confirmed by others who have seen it in the same vicinity.
I believe what you saw is an unknown species of black/gray cat. I’ve seen it twice and know they’ve been seen in Washington before. They are usually 40-80 lbs. with a long curved tail, long legs, skinny bodies, etc. Please contact me at lmccracken2002@yahoo.com as I’m doing research on these cats and would like to talk with you further.
7/12/2015 On route 16 in Errol, NH about 3:30 pm. Just before Greenough Pond Rd. we saw a huge mountain lion cross the road in @ 3 leaps. It had darker fur possibly brindle (sp?) . Really amazing!! Beautiful animal!!
I live in Pittsfield nh and tonight my kids and i had a fire behind my house like usual wee heard something in the woods about 15 get away my husband told the kids to get inside, about a half hour later my husband and i still outside where talking when my dog flipped running down our yard, i saw what looked like a mountain lion, my husband is still outside and can here out walking through the woods. I am scared to death right now for my kid… Please help
My husband just saw one this morning on Concord Hill!!
Candia, NH – July 8, 2015
Have seen lots of deer, many turkeys, a fisher cat once, coy dogs, a bear and even a moose walking through the yard a few weeks ago but today around 1 pm I spotted a large golden brownish very large cat in my back yard. It had a smooth coat and def walked like a cat. Tried to get a pic but was unable.
My neighbor here in Deerfield, NH claims to have spotted a mtn lion last week on the edge of her farm. She is a smart educated lady not prone to exaggeration but nevertheless I am very skeptical. I was researching to see if any one else reported sightings in the area. With your sighting too,..maybe it’s possible……
Hi,
I have over 3,000 sightings reported in my database. I checked and 6 other people have seen mountain lions in Deerfield, NH since the year 2001.
I live in Deerfield NH and spotted what I thought was a mountain lion on South Rd, about 4 yrs ago, whereabouts is your friend’s farm?
Liz
I swore I saw a mountain lion on Griffin Road two years ago. I went out walking pre-dawn. When I was coming back home it was just before dawn I saw something I thought was a dog about a quarter mile up the road. I stopped and watched it stop. Then it turned to go into the brush on the side of the road, and even though it wasn’t terribly light out, there was no mistaking its profile. Never said anything about it because I figure no one would have believed me. Glad to see there are more kooks in Deerfield too!
Note: I live about a quarter mile north of Captain Bill who posted on this thread July 21, 2014 at 11:08 am.
Although this is in Massachusetts my two friends saw one at a golf course in Westminster 50 yards away. They said it was huge.
We have a log cabin located in Stoddard, NH on Highland Lake. It’s located on the water on the east side of Pitcher Mountain in the Hidden Lake Association. We’ve only owned this place a few years and since we purchased it we have seen a variety of wildlife including Black Bears, Fox, Deer, Beaver, etc.
This past week was the first time we saw a Mountain Lion. On 7/3/2015 @ 8:30 a.m. I walked out my back door and looked down the side of the house which is on the lake side and there was standing a beautiful Mountain Lion. I was on one side of the house and it on the other, so it was only about 50 – 60 feet away from me. It was light brown and about the side of a big dog (a little bit bigger than our neighbors German Shepherd).
The side of the house it was standing at is only about 20 feet from the water, so I suspect it was getting a drink of water or possibly looking for prey. We have what appears to be a den formed by some huge boulders about 150 ft. from our front door (lake side). We suspect it might be a fox den, but we are unsure. It’s likely too small for a bear den. All the foxes we have seen run over that way and it’s close to the waters edge in a wooded area.
I must have alerted it when I opened the back door when I stepped outside. Once it saw me it stared at me for about 10 seconds and the took off up the hill headed toward the den I mentioned previously through a wooded area. I tried to slowly reach in my pocket to grab my phone to snap a picture, but by the time I did it was too late.
It was a very surreal experience, but also a little scary.
—Mike Lebo
My husband and I were riding motorcycles today on 101 toward Peterborough. About one mile before the little rotary before 202. About 1pm. Cat came from south side of road, crossed directly in front of me. On north side there is a bit of rock ledge she had to climb up. Brindle color, small compact ears, long in body, round beautiful face. Only took three or four strides to cross 101.
It was a gorgeous sight!!!
Would love to know if others have sighted in this area.
Penny Foskit
24 big cats have been seen in the Peterborough area, that I know of, including one that I saw on Pack Monadnock on August 17, 2012. I heard a swish, then turned towards the sound and saw a reddish brown cat leaping over something above some 30 in. ferns, then it disappeared again on landing. Quite a few have been seen crossing Rt. 202, but you’re the first to see one crossing Rt. 101.
First reported crossing 101. For all we know there could be 1000s of sightings that aren’t reported in NH. For example I have talked to two people that saw one 1/2 hour from me in different directions different years.
Very neat experience. I spotted one in Stoddard, NH (not too far from Peterborough) on 7/3 on the east side of Pitcher Mountain on Highland Lake.
Re. Penny Foskit’s sighting on Rte 101 in Peterborough, today I recieved this email from a friend who also lives in Peterborough: On Friday ML crossed 101 at ledges near Goldmine underpass. Four leaps it was across the highway! This is Dublin barely!
I live in the manchester area and work in the kingston Hampstead area. Have not yet seen one but I’m interested in them and would like to attend a New England mountain lion presentation or talk. Anyways I always see these people who will follow them to get a pic of better look at them to confirm their suspicions and I think eventually if these are indeed Pumas they will attack and then we’ll have the ultimate form of DNa in the form of a victim and their wounds being consistent with that of a ml I think f&g needs to be a bit more opened to the idea before they get someone killed or manged. Maine vt and even mass wildlife professionals seem to have little problem admitting their existence even if just saying its a individual passer through. A puma is a puma reguardless of how it got here
I do talks and lectures on mountain lions including the research I’ve done on NH cats. Contact me at lmccracken2002@yahoo.com if you are interested.
I know the man from Alstead who took this picture. He is a lifelong hunter and outdoorsman in addition to being a professional. I have talked to him about this, and I respect his wish to remain anonymous.
Once you actually see a mountain lion you will no longer be so skeptical about others’ claims. I saw mine at 11:45 am on 1/8/14 in Keene, where 3 are spotted regularly.
I saw this pic a few years ago. It looks like a painting of a cougar. I thought that then and still think it. The facial features are off as well as the shadowing and posture, and this would have actually been around the time we had our sighting, in Alstead 2011ish….
Many of us on this blog have been waiting for this for a long time. Posting in case anyone missed this important milestone in New Hampshire cougar history:
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120821/NEWHAMPSHIRE03/708219874/0/ANGLE
Regards,
….Sean
Sean, yes, we’ve been waiting. I’ve received many photos over the past few years, none legitimate. I’ve posted many of those here, with explanations.
The photo you linked too is likely a stuffed cat. The person who photographed it, when asked if he got any other photos of it, said that he only had one picture left on his roll of film. So there’s only the one pose. Experts who viewed the photo say that it’s in a classic taxidermy pose, and has a posed look.
It might be legit, but there were many questions about it. In the meantime, we’re all still waiting. JR
LOL… Are you serious John? This was in the Union Leader published on 27 June 2015. He must have been walking fairly stiff legged if he was stuffed…eh? lol! I am really disappointed if this is fake. There were three items in the story that did not ring well, 1) I did not like the fact that the guy did not want to be named. 2) The fact that he admitted he had “run ins” with F&G. And of course 3), he was on the last frame on the 35mm roll. I want to believe. I guess that is something I have to learn to suppress and become more skeptical. I am staring out the same window now that I did when I had my sighting. About a week later, a deer covered the same ground as our cougar but in reverse so I bought a Moultrie M880 for my yard. I setup the camera along that route through my property. So far, only squirrels on the game camera…. 🙂 Patience… patience… Thanks John.
That’s odd. This story ran a few years ago. Not sure why Union Leader is re-running it now. The author, by the way, is a really solid guy. Lives up above the notches, has written several times about mountain lion sightings (reported to him) including one from a game warden. If you search for Harrigan and mountain lion” you should find some of his articles.
On my game camera I’ve got pics of bear, bobcats, raccoons, a fox, coyotes, and many many deer. No mountain lions….
Ya, check the link above. Dateline was 27 June 2015 so I thought it was new. The author was Harrigan.
The link referenced above on the Union Leader website is now dead. Hmmm…
Tue. Sept. 20th, 7:15pm route 28 (Broadway) Salem, N.H. While going on an errand, a large “feline” dashed out of the woods 30-40 feet in front of me. I slowed and watched this thing as it disapeared through the brush on the other side of the road. My view was aided by a street light that it ran under. What I noticed right away was the muscular shoulders, the long, thick trailing tail and the med. tan color. It appeared to be a juvenile? approx. 75-80 lbs would be my best guess. Immediately upon returning home, I went right to the computer and it was a no brainer for me…it was a mt. lion/cougar that I saw. Did not report to the N.H. game dept. for obvious reasons.
Sorry…this was in 2011
June 23rd about 8:15 pm looked out my back window and saw something tan/light brown laying next to my shed looking toward the house. I watched it for about 1 minute then it stood up and I got a perfect side view of it and it was definitely a mountain lion. It was about the same height as my chocolate lab but much longer and had a long tail. It was about 30 or 40 yards from my house and only a few feet from my swimming pool where my kids and I were just swimming about 30 minutes prior. I hollered to my wife and it stopped and looked in the window at me. Before my wife could get a picture it walked across my kids play ground and went into the woods. I live in Lempster NH.
Please contact me. I’d love to put up a game camera. I live near you. lmccracken2002@yahoo.com
Hi JR. I was wrong. It was a bobcat. However, if I can somehow attach some pages of a discussion of a facebook group called M.A.N.E. there is much talk about mountain lions in the Mason area. Supposedly a half buried deer carcass was found near Pratt Pond and the lion tracks were confirmed by Dept of Fish & Game
I appreciate your quick reply, and corection. Thanks! Yes, please post a link to that discussion.
Here is some recent info. Contains what to look for: http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/go-outside/eastern-mountain-lion-mystery/
Hi John. Did you get the photos of the 1880’s Mt Lion hunt I emailed you?
Sarge Collier,
I have family in Mason and do all of my hunting in the Mason area. Two or three years ago a home owner found a half buried deer carcuss near the Pratt Pond area. Fish and Game was contacted and according to the reporting party they unoffically confirmed it was a moutain lion kill.
During this time I did all my hunting near Pratt Pond. One early morning I was walking to my stand using a flash light. There was a small stream near my stand and while walking through it I shined my flash light on the stream. I saw a redish green eye shine. I never seen eye shine like that. I’m not saying it was a lion, but I do not know what it was.
I live in Mason, NH. Through the Mason horse riders website I have seen a photo in their website of a Mountain Lion seen here in the last few days. I heve also heard that a professor from UNH came down and confirmed that the tracks were of a mountain lion. I also heard that a lion was chased away by some horse owners whose steeds were being attacked by a lion. Plus, I heard of another sighting of a female with 2 healthy cubs. Has anyone else heard of this? I have no desire to hurt these magnificient creatures but if my dogs, horses or my family are attacked am I allow to defend them?
Can you post a link to the photo on the horse riders’ website? I searched google, but nothing came up. Thanks! JR
I just (6/22/15 2:55pm) saw what appeared to be a mountain lion cross Rt. 202 on the Peterborough/ Hancock town line. Tan colors, long and sleek body.
I am in central NY at the moment. A couple that struck up a conversation with me told me that the wife’s mother saw a mountain lion in or around Newark, NY. The couple said they are here. People see them frequently in the area.
They said this is a smaller strain of cat, much as Rob Maglio indicated in his post. They insisted that they are mountain lions, however, complete with the long tail.
I don’t know if this is helpful but I find it interesting.
I saw a mountain lion in my driveway on June 4, 2015 about 4 pm. I followed him/her down the driveway and then onto a little used fire road. In all maybe a quarter of a mile, before he disappeared into the woods.
On first sighting, I tried to figure out what breed of dog it was. But then I realized it was walking like a cat, not a dog and had a long tail that hung down except for the very end which an uupwards curl. The coat was a smooth soft brown, almost beige. I would guess he was about 3 feet high.
I live in the Roland Park section of Center Ossipee.
My son and I saw 1 yesterday, May 30, 2015 @ 1:00pm on Wallace Road in Bedford, NH. We were accelerating after a four way intersection and saw what looked like a large cat about the size of a medium dog (40 lbs or so) with a uniform color coat, sort of tannish orange, with a black tip on its tail. It came out of the woods on one side of the road, pounded a couple times and was across into the woods on the other side. We only saw its profile for about 5 seconds, but am pretty confident it wasn’t a bobcat based on the coat color. My son said he thought it looked like a small tiger with no stripes.
Cool! Just FYI (I’m not saying you didn’t see a cougar. I have no clue what you saw) but there are tawny, nearly solid color bobcats. 40 lbs is small for a mountain lion. A full grown cougar is upwards of 120 – 140 lbs and six feet in length. Black tip on tail could also be a bobcat. And the description of looking like a small tiger would fit bobcat more than cougar. A cougar looks like a more sleek version of a female lion or looks like a panther. Bobcat tails vary in their bob length also. The cougar tail is up to 3 feet long. Do a Google image search for bobcat and see if any look like your sighting. Most will look like typical, easily identifiable Bobcats, but you will also see quite a few that could be mistaken for cougars. Hope this helps!
On the 14 the of May at 8:00 am on 112 Lancaster Hill Road in Tilton N.H. My brother and I were at the end of his drive way and saw two mountain lions in the field across the road from his house. I got out of my car and walked within 100 feet and took pictures and they never moved,
Very cool…Can you post pictures or email me?
I want to see them
David can you please share the pics?
Oops correction. May 13,2015
I was traveling south on route 11 just before Mt Major trail head at around 1245 when a mountain lion crossed the road from the Mt side to the lake side. I couldn’t Believe my eyes! This was Wednesday May 15, 2015
Just saw one in the woods behind my house in Richmond, NH on the Morgan Reserve. Pretty dense and expansive forest area. Looked like the stuffed one in your picture but fuller and healthier. It was calmly walking across the edge of a clearing and disappeared behind a deadfall. My guess is 40-50lb.
May 8th about 7:30 pm taking my grand children home we all saw a large cat walking the stone wall about 100′ away definitely a mt lion large tail fawn to golden color just off rt. 28 in Wolfeboro,NH
My boyfriend and I were hiking down the Old Bridle Path on Mt. Lafayette last evening. It took us longer than expected due to the snowy/icy conditions. We were about a mile and a half from the trailhead at dusk when my boyfriend heard something behind him, spun around, and saw a cougar 20 ft. away on our right side coming toward us. We made as much as much noise as possible, but as we were descending realized it was still following us. It stayed with us all the way back to the car. This cougar was approx 100-120 lbs and three ft high, four feet long, yellow/tan in color, with a very long tail, and white face markings. This animal was bold, and we were grateful to make it home for a much deserved beer.
Did you get a picture? If so, please email to me. John.f.ranta@gmail.com
This sounds like the behavior of a released pet, which sadly happens.
Snowy? Should have taken pictures of the tracks. I’m surprised people don’t see more tracks with all of the snow you get.
I’m sorry ,forgot to say about the deer in the tree part …that would of been a suspected panther or tiger that disappeared/ escaped from that zoo up in Greenville nh b4 it got shut down…years ago.
In the spring of 2007 I saw a large mountain lion sachet across my road and disappeared into the woods-20 feet from me.i was sitting on my porch.
It had to be 5 ft long -no 1 believed me.
My son saw a lynx this evening near the same spot.thats how I found this blog..looking for big cats in my area.
I have seen a wolf 2x since living here.NO MISTAKING that either.it was big and majestic
This past fall my son also saw a bear -30ft from him. (He ran like hell)
Oh and the racoons,skunks,possums,beavers are normal occurances.
I live on a dirt road near a lake in ashby,ma.
Thanks for sharing all
I heard that their were reports of deers in trees a few years ago on the ashby nh border..a lady was riding her horse and it started to go a little wild,the lady looked up and saw a Deer in the tree..and got out of their.reported it to the police.only one thing will drag a deer up a tree
Mtn lions, wolves and Lynx in Massachusetts. You should play the lottery.
Two nights ago I was on the deck grilling in Greenfield, NH. Our property borders conservation land and overlooks Mt. Monadnock. Around 7pm I spotted a Mountain Lion traveling across the border of the yard,
Prior to 2000 my cousin and I were headed fishing in Ossipee area when we spotted a Mountain Lion on the side of the road in Union Just the other side of the intersection were the bait shop is. We thought nothing of it just we Saw a Mountain Lion and were certain after that they live in NH after this. Memorial Day weekend 2000 I headed out to the north country to do an exploratory fishing trip. I decided to set up camp at the Beaver Trails campground in Lancaster near the bridge that crosses into VT. While I was setting up my tent I noticed some pretty spastic cats running around I want to say there was maybe four of them. I set up my tent and was making a grill cheese sandwich when out of the side of campground where the grass was longer came the two adults the First definately a Catamount and the second was more grey or a molting female. I had left one of the doors to my tent down when I went reach for a spatula and one of the kittens got in the tent I opened the other side to let it out. So in the meantime a Proffesor from St. Mary’s in Nova Scotia had come into the campground on a BMW motorcycle and was Setting up a tent beside me on the same edge of the field that the two parents had emerged from. He had driven all the way from Mexico and was on his way home when he dropped into NH to ride through the Whites. I called to his attention and pointed out the wildcats on the edge of the field. I opened the door to my pickup when I had my headlights shinning on the Male adult and took a picture. He was sitting in a sphinx like position with his ears folded over. Another one of the kittens climbed the tree over my tent and was hanging out above me. These kittens tails had rings and like I was saying the female was grey and looking Kinda like a large tiger cat. So I eventually turned in for the evening and the cats were right outside my tent the entire night. They were making cat noises only It was if they were amplified about 20 times. I talked with the woman who ran the camp store the next morning and her only comment was Cat Foo Yung. The proffesor and I had a coffee in the morning and talked about what we had saw. The picture I took was rather foggy and I was told I should show FIsh & Game. The first picture in the set of two I had sent to fish & game never got there or they got and said they didn’t get or it was lost in the mail. So I took the one I had left to them in person. The biologist said he would have to scan the picture onto the the computer and to do so he had to go to the New Hampton office. Later he stated that the photo was inconcusive and I had seen a family of bobcats. I guess the last documented proof was from 1953 in New York State for the Eastern Mtn. Lion but I think he didn’t want to create a witch hunt because there is no doubt in my mind these were Mountain Lions
Never, ever give original photos to NH Fish & Game. I only know of one instance where they were returned and it was on a wedding video. Somehow, the cougar part got “accidentally erased”. I’ve heard of multiple accounts of photos and videos disappearing.
I was driving down 28 in Chichester Thursday the ninth of April and one crossed the street and stood on the side of the road I wish I had known no one has a pic I didn’t even know they were rare here! I told my husband and he said there are only stories! I said well that big kitty was right there! He drives down there often at night he’s gonna be on the watch now for it!
I live near a small lake in central N H, the lakes region, Today at 5 pm I was taking my two dogs down to the beach to play fetch. The lake is still frozen and as I stopped the truck I noticed an animal crossing the ice about 100 yards away, first thought a deer ,they are everywhere around here, a fox, a bob cat or lynx, no this was a large cat with a long tail, about the same size as one of my dogs, about 65 lbs. I have lived in Livingston Montana and saw mountain lions quit often, this was a mountain lion.. I watched it cross the lake and go into the woods , maybe about a minute. Got out with my camera but couldn’t get a shot of it once it was in the woods, It’s the exact same color as woods. Drove up the mountain road to wait and see if I could catch it headed up the mountain but no luck. Amazing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 It was moving quite fast but not a run, It was close enough that my dog, Meinka also saw it, with much interest, as it crossed the lake.
On Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at about 6:38pm in Littleton NH on Partridge Lake Road we had deer in our yard eating acorns. As we watched the deer, it turned to stare into the woods and very attentively watched. He then stomped the ground and took off. In the mean time we snapped some pictures of him. Moments later, we observed what we believed to be a mountain line, pass along the edge of the woods and head off into the direction of the deer. After looking at the pictures, we realized that we had captured the mountain lion in the background. The picture shows the back end of the lion with its long tail, but the front of it is behind a tree. We did go out to look at the tracks and found them to be 3 inches across, in a straight line, in sets of 4. The distance between the sets was 14 inches and each set of four measured 29 inches from the front to the back. The photos of the tracks did not come out very well with the white background of the snow.
We would all like to see any photos that you may have. Please email them to john.f.ranta@gmail.com. He can add them to this site.
I live in Amherst, NH. One day I was walking to get my daughter on the bus when I saw something moving to the left of me. I looked and I saw a fox up on top of this ledge with a rock on it and underneath was a massive cougar just starring. Now I’m sick of people being naïve and saying “oh no they don’t exist around here, that’s impossible” excuse you BUT they do!!!!!!! I know my freakin animals and I know a cougar of all because I am absolutely petrified of them… This was NO BOB CAT!!!!! Bob cats are different coloring as well as DIFFERENT size and faces. I got back to my house and drove to the bus stop. I got to the bus stop and was telling another mother about it and she said “that’s why my dog was going absolutely insaneeee!”
Where in Amherst?
Right off of the Amherst ext. 122
I was driving home one night (Summer of 2009 or 2010) from North Central Massachusetts to where I live in New Ipswich. It was about 11:30pm and I was traveling down New Ipswich Road in Ashby MA, approaching the border of NH (within 50 yards of it). As I came up over the hill I saw the tan hindquarters of large feline crossing the street, heading into the woods. I am 100% certain that it was a mountain lion because it was fleeing across the road from a house that has a chicken coop. (For the record, I hadn’t been drinking or using drugs that evening, and I am totally convinced that what I saw was, in fact, a mountain lion).
3/3/2015-
http://thatoregonlife.com/2015/03/homeowner-glide-oregon-shoots-cougar-yard/
Do you people not have game cameras? Do hunters in NH not put motion game cameras up on trees? There should be thousands of pictures. I live in Oregon…a place MUCH more rural than NH where I grew up. Lions are constantly showing up on game cams and hit by cars.
No photos? no bodies?…no cougars. They don’t hide. Don’t you guys have like 5 feet of snow? Photograph some tracks in the snow perhaps. Cougars need to feed all winter and that requires a LOT of tracks. NH does not have any real stretches of roadless land. Walk 10 miles and you will hit some kind of road.
Simply not enough wilderness left there to support big cats.
Putting aside your condescending nature for a moment… One of the purposes of this website (not speaking for the owner) is to recognize that these sightings ARE extremely rare. We don’t have thousands of photos from game cameras because there are probably only a few cats roaming about! There are probably no breeding pairs in New England. We know they come from “out west” as proven by the DNA search done on the cat hit and killed by a car in Connecticut a few years ago. As far an NH being rural, I can walk ten miles in many locations and not hit a road. The state lacks urban and truly suburban areas. Outside of the I93 corridor, everything is spread out. I do agree that there is not enough contiguous wild areas to support a large breeding population of big cats but north of the notches might be possible. Animals adapt, if allowed.
I grew up in Ore., now live in NH. I find it crazy that NH believes there are zero cougers here at all (lol). however, thats because cougers were almost” extinct from hunting here. Ore. on the other hand, is extremely overpopulated, lending to frequent sightings. As a child growing up in Ore. we rarely heard of couger sightings.
Has no one sent you any of the photos they’ve said they have? Because i can’t see that you’ve shared any on your photo page. There’s only the same 4 that have been there for months.
Hello I was wondering if it is true are they really here I go up north all the time and look for wild life to get on cam but have not seen one yet herd story’s from people up there but have not found any
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Here’s a thought — (Not to add more ambiguity or start an urban legend!) You know how the Eastern Coyote is a lot larger because it has wolf DNA and they discovered grey wolves had mated with coyotes? Do you think it is possible that bobcats mated with mountain lions? I question this, because when my husband and I had our sighting that I posted a long time ago, while everything about what we saw screamed ‘mountain lion’ (very long tubular tail, tan coat, black tipped ears, short hair), the one missing thing was the animal was smaller (more bobcat size). We thought maybe it was a young lion. Then about a month ago, we were driving on Rt 202 in Rindge and some type of large feline bounded across the road. The coat was darker than the light tan one we saw in Alstead years ago, and the animal did seem smaller (but much too large to be a domestic cat). I thought maybe bobcat, but again, the tail was long. I also wonder if there are bobcats with longer tails. This recent sighting was not so clear, so I dismissed it, but there is something going on here. We’re all seeing something that is outside the norm….
I saw one on the sharron stretch 2 years ago in mid summer. I will tell you that is’t the biggest cat I HAVE ever seen!
February 20, 2015: 9:45PM Osgood Rd, Sanbornton, NH. I saw a mountain lion come from west side of road. It ran straight down the road (south) extremely quickly. I was in my car with the brights on heading south. It ran up a driveway on the west side of the street. I probably saw it for perhaps ten to fifteen seconds. It was quite large/tall and very long. When I went up the road early the next morning, I saw a puddle of urine at the end of that very driveway the mountain lion ran up. Upon examination with a neighbor, it must have been a fairly forceful spray to have melted the ice/snow. A couple of neighbors took some photos of tracks and the urine puddle.
Please email me the photos – john.f.ranta@gmail.com
No. It was in Etna NH.
Can you post pics?
I have a separate picture page, where I can post pics.
In response to the Salisbury Amesbury sighting- a friend of mine saw one cross 495 by Brad Parks snow tube place last winter. It crossed in front of him at 3 am he was still half asleep on his way to work. He does wildlife photography as I do so he noticed the tail.
Early January 2015. My brother saw a small lion walk across the field near the wooded area behind our house in Gilmanton. He called a neighbor a few houses down who could also see it out his front door once it got to his end of the field.
My husband saw one on the Salisbury/Amesbury, MA border last night crossing a well used but dark road.
Tenney Mountain Highway, Plymouth. December 30, 2014. We were driving west around 11:00 am. In the field to the right, near the Baker River we observed a mountain lion crossing through the field, then walking along the perimeter of the trees. Although I took a photo and short video, I was too far away and you can’t discriminate the animal from the background. This was absolutely not a bobcat: long thick tail and large.
This was the second time we’ve seen one. The first time was in Campton, off Winterbrook Rd, July 4th, (2010 I believe). That sighting was reported (and promptly discredited).
12/30/2014 9:15 Route 202 A infront of Strafford elementary school, saw full grown lion clear as day.
Size was aprox 5 ft in length, standing about 3 ft tall, cross about 15 feet from my car doing 25 mph.
On July 3, 2012, on Crown Point Road, in Strafford, we had a cougar show up on the farm. It appeared to be an adolescent with very faint brown spots. It had round ears, a fat tail almost as long as its body. It was crouched in a stalking position about 50 feet from my goat pen and my chicken pen. We filed a police report and the PD came out and looked for it in our barn. Turns out the chief saw one on Roller Coaster Road down by the Isinglass store a few days earlier. No photos as it took off when my daughter spooked it by coming around the hedge. My wife had seen one on 202A a month prior on June 7, 2012.
First Crown Point Road, I mean.
At was about 6:30 p.m. On 101 I was driving home I was going 55 miles an hour this huge yellow I thought was a some kind of cat but it was huge must have been way to probably about 10 maybe not sure 55 miles an hour and it ran right in front of my car it freaked me out I have no clue what it was but it still has was not age Fisher cat or Bobcat I told my husband about it you said it may have been in mountain lion I describe it as big yellow long and Fast round face and the long tail was facing down and it ran fast did the crap outta me do you have any clue what it may be Thanks
At was about 6:30 p.m. On 101 I was driving home I was going 65 miles not 55 an hour this huge yellow
witch I thought was a some kind of cat but it was huge.. and it ran right in front of my car it freaked me out I have no clue what it was but i know was not age Fisher cat or Bobcat I told my husband about it when i got home. He said it may have been in mountain lion I describe it as big yellow long and Fast’ he had a round face and the long tail was facing down and it ran fast It scared the crap outta me do you have any clue what it may be Thanks
Driving from petebourgh to Dublin it crossed going to the left side.
In mid August my grandfather came into the house and said he saw a mountain lion on the petebourgh- Dublin town line, on 101.
I went back with him to see if we could see it or find some evidence.
Well there i saw a big bushy tail going into the woods which was obviously a coyote tail.
So I asked him if it could of been a coyote, but he said it was too cat like with a long tail.
He’s seen bobcats before and he said that definitely wasn’t it.
I saw a mountain lion in New Ipswich Nh. Was walking by our pond when it came sprinting through the woods down the side of the brook. Leaped across my sire way (7-8ft) in a single bound. As soon as I realized whatthe giant cat was, I watched the tan/brown beast blur away. Maybe 6 or 8 seconds total. Biggest wild animal iv seen other than 2 moose or a few big deer.
JR, I sent an email to your gmail address. Feel free to post it’s contents on this site if you find them helpful.
Thank you,
Ian
Is there any chance I saw a ml on the side of 101 headed west right after the exit for 13 in Milford? Seems like a weird area but it was way too big to be a bobcat- was as tall as the white markers on the side of the road. It was definitely a cat (not a coyote) and had big yellow eyes and a round face/head. It was right n the side of the road (south of 101) and I quickly turned around but it had moved a bit down the hill and I couldn’t get a better look. It looked a big bigger than my 110lb dog!
A saw a few recent sightings not too far from here on this list- how far does a ml typically travel?
Saw a mountain lion in my backyard this afternoon. Knew it was a cougar and looks exactly like the picture above. Sighted on October 23rd,2014 in Candia NH.
Saw a mountain lion on route 13 Brookline/mason area on August 29th about midnight. It crossed the road I saw it as clear as day in my headlights. When it got to other side it stood in a high grass looking at my car as slowed. It was amazing.
I’ll never forget what happened to me back in 1999. I was almost 15 at the time at my family’s home on Middleton rd in Wolfeboro NH. I’m 30 now, and have such a vivid memory of this account. It was in the afternoon, sometime in the fall. I came out of the front door and started walking down the walkway to the driveway. Something caught my eye. Under a bush, roughly 4 yards away ( it was CLOSE), was the largest cat I’ve ever seen in my life! It was crouched in a stalking pose with it’s head low, eyes wide just watching. I remember I stopped breathing and froze taking in the visual of this “cat”. There’s no doubt he was just as big as I was. (I was about 120lbs at the time) It was light tan/ cream in color, wide nose and white on it’s chin. It was short haired, and the majority of its body was the same tan/cream color. It’s tail was long, and looked thick around. I thought I was looking at a female lion! I didn’t even think (cougar) at the time. I was terrified! I somehow collected myself to walk towards the end the driveway, then darted across the street to my neighbor’s house. I was too afraid to walk back to my house by myself, so my neighbor had to walk me home. I told him what I saw, and I don’t think he believed me at all. Of course when we got there, the lion was gone. I was so shaken, he knew I’d seem something, but told me I had probably just seen a bobcat. I knew what a bobcat was, and it wasn’t one. But I let him reassure me anyway. I know what I saw, and I’ll never forget it. I live in New London NH now, and have heard from 2 sources I feel credible, as well as a couple others, that they have seen a cougar in The New London Sunapee area. My husband is one of them, and has told me about the time he, his friend, and his dad found a fox carcass up in a tree, hanging over a branch. He described it as looking “deflated”. Could this have been the lunch of a cougar??? I would LOVE to see any photos anyone has of cougars they’ve seen in NH. I hope this beautiful creature has found his home in the “Granite State” 🙂
Liza, cougars don’t put their food in a tree. They bury it. I have heard stories of others encountering some kind of animal carcass in a tree. I have no clue who or what would do that, but not a cougar. This info comes from a family member who is a wildlife scientist for over 20 years and an avid hunter.
~9pm tonight, walking along the wood line by my house in Deering. I would guesstimate about 4.5ft head to tail… Wasn’t in a hurry. This is the 2nd sighting..,
Half way between King Rd and Route 4..
Thank you for sharing.
Sorry if I missed a previous post. Are you speaking of between King Rd. and Route 4 in Chichester. In Loudon off of School St., I saw large prints and took pictures in comparison to my boot. It may be the same one or family.
Glad there is a site for this. I’m up in Campton Nh. I keep a grill below my deck.one night I heard noises under my deck ,it was just starting to get dark and I saw a Mountain lion for sure, about 5 ft long and long tail. When it saw me I have a 7 ft cement retaining wall behind my house to hold back grade level and it had no problem making it over the wall.it was unreal
Hi,
A few of my friends have seen a mountain lion in Washington NH, Unity NH, and Hillsborough heard mountain lions scream in our woods. The unity photos of a friend the lion is a good size!!!!!!
Laura H l
Please send me the photos, I will post them here. john.f.ranta@gmail.com
About 8 or 9 years ago I saw one standing on a boulder under the power lines just off Route 9 on Route 123 in Stoddard heading toward Island Pond. I first saw it out of the corner of my eye as I was driving, but I thought it was a fawn or small deer. It didn’t make sense that a deer would be on top of a very large boulder, so I did a 180. When I came back upon it, I quickly realized it was a mountain lion! We stared at each other for a couple of minutes. Then another car drove by. I actually flagged the girl down, and she stopped. I asked her if she saw the mountain lion and she yelled, ” Oh My God!” It quickly jumped off the rock and was out of sight. Amazing! I will never forget it!
Mountain lion crossed Ruddsboro Road in Etna around 5 pm 9/22/2014. It was a wooded area on both sides.
About where on the Rudsboro Rd.,for I know the woods pretty well last 50 years…hunting & filming.
Rt. 142 going toward bethlehem from 93. A very large tawny cat with long u shaped tail walked across the road in front of my car. I saw its entire profile. Tall, 6 or 7 ft long. Sauntered like a cat. It was around 8 p.m. It did not run but saunter and its long tail shocked me. Never saw anything like it before and I have been visiting for years. It had to be as tall as my thigh. It crossed from left to right into the woods. Curious if anyone else has seen this. Do I report it somewhere?
Harrisville, NH…. was driving on bonds corner road towards lampman rd Tuesday sep 14th at 9am and saw the mountain lion cross south of lampman rd coming from grimes hill rd. He ran across the street into the woods. The animal looked just like the picture above. May have been just a tad bit lighter in color. Pretty cool to see. …. -Brooke
Ok looking at pic again above and i guess i shouldnt have said lighter in color but maybe brighter in color. May have been a litle more golden but then again it was raining out so it could have just been wet i guess?
My cougar siting was several years ago and I’ve been following this site for a while. Recently I heard a rumor that owning a cougar as a pet is legal in Massachusetts and the person suggested, if we’re seeking cougar up here, it is probably a released one, because the owners while they think they’re cute as kittens, don’t stop to think what a 125-130 pound cat that is a wild animal will be like as a pet. They claim a relative had one lounging on the metal roof of their hen house up here in NH. What are your thoughts on that? I don’t know, but I personally think the cougars that are being seen here are not former pets, but wild animals in a habit they can live and thrive..
Copied from the Cougar Rewilding Foundation:
“Panther Love, Kittens Nursing, Deer Take-Downs: Everywhere But The East
Sep 13th, 2013 by CRF
Everywhere cougars roam, even in the lowest dispersal densities, what we call incidental evidence appears: cats treed, hit, shot, snared, and found wandering into towns and cities. And increasingly, the proliferation of remote game/wildlife cameras is getting terrific pics of cougars along the urban/suburban interface. Folks even get pics of cougars on cell and point & shoot cameras: looking in windows, staring down house cats, entire families wandering leisurely across yards.
However, such photographs virtually stop (the CT cougar left all of this incidental evidence across 4 states and 1500 miles) in the East at Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A decade of our own remote camera surveys in seven eastern states failed to capture a single cougar photograph; neither has a Smithsonian cam-study at 447 sites along the Virginia Appalachian Trail. A massive collaborative Adirondack carnivore research study using cameras, track plates, and scat analysis at 54 locations found no cougar evidence. We realized that there was no objective reason why random remote cam pics, with other incidental evidence, shouldn’t be appearing up and down the Eastern Seaboard, if cougars were here.
Sure, cougars are elusive, but they betray their legendary stealth all the time, even at moments most vulnerable and rare: a cougar, for instance, makes a deer kill once every 10 days – linked below on camera are 3.
So, we continue to ask, objectively:
Why Everywhere but the East?”
Source: http://cougarrewilding.org/CougarNews/?p=6287
9-11-2014 about 7am, driving down Route 4 in Danbury NH. A (mountain lion) large cat across the road in front of our car. It stopped in the woods after that and looked back where you could really see its ears and shape. We went through all the animals it could have been and it all comes back to the mountain lion.
I saw one on rt4 in Danbury about 4 years ago. South of town right by the railroad over pass around 11pm. I have hunted all my life and knew exactly what it was.
Not a report of a sighting (though my husband and I have both seen mountain lions in our area), but a rumor I’ve heard from several people “in the know.” Apparently, several years ago, Pennsylvania Fish & Game very quietly introduced a population of mountain lions from South Dakota to combat their overpopulation of white tailed deer. For whatever reason, the cats have been dispersing and some have landed in our neck of the woods. This is (supposedly) why DNA evidence from the cat that was hit by a car in CT traced its origins back to South Dakota and why they are able to shrug off any further DNA evidence proving the same as “non native” indicating it was a pet someone has carelessly released. I don’t know how much truth there is to this hypothesis, but it does make some sense to me. It does seem odd that I would hear this from three people who don’t know each other, but who all spend time in P.A. every year deer hunting. Maybe a local myth down there? Hard to tell, but I firmly believe they’re here and they aren’t going anywhere.
This seems to be one of those apocryphal rumors. The same rumor has been reported for Connecticut. I doubt that it’s true.
In addition, the cat that was killed in Connecticut was reported and tracked through Iowa and New York. State Fish & Game folks are not the types to do secretive stocking of climax predators like mountain lions without LOTS of public hearings and discussion (witness the re-introduction of wolves in Yellowstone, for example). Thanks for the report, but don’t worry about F&G stocking cougars. If they’re indeed here, they’re coming on their own. JR
seen a mountain lion in Harrisville,NH today.It was about 1:30 pm on Wednesday 9-3-14,on Main street, looked in rear view mirror to pull out ,and there it was walking across the street.about 20-30 yards away.when I seen it I said what am i looking at? No doubt about it.taller then most big dogs, smooth look to it ,with a big stride.It did not look around ,just straight into woods heading east. cool….
mp- Where on Main St.did you see it? Our sighting on July 5th was halfway to Dublin on our property on Wood Rd. Jan Perry saw one ~ mile south of Nelson on July 6th. This makes another sighting about halfway between. Did this have the giveaway long tail? We know there are plenty of bobcats in the area.
Earl Horn-around first house North of Hancock rd.. Tail was down,and moving right along. It was not a Bobcat that is for sure.Still looking at other wildlife to see if it was something else,but nothing comes close..-mp
My wife and I were driving back from Maine to Vermont around 11:45 last night on Rte 2 and had the pleasant surprise of having a Mountain Lion cross the road in front of us. At first I thought it was a Deer due to the color, but it was too short, as we slowly crept forward it looked to be about the size of a really large dog. Then is saw the tail and knew it was definitely feline, the tail was about as long as a body. There is no question in my mind that this was a mountain lion. I don’t know the area well, but I think we were in the Lake Durand area. He crossed very calmly from south to North and walked into some hedges that ran behind a parking lot.
I am posting this for someone from Hancock. There have been a number of reports lately out of my home town. JR
“I will have to look up the date (summer of 2014), but it came out of the woods on my right, just past the end of Pickering Farm Rd, as I was driving into the (Hancock) village.At first I thought that it was a huge dog. Then the tail emerged. There was no mistaking it for a dog then! It appeared relaxed and strolled quite nonchalantly across the road into the little strip of woods between the two roads.
I could not estimate it’s weight, I can only say that it took the entire width of my lane from head to tail and was much larger than the largest lab I have ever seen. It’s tail was about 3 feet long and looked almost like it was wired and was held extended but relaxed behind . Also, it’s gait was decidedly different.
It was quite a shock! My friend, Wendy, was in the car with me.It was about 7:45-8 pm, just starting to drizzle and just getting dark. We turned around to see if we could see it again, but it had slipped into the ferns in the feild at the end of Pickering Farm Rd.
We have lived here for about 7 months and I saw large cat prints in the snow on Link Rd the first week we were here. They were about grapefruit size and the pads were perfectly round. I looked online and they looked to be cougar tracks. Everybody said “No, no cougars around here. Bobcat most likely”. Well, we saw a bobcat on 202 and they do not look anything like a cougar! ! A cougar is quite another animal! Now that I have actually seen one, I am pretty sure that the tracks were cougat too. It was yellow. That’s why I thought it was a big lab. You don’t expect to see a cougar!”
I think i saw a mountain lion tonight around 10:45pm in hampton nh! Got on 95 south past the tolls near the taylor river. Absolutely massive beige cat sitting on the side of the road watching cars almost looked like it was waiting for traffic to die down so it could cross. Thought it was a deer at first because i see deer around there at night quite frequently but as a drove by it just looked like a massive cat with big thick legs much thicker than a deer and the head followed my car as i drove by. A big block of a head much bigger than that of a deer and also bigger than a lynx or bobcat. It was hard to get a good look but im confident in what i saw and there are many deer and wildlife in that area which could explain the food source the cats are looking for.
the animal I saw was longer and slender with a longer tail thicker end at the tip, color was caramel and it did not have any marks on the stomach. I had enough time to look at it because he stopped and was put for a few minutes observing, around 25 feet away.
I am more worried of people trying to hunt them than the mountain lion being a threat, they have a lot of food in the woods.
I would put my money on the cat. It would be helpful to see the nearest town to see if a pattern emerges. (By the way, there should be a semi-colon instead of a comma between “threat[;] they have..,” to avoid the dreaded comma splice!)
I just saw a mountain lion on Rt 16 in Albany NH. It was about 7:15 pm 8/27/14 It leapt across the road from west to east. There are houses in the area. I have left a message for Fish and Game. I also called the State Police and reported to Sheriff’s office. Just concerned about people in the area. Size of a very large dog, lean and powerful with long tail. This was definitely a cat.
This could have very well been the same lion that my son and I
saw in North Conway on July 27th. I am not sure how many are around but I now know for sure that they are in fact in NH.
on tuesday august 19 2014 around 2:30 pm on the flats near lower village in newbury nh heading towards rainbow garage towards harbor i saw what was a cougar or puma cross rt.103 it was young good sized ,dark brown,almost light black.had a stubby tail about 8-10 in. long. i got a real good look from my car
Thanks for the report. The stubby tail means this was likely a bobcat. A mountain lion’s tail is 3-4 feet long.
having spent many yrs. in the woods and seen bobcats many times.this cat looked nothing like a bob cat except for the tail. i have looked at many pictures and have found nothing that looks like what i saw
The tail is an important factor in ID. There can be quite a lot of variation in size, “furriness” and color in bobcats. Here’s a great gallery of images, from the UNH bobcat study. There are a few that are quite tawny and muscular, in the way I think of mountain lions. http://mlitvaitis.unh.edu/Research/BobcatWeb/gallery.htm
I’m not sure what me and my husband saw it ran from the trees to cornfield it was on bleimhem road Ont at 11:30pm it was size of small dog beige round small face Very short tight fur. Looked about 5 month old baby animal It’s august. Love to know what type of baby animal it was ???
This morning at 9:15 am my friend believes to have seen a mountain lion out the window, in the yard of my camp in Sunapee, which is very wooded. She said it was about 5″ in length including the long tail. It was 30′ away and slowly walking towards the deeper woods. I looked also but it was gone. I showed her pics of cougars &
bobcats in my field guides and she said it was the cougar. We reported it to F & G dept.
My wife and I saw a young cougar in mid eastern New Hampshire. we were traveling from our home in steepfalls Maine to the James Taylor concert at meadow brook.I am an outdoorsman and have all types of local game and have even had a bobcat living in my rock wall out back of my home this cat was distinctly a mountain lion it was a small or young adult about the size of a large dog. It was long light tan black on end of the tail and dark facial marks my wife and I felt blessed to have seen such a remarkable animal.
I saw what I believe to be a bobcat or mountain lion, in Durham NH on Bay Rd at about 5 am the other morning. I tried to get a picture but failed.
My Husband and I believe a Mountain Lion ran across I93 North by mile marker 53 on 8/2/14 at approx 07:30. It was not a bobcat as the tail was close to 2′
Sean in New Ipswich – I heard that there were 2 ml sightings reported to New Ipswich police in the past few weeks.
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for telling me. I did not call local police. I called F&G. A neighbor was hiking in Townsend, MA (next town south of New Ipswich) and came across a very large cat footprint, claw marks and all….
Generally cat tracks (mountain lion or bobcat) do not show claw marks. Cat’s claws are usually retracted. Canids – coyotes, dogs and foxes – show claw marks in their tracks. JR
Hi John,
No claw marks in a cat track? Can I send you a picture of it? She took a photo and posted it on Facebook. Maybe you can identify it.
South eastern New Ipswich, NH, approx. Thursday, 31 July, 1:45 PM: A mountain lion walked through our yard. The big cat was visible for only about ten seconds. My wife was in the breezway of our house. There is a large six foot door (one fixed, one swings) facing the back yard. She saw him walk right to left only about 30 feet away. I saw the back of him for a few seconds from a window at the other end of the house about 50 feet away.
The cougar walked north to south very slowly. My daughter was taking a show with the bathroom window open. She was unaware. She made a noise in the bathroom, the cougar looked toward the house and then immediately upped the pace a bit and moved away from the house toward the field to our west.
I am 56 and have hiked all over New England since I was a teenager. I have never seen a mountain lion. I have seen bobcats. I hit a bobcat with my car a few years ago in Townsend, MA. Knocked him out cold, thought he was dead. When I went back to look, he came to, ran across the road, jumped in a brook, swam the last few feet to the other side and sat trying to figure out what had happened. He left two silver dollar sized puddles of blood in the road.
I mention the above because I know what a bobcat looks like. I have never seen a lynx. Neither has 99.99% of the rest of the population in New England. Bobcats and lynx are very different in size and color.
This cat had a very long tail and a very consistent brown/tan color. Bobcats look “cute” (or can…) but this cat looked powerful. My wife actually began to pull away from the door (six feet of glass does not give you a “safe” feeling) when she saw it because it evokes that kind of respect. I only saw it from the rear as it disappeared into the brush behind our house. The tail, color and size were unmistakable.
My son and I spotted a mountain lion in a field on West Side Road in North Conway on July 27th at approximately 10:30 pm. I was in my vehicle and had a handheld spotlight which I used to be sure as it was a short distance off the road. My son then used binoculars once the light hit him. The light shined directly in his face and he turned and walked away as we got a good look at the the rather large cat. Do not belive what you hear that there are no lions in NH !
On July 21on The premises of The Castle in The clouds at 11:30 I saw a big cat and I know it was a mountain lion because it’s color, size and the long tail, I know what I saw and want to share with others that had such an experience.
My son and I were driving down Moutain Road in Weare, NH 7/24/2014 at 4pm and a large wild cat crossed the road. Had a short tail but was much bigger than a bobcat, like a grey hound, with out the skinny waist. It was a golden color ran quite gracefully and sat to watch us for a moment.
Don’t know about that tail though it was about 6-8 inches long.
Hey Rebecca! If you do a Google image search for a Lynx or Bobcat and look through the variety of pics, you will see that there are some who look incredibly like an eastern cougar, with the exception of a tail that looks like it has been cut in half. Not all lynx or bobcat have that long hair on the face, or spots. They are quite large, also.
Bill in Deerfield, Nh
on July 20, 2014 at 7:35PM
Out in my back yard I see something moving away in the tall grass toward the wood line, then it turns and heads back toward the house then a slight turn, now broad side, and heads in the thick brush behind my sheds. A Mt Lion for sure. I put its weight around 80 to 100 pounds nice long curved tail light golden brown with a big head. I do a lot of hunting and have been in the out doors for years as well as apart time trapper for coyotes. We had a large number of coyotes during the last several years and as of the start of the spring and now summer there seems to be none. Had a good heard of deer for years and now only a mother and her fawn. Had lots of turkeys up to 20 all winter now none. I see a connection to the Mt Lion now.
The time was about 1:30AM in July/August of 2008, I was a police officer in Nottingham NH, I had just left the police department on Route 152 heading toward Raymond. I saw a large animal crossing the road ahead. I put my spot light on it and only caught a quick glimpse, it had a square shaped head and long tail, it was beige/gold in color and had short hair. I only saw it for a split second as it crossed into the woods heading toward a home I knew owned horses. I flashed my spot light into the brush but never saw anything again. Most people didn’t believe me or thought I saw something else, it wasn’t a bobcat or fox or coyote, it was much bigger and moved far different than those. A guy in town told me that he believed there was a mountain lion den in the pawtuckaway mountains.
I saw a mountain lion today 7-11-14 on jeness farm rd. In wolfeboro nh. Time was about 3:45pm. It crossed the road about 700 ft in front of me. I was doubting what I was saw until I saw its tail! Very distinctive! Long to the ground and curled at the end! It disappeared into the woods by the time I closed the distance between us!
Shana Pappalardo
I was sitting on my front porch this morning in Methuen, Mass and was amazed when I saw a Mountain Lion cross my street and went into the neighbors backyard at about 6:00am!! I didn’t even think we had Mountain Lions in New England let alone Massachusetts!! I live a minute away from 93. I am afraid for my dogs safety!!
As far as a Mt Lion in Methuen, I doubt it. I also live in Methuen and I really think you saw a Bobcat. They are all over the town. There are at least. 6 in west Methuen. In the area Shaws where house on 93 to the Dracut line. Tyler Forest Pelham streets area. Also there are 2 more in the area from Hampstead st over to 495. The closest sighting to town would be West Dracut 4 years ago. Also lake Cochickawick in no Andover 3 years ago by me. Bobcats have a tail about 1ft long. That is why people think they see a Mt Lion.
Saw a Mountain Lion walk across my back yard at 5:42 am this morning in Bow, NH (yep, right in between Concord and Manchester). I have seen bob cats before and this was no bob cat!!! It even stopped for a second and looked at me as I was standing at my back door.My dog was on the deck and did not even notice. It walked very fast!
I was on Woodhill Hooksett road on 7/28/2014 at 5:07pm going towards Bow Logging Hill Rd when I saw a very large (100+ pounds) golden animal cross about 30ft in front of me with his long tail and short ears. He didn’t look up, just straight ahead. If my car was any faster he might have ran into my car. I know people on Allan Rd who found a deer carcass not too far from their back yard, we believe that the ml got it.
I was driving to work today from Hooksett going towards Bow. I saw an animal that from a distance looked like a mountain lion lying in the parking lot of Donati Park. There was an officer measuring it and taking pictures. It definitely did not look like a domestic animal and to big to be a bobcat. I wonder if it will end up in the paper.
July 6, 2014 10:00am Nelson, NH. Mountain Lion walked along our backyard, close to the brush line for about 10-15 feet. Appeared injured on its back right leg. Moved slowly and was limping. Did not have time to retrieve camera and take a photo, but we were transfixed by the sight! address is 9/10ths of a mile south of the village towards Harrisville on the Nelson/Harrisville Rd..
Jan–I called Fish and Game yesterday and related what you told me in the Store. They would like to hear from you directly. They said they had a report from MA. Their # is 352-9669. It was busy, and took some time to get through. If you do, you might inform them about this site.
Thanks Mike. I have called to file a report with Fish and Game. Now, I have to enlist a brave soul to go out looking for scat!
Gee, I’d love to come help you locate cat scat, but as you know, bad back! However, you might call Kathy Schillemat and/or Al Stoops. They are out in the woods all the time! Good luck (seriously!).
My wife and I live in Harrisville, NH about halfway between the centers of Harrisville and Dublin, in a sparsely settled location. Our house is located at one corner of a 1.5+ acre field. About an hour ago I spotted a large blond cat at the far side of the field (later paced the distance at 225′). My first thought was that it was a huge house cat. When I realized the distance, and saw the long tail, it was clearly a mountain lion. I also know the size of our own house cat standing in the same location. No comparison. I called my wife and watched it for several seconds with binoculars, but spotted no markings and didn’t think to spot vegetation to try and scale its actual size. I went to get a camera, but by the time I returned it had entered the woods on a deer trail. In the meantime my wife saw it stand on its hind legs and wave its paws. (Had to be swatting mosquitoes!) She commented on how large the paws were.
We’re both are familiar with bobcats, having seen several, so there was no confusion that this was very different.
A neighbor in Harrisville village has a large field, and recently spotted a cat of the same description. I’ll let her know about this website.
I saw one today in my back yard in Barrington NH it was golden in color very large with a very long tail it moved very fast. I know what I saw and I know the cat was not no house kitty right after I saw it about 5 minutes later I heard gun shots go off so I don’t know if a neighbor took a shot at it or not but it was just before the bad rain came
I saw a mountain lion run across rt 132 on the Corner of sandogardy pond road in northfield I thought I was crazy to see that until I talked to some friends who had seen it also in the vicinity this was in 2012
My wife Meridith Mitchell watched a Mountain Lion in our backyard today. Very neat and a bit scary as we have a small dog and 2 small children. 100% Mountain Lion. We live on Bob House Rd. in Holderness, NH.
7:45am this AM heading into Gilmanton on Rt 107 a very large long tailed wild cat ran across the road in front of us. We were so shocked we didn’t catch the ears but the tail was very long. Not stubby. It was as at least as large as our big golden retriever. I’ve been searching for pictures but now I’m sure it was way too big for a bobcat. It really took our breath away. Does a mountain have rings on its tail?
The contractor who remodeled my house a few years ago said, at the time, that a friend of his said there was a mountain lion in Gilmanton.
Had one show up at our camp site 6/25/14 11:15pm. Thought it was a bear at 1st, then 2 racoons showed up and the 3 started fighting over some dry food that apparently was left out. Girlfriend and 3 kids in the tent scared to death. Called 911 and an officer came out which in turn found the park ranger. They said, “yeah, those racoons can sound pretty vicious”. Racoons dont sound like a big cat and besides I said, you think those racoons dragged my 40 lb tote across our camp site. Nothing to say and they left. They don’t need that kind of publicity right before a big holiday weekend. Got home Saturday, unpacked and my neighbor came by with a pic of a mountain lion he just retrieved from his game camera, which is only 10 minutes from my house in Rochester. Probably the same cat seen near the Spaulding turnpike.
Please have your neighbor email me that photo. John.f.ranta@gmail.com. Thanks!
6/19/14 just returned home, I live in Sunset Heights Bristol NH as I drove up the road I saw what I thought was a dog at first but as I got closer it was a mountain lion long tail and about 80lbs the ears were not pointed we see lots of wild life around here but this was a first .
Hi, Alan, I am doing some research on swamps, in Greenfield,NH, I found this post of yours on google. Apparantly, the heading on google had more info than the post had. I am interisted in what you had to say about Greenfield, and the origin of this cat. thanks Kevin
In the fall of 2013 I was driving through Mason, NH at night, two deer darted out in front of my truck maybe 100 feet away. A second later a large animal was behind them. The animal had a long tail like a moutain lion, but seemed too small to be a lion, but too big to be a bob cat. It also seemed longer then a coyote. But, I chaulked it up to probably a large coyote and kept going.
A few days later in Mason someone located a deer carcus half buried near a swamp and called Fish and Game. When Fish and Game arrived they said “off the record” it was a moutain lion kill. The fish and game officer told the person they also located several coyote sightings, during this time frame.
I just saw a mountain lion that had been hit by a car or truck on Spaulding Turnpike between exit 16 and 17 he was pretty large
We saw the same animal too! My husband and I were headed north on the 15th and we were going to take the same route home and stop. It was on the shoulder of the southbound side. I knew we should have stopped right away and took pictures. It was definitely a mountain lion.
7th not 15th. Looking at the wrong calendar
May 18, 201,. Hopkinton, NH. My husband and I were awakened at 11:30 PM by a loud noise in the woods next to our 2nd story bedroom window. Our land abuts 23 acres of town land which has hiking trails. The noise was extremely loud and our dog started barking like crazy. It sounded like a scream but we could tell that it wasn’t human. It moved away after our dog started barking and we could hear the screams from approximately 1/2 a mile away. A few days later I was telling a friend at work and she mentioned that a mountain lion screams. Just then, I remembered that our neighbor came running over one morning (about one year ago) when he saw my husband leaving for work and showed him a cell phone picture he had taken of what he thought was a mountain lion in his back yard. My husband said it was hard to tell since he had taken the pic through his screen door and the cat was on the inside edge of the woods. I went on the web that night to listen to different animal sounds (fisher cat, skunk, racoon)and the mountain lion scream was the closest to what we had heard. I then read that they are nocturnal and make this scream when they are in heat. I’m very careful to look around before our dog and kids go outside. I’m not sure if I should report it or to who.
Lisa, have you listened to the scream of the red fox? I see and hear them in my yard all the time. There was a mom and kit frolicking in my front yard for a few weeks until they took off because all the activity. Here is a 10 second clip of the red fox scream. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk1mAd77Hr4
May 22, in Concord NH,,” the topic will take center stage at the conservation group’s annual gathering at Red River Theatres in Concord. The featured speaker, Bill Betty, a Rhode Island-based mountain lion advocate who tracks reported sightings across New England, will give an hour long presentation about the cougars’ existence in the area.” . I saw this in the Concord Monitor. Here is the link to it. http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/12049739-95/upcoming-talk-in-concord-is-new-england-home-to-mountain-lions
Thanks for the post! I plan on attending…
I haven’t personally seen any cougars in New Hampshire, but I do have quite a story to spin. We own a cabin in Orford, New Hampshire Last summer, our neighbors thought they saw a cougar slinking in the woods in their backyard. Our other neighbor was telling us about how some of her chickens were supposedly being killed by a cougar that she thought she saw.
Kevin Howard – Your lion has been seen in Marlborough by others in the past. I’m in Keene; pls email me mermaydes@msn.com. Lisa
It was about 2 weeks ago, my family and i were sitting down to dinner. For the previous weeks we have had a herd of about 20 deer in our backyard as we are right on the boundary of a winter yard. As usual i was looking up back into the woods and fields behind our house to see if the deer were out wandering around because the kids enjoy seeing them, when i noticed something else crossing the field, it was definitely a cat,moved in a slinking manner, was about the same body size as a deer but much lower to the ground. I exclaimed “what the Heck is that?” and the whole family gathered at the picture window to look, and we all determined it was a cat, naturally i thought it was a large bobcat, until it moved its tail which was almost as long as its entire body! At that point i told my daughter to go grab my rifle,but when she got up to get it i told her not to bother as i headed out to see what the critter was. the wind was blowing directly up towards the field in back so i realized that whatever it was wouldn’t be ther when i got up the hill, and sure enough it was gone, couldn’t find any tracks because the ground is covered with grass. Not sure what i saw but if i were forced to come up with an answer it would be an eastern cougar. I haven’t reported it to the Fish and Game department, is this something i should do?
The Fish & Wildlife folks would want to see evidence, such as a photo, a plaster cast of a track, or other physical evidence. Thanks for posting! JR
My Fiancee spotted a deep impression of a footprint matching that of a large cat and also heard a low deep growl and heavy movement coming from behind her in the forest while she was on her walk. She also did mention that a few hundred feet into the forest, there were 6-7 birds circling a fresh kill. This happened April 15th 2014 in Wilmot, NH. I have no doubt that there in a predator moving through these parts as the dogs in the household have become very spooked and very protective recently. They have never acted this way before with any other wild animal.
Today I received an email picture of a mountain lion stating it was taken from Warner NH. It was a vivid close up picture. YIKES!
Michelle sent me the photo. It’s the same one several others have sent me, of a mountain lion at the back door, which they claimed was “taken” in several other NH towns. I posted a copy of it a while back, with the news story that traces it all over the US and Canada. JR
As a self-taught naturalist (about 40 years ) I have yet to see a mountain lion and now live on the Nashua/Hollis line, but I will keep it in mind as I travel on my bike this summer doing my research on evolutionary biology and insect studies for the ESA. It would be great!
Last year some of our buddies saw a what they were sure they saw a mountain lion cross the road to our camp in right by Bear Brook in Allenstown. We live just a a half 1/2 mile out of the woods and the camp is just up a dirt road.
Last Sunday, we were out hiking looking for fallen antler sheds from the fall, and we came across some tracks that I thought could be mountain lion. We have a bob cat that has been living just inside the tree line of our yard, we’ve gotten many game camera photos of him, and seen his tracks almost daily. These are MUCH larger. Later on in the hike (probably 3 miles in toward hooksett/candia woods) we came to a very strange rock structure that we had never seen before, it had a very obvious well run path around it, that were not coyote or bear, it was hard to get a clear print there, but they were obviously not coyote or bear. My husband went closer to it to check it out and saw scat in a crack, and even though we had guns, bear pray, and some big knives, he said we should leave the area and was very nervous—he is an avid outdoorsman and hunter and is never like this. I said I wanted to go back and put a game camera near there, and he said he doesn’t think we should go back there. I’m curious if there have been any other sightings in this area?
We also saw a bald eagle this same day.
On a side note-His grandfather built the camp in the 70s, and before he passed away had said he has seen a wolf out there. Now is his grandfather is I hard Canadian woodsmen who would have known for certain the difference between a wolf and a coyote.
I will e-mail pictures of the tracks to you.
approx. 3 years ago I saw what I thought was a mountain lion on south road in Deerfield, I live on that road it is about 8 miles from Bear Brook Park on the Allenstown side of town. The cat came out of a neighbors shed and it was definitely the size of a mountain lion, same color and with a long tail. I was driving by the home. I have also been outside with my dog about 3 am and it must have been very close, I heard a terrible growl/ scream just like something out of the movies. My neighbor has also told me that a mountain lion ran in front of his car on Rt 43 heading into Northwood last year.
Saw biggest cat I’ve ever seen moving down railroad tracks in Greenland by Great Bay. Very long tail and carrying something in its mouth.
So I wake up this morning and half my chickens are gone I not shore if it’s a big bob cat or a mountain lion but I have seen this cat at night time to days ago and now half my chickens are gone
I think Iam going to track this big cat down and get pictures and have a cupple of chickens in my yard and see if he will take the bait and shot the cat and prove to fishing game they are here and then see what they have to say
I have pictures of the prints
I been gettin big cat prints in my yard In hampstead nh
I recently saw a huge cat like animal being dragged across rt 33 it was being taken by a red tailed hawk got real close but cant really tell what kind of huge cat
Jes
A couple of weeks ago I was driving on Route 31 in Wilton, NH, heading towards Greenville, NH It was almost 10pm…..A large cat ran across the road in front of our car. Bigger than a bobcat….an amazing, unexpected sight. It wasn’t a deer, the way it ran was truly cat-like. I think it was a mountain lion. I would love to know if anyone else saw any sightings in that area.
K
At approximately 7:00pm last night I was driving on rte. 115 in Jefferson,NH. It was still light out and visibility was good. I was almost to the intersection of rte. 2. From about 50 yards away, I saw an animal on the left-hand side of the road starting to run across the rd. I see animals on that road all the time. It was somewhat low to the ground and I initially thought it was a fox. But as I got closer and in fact had to slow down, I noticed how large it was, the coloring, the length of the tail and the speed at which it ran across the road directly in front of my car. I have no doubt In my mind that it was a mountain lion. As soon as I got home I actually google searched mountain lions in NH to see what I could find out. I wish someone had been with me. It was pretty awesome!
My neighbor, a farmer in Newbury, NH heard a sound of a “cat growling” on the morning of the 25th of March. Later, when he went out to check on his cattle he said they were upset so he looked around and discovered a freshly killed doe in the adjacent field. Fish and Game came by and told him there were no mountain lions, but this is the third sighting within a 1/2 mile of his farm and my own within the past year, although it was eight months ago since the last sighting. In June I had a neighbor lady and a man working on a construction job who were both driving past maybe five minutes apart, come up to the farm to tell me that they saw “a lion” cross the road by my pond.
So after hearing about the deer kill from my neighbor, this afternoon I decided to go down to the pond on a hunch and found a single set of large cat tracks where it had stepped into it’s own forepaw track, about 30″ between each print in the snow. It’s been really cold so the snow is ice covered and eroded by the wind and the prints weren’t perfect, but they certainly could have been a couple of days old around the same time as my neighbor heard that growl. What I found interesting is that the tracks came from the road side, over a three rail fence and went in a B-line to the pond outlet pipe, the only place where water flows when it’s this cold. You can’t see it from the street so whatever it was it had to have known exactly where it was. I’m thinking that maybe it could be the same one spotted by those two people last Summer in the same spot.
I have never seen one or heard one, but I have no reason to disbelieve these people and the paw prints saw for myself with a friend. Not sure if this qualifies as a sighting, but I thought it was important enough to come look for a place like this to report it.
In 2010 I saw a mountain Lion up in pittsburg while snowmobiling… East side of the trail system… Fish and game confirmed that they are coming back
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/03/21/winchester-police-warn-residents-about-mountain-lion-sightings/7Spcec6L0GfyqmTxrKg0UN/story.html
My neighbor reported this sighting the other day. Evidently the mtn loin stood looking at her for at least 45 seconds while she was in her car. Also,I was told that the paw prints were confirmed by several local sources to be that of a mtn loin.
For anyone that knows the areas, the lakes/brooks area is a great area to hang out and hunt, lol.
My coworker warned me that as she and her husband were traveling thru Rindge NH that a Bob Cat ran out in front of them darting across the road. She wanted me to be aware of this due to my pets and my daughter.
Bobcats are extremely shy of humans. They are not a threat to your daughter (pets, possibly).
I live in Fitzwilliam and have had a bobcat encounter a few years ago. My husband saw one just a year or two later in the same place. It ran across the road in front of me, stopped, and I stopped, and we both just stared at each other for a few minutes and it walked off. They are pretty big, but not as big as a mountain lion. This was crossing 119 right near Rhododendron Rd. It came across where the cemetery is.
My girlfriends Father, claims to have seen what appeared to be an adult mountain lion in Hollis, NH just a few days ago. He is a Veterinarian of thirty years so I believe he knew what he saw.
Do you know what road or part of Hollis it was in? I live in town and am very interested!
Nartoff Rd…the land before you get to the state rd.
It was in the field at the intersection of Broad St. and Rideout Rd.
My husbands game camera on our land in Hollis also picked up a picture of what looked to be a mountain lion….but with a bobcat like tail. I believe the animal was way to large to be just a bobcat. I still have the pics saved so where should I email them?
Email the pictures to me john.f.ranta@gmail.com. I will post them here.
Seems as though we saw this in the same vicinity….I hope it leaves when we break ground on our new house soon!
About an has hour ago I was looking out my window and I saw a deer run through our backyard and because they generally come in multiples I continued to watch. Not 10 seconds behind came what I would swear was a mountain lion. I have a 65lb dog and this cat was probably a little bigger.
I live in Merrimack very close to preservation land so we get a lot of turkey and deer.
Horse hill?
4 deer ran across my driveway around 6pm, 5 minutes later I saw the back end of a mountain lion following the deers path thru the woods in Plainfield, NH. i didn’t stick around for a picture- i was walking my 3 miniture dachshunds at the time.
Tracks seen by snowmobile in Pillsbury State Park last night by two friends both expert hunters and outdoors men.
unfortunately no photos.
I have had bear ,deer, fox bobcat, turkey, coyote, weasels opossum skunk and most others in-between cross my yard and have observed their footprints . The tracks left by bobcat pale in size to the other cat prints I have observed . Do not need Fish and Game to validate or anyone else for that matter. Resident of New Ipswich New Hampshire
I also live in New Ipswich and have seen all of the above including a Lynx who was just sitting looking into my fenced in area.A Eagle swooped down and plucked a rodent and soared right back up AMAZING to see. They do pass right through my yard. I have seen some very big paw prints. I walk my Mini Schnauzer out on Pratt and Binney Ponds and am getting concerned about letting him off his leash. Have you seen the 3 legged bear that roams around, I am out near Emerson Hill. Fish and Game did say their are Lynx out here but said No/
Lynx are unheard of this far south. They have been sighted in the White Mountains (rarely) and are common in Canada. Are you sure it was a lynx, and not abobcat? They are very similar in appearance.
Saw what I think was a mountain Lion 2/25/2014 on Indian Pond Road in Piermont, NH around dusk. Large cat (larger than my 90 lb. Lab), curled tail, it moved across the road the way my house cat would run and then when it slowed down (after crossing the road) it seemed to have that cat like indifference. I looked to big to me to be a Bobcat.
Possible Mountain Loin sighting in Winchester MA just outside of Boston. Can you please keep the loins on your side of the border, lol. http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/02/27/possible-mountain-lion-sighting-in-winchester/
Unfortunate that cbslocal used a fuzzy picture of a bobcat with their story. Let us know what the report is on the tracks they found.
No snow and nice green grass too?
That’s a bobcat in Winchester. We have 6 of them up the road a bit in Methuen. I think the closest sighting lately to Winchester was in Amesbury Ma.
It will be interesting to see what they decide about the tracks. The photo they used for the ad is from the video from that guy who recorded the sighting in Manchester, NH a few years ago. Where it is the dead of winter, with snow on the ground, and this pic is obviously during the warm growing season, there will be people who think it is a hoax.
Given that the manchester cat was a bobcat (which WMUR tried to hide), that’s not the photo they should have chosen to go with the story. With a few exceptions such as David Brooks at the Nashua Telegraph, the media do a terrible job of reporting mountain lion stories.
The Globe yesterday reported that wildlife officials determined it was a canid, probably a coyote. At least the globe didn’t include a fuzzy bobcat picture with their report. JR
The Manchester sighting, and video, was clearly a bobcat. In an effort to generate ratings WMUR edited the video in a most dishonest way, cutting out sections that showed the bobcat in full profile (the full video can be found online). So, citing the Manchester incident as proof is bogus.
I am an avid hunter and outdoorsman. I spend 100’s if not 1000’s of hours in the woods a year and am very successful at it. From deer, coyotes to moose and turkey. I have yet to see a mountain lion in NH but believe they do exist here, though few and far between. One thing that I have learned is that with each story or picture of lions, you have to take with great skepticism. For example I have read and seen pictures with hunters claiming to have seen the elusive beast, saying they have a million years of experience and THEY know a mountain lion when THEY see one. Then you look at the picture and it’s clearly a bobcat or something of the sort. Some people have a tendency to lie and sometime your eyes can play tricks on you. If someone said they saw an elephant another person would tell you he/she saw two elephants and so on and so forth. I’ve seen the picture of the lion that people claim is from Greenfield which is a hoax…it’s from Canada. I’ve seen someone’s stuffed lion that was shot out west and was placed in a field around here and one of their friends saying “I recognize that person’s field and it’s true”. Just remember…”Bigfoot is real too”! Just ask the millions of people that have seen it?
Love to see the image…. Great if some one can make that happen. Get it and email it to John!!! Yay you’
A wild life photography friend of mine saw a lion, about 3/4 weeks ago. 3 am crossing Rt.495 by the Amesbury sports park heading north. In Ma. But Exiter area isn’t that far.
I saw what I thought was a Lynx this morning around 9:00 am on Drinkwater Rd. in Exeter NH. My friend has a chicken coop near where I saw this The long tail with a curve at the end near the ground tells me it was a Mountain Lion. Not a Lynk or Bobcat.
2012 deer hunting in Mount William are of Weare. Briefly saw two Kits jump over a stonewall about 100 yds away. Was scratching my head because the long tail threw me off and I couldn’t identify it. I had no idea they ranged this far north until I spoke to another hunter who had seen an adult in the same area.
Has anyone seen the post on Facebook of what looks like a mountain lion reportedly photographed in Rochester, Vermont? It’s a little blurry & no details I posted a comment hoping to get more information. We’ll see if anything turns up.
I live in Dover N.H. a game camera less than a mile from my house took a picture of a Mountain Lion last week..
Can you email it to me? John.f.ranta@gmail.com. I’ll post it here. Thanks!
I also heard that! I live in Dover NH on 6th st and my boss came in this morning with a pic that he said was taken at Liberty Mutual about 1/2 mile from where we live. Is this what you were talking about??
On August 13, 2013, we reported to the Fish and Game dept that my husband a few days earlier was parked near the athletic field near the County Courthouse in Dover. eating his lunch (he works nearby) He observed what he at first thought was a large dog, tan in color, very long tail perhaps as long as the animal itself, loping gait (he at first said Prancing), and a dark spot on the end of the tail. Over dinner, he mentioned this to our grandson, a hunter and woodsman, and he suggested it might have been a mountain lion.Later that evening, we looked at some images on the web of mountain lions. We found one that was like the color and description of the animal he had seen. This seems to be in the area being described in these comments so thought I would post a comment here. I have been following this blog since August and this is the first time I have seen one so very close (Liberty Mutual area) to the place he saw this animal.
So I remember leaving a comment here about how I was waiting for my mountain lion so sighting. I could not believe it would come when I had both my children with me and I was taking out the trash!! Ten feet behind dumpster walking away from me without a care that we were there was a cat at least 70pounds, golden brown and I stood there in shock and knowing I needed it to turn a little so I could see its tail length… it dragged the ground!! Then I snapped too, yelled at it and grabbed my kids and ran inside (8 months pregnant 🙂 a week later my husband noticed a lot of Turkey vultures out in a field near our house, we went out too investigate and what we found was a deer carcass … up in a tree!! No sightings since then! My husband just calledme this morning and up in a tree at least thirty feet up, was not much left of a baby bear carcass 😦 I know there’s been a lot of sightings around where he’s working… he will no longer be walking out of the woods to his truck at night! 🙂
Very interesting, especially the deer and bear cub found up in a tree. Do you have photos? If not, please take them in the future. This habit of stashing slain prey in a tree is something only a mountain lion will do. Also, can you tell us exactly where this was, and when? Thanks, and keep us posted!
I work at Tractor Supply in Tilton NH. i the last few weeks i’ve been told of 2 sightings. 1 in Northfield and 1 in Canterbury. the woman in Canterbury has pics. but i don’t know their names.Bean Hill Rd in Northfield. and another sighting in Hill NH.
just learned of another sighting in BOW NH
Where was this?
On Thursday, Jan 16th, I saw what looked like a mountain lion on Rt. 16 at about 8:30am. I was between exits 17 and 18 in Milton, when it ran across the road. The animal was the size of a large dog, sleek, with short brown/black mixed color short hair, round head with short pointed ears, and a long tail. This is the second time I have seen an animal of this size and shape going across rt. 16. The first was last spring, and I saw it in the same area. At that time it was a lighter-colored animal, but I did not get a good look at it.
Cindy
That description sounds more like a fisher to me.
Just got back from a walk with the dog in the woods of Barrington. In between swains lake and mendums pond. I was walking a new trail to check it out and I noticed a lot of deer track, I even jumped a few. As I kept walking I noticed some large track in the snow crossing the trail and took a closer look. The track was about the size of my hand, and I dont have small hands. I pulled up the NH pocket guide to wild game tracks and began comparing it. It was too small to be a bobcat and it looked too small to be a Lynx, if it were a lynx it was a very large one. The track pattern was consistent with a large wild cat, one print in front of the other. I am an experienced hunter and this was the first time I have seen track like this. It immediately stuck out to me as odd. I followed the track and it ended at a tree. I looked up and there was nothing, the track looked like it had been there for maybe 2 days or so. I obviously didnt see a mountain lion but I have a feeling I did see its track. I may go back and go for another walk and see if I can back track it maybe. I believe we are supposed to get some more snow soon so I may go out and see if I can find a new set of fresh prints.
Correction: My mountain lion sighting in west Keene was Jan.8, not 12/8 as posted earlier.
I just saw one on Rt. 116 in Jefferson NH. I got a good look at it, tan color, long tail, not too big, probably 75 pounds. I was driving slow because I had just seen some other wildlife in the trees, eyes, deer or moose. It was 11:45pm.
The cougar walked quickly across the road and into a field. I pulled my car over, shining my headlights into the field and got another good look at its behind & tail.
I had thought I spotted one this fall on rt 2 in Jefferson. It was much bigger, but I only saw it for a split second before it disappeared into the trees. I can’t imagine what else it could have been, but I didn’t notice it’s tail. So I can’t be sure.
The cat I just saw tonight on 116 had the long, distinctive tail, and I got 2 good looks at it. I’m very confident that it was the real McCoy.
Hi Lisa. My name is Kyle Jarvis, and I’m a reporter for the Keene Sentinel. I have some information about the Hurricane Road incident you referenced, but would like to hear more about your sighting as well. I’m working on a story. Can we connect over the phone this week? You can email me at kjarvis@keenesentinel.com. I’d love to talk about it.
I have been following this blog, studying NH wildlife, hoofing around in the woods for years, and took a couple tracking classes. I am a competent observer, always scanning the landscape and the sky. But, I never expected to actually see a mountain lion. On Wed, 12/8 in west Keene I watched a dark gray mountain lion work the edge of a large field. I took very careful note of its color, tail (36″, dark tip), head (round, large, dark ear tips), size (about 2.5′ tall, a little longer than the tail), and its exact location. I watched it walk, slink, turn around and present a full side view, and step lightly into the 5′ tall brush along Black Brook. A couple hrs later I returned to the site with my husband, a camera and our 85 lb dog. We found old frozen deer tracks and scat, but only broken, jumbled snow crust. Within 2 days I had talked in person with 3 residents of nearby Hurricane Rd who all acknowledge dark gray lion sightings over the past 2 yrs, and a llama killed by what people say was a lion, and possibly 2 goats killed, one found in a tree. I have not been able to confirm the goat killings. I am sure of what I saw, and of course, have been told, It couldn’t be.
I appreciate your detailed post. And I wonder about a dark gray mountain lion. That’s not typical of a mountain lion. I wonder if it’s a melanic variant, or something else? Curious to hear what others have seen in the Keene area. You may also note the dark gray cat in the game cam pic on the photos page, again, it’s a puzzle.
There have been 5 sightings of dark grey cats in Keene since 2011. A black cat was seen in 2003 and another in 2011.
Including the above sightings, there have been 40 sightings of big cats in Keene since 1991 plus occasional tracks. Their colors, as reported, include: yellow, golden, golden tan, fawn, tawny, beige, light brown, medium light brown, brownish orange, dark brown or tan, dark grey, and black.
Grey mountain lions are not unusual, but they usually aren’t dark grey, but a light grey or greyish brown. There are a lot of black cats north of Keene all the way up to Coos County, so this may be a hybrid even though it has a dark tipped tail.
Lisa I am in Fitzwilliam (Richmond line) and a few neighbors reported sightings on my road. A couple of months ago the neighborhood dogs were all barking a lot, but that could be anything. I have seen every other wild animal in my yard or on my road, so I am sure I will see this one.
I think it was in 2011. We were out for a late summer drive and driving through Alstead somewhere and an animal I had never seen ran across the road right in front of us. I’ve seen bobcats in NH, but this was different. It had prey in its mouth, it was a light tan color, had black tipped ears and a long ‘tubular’ tail. I said to my husband, “I think it is a mountain lion!” We reported it and were told there was no “evidence” they are here. I still keep hearing reports. Especially in logging areas. A neighbor recently told me there is one being spotted in my neighborhood. Would love to see one here!
John,
i have some pictures of some prints that i would like to email to you. I believe they are from a mountain lion that was on my deck this past weekend.
The time of year was late winter/early spring 2007. I was driving on route 140 in Gilmanton Iron Works. Beyond the very bottom of Cogswell Mountainroad is where I saw it cross the road and run into the woods. The time was a little after six pm. Large and stalky cat, fawn color, thick long tail. Today there is still no doubt in my mind it was a mountain lion. Another friend saw one crossing route 140 in 2012 a few miles back from where I saw it crossing.
Finally, pictures! I know you are leaning toward bobcat(s), but could these not be juveniles? That would explain the shorter bodies and tails.
About 10 years ago I was driving north on I 93 about 2 miles north of the twin Mt. Rt 3 exit when 2 large cubs ran across the highway in front of my truck. Naturally I stopped in the middle of the road to get a better look. When I stopped their very large and muscular mother jumped down from the embankment to my left and rather casually strolled over to her two cubs. She was no more than 40 feet from my bumper. Long muscular body with a long tail tipped in black. I would assume that the juveniles were around 80 lbs each and mom appeared to be about 125 lbs. Undoubtedly these cats were mountain lions. I never reported the incident because I assumed that fish and game would give me the status quo answer followed by……. No followup . From what I have read on this blog I think I was correct. I wish we had smarphones back then I definitely would have been able to snap a picture of all three of these beautiful cats.
Lisa, good thought. Juvenile mountain lions have shorter bodies but they still have very long tails. They are also spotted. This picture is a bit of a puzzle, it’s intriguing but inconclusive. If i had to bet, I’d bet on bobcat.
I just added Ann’s game camera photo to the Photos page. As is true with many game camera images, it is not as clear as we might like.
That said, my opinion is that it’s a photo of a bobcat. The main reason for this is the tail. In the picture it’s sticking straight up from the body, and is perhaps 8-10 inches in length. If this was a mountain lion the tail would be 3 feet or more in length, and trailing down out of the photo. Here’s a link to a picture of a mountain lion taken from the rear, for comparison. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dTlt-LFILB8/UiztgvF2ZKI/AAAAAAAAIq4/qvEKMN8vPtQ/s1600/7854MountainLion.jpg
In addition, the body is short relative to the height of this cat. A mountain lion would be longer, and “slinkier”. It’s not absolutely clear from this angle, but that’s the impression I get.
I’ve seen many bob cats. That’s no bob cat. That’s a catamount in my opinion.
Nashua within the past couple days, didn’t see the cat, but he left his prints all over the deck and back yard…I measured nearly 30 inches between steps and the paw marks were almost 4 inches across…..beautiful..
I’d like to see the image(s) as well.
Ann was kind enough to email me the photo. I just added it to the photos page.
Robbie, I know that Bear Mt. Range near Newfound Lake, I could see it from the house I built on Upper Mt. Cardigan Rd.
Mark Greene
I recently posted on here regarding a mountain lion on my deer cam, but I can’t seem to find my post. Anyway, is there a way to post it on here…should I keep it to myself (and Facebook friends ;)…) or report to Fish and Game? Just curious…can’t wait to put my cam back up…this is the first year we got bear and a mountain lion…just deer usually.
Ann, not sure what happened to your first post. I don’t see it. In any case, please feel free to post your observations here. JR
Ann I would love to see the pic. And would like to know the town where it was. Could you post it in a message to me? Robbie Valcourt Eagle Whisperer@ FaceBook
Ann emailed me the photo. I just added it to the photos page.
Hi John,
Have you gotten the trail cam photo from Ann Casey Leahy and can you post it?
Sincerely,
Randy Osga
Ann emailed me the photo. I just added it to the photos page.
A buddy and I went camping in the White Mountains, around Mt. Moriah. The clouds were low so we decided to camp above them to get out of the mist. We ate, stashed our food several hundred yards away, set up camp and started to pass out. I stayed up a little bit later to stoke the fire just a bit longer before bed. All of a sudden I heard a deep and sharp growl about thirty to fifty yards from us in the woods and up on a small ridge line. I’m not saying it was a mountain lion, but I’ve spent a lot of time in the woods and have an idea as to what other animals can sound like when agitated. I even did a little research and it kind of all points to it being a mountain lion. Didn’t see it, didn’t check for sign, I just went to sleep with the knife close by (at least it’s something).
I have seen 2 Mountain Lions in NH. The first in the winter of 2006,…Alexandria NH, 7:30am. Back road up to Mt. Cardigan… crossing the road was a huge MT.Lion that I estimate to be between 150-170lbs… It looked gray in color over most of the body, darker at tail end. It stopped at the edge of a small field to look at me in my truck….then casually hopped across the field through the deep snow and into the woods…Total sighing was approximately 20-30 seconds max. The second sighting was in the fall of 2008,…Washington, NH. mid day. Walking into a small clearing behind the house I was building was a small Mt. Lion that at first I suspected to be a coyote…..I estimate this lion at no more than 80lbs.(still large for a cat but not nearly the size of the Alexandria lion.) The color(s) of this cat were much like that of a coyote,..tan,brown,and black; which is why at first glace I thought it to be a coyote…..the lion walked carefully along the edge of the clearing then turned to look at me. I stepped in the house and called the other 4 men working to ” come see this”……only one came to have a look then he and I watched the lion walk casually over to a massive boulder and easily leap to the top.(6 feet) The lion then stood broadside and stared at us for 15 seconds before leaping off and walking away in the woods. Never any more than 50 yards away,…there was no way to mistake the animal we witnessed. A NH MOUNTAIN LION!
Mark years ago i’m guessing it was early 90s I was hunting that area. the west side of New Found lake we call it Bear hill. but I was on one ridge and my father in law was on the other ridge. he called me over and in the snow were some fresh tracks. He questioned me and said look at the size of this coyote tracks. I looked at him and said those aren’t coyote tracks no nail marks. They are cat tracks but to big for a bobcat or fisher. he looked at me, nodded his head and said good job. these are a mountain lion tracks. I wanted to test you.
Paw print seen December 21 2013. West Forest Lake Rd. Littleton. Trying to load it.
I came across large prints in the snow on the border of Manchester and Hooksett today, larger than dog prints, also with deer prints nearby. I have heard something walking quietly through the woods near us before daylight when I walk my dog. I took photographs of the prints. I also had a neighbor off Chestnut Hill in Amherst that got a photograph of a mountain lion 10 years ago. They are reclusive, stealth creatures, so it’s no wonder they are not seen frequently…..but they are there!
Could there really be mountain lions in nh? (not trying to be funny) but they teach you there are not any here. It would explain what me and my daughter saw 7 yrs ago in Hanover nh. Big cat long tail at least half the size of its body big paws i thought it was a bob cat but it was bigger then that a lot bigger . Could i have been seeing things or was it something else does anyone have any ideas it looked about 100lbs about 4_5 feet long from nose to hindend
This is all over Facebook. This cat was supposedly seen un Greenfield NH.
I am not sure about the picture. It seems like it may have been photoshopped, but who knows.
This is not in Greenfield NH. Please check google images. This has been bounced all over the internet for years with everyone claiming it to be taken in different areas.
Interesting, reading the comment from Hancock , the tracks I followed south of Hilsboro ,that area is not far at all for a cat, just across route 9 and head north west a few miles through the woods.
I saw a mountain lion coming from Lemster mountain and crossing route 10 a few years. Day time I stopped and watched it , a friend was with me. No doubt.
This Saturday I followed and photographed tracks ,
South of Hilsboro , not far from Washington , stoddard area. I have the photos . I’d share them.
Please send me pics. I will post them here. John.f.ranta@gmail.com
please send them to me too tlaf51@yahoo.com
Great north woods twice. Once it ran across road in front of me leaving hunting camp. Once on route 115 dead on side of road I saw a friends picture. I know the area and the picture is legit.
This morning, edge of back yard. Small mountain lion. I tried to get a pic but my dog was barking (in house) and he/she slinked away. There is a bout a 5 acre thicket of woods on a rocky hill surrounded by houses. Not sure how he/she got in there. I live in Southern Nashua NH. Thought at first it was a bob cat, but then remembered bob cats don’t have long tails and have spots. This was definitely a small cougar! Then I googled to see if there even ARE cougars in NH and found this website.
My wife and i have saw a mountain lion on Route 3 in the Twin Mountain area in 2010 at 6 am on Columbus Day weekend. Then we saw another lion in 2012 in Hollis, NH in the middle of a field at 3 pm. We reported both sightings to Fish & Game but they did not believe us. I spotted another one in Antrim, NH just this year while scouting prior to our Moose hunt, off rt.9 in the Rockland Forrest area. RA
My husband was hunting last night in our back yard in Hancock NH, He was against some rocks and did a deer call to bring in the deer. 4 deer start moving his way. Then he herd something above him on the rocks, as he turned to see what it was: a female mountain lion, she growled then pounced over him onto several other large rocks towards the deer, the deer fled and the lion followed. He was shaking up since it jumped over him only 10 feet away. It was 90-100 pounds, muscular, tan, large foot prints (Great Dane size) 4-5 feet in length with a large long tail that curved down towards the ground. We are planning to place a trail camera out there to see if we can capture a picture.
Very interesting. I live in Hancock, and have been out deer-hunting myself the past week or two. Where exactly in Hancock? I hope you get a picture, if so, send it to me to be posted here. Thanks! JR
Kathy, how did he know it was a female?
And he didnt shoot it? 10 feet away and didnt shoot? Raises a huge question dont you think. Best way to prove it is to have it dead .
I was deer hunting this morning Friday Nov. 22nd 2013 in Piermont NH. Very near Lake Tarelton off of route 25C. It was about 10:30am, I had walked a large circle and came back to the dirt road where I had started. It had snowed lightly but my original foot prints were still visible. As I was walking the road I noticed what at first I though was a deer in the middle of the road about 75 yards away. As I checked for antlers, which was hard because my scope was fogged up with the snow, I could not see any antlers the animal was facing away from me but it appeared more rounded than a deer. It stood in the road facing away from me. I did see what I thought was a flag of white tail. Then when the animal turned in profile I could see it was a large cat. It was a little darker in color than a deer, but clearly not a deer. I moved a little to get a better look and realized there was a second large cat there also. I continued to watch for about 10 minutes, finally one of the cats started up the road right at me then turned to the left and disappeared into the woods. The other cat had also disappear but off the right side of the trail.
I wondered if they were bobcats, but they did not have any spots they did have a short tail like a bobcat but looked a lot more like a mountain lion, the head especially and the side view of the front shoulders as it walked.
I examined the paw prints they appeared smaller than I expected no more than 2″ in length. The cats were “perfect walkers”.
Any thoughts?
Bobcats don’t always have spots, especially as they age. My first guess would be bobcats, especially given what you say about the length of the tail and size of pawprints. JR
Hope to get photos next time I am in the area.
Sighting occurred at 11:20a.m. 11/23/2013, On Amherst/Bedford line while traveling west on 101. I always scan a field on the north side of 101 because I have seen many deer and turkey feeding in it. Today I saw a mountain lion. It was very low and long with long curved tailed heading east to west on the far end of the field. It was clearly a mountain lion. Not sure if the ground will have any track or sign in the area but would love to learn more. Please contact me if I can help be more specific to its location at time of sighting.
There have been a couple of other reports from the Amherst area, including a game camera pic that I will post shortly. JR
I have a pic from my deer camera set up just outside of Lancaster, NH
Ann, sorry for the delay in replying. Can you email me the pic? I’ll post it here. john.f.ranta@gmail.com
11/05/2013.
About 5:10 am heading south on rt.93. between exit 19 and 18 High beams on. Caught yellow eye flash in clearing just off road. Too small even for small dear. Head appeared wide and flat. Did not see ears sticking up. Moving with a sauntering chest roll. Appeared grey. Cannot confirm that it was a cougar, but as I kept thinking about it that was tops on my list
I appreciate your impressions, but who knows what that animal really was…
Just got a note that one was sighted up by my camp on Moultonborough Neck Road Lake Winni. Any body hear anything?
Barnstead nh found day or two old tracks behind my house in soft mud. Way to large for a bobcat and not a dog print. Stretch between tracks was over 44 inches.
Chris,
I live in Barnstead and have been independantly chasing sights for years. Where in Barnstead was your sighting of tracks?
It’s a bit after the fact now, but about two autumns ago I believe I saw a mountain lion.
I was on route 11 heading into Alton from New Durham and it crossed the highway in front of me and one other vehicle. It crossed in two, maybe three lengthy steps-as it was running, and the length of the tail was what really caught my attention.
My son was heading to the end of our driveway for the school bus and there was a Mountain Lion at the end of the driveway walking down the street with a bird in his mouth. They walked slowly away, but this thing was probably less then 100 feet from them. It turned looked at the kids and then ran into the woods. He is determined that it was a mountain lion. He explained it…big thick furry chest, powerful legs, long furry tail, he said it was a gray/tan color, he explained it as 4-5 feet long, not including the tail. I’m not thrilled about this.Just a bit worried. Was about 7:30 in the morning.
Oh sorry…was in Campton NH
Follow up to my May 17 comment. I ran into the woman who lived on Bear Hill Road in Henniker for a long time. She said she never saw a mountain lion but a lot of people she knows claim to have & she believes them.
I have a picture from a game camera of a cat in Alton. Solid gold color, no spots, but tail is not as long as it should be for a mountain lion.
Paul, email it to me at john.f.ranta@gmail.com. Thanks! Jr
Sighting in Keene NH – crossing 101 headed south from soccer fields. I was about 100 feet away. It ran to the middle of the road then turned and ran back. About the size of a border collie but stocky build. Tawny, long tail with black tip. Not a bobcat – seen those up close. Definitely smaller size though – maybe 24 to 36 inches long.
Cougars were also seen near the soccer field in 2011. I found a cat tunnel in the bushes near the river and power line where the athletes run track and beyond the soccer fields. Cougars have surprised bicyclists on the Asheulot Rail Trail near Rt. 101 behind the Shaw’s parking lot. I saw tracks in the snow earlier that year in the winter on Rt. 101. Three cougar north-south “roads” come together there: the rail trail, the power line and the river. I have 38 sightings/tracks in the Keene area in my database. I’ve seen a black cat in Keene. Most sightings are off the beaten track, but they cross Rt. 101 and Rt. 10 on a semi-regular basis.
http://www.superslam.org/know-your-game/cougar. Check out the map!
Sighting Bedford, NH 9/12 @ 9:20am on Macintosh Lane in back lawn.
hey, chris. i saw one on 9/5/13 9:30 mcalester and new boston rd, coming
from the old yellow farm.about 60lbs close to the same color of a dear.very
healthy looking same size as my small lab.grew up in nh. spend alot of time in the woods..I know what i saw. i live in bedford. JIM.M
That map makes it appear that cats are expanding out of Florida & not (so much) from the West. Am I mistaken? I don’t think that’s accurate. There were supposedly so few in Florida that cats were brought in from West Texas to add genetic diversity. Also, it doesn’t appear there are mountain lions in Michigan, according to the map, but it seems to be well known there are cats on both the upper & lower peninsula of that state.
Maybe I’m wrong about all the above but that’s my take on the map.
the most reliable map I am aware of (because of their verification system) is this one from the eastern Cougar network. http://www.easterncougarnet.org/bigpicture.html
It shows that there are a number of sightings in Michigan, but there’s no evidence of cougars spreading northward from Florida. JR
A friend just drove a truck from California to New England for his boss. He told me that wherever he stopped along the way back home people told him they were seeing mountain lions. Must be that “released pets” are migrating East.
Tan muscular cat, long tail black tip.Larger then typical cat. Short hair. Looks like mountain lion. Sandown nh. Kentfarm Rd 11:45 sunday 9/8/13 .
Saw a mountain lionn tan healthy looking w very long tail.Hudson nh in my backyard on ottarnic pond at 6:30 pm on Sept 5.came up stairs from shore and stopped at edge of yard and scanned the premises moving only its head.have 5 ft chain link around yard.went back to shoreline and disappeared from view.
I believe I just narrowly missed hitting a huge bobcat! Tan short hair the color of a deer and a bobtail. He was flying fast across 202 just past Walmart. Very muscular shoulders and thighs. Beefy and he was as high as the front end of my BMW. Awesome sight!
Not a bobcat. I know them well. Much like the mountain lion. He was notably tall and lean. And long tail although I didn’t get to measure it :). Looked much like the picture at the beginning of this blog (last one killed in NH) size and weight wise. Maybe a very young adult?
Ken – I was watching what I thought was a deer, until it moved, unlike a deer. Turned out to be a tall coyote, lots of light brown fur, pointy ears. Sounds a bit like your description; do not rule out coyote.
We have had coyote in our backyard was not a coyote.
Large, lanky, tan, cat like animal crossing the road between protected forests in New Boston. Long tail, pointy ears. Not all that shy. Stopped to look at me a couple of times before disappearing in the woods. Bout the size of a small deer. Don’t know what else it could be?
How long was the tail?
I would say maybe 2/3 length of body. Maybe had white on end but wouldn’t swear to that and curled up a bit. If it weren’t so lanky, I might be more positive. I see plenty of NH wildlife all the time. This was different. Have a camera in the truck but wild animals don’t want to stand still long enough for me to get a picture.
Here are two pics.
This first one is a bobcat, tail about a foot in length. http://www.wild-life-rehab.com/Education%20Page%20Photos/Adult_Bobcat.jpg
This one is a mountain lion. Tail about four feet in length. http://www.gatewaytosedona.com/images/articles1/Mountain-lion-012913/mountain-lion-full-598.jpg
Note the differences in proportions, size of head, length of body, length of legs.
Which cat do you think it might have been? jr
I live in Hudson but was working in Contoocook in the late 1990’s and would travel up Route 89 every morning around 6:00 AM. One morning I was just outside Concord by Turkey Pond when a large cougar and a smaller cougar ran across 89 from south to north. There was no mistaking them because of their size, including the long tail, and the tawny color. I’m a 66 year old NH native and have seen a bobcat in the woods and this was no bobcat. There were two cars in the other lane headed south and we all stopped. A man in one of the other cars yelled to me: “Did you see what I saw??”. I yelled back “mountain lion” and he yelled back “Yup”. I called Fish and Game and the guy I talked to was insulting and insisted I saw a “housecat”.
I saw a mountain lion emerage out of the woods on RT 16 in the rochester,nh area a few years ago. It brazenly waked acros the highay with no sense of urgency and down a hill into the woods. It was the size of a large dog, had very short hair and a long tail. It appeared more greayish than tan but could have been the light.
Hey I saw what I would believe to be a mountain lion cub in barnstead New Hampshire. I would say the cat was about the size of a mid size dog. It was light in color and had spots on it. Also, the cat had distinct small rounded ears compared to a house cat( not actually round but rounder). Also, I might have saw one in the middle median of the highway yesterday on 93 just north of concord. This one however seemed to look a deer at first then I came up closer down the highway and it had shorter legs and a long tail compared to a deer, but the fur looked like a deer coat. Not positive of the second one but the one by my house was a mountain lion for sure!!!!
When I looked into my backyard this morning, I thought I saw a lanky, tan dog. When I looked closer, I realized it was a huge cat. It had a long, thick tail. It seemed to be stalking something near our pond, my son was outside and startled it and it ran across our yard and into the woods.
I have compared it to several photos on the Internet, it is definitely not a bobcat. It was not gray, and it did not have a short tail, it looked young, but it seemed larger than a bobcat.
We live in Bow and I saw it at around 10:30 this morning.
Wow, Bridget Windsor! Incredible! I’ve heard rumors of mountain lions in Mont Vernon but are you sure it wasn’t a huge beaver?
I just saw what in all ways appeared to be a mountain lion pass through my back field in New Boston. It was the size of a large dog with a solid tan coat and rather stout body. It moved exactly like my house cat moves, which was wonderful to watch, but I had a question for the community here:
It appeared to have no tail. Where its tail should have been it had a stubby tuft similar to a deer and similar to when you see dogs whose tails have been severed. Am I crazy and the tail was just tucked between the legs? I really don’t think it was, cause I could see a definitive tuft. I am very sure it was a mountain lion. Color, size, shape, I got a good minute long look at it in morning daylight. Are there cases of mountain lions losing their tails in fights or in some other way?
Thanks for any responses I am so curious.
I think that what you saw was a bobcat. Your description matches it perfectly. They are native to NH, but pretty shy, not seen very often. JR
I went back and look at photos of bobcats, and I see now, that that is what I saw. When I first looked at photos of bobcats they looked so exotic in their coloring and facial features, similar to a lynx, but I see now there are some that appear more of a solid tan appearance from a distance.
Thanks for your response!
Some bobcats have distinct spots, especially younger ones. Color can vary, from tan to dark gray/brown, and from a lot of spots to few spots. Their belly is usually white or very light in color. Their coloration can also differ over the seasons.
so Lynxs and bobcats are the same thing…? Silly me.
No, you are not silly 🙂 Lynx and bobcats are very similar, but they are separate species. Lynx are also shy, and generally found further north. It was big news a few years ago when one was seen in the White Mountains. Which is why I guessed that your cat was a bobcat…
I’ll ask my husband for any details when he comes home for lunch today.
another thing I thought was odd is we invested in one of those motion sprinklers for it garden due to deer eating everything. the deer are scarce these days but the sprinkler keeps going off in the evening. the garden is on the woods line. it isn’t a sensitive sprinkler, it picks up motion after a few seconds of movement. I’m just trying to piece things together.
the other thing I failed to mention is we usually have a deer problem in our garden. those guys haven’t even been around much lately. we had a momma and baby on our road for quite sometime but lately, nothing. animals are dropping left and right.
I’ve also noticed some of the other people posting on here that have had mountain lion sighting are very close to home. weare, Windsor and a few others. it’s scary but I guess a chance you take living in these wooded areas. also, we’re investing in a camera for just this reason. should be interesting to see what kinds of critters we get.
it was about 9pm when we heard the rustling in the back yard. when my husband made itto basement level and got the spot light outside the door on it was spooked. he said the glimpse he did get was a large dark animal as tall as a large dog. he said when it took off it leaped rather than ran. the noise it made was not like a cat however but more relatable to a mad bear but was to small to be bear. my brother works for the sunapee for department and said there have been many recent sightings of cat and there main preyed food had been smaller animals including house cats. as of now our two family members haveyet to southern 😦 my son it’s a wreck. as we all are sad. yesterday I was out in yard and heard an odd noise from the woods but when googled the closest noise to compare to was a deer grunt. I know deer didn’t get my cats. if it was any of the animals you listed above would we find remains? I know that may sound odd but we would rather find our kittys than leave then to other animals. I’ve tried googling if these animals venture off to dine on their catch out just eat and go. I’ve had no luck.I do think at this point it’s safe to say or animals have fallen pray to something. sucks! any info is much welcomed. thanks
It’s hard to say for sure what this animal is, without more information. If you do see it again, try to get a sense of its size against items in the background, like rocks or trees. Pay attention to things like color (and whether or not the color is different on different parts of its body). Also, try to get a sense of length of tail, length of legs, shape of head, shape and size of ears. Those all provide helpful clues. And if you can keep a camera handy, all the better!
It’s not likely that you’ll find the remains of your cats. Sorry about that, it’s tough to lose loved pets. JR
My husband was eating his lunch in his truck parked at the football field near the County Courthouse in Dover, NH early in the afternoon on August 12, 2013. He observed what he at first thought was a large dog, tan in color, very long tail perhaps as long as the animal itself, “pointy” ears, loping gait (he at first said Prancing), and a dark spot on the end of the tail. He was so enrapt with the animal itself that he did not pick up his iphone to get a picture 😦
Over dinner, he mentioned this to our grandson, a hunter and woodsman, and he suggested it might have been a mountain lion. Later that evening, my husband and I looked at some images on the web of mountain lions. Based on comments here that I have been perusing this morning, some “pictures of mountain lions” are not, so I am not saying one way or the other, just reporting what he saw.
We submitted this informaiton to info@wildlife.NH.gov and Mr. Tate sent back a polite reply “thank you for the sighting report”. So based on all I have read here, we are posting a ‘sighting report’ w/o any evidence, but thought it might be helpful to others in the area.
Thanks for your blog. It was very interesting to read so many recent reports.
We just saw a mountain lion near the golf course at The Mount Washington Hotel. Five people in the car. Casually walked down a dirt service road towards a dumpster. August 18, 2013 around 10:30pm.
Heard a rumor re a cougar sighting in Alton. Anything to it?
I have not seen any reports here on the blog. Folks?
Interesting. A mountain lion has been spotted here in New Durham on the 21st and the 23rd. Possible connection?
over the past three weeks we have lost two ofour house cats, about a week after our first cat went missing my husband and I were sitting out on out back deck and heard a very loud groul, we went into the house. my husband ran down to the basement level of our home to see what the noises were. it was then he saw a large dark animal that took off in a matter of seconds by leap. it was gone. about a week later another one of our cats has gone missing. interesting for prints on our dirt road. we ventured into the woods recently and came across large portions with sharp nails dragging in the ground. very scary. we have three young children in our home along with two adult cats remaining. we’re on edge.
any advice ? we live in the woods of Washington Nh. though we see larger amounts of deer frequently, whatever is out there is more interested in our house cats vs. the test of wildlife.
Stephanie, it’s hard to say what the animal might be. How large – did you get any sense of its size? When you say “dark” did you see it in daylight? Was it black, or brown, or gray? What sort of growl, like a dog’s growl, or something else? For wild animals reported to take house cats, the possibilities include: fisher cat, coyote, bobcat and fox. But it is hard to say without more detailed information. Let us know if you hear or see anything more. JR
Definitely get a game camera.
I’ve been away and just saw this. I know what this creature may be, an unknown species of black cat I’ve been researching. It has feline footprints on the front and canine on the rear (front middle toes are at an angle like a cat, and the rear are even like a dog). The claws are on the middle two toes, are up to 1.75 in. long and 1 inch apart. I would like to put up a game camera with your permission. Please contact me at lmccracken2002@yahoo.com . These black cats have been seen in your area.
My husband and I just saw a mountain lion in Londonderry, NH. It was crossing Litchfield road, near Yellowstone Drive. We pulled over when we saw it cross the street, and we watched it walking in the woods. It was about 15 feet from us, and it stopped to watch us for about 45 seconds. Then it slowly turned and continued to walk away.
I am glad there is a homepage like this. We saw one in Oct or Nov of 2012 on our property in Hopkinton, NH (on the Henniker border). We were driving up our driveway when we saw it. It ran right across our driveway and then across our property. It was much larger and faster than the bob cat that we have seen in the past. 2 other familes on our road have seen it too.
About 8 or 9 years ago, my mother had one resting on her property in Henniker.
I, too, live in Hopkinton, Contoocook Village near Henniker. I saw what I think is a mountain lion 2 times this summer. Both right around 6:00 pm. Once using a familiar game trail to cross my road and the other time on the edge of my woods in the vicinity of the game trail. The second sighting, I got out of the car to take a good look. The tail was long, to the ground, and hooked at the end. The head was round as were the ears. I have seen bobcat. This as no bob cat. Size, about the size of my 80 dog, tan in color, with big feet. The first time I spotted it, I said to myself, I can’t believe I’m seeing an animal I’ve never seen before…and I drew a picture of it so I would remember what it looked like. The second time I saw it I couldn’t believe my luck. The first sighting, I saw it in profile, a good look at that tail and body shape. The second time I saw it from the rear and had another good look at the tail. The sightings were a out 4 weeks apart. The last sighting was around August 27 2013. We live on a marshy area with lots of protected land and woods. We have bear, fox, moose, deer, turkey, beaver and 1 bobcat sighting.
Around 5:45 PM August 12, spotted large mountain lion (German Shepherd size), brown, in Canaan NH, just north of Goose Pond Lake. Appeared healthy, sat briefly in the woods, in fairly close proximity to our house, then traveled further into the woods and across our stream. Initially thought it was a large dog but was able to view with binoculars and sure it was a mountain lion.
about 2 years ago was on my way to work very early in the morning in Weare Nh and there it was. I stopped the car and just watched I knew it wasn’t a bob cat it was way to big , the words out of my mouth was that was a bleep bleep I just saw a mountain lion my husband still says it was something else even today we talk about it
On August 9th I spotted what looked like a mountain lion or cougar crossing Sand Hill Road in Peterborough Nh. As tall as a German Shepard, with a golden hide around 6:00pm, Impressive!
I was walking with my yorkie last night 9/9/13 at around 5:30 on Murphy Rd, in Peterborough, when I looked up to see this big tan cat, within 1/10th of a mile from us was crossing the road, stopped in the middle of the road and we just stared at each other for about 30 seconds and then it gracefully kept crossing the road. I went home and looked it up, it was a mountain lion, it was pretty spectacular but also scary, we had no where to go, we waited about 5 minutes, I picked up my pup and we continued home. Yikes
At Gadsden.. That could have been a Bobcat. I have been watching a family of 4 on the Plastow/Kingston line for some years now. One of them is blackish/gray and my guess is it is about 80/100lbs. Verry large for a Bobcat but they have plenty of food where they are dened up. For them to make it over to 108 is just a walk in the park for them. One of them got hit last August on 125 in Kingston and it was I think they said 70/75 lbs.
Sighting! http://moultonborospeaks.blogspot.com/2013/08/mountain-lions-keep-eye-on-children-and.html
A friend writes: “I am certain I saw one running in the open field on route 25b earlier this year and others living a bit further north are also certain they have seen mountain lions. Here is an excerpt I received in an email from a reader that happened just recently:
“…someone near the Castle lost his dog and he saw a mountain lion dragging it away. He found it later (dead) hanging in a tree which is where the lions take their prey.”
My horse is boarded on center road in Bradford. I drive past the junction 6-7x a week. What side of the road did it head to and time of day? We are out trail riding in the surrounding woods all the time. I will let people know to look for tracks etc. Also the owner of the barn said there was something spooking the horses this past weekend in the woods. She didn’t hear anything crashing around in the woods like a moose. We have had several bear this year but she is usually able to spot them and hear them when the horses act up. She thought this was strange that it was very quiet except for the horses acting spooked. I will tell her to keep her eyes open.
She had also seen a mtn. Lion a year or so ago on 114 in Bradford off a logging road. What she saw was tan, very large with a long tail. She knows it was definatly not a bobcat.
Spotted a large black cat on the side of the road on 114 in Bradford NH right after the Junction Restaurant. This was not a bobcat as I have seen them before. It had a long tail and black fur with a little white on its paws and a little under its chin area. I was also not a bear, or a fisher cat as I have seen them before. As to what this animal was it looked similar to jaguar, as to what it was I am still unsure only that it look just like a black jaguar. July 31, 2013
I’m guessing that the last two posts, of sightings of a large black cat with white markings, are credible and not a coincidence. There are two possibilities that occur to me. One is that this is a melanistic variant of a mountain lion. These are exceedingly rare, but they do occur. The other possibility is that is an escaped or released pet exotic cat. These are not as rare as you might think, unfortunately. It will be interesting to see if there are more reports in the coming days. JR
I believe I have a picture of the big black cat with white paws… it was taken July 19, 2013 in Windsor, NH. I have a Trail cam set up on my property and I hadn’t checked it in a while… when I pulled the video card this week I have an image of a big black cat… with a white streak under its head and white marks on the paws.
Please email me the picture, and I will post it here for all to see. Thanks.
john.f.ranta@gmail.com
WE anxiously await the photo.
The photo that was sent to me was very inconclusive. It might be a house cat, the objects in the photo that enabled me to gauge scale showed an animal about 12-18 inches tall. The person who took the photos is going to do some more analysis, but my strong bet is that this is not a big cat. JR
Hi Folks,
Sorry for the delay, I needed to get some other pictures and take some measurements. Rather than post a bunch of pictures I have put them together and posted on Youtube.
Take a look here and let me know… I believe it is something unusual. But I don’t know what. I have contacted the NH Fish & Game Biologists for their opinion.
David, very well done! Your comparisons and analysis are compelling.
It clearly is a feline, not a fisher cat and not a fox or dog. It is not a bobcat, not only because of the long tail, but also because of the length of body compared to height. And size of head relative to body. And it’s far too small to be a mountain lion (and the coloration is all wrong).
If this is a domesticated cat (the white markings support that theory) then it is a very big domesticated cat. We have two cats, and they both stand a little less than a foot high at the shoulder and are about two feet long, not counting the tail. This cat appears to be 30-50% bigger than that. Maybe it’s a very big domesticated cat, in which case it’s likely owned by one of your neighbors. Or, maybe it’s a Maine coon cat? I looked at some pictures of those online, and they reach the size of your mystery cat.
Another possibility, an exotic cat that runs about this size, is a jaguarundi. That’s a cat native to Mexico and South America, so it’s likely an escaped or released pet if it is indeed a jaguarundi. I could not find any pictures online of a jaguarundi with white markings similar to your cat, however.
Interesting, indeed. Thanks for the great work, and let us know what you hear from the wildlife guys. JR
Not sure if I should be typing anything here but I am still in shock. I spent the day with the family at Lake Sunapee and was on our long ride back home when at around 9:45 pm I saw a very large outline on the side of 114 in Bradford, (before the Junction Restaurant). I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me, but when I drove closer to the large black outline, it twisted its torso toward my high beams. Using the guard rail on the side of it, it looked to be about 3.5-4′ tall. Its body was lean and muscular but its paws were huge. It had a slash of white in its face but all its paws were white while the rest were black. I have never seen an animal such as that; however, I will say that I am not an animal expert but based on its muscles, stance, and massive outline, it appeared feline in nature. I am still in awwww over the exact identity of the animal but it startled me enough that I slowly crept back and fourth through the area I seen it. It was gone when I made my second pass to try and show it to my husband (he was playing a game on the computer) but I could not locate it again. I repeatedly drove past the area until I was pulled over. The officer was very nice, although he said he did not see anything, but I command him for not thinking I was crazy when I was ranting about the animal I just seen! I have never seen an animal like that, but I know what I saw and wanted to write down the occurrence while it was a fresh experience.
Please forgive me, it was after the restaurant, on the long stretch of nothingness,
I’ve not seen one but years ago, while sitting on the boat launch at Nube in Hancock, we had one “scream” not far from us. We left very quickly. My daughters riding instructor has seen one crossing 202N on the Hancock/Peterborough border. And lastly, my friends father, who was an officer in Temple (Clegg, now passed away) had F&G in Temple due to so many lion sightings. When F&G told him there were none in NH, Mr. Clegg pointed at a deer carcass in a tree and asked him, “Well, how did that deer get that high up that tree then?”
Cougar sighting last night in Middleton,NH big cat color of deer with small head and long tail no picture just sighting, will track when snow hits.
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I saw what looks exactly like the stuffed animal at the top if this page only a bit larger, walking up my driveway at about 930pm on July 24, 2013. I live in Plaistow off of route 108. When I opened my door to go back inside it turned and went back into the woods behind my home.
Well Aug 5th I saw the same thing was golden color not spotted and had a long tail crossed in front of me just off route 108 in daylight. W Hadley Rd newton.. Plaistow / Haverhill lines all close
There are tons of them. One was screaming in my back yard the other night and I recorded it…. as it was moving off.
July 21. 4:00 pm. Route 28. Pittsfield NH
Where in Pittsfield?
My husband just saw one on Concord Hill Rd in Pittsfield!
While driving my kids to swim lessons northbound on 89 at about 8:50am a mountain lion bounded across the road with such strength and speed. It was approximately 3 miles before exit 11 near new London. It was fantastic! It easily made it across the road without incident looked as if it was hunting something.
Today about 4;30pm on Sharon Rd. Peterborough i saw a Mountain Lion at the River it Casually turned and walked back into the woods I tried to look for its prints to take a picture but it left none.
The Lyndeborough/ Peterborough area seems to be a hot spot for sightings.
Interesting that the last two reports, July 9 and June 30, were by two different people about a half-mile from each other. And a couple of miles from where I live. jr
On my way home from working in Peterborough tonight, a mountain lion crossed the road in front of me as I rolled up Rt 202, between EMS and the bus company. It was just like the stuffed cat at the top of this page, but perhaps a wee bit larger. It was also darker in color, like light mahogany, but still had the long tail, small head, and small ears.
What disturbs me, is how casual he acted. He didn’t have the skittish, got-to-get-out-of-here look that a fox or coyote has when you are lucky enough to see one.
About 3 years ago a woman I met in Hillsborough insisted she had seen a mountain lion near EMS.
June 30, 2013 – This morning at about 7:45 AM driving down 202 towards Peterborough at the intersection of Forest Road I just happened to look to my right on Forest Road and there it was just crossing from left to right – to me it was one of those Oh God moments. It was a beautiful creature, quite large, tail as long as its body – large head – it paid me no heed as I almost left skid marks stopping to watch it. What a special moment for me. I grew up in Southern Utah where when I was younger they were fair game, with my father owning the local paper there were numerous times the proud hunters would bring their kills in to get pictures taken so they could be in the next edition. This is the first one I have seen here in New Hampshire, though I have seen Bobcats on several occasions.
This morning around 8 am we had a moutain lion cross 89 in cootootook just past exit 5 we were very code and got very good look at it right color size and long tail
June 25th, 2013, 12:30 pm. Just saw a mountain lion crossing the road on Govt Wentworth hwy. in Mountolborough, right near the entrance to Bald Peak Colony Club. It crossed the road in a leisurely fashion, so I got a good look at it, large golden cat with a long tail. When I passed the spot where it had crossed, I saw the cat sitting just inside the woods. I saw the black mask on its face very clearly.
There’s been a lot of discussion here about big cats as pets. I thought I would post a link to an article from National Geographic on exotic pets. Here’s a quote: “At present, laws differ state-to-state on which exotic animals are legal to privately own and under what kind of license restriction, if any. But trading, selling, and breeding of exotics often crosses state lines and is difficult to regulate. It’s estimated that between 10-20,000 big cats are currently in private hands in the United States – more tigers than in the wild – but no one, not even the USDA, knows for sure how many.”
More here – http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/animal-intervention/articles/wild-at-home-exotic-animals-as-pets/
yesterday evening (june 20) I saw an animal run across the road in front of me while driving on rt 124 towards New Ipswich, just past the town line. The only thing it looked like was a mountain lion. It had the very light beige color, it was stocky and large, did not move like a dog. I have seen fox and coyote- nothing like it. I’m absolutely convinced it was a mountain lion. It was also too large to be a bobcat or a domestic cat.
If you have never seen a bobcat, do not be too quick to dismiss the possibility. They can be very big, as large as labrador retrievers. They are cat-like animals that look “tall” with long legs and rather short bodies. Mountain lions, by contrast, are much “longer”, looking much more low to the ground because their legs are much shorter when compared to their body length. The key with a mountain lion is the tail, it will be very obvious, very big and very long, as long as the cat’s body.
My guess, based on statistical probabilities, is that you saw a bobcat. Check out the pictures online, to see what you think.
Thanks for posting! JR
I saw a very large cat this morning, crossing route 124 in Jaffrey from my office at 121-123 Main St to the other side, into the grove of trees by Rousseau’s Music. It looked very much like the picture of a mountain lion at the top of this post. I didn’t observe a tail, but didn’t really have time to think about it. I was about 100′ away and driving toward it, so it bounded into the woods and didn’t hang around.
Since I looked at the pictures you posted today in response to Ken, I would have to say what I saw was a mountain lion, but it was perhaps an adolescent, not full-grown. It was much leaner and sleeker looking than a bobcat and also bigger, but not as big as some of the dimensions I have read for a mountain lion.
Yesterday morning at about 6:50 I saw a large tan cat lope across route 127 in Contoocook just past McLanes and YPB near the Elm Brook spillway. It was about the size of a big dog like a Lab — not as big as a full grown mountain lion, but the color and shape of one. Several cars were coming from the other direction and must have gotten a good look at it as well.
Did you see the tail? If it was not as long as the cat’s body, then you likely saw a bobcat. JR
I thought it had a long tail but I realize that memory is a tricky thing. Seemed big for a bobcat but was small for a cougar. Other drivers had good views as well. Hopefully we’ll hear from some of them.
I was riding my motorcycle north on Route 28 in Wolfeboro yesterday (near Wentworth State Park) , when what appeared to be a mountain lion ran across the road about 25 yards ahead of me. It ran from left to right and entered the woods on the opposite side of the road. It had a long body, with large paws and ‘forearms’, a ‘block’ head and very long bushy tail. It was brown to almost orange in color and ran very low to the ground, very cat like. Unfortunately, I was not able to get a picture.
7:00 AM, Wilmot, NH. Just watched an animal cross an area of open grass near a small pond by the house. It was crossing from a semi wooded area to a mown field surrounded by woods, but was only visible as it passed between two posts of an open gate. It looked and moved like a sleek domestic cat, but was startlingly large – I would guess at least as large as our son’s young female boxer, but more muscular. It appeared to be all black, moved deliberately and directly, but not in haste – as if it were out for a morning stroll.
I have never seen an animal like this in the wild (it reminded me of photos of a black panther) and I found this site while looking for information on New Hampshire wildlife, specifically large cats, to see if black ones existed. I know that sometimes light and distance can alter the illusion of size, but this was definitely not a house cat – much taller. The closest thing I have seen would be the photo at the beginning of this blog if it were all black but I cannot tell from that photo how large that animal is. The one I saw did not appear to have the body or head of a fisher cat nor the head of a bobcat.
A friend took this picture from my kitchen window in Walpole, NH early last September at around 6:20 at night. We had a camera out to take a picture of skunk under the bird feeder and got this picture of the the mountain lion as it seemed to be tracking the skunk. I was in view for less than 15 seconds before it took off.
The picture is not attached, can you post a link to it, or email it to me so I can post it? Thanks, JR (john.f.ranta@gmail.com)
auburn NH. As I let my dogs out around 8:45 a.m. I saw a cat walking through the woods about 40 yards back. I noticed it because the black contrast against the lush green forest. It being black I was very puzzled, I thought I was seeing my first bob cat, but knew I was wrong because it had a very large and bushy Tail. Also my dogs notice everything. I have three of them and they all have peremiter checks when the run outside. All wildlife gets at least a bark. . . But they were oblivious, even when I ran up to a rock for a better vantage point they just stared at me.
This cat moved extremely calmly and did not disrupt anything. It did not stop, but never sped up. I was sure it was a cat right when i saw it because i have always had cats, and because of its movement, posture and head. Of course this was a little bigger then twice the size of our largest cat. The only way I can describe what I saw was a small black mountain lion.
I came scrambling through the Internet after my experience to see what fully black cats would be in my deep back hard. I still am not sure what is was, so any comments or ides from people who have seen more or who know cats would be great! I will be doing more research of my own.
Overall I feel very greatful I got to see this sleek and rare creature. Especially a few hours into the morning.
My guess, based on Occam’s razor, is that it’s a Fisher cat. They are dark, almost black. Although they are a member of the weasel (mustelid) family, they are the size you mentioned, twice the size of a house cat (or even a bit larger). They have a long, and bushy tail. They are common in New Hampshire. They have gotten the “cat” moniker attached to their name because they have a cat-like appearance and move like a cat in the woods. They also climb trees readily. Here’s a link to a picture – http://www.damnedct.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/FisherCat.jpg .
Really good shot of the fisher, and I am happy to see it because it does not look even remotely like the large black cat I saw. Hope you get Mark’s photo and can post it.
If ever there was a good shot of a fisher, that’s it!
PSBMRG, I was replying to Adam’s sighting, with regards to the fisher cat.
As far as what you saw, I can say that a large, black wild cat here in New Hampshire is not easily explained. There are no naturally occurring black wild cats in North America, never mind New Hampshire. Two possibilities come to mind for a large black wild cat. One is a melanistic variant of a wild cat. This is similar to an albino animal, meaning an animal that would normally be brown (or whatever is its natural color) that instead of being white in color has a genetic mutation which causes it to be black. This is a very rare condition, but not unheard of. It still leaves open the question of species, is this a melanistic bobcat, or (even more unlikely) a melanistic cougar. These are exceedingly rare, even in ecosystems where cougars are common.
The other possibility is a released (illegally kept) pet leopard, which of course would not be a native wild cat. Still very unlikely.
So, it is hard to guess what you may have seen. More evidence is needed. JR
I have collected approximately 200 sightings of black cats in New Hampshire (many more than 200 counting those in VT, CT, etc.). There is no actual proof of their existence here, and some are charcoal grey or dark brown/black.
Some people swear they are the shape and size of cougars, even describing the small head compared to the size of the body. Some swear they look like leopards with sleek blue black fur and curved tails. Some say they are huge (up to 250 pounds) and have black spots on their coats. These sound like jaguars. One person saw a miniature grey cat that looked like a small cougar, but small cougars have spots. Could it be a jaguarondi, also not supposed to be here?
Bobcats are known for being melanistic in some places and melanistic bobcats could be here as well, but most say the black cats are much larger than a bobcat, though some have pointed, tufted ears like a bobcat. Could there be hybrids?
I saw black cats on two occasions myself that were the size of coyotes and they were an unknown species that looked like a black cheetah with long legs, thin body, a full head of hair (mane?) and three inch long hair from the knees down. The cat’s tail curved up and back 180 degrees at the end and was the same length as the body or a bit longer. There is also a similar cat with a bushy tail and one with long fur all over it. The furry cat is four feet long, not including the tail.
These all had rounded heads of hair, but there are those that don’t. They have protruding foreheads, flat, pushed in ugly faces, with broad noses and the pointed, tufted ears of a bobcat or lynx. They usually have long legs and thin bodies with curved tails. Are they females to the maned cats?
What is out there? I don’t know, but I am researching black cats so am interested in any and all information and sightings. I have data back to the 1930s. These strange long-legged, thin black cats have been seen from NH to AL and from NC to CA, so I think they are very shy and mostly nocturnal. My email is lmccracken2002@yahoo.com .
MAY 29TH 3 SIGHTINGS OF N.H. LION’S. 2 WERE ADULTS AND 1 WAS A PAIR OF CUBS IN MY FIELD. HAPPENED IN FARMINGTON N.H. WE HAVE 5 TRAIL CAMERAS OUT. NO LUCK YET. DO HAVE THE SAME BOBCAT WE GET EVERY YEAR
RDMACTRK@METROCAST.NET
I hope you are able to get pictures. Thanks for posting. JR
My brother used to own Quality Bakery in Franconia and he has told me of a few sightings in the area. That was a few years ago when he owned the bakery.
We just watched a mountain lion walk through the yard. Very large & muscular. 9:38PM on Sunday, 5/26/13 on Wells Rd in Franconia.
No more letting the dog run around at night.
Wow.
Anyone else seen one in this area? I had no idea they were around here.
About 10 years ago I was driving north on I 93 about 2 miles north of the twin Mt. Rt 3 exit when 2 large cubs ran across the highway in front of my truck. Naturally I stopped in the middle of the road to get a better look. When I stopped their very large and muscular mother jumped down from the embankment to my left and rather casually strolled over to her two cubs. She was no more than 40 feet from my bumper. Long muscular body with a long tail tipped in black. I would assume that the juveniles were around 80 lbs each and mom appeared to be about 125 lbs. Undoubtedly these cats were mountain lions. I never reported the incident because I assumed that fish and game would give me the status quo answer followed by……. No followup . From what I have read on this blog I think I was correct.
I do believe that I have a mountain lion raiding my chicken coop. Last Wednesday at 3:30 p. m., I was sitting at the kitchen counter studying for an exam I was having that night and I heard distressed clucking from one of my chickens. I got up to look out our large bay window to see what the commotion was and there stood a very large cat with a long tail. It was very beautiful, it was much, much larger than a bobcat . . . it was larger than a big dog. It was beige/grey in color with darker (maybe black) fur at the edges of its ears, around its nose, and toward the tip of its tail. If I could have grabbed my camera and taken a photo I would have, but since I had just lost my two favorite chickens in five days, I ran screaming at the top of my lungs out the front door. It was looking straight at me, turned around and quietly hopped over the stone wall and went into the woods . . . this time fortunately it did not snag a chicken, but it did get two over the past five days during the morning . . . sometime between 9 a.m. and noon.
Can you tell us where this was? Thanks, JR
Keep up the sarcasm. It’s very funny I know (a little bit) a woman who used to live on Bear Hill Road. I will ask her about mountain lion sightings the next time I see her.
Just trying to inject a bit of humor on the idea that these sightings are all ‘escaped pets’. My god who has the money to feed a lion? It costs $89 every three weeks to feed my cat the special UTI prevention diet he needs… I can’t imagine what it would cost to feed a mountain lion!
This is an old sighting of which I’ve told very few people fearing ridicule. In 2002 mid day on Bear Hill Rd. in Henniker New Hampshire. I stopped on the side of the road to let the dog out n walk around a bit. Some how intuition told me to hold off on letting my dog out of the car with out first servailing the area given how far into the woods we were. Myself and my boyfriend at the time both got out of the car. As soon as we looked up onto the very small hill we had planned to walk up we saw a huge cat type animal standing still half way up the hill. It was bigger than a large dog. It could have easilly been the size of a lion. It looked upon us as we stood there frozen and just ever so delicatly walked away into the forest. Of course as soon as it was out of sight we jumpped back into our car and talked about it non stop as we drove back toward home. Thanking God that I had decided not to let my dog out of the car, as he was a young medium build dog, he would not have stood a chance against the creature. We unfortunatly had to rely on memory to describe the “huge cat” for lack of a better description. I still to this day have not been able to positivly identify the animal. It sort of looked like a mountain lion may have breed with a bob cat. I don’t know if that is even possible but the best way I can describe it’s appearence. Many times I have driven back to that same spot hoping to get a glimce of the animal once again and perhaps a photo. I have yet to ever see it again over the last eleven years. I’ve had a six month old black kitten disapper about one and a half years ago. And another just a week ago. About six months ago we were woken at three am by a horrifying scream just bellow our bedroom window. When we talked to our neighbors about it they reported to us that they had both seen a very large cat like animal just a couple weeks prior in our back yard late at night. I live about about a mile from the sighting area. Where I live is actually a pretty wooded area although it is close to the center of our town. The town is usually quiet at night.
I have heard that same scream under my bedroom window as well. I think a lot of people in NH must have these lions as illegal exotic pets and then release them… /sarcasm
Last night at around 10pm a large yellow cat with a long tail ran across our driveway in front of our son’s car. It was larger than our dogs, so outside of a mountain lion, I’m not sure what it could be. We are in Grantham, NH.
You know there are FAR too many of you who have seen cats that you KNOW are not Bobcats, two of my friends saw them recently in their town as well. And you have to figure that about only 1% of those who see these animals are coming here to post, imagine what a huge population of lions we must have in NH? Those wild screams recorded in the WM are NOT anything F and G know. I would say it’s time to admit that the ‘cougar’ is here to stay.
Gadsden Gurl, I love your enthusiasm. But (sorry if you guys are getting tired of me saying it) we need hard evidence. Reports of sightings, and/or screams are welcome here, but as evidence they are weak. Photos are better. Tracks (clear photos of tracks with something for scale) are better. Scat is much better (if it is tested for DNA). Video (clear video that can be verified for location) is much better. A carcass is best (ala Connecticut). Until we have this kind of evidence, we aren’t ready to “admit the cougar is here to stay”. At least that’s what I think. 🙂
You know I recently had a very smart person insist to me that we don’t have possums up this way. I immediately sent him a photo of one ambling across my back yard in the snow. They are dead all over the roads, and I’d guess they’ve been around NH for the last 50 years at least — that’s how long I’ve been seeing them. And yet, there are still people who will deny they exist.
Ah yes, there are different kinds of doubters. The fact that some people doubt the existence of animals (opossums) in New Hampshire for which there is abundant proof (including lots of roadkill) does not mean that those who doubt cougars in New Hampshire (for which there is little to no proof) are equally wrong. We have to stick to scientific methods. Even those of us who feel pretty strongly that there are mountain lions returning to New Hampshire have to maintain a scientific skepticism until said existence is proven.
By the way, I would not consider a person who insists that there are no opossums in New Hampshire to be very smart. At least, they are not very smart when it comes to wildlife…
There are no large black cats native to North America. Which leaves me to consider two possibilities for the reports of black cat sightings. One is that people are making mistakes about the size or color of black cats they are seeing. Or two, these are reports of escaped or released pet panthers. We know that the “released pet” hypothesis is plausible, the cougar scat from the Quabbin showed DNA of a South American strain of cougars, very likely to be of a released pet.
Well the person who doubted the possums is a very brilliant ex-CIA engineer.. LOL That said, is it legal to have a pet cougar? How many people let them go? Seems like that is always used as the answer. I didn’t know that many people kept wild lions in their homes.
It’s hard to say how many big cats are kept as pets, but I think we’d be surprised. if you do a quick Google of “big cats as pets” there are many results from newspapers across the US. Here’s one, with some estimates (hard to verify) of 10,000 – 20,000 (all kinds of cats, not just cougars) http://articles.latimes.com/2005/mar/06/news/adna-tigers6 . There’s also a very interesting background story in the About Us section at the website of Big Cat Rescue, of the widespread underground trade in importing, breeding and selling exotic big cats. I have no first-hand experience of big cats being kept as pets, but my sister lived next to a guy who had a half dozen timber wolves in a pen in his backyard in Maine. Made her a little nervous when her kids went out to play. Cougar kittens are cute, and the idea of “owning” a cougar is compelling to many. I can believe that quite a few people buy into the idea of raising one of their own…
I live in Grantham too and saw a mountain lion on two occasions in my yard but about 12 years ago. We live near the Reney forest. Where did you see it?
Years ago 15 or so I saw some mountain lion tracks while out hunting in that area. In Bristol,NH. Off west shore rd. that would be the south west side of New Found Lake. Witch isn’t that far from Ragged Mt.
That is very close! My boyfriend grew up around there, about 20 years ago he used to see big cats out near Highland Lake all the time. But, the one he really remembers was fully black.
We are planning on going back out this weekend for another hike. Its going to be after this rain we are getting so the tracks should be nice and fresh. I hope to get better pictures/video this time and ‘from a distance’ pictures of what I believe are dens. There was scratch/dig marks along the trail as well, like something was kicking dirt. Also, the print does show a leading toe. I hope to get some better pics this weekend, as I was being rushed the last time. Had that creepy “you know your being watched” feeling the whole time, before we saw this large print.
Ill post what I find!
I saw the best and clearest track ever at the foot of Mt. Kearsarge in the mud of a gravel pit near the Blackwater River off of Rts. 4 & 11 in Andover. I didn’t have a camera unfortunately, but it was in 2002. Two black cats were seen crossing Rts. 4 & 11 in Andover in 2000 & 2004. Cougars were seen 3 times in Andover in 2004, once in 2006 on Mt. Kearsarge, once each in 2010 & 2011 and once in Wilmot in 2013 with a den with kittens in the foothills of Mt. Kearsarge in 2002 with other nearby sightings of mountain lions in 2003 & 2004, Mt. Kearsarge across the road from Ragged Mtn. and Highland Lake. I would love to hike with you this week-end… lmccracken2002@yahoo.com and would also love to hear of other black cat sightings anywhere.
So I ask the doubters, what is the explanation for the fully black cats people see? They can’t all be house cats. Mine is black, weighs 20 lbs, but in no way could he ever be mistaken for a big cat like a cougar. Bobcats don’t come in black. 🙂
Just wish you’d bought that domain.. dang.
So many domains, and so few hours in the day. Maybe karma will carry the day….
I thought I’d comment on some of the issues raised this week. The discussion went beyond healthy debate into harangue, but parts of it were still worthwhile.
I started this blog because I think there’s a real possibility that mountain lions are re-establishing themselves in the northeast. And it’s a topic I find very interesting. I wanted to give people a chance to share their reports, and read what others are seeing.
I’ve got a degree in Environmental Science, and have been an outdoorsman all my life. I’ve taken tracking and wildlife identification classes with folks like Paul Rezendes. (and partly as a result of Rezendes) I’ve been following New England mountain lion sightings and stories for 30 years or more.
What I’ve learned over that time is that many people don’t know their animals too well. I was part of a team that follows up on sightings. I listened to one man explain with certainty that he watched a mountain lion walk through the snow in his backyard the night before. He showed us its tracks. Which were clearly dog or coyote. I’ve been sent pictures of “mountain lions” which were actually bobcats (one wearing the collar from the bobcat study here in the Monadnock region from two years ago). I’ve been sent links to photos of mountain lions caught on game cameras “in New Hampshire”. One was dragging a mule deer. One was surrounded by vegetation only found in the Rockies/west.
It’s clear to me that some people like to fake sightings. I don’t know why. And I have learned that some people mis-report sightings because they don’t know the difference between a bobcat (or a house cat or a coyote) and a mountain lion.
That said, there are many credible reports of mountain lion sightings here in New Hampshire. And there are confirmed reports (a half dozen over 20 years) of mountain lions in New England. What’s a “confirmed report”? That’s where there’s strong evidence. Such as DNA in a scat. Clear photos or videos. A carcass. I find the Cougar Network to be very credible, and scientific, in their analysis of reports. Here’s a link to confirmed reports from the Northeast – http://www.cougarnet.org/northeast.html.
On the issue of escaped or released pets: this is important because of what it tells us about the mountain lions that are out there. DNA testing can tell us what subspecies of mountain lion a sample comes from. There’s a widespread but little-publicized trade in exotic cats. Mountain lions (mostly captured in South America and imported illegally) are one of the popular exotic pets. Sometimes these pets escape or are released (feeding a 150 lb cougar can be a chore). If a DNA sample is taken in the wild from such a mountain lion, it will show that it’s from South America. Which means it is not a wild, naturally occurring lion. And likely not part of a breeding population. The confirmed DNA sample taken in the Quabbin back in the 1990s was of a South American mountain lion.
On the issue of state wildlife people hiding or covering up reports: this has not been my experience. In fact, quite the opposite. I have spoken and corresponded with NH wildlife folks, and they are cat enthusiasts. They’d love to have a wild population of mountain lions. Their job, however, is to be skeptical, and only confirm reports that provide clear and undeniable evidence. That’s not because they’re covering anything up, it’s because they’re doing proper science. Note that there was no cover-up of the CT cat, killed on the highway in 2011. Wildlife officials shared the reports of that wild cat’s travels from Iowa, through New York, and into CT.
One good question asked in the melee this week was why there aren’t more game camera photos. I wonder about that myself. Many of us now have game cameras, and yet there are few (or none) that I know of that confirm mountain lions.
So, keep posting. And sharing your opinions (respectfully). One of these days (and I think soon) we’re going to have CONFIRMED reports of mountain lions in New Hampshire. (and yes, I am John Ranta 🙂
John there are Mt. Lions in NH. There is no doubt in my mind. I am watching a family of Bobcats in Kingston,NH. I have a game trail cam set up I have yet to get a picture of one on it. And I know for a fact that they have walked right in front of it. I have shots of coons/ coyotes rabbits and so on from the cam but no Bobcats. It could be cause they move slow enough not to set it off. This could be true about Mountian Lions too. Also as far as getting the right information from official state reps. Funny thing about that. I do a ton of wildlife photography. I am in contact with wildlife biologists in Ma. About bald Eagles and some of the info I get from them I know is wrong. And I feed them alot of info. So for some reason or another they feed out bad info and I don’t know why. I do know for sure that over the years I have seen Mountian Lion tracks up at New Found Lake also in Maine. They were NOT Bobcat or Lynkx tracks they were Cougar tracks. At the time I was not into photography so I didn’t have a camera at the time. It took me 4 years just to get a good picture of the bobcats in Kingston. You really have to be ready to get a good shot of a animal especially one that is elusive as a cat. I don’t consider myself as a pro but I have shot all kinds of stuff( eagles/ owls/ bobcats/ lucistic hawks/ foxes/otters and so on) it’s really being in the right place at the right time. To get a good picture of a Mountian Lion in New Hampshire first you would have to be ready to get the shot and (the big one) know where they are.
Robbie, there’s opinion and there’s scientific proof. I hold the same opinion you do, I think there are mountain lions in New Hampshire. I can’t state that with certainty, because we do not have proof yet. That’s one of the reasons I started this blog. I am also a nature and wildlife photographer. I have exactly one bobcat photo for all of the 40 years I’ve spent hiking with a camera. I have no bear photos, even though I’ve seen bears many times. So I get it that your (or my) lack of a mountain lion photo does not mean they are not here. But I do wonder why, with so many game cameras out there and so many hikers with cameras (smart phones) at the ready, why we’re not seeing a few photos.
As for wildlife biologists, my experience of their reliability is different from yours. I was (remotely) involved with the bald eagle restoration project in Massachusetts, and spent a couple of days hiking and observing bald eagles in the Quabbin with a couple of the people working on that project (by the way, one of them told me back in the mid-1990s that he saw a mountain lion in the Quabbin). I also have met, and/or corresponded with the biologists who run the bobcat census project here in New Hampshire. They are very knowledgeable, and passionate about wild cats. People here often complain that “wildlife biologists are involved in a cover-up”. I doubt that very much.
We need hard evidence. I think it will show up, I’m looking forward to seeing it.
Folks, the big majority of credible experts agree that cougars are on the move east, and increasing. They are re-occupying their old ground. As to how many are here? Well its pretty clear some are. How much of a breeding population? Probably not many, although a few females with cubs have been seen (and confirmed in Craftsbury VT). A big percentage of reports are misidentifications, since most people have never seen a cougar or bobcat. Now we get “why arent there pictures or tracks?”. Well, fisher cats for example are relatively common, we know they are here. How many pictures are out there based on the large population? Cougars dont sit around posing. People out west spend months where they know they are trying to get trail cam photos of them. There are very few. The group in Michigan spent months before they finally got a photo. There are clear signs that the population is moving east and increasing. Here in MA, we had no moose or bears back in the 1960’s. One day we sighted a moose, and attempted to report it to the wildlife folks. They responded, “there are no moose in MA, you are seeing someone’s horse that got out, or an unusually colored deer”. Same when the bears arrived. Now credible reliable people are seeing cougars, and are getting the same runaround. We have here in Western MA a number of print castings, including one verified one taken by Virginia Fifield back some years, scat with DNA confirmed. and sightings by people that just are not disputable, sorry to those that may think otherwise. They are here, we know they are here, but not in any numbers for sure, yet……… Calling them all escaped pets is just as unscientific as calling them “probable bobcats”. Keep putting your reports here.
Enough! Can we please stop the bickering and get back to mountain lions sightings?
I told John he should have bought that domain.. too late now. Also it doesn’t point to a NH site, but a Ct one?
I am not John Ranta. Your accusation is unprofessional to both Ranta and I and uncalled for.
Hello, this is John Ranta. I don’t hide my identity. The other “John” who has been debating here is not me. So stop castng aspersions on me.
Now, this is my site. I created it so that people in New Hampshire could share news of mountain lion sightings. You two guys have made it rather a mess the past few days. You should both apologize, and stop your bickering. Or I will block you.
As for starting another site, that’s a sure way to confuse people and lose a central repository for information. It also seems rather territorial, which I don’t get. I’m not making a penny off of this, it’s a volunteer effort, maintained in my spare time.
Sheesh. JR
Thousands of trail cams:: I have a trail cam set up in Kingston I have not got a picture of a bobcat on it. I know where they are I have had them walk right in front of the camera and no luck with it.. Last year I was able to get pictures of one there finally after 5 years of seeing them( with my nikon) so trail cams are not as great as you think.
You are correct Robbie, and the bobcat population far outnumbers cougars. They are notoriously hard to photograph, even where common.
NH has little difficulty photographing bobcats.
http://mlitvaitis.unh.edu/Research/BobcatWeb/gallery.htm
John, we know that, we are talking about cougars being hard to photograph.
Mt lion Presentation by Bill Betty
April 2nd 2013 7-8:30 PM
NH Forest Society NH Baldwin Education center
309 Center road Hillsborough, NH
603-224-9945
Randy Osga
I was surprised to see Bill Betty reporting a confirmed mountain lion sighting in Manchester NH. The video posted with the media report is a bobcat.
http://ulocal.wmur.com/_Manchester-NH-Bobcat/video/1726093/63455.html
That’s disappointing. It makes me wonder about the reliability of that speaker. WMUR did a lousy (or dishonest) job of editing the “cat in Manchester” video which made it look like it might be a mountain lion. One could accuse them of intentionally misleading the public to generate higher ratings. The full video was on youtube, and several of us checked it out after the “mountain lion” report. In that full video the cat was clearly a bobcat, there’s no doubt. WMUR edited out the footage that showed the short tail and clear profile of a bobcat, and only showed a short clip that neophytes might interpret as a mountain lion. Was the rest of Betty’s talk credible? JR
Are you sure its the same sighting? There have been others in Mancester over the years if I recall. Bill was great out here in Massachusetts.
Yes, I believe that is the report he was referencing. If that is not the report he is referencing, I would appreciate to see the evidence to “confirm” the report. I found the talk to lack facts. Credible is difficult to say with out report evidence to back up claims. I question why so many photographs displayed of actual mountain lions were from western states. With the number of NH sighting reports stated during the talk, I question why no NH photographs were presented and why no evidence was presented to confirm reports.
Out of his entire talk, you say he presented no evidence? Did you see any of the incidents in Rhode Island? Those were originally labelled “bobcat” by the fish and wildlife there, then after they were properly investigated, other authorities had they revisit, resulting in a reversal of the finding, which is now confirmed as cougar. There is a lot of evidence around, I’d be surprised if he didnt present any.
What does Rhode Island have to do with NH? And where is the Rhode Island report/evidence located?
No evidence was presented. Plenty of numbers of claimed reports but no evidence to confirm sightings.
You can email me offline about that. Bill usually presents it. Which wildlife agency do you work for?
I prefer public discussion. I am a environmental consultant and self employed.
That Manchester sighting was definitely a bobcat. Mountain lions are not fuzzy or spotted. It may have even been a large housecat… but the sightings my friends have had in Bedford are not bobcats, as they are large TAWNY animals with long tails and are first mistaken for deer they stand so much higher than a bobcat. It’s time NH wildlife officials recognized the fact that those weird screams at night in the white mountains can only be coming from a cat.
I agree that cat in the video is a bobcat, you can even find the white spots on the back of the ears in part of it. That doesnt make every other report in the Northeast lumpable into some suspect pile. I posted the news articles on the Rhode Island debacle. The report on the incident has a lot of other tidbits that clearly show the fish and game had an agenda. They claimed it was a bobcat, and that the deer was “hit by a car”. That entire scenario fell apart upon minimal investigation. The 100 plus pound deer was actually killed in a garden, and dragged into the woods with its shoulders off the ground. It was then covered cougar style, and the stomach opened with a surgical cut. The bite marks on the neck were measured by the SECOND investigator, and the diameter recorded. The middle two teeth marks alone were over 2 inches apart. The bite holes were larger than a pencil. Tracks were found at the site where the cache was placed. Scat was found, but is has since been “lost”. This is no fairy tale, there is an official report on it with pictures. Several consultants from out of state examined the report and pictures and unanimously said it was without question a cougar attack. Six witnesses SAW the large cat and described it. So John, you have the URL to the story, go get the pictures and report. There was also an other one that was confirmed in that area. Here in MA, we have tracks, undisputable witnesses, DNA from SCAT, caches found, etc. If you think they are not around, thats fine, but you are only fooling yourself. At the meeting in Huntington, MA, 84 people attended. Only ONE had not seen or knew someone that had seen one, and did not believe they were around. Its a well known fact they are around the western hills of MA, have been for decades. Nothing new here. As for New Hampshire, Ill let the locals chime in.
I found the report from the Rhode Island incident reportedly written by a Game Warden. There are many puncture wounds photographed but none have hemorrhaging associated with killing wounds. None of the wounds appear to be dislocating the neck. There is no blood on the fur as well. This indicates the deer died and was moved after death. Scat was photographed and clearly deposited on the ground, not buried like cats do. The photographed track is difficult to identify given that it appears as one track is overlaying the other. The report says bobcats do not kill deer of that size. Bobcats kill deer of all sizes, a 100 pound deer isn’t a problem for a bobcat. Bobcats will scavenge deer as well. The report states a large animal moved the deer carcass because of what appears to be tracks next to the drag mark. The “tracks” look very much like marks made by hooves while a deceased deer is dragged. The witness claim the cat took up most of a lane on one side of the road. That description would indicate an animal much bigger than a mountain lion. Oddly, the game warden questions the departments judgement of how the deer died. None of the report reads as a cover up.
84 reports, thousands of hours of deer hunter trail cameras but no pictures? Massachusetts needs to bring back trapping with footholds. A trapper is bound to trap one should mt lions occupy the landscape at the density indicated.
John, you are reading the newspaper article. The report is much more in depth, and was done by the environmental police there. The evidence is very clear, and it was concluded by numerous experts that it was a cougar attack, based on the kill in the garden, the method the cat used to drag it, (witnessed), the size and methodology of the kill was clear. There are photos of the bite with pencils stuck in the tooth holes. If you find a bobcat that can drag a 100 lb deer over 1000 ft, with its head and shoulders off the ground, you have a world record bobcat my friend. Its physically impossible. The evidence is there, and the experts that verified it are in the report. They are people you cannot deny, sorry. Do your research and go get the entire report, with the photos, look at it, then come back and tell me the best experts in the US that reviewed this are wrong, and you are right. Then there were the tracks….. After you study that one, there is another down there not far from that one. Sorry John, the coverup period is coming to and end here in New England. Im not sure if this was a real coverup, or simply bowing to a slanted viewpoint like you appear to be doing. By they way, now that they admit it was a cougar, you want to guess what the next explanation is? Sorry John R, Im done ranting on this, its a closed case already.
Just to clear up a couple inaccurate points in your response John, Male cougars OFTEN leave scat uncovered when trying to attract females. Also, the photo’s of the incident show blood on the fur. John, this is a closed case investigated by experts. You look silly trying to dispute them. If you have the actual final report, look at the names of the people that reviewed. this and tell me they all are wrong.
I read the environmental police report and viewed the pictures in that report.
For those on here that may not want to dig, this is what two experts said about the RI cat:
Mark McCollough, the lead cougar biologist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in New England, was one of the experts who reviewed DiPietro’s four-page narrative report and 35 photographs at the request of The Providence Journal. He says the 2-inch-wide puncture wounds in the deer’s neck that DiPietro uncovered were in size and location a classic cougar bite — and too big for a bobcat. Further, McCollough found one of DiPietro’s photographs equally telling. It showed how the deer’s abdomen fur had been nibbled short in that semicircle shape. Cougars “sort of clean the area and clip it with their teeth” before ripping open the animal, he said. “That is
quite different from bears” or any other predators.
Chuck Anderson, with the mammal research section of Colorado’s Parks and Wildlife Department, said: “After reviewing the report, I am convinced it is a cougar kill.” Anderson – who studies Colorado’s cougar population, estimated at about 3,000 animals, many living in the suburbs – said, “The caching, tooth punctures, carcass entry, tracks” are all “typical of cougar predation behavior.”
I named the names, So John, these guys are both wrong??
Also for the folks here, The enviro officers report also mentions finding a small pool of blood in the yard the deer was dragged through, showing the kill was either done by the cat, or it was taken shortly after. There were no broken legs or evidence of an injury from a car. Nobody reported hitting the deer. So where did the hit by a car story come from?? The drag marks and fur originated in a garden in a backyard nowhere near the road.
Since it appears now to be in the public view, this is the article Im quoting for the experts assessment:
Click to access RIpublished%20cougar%20story12-16-12.pdf
Its an article from the Providence Journal, based on interviews and the report by the Enviro Police in RI. Judge for yourselves whether saying this is a “road kill” dragged by a “bobcat” is accurate.
The Officer’s report has a higher number of facts than the third party rendition above. I have not had the time to measure the wound widths pictured but will do. Notice there is no bruising or blood clotting at the would sites. Despite the warden stating coyotes kill deer by the hind end, that is not true.
Coyote kills deer (see for yourself):
Rhode Island incident report (Officers report):
Click to access Mt%20Lion%20Matunuck%20ReportApril%202011.pdf
http://narragansett.patch.com/articles/matunuck-cat-sighting-not-a-mountain-lion-witnesses-disagree
John, this has been reviewed by some of the best cougar experts, their evaluations posted. You say they are wrong?? You are demonstrating the exact problem facing this issue, namely, no matter what is put in front of you, it didnt happen. John, it was a cougar attack. It was a poor investigation/coverup attempt that didnt work. How many others are there? Well guess what? More than you know 🙂
John, the DEM people have already admitted they were wrong since that was posted. I notice my post of the followup article was deleted…. so here it is:
http://narragansett.patch.com/articles/matunuck-cat-sighting-reviewed-dem-changes-original-position
They gave in after the investigation, and the providence journal’s sumitting the incident to the experts.
I think the people that read this board are smart enough to see the light on this one.
Claiming a cover up implies one’s theory lacks evidence.
So John, you wont respond, you disagree with the two well regarded experts that this was a cougar? Even though the RI officials REVERSED their finding?
Its actually 3 experts that have reviewed this also, all 3 said it was a cougar.
Do I disagree with the professionals findings? That is difficult to answer. The EPO’s report has some interesting information but also brings questions.
The photographed track does not match very well to known mountain lion tracks. The entire basis of mt lion identification resides on caching, witness testimony, and bite marks.
Chuck Anderson is a board member for the Cougar Network. Why doesn’t Cougar Network list this “confirmation”?
http://www.cougarnet.org/northeast.html
John clearly you have an agenda. One Im not interested in persuing. Let people read that report and the conclusions. As to why they dont list it? There are numerous ones confirmed in the past that arent listed. The facts speak for themselves. Didnt you start this on another blog in the past?
Also John, you might ask why, when a scat sample was requested, and DNA results requested, the answer was “We lost it”. Thats a lotta scat LOL. But you seem to be better than the 3 experts that confirmed it, so who am i to question you.
Do you agree with Mark Mcollough’s 2011 Eastern Mountain Lion media release?
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/ECougar/newsreleasefinal.html
Its hard to believe what clearly isnt true. Keep in mind that the RI sighting, AND the CT road kill happened AFTER that was issued. At least Mark honestly reviewed RI, even after that release.
My son saw one in our back yard yesterday after school…got so scared picked up a bat and ran down the street. My neighbor down the street had one in her back yard last week…both of these were in Newton, NH.
are you sure it was a lion? there are a ton of Bobcats around, 4 bobcats in the area of swings n things on rt125
John – no problem.. I wanted to help you get your blog more bling. 🙂 I’m a web designer. Your blog does show up second in Google when I search on “NH Mountain Lions” but you can also ADD it to Google via their add a site. The other thing I would recommend I don’t want to say here…. I’d rather send you a private message about it.
My last comment still has not been approved from last November! What gives? Anyway, there seems to be a LOT of sightings in and around the Sanbornton area. It’s perfect terrain for these cats.
Geez, I’m sorry, I must have missed it. Sometimes it takes me a day or two to approve a post, but never (well almost never) 3 months. I’ll try to find it and approve it. JR
Turns out I had somehow missed a half-dozen posts, yours included. I’m caught up now…
Hello, back in 2000-2001 I was leaving my home in Sanbornton NH. I lived on Hale Road (a dirt road) there is a straetch of thick woods on both sides of the road and I saw a very black Panther run across the road. This was no small animal. It’s length was the road width from nose to the end of it’s thick long black tail. I don’t care what anyone says, this was a black panther and could have easily taken down a moose or a deer. I never went into those woods after that… They exist and they are in our backyards…
I am particularly interested in black cats. Please contact me at lmccracken2002@yahoo.com . I have specific questions. Thanks!
Hiking in Erving, MA this moring on the M&M Trail. Coming down off of Craig Mountain saw some large tracks in the snow. Took couple snaps of it. My friends seem to think Mountain Lion or Cougar. We have had reported sightings of them in the area and I saw somwthing one morning crossing RTE 2. It was of the cat family and good size
Can you post the photos? Tracks in snow are notoriously hard to identify. It helps if you have a very clear picture, with some contrast, and an object (like a ruler or glove) in the photo to establish scale. Thanks! JR
The way the snow is right now in the berkshire, animal tracks arent bad. It wont be that way for long though. If they are in deeper snow they tend to fill in.
Hi Joe, Im in West Springfield and working with a cougar research group.
Can you email me the pictures? We have had some reports not far from
that area and found some tracks in Huntington this last weekend.
Ray
Hi Joe, I am associated with 2 cougar research groups in Ct. & Rhode Island.
I would appreciate if you could send me the photos. My e-mail is rosga@cox.net Our websites are http://www.ctmountainlion.org & http://www.rimtlion.wordpress.com
Sincerely,
Randy Osga
401-952-7435
Randy, I’ll add your links to this blog’s link section. JR
Can an admin get me the email of this? or email me the prints?
Thanks, Ray
I’m the admin (john.f.ranta@gmail.com). No one emailed or posted those pics, I don’t have them. I’m always happy to post any pics here that people send in. JR
Ok, thanks John. We are running down some other reports in that area.
Ray
Route 4A between Andover and Springfield NH night time large cat 100 plus lbs creame in color,Long tail
On May 4th, 2013 we took a hike east of Ragged Mountain on the Andover NH side. We came across these tracks – haven’t 100% identified them, but there were large dig marks in the ground right off the trail near them, plus dark grayish scat with fur in it. We also found an den like area above the waterfall. Here are two pics of the large tracks we found.
Pictures – http://s5.photobucket.com/user/fallinwhisper/library/Paw%20Prints
Interesting tracks. Hard to make out details, but…I don’t see any toenail marks, and the tracks are quite large (could be distorted by slipping in the mud). Thanks for posting! JR
2/12/2012..eixit10 at the edge of our parking lot..a clear sighting at 8:00 am as the cat moved along a chain link fence in deep snow attempting to reenter the woods..
Exit 10 of what highway or in what town?
Ok…Two years ago, I saw an animal twice. Once the animal approached a small dog on our property and ran like a bolt of lightning when it saw my wife and I ten feet behind the dog. It ran really fast, long tail, right size, right color. The second time was just after dusk. It was hugging the side of the house across the street when it looked up and I saw the green eye shine. I later learned that cats have green eye shine. This happened in Peterborough NH, Rte 202 area.
Anyone would please tell me where in NH has mountain loins?
If you read through the older comments on this blog you will see many reports, including locations (none confirmed as mountain lions). JR
I have collected over 1300 sighting reports (and tracks) in NH. They are in every county of NH, but mainly the SW and N (Coos County). They are usually seen crossing roads, so luck is big in seeing them, but they have also been seen one or more times within every city’s boundary including Concord, Manchester, Portsmouth, Nashua and Keene. These city sightings are very rare and usually in are located in backyards that also attract deer.
Yes, the wildlife zoo(?) in Holderness, near Plymouth has some. Squam Lakes Natural Science Ctr.
Sorry Jeff, if you are trying to claim all the people seeing these are not seeing these, that has already been proven wrong and more than once.
who wants to find one with me in NH? Ferry8423@gmail.com
Thats what I’ve been doing for the last servral years Ferry8423.
Long hours,walks&talks,good info etc.etc.
was in the whites last summer. i dont do trails so i was off the beaten path and was 10 feet from a very large blackish cat had my 1911 and ill olny say more if asked ferry8423@gmail.com also have gps grids
I saw this beautiful animal late last summer, and while it looked like a mountain lion, I didn’t believe there were any in New Hampshire, so I had no idea what I had seen. It crossed in front of me on Rt. 202 in Hancock, just north of the Forest Road intersection. Cat-shaped head, long tail, solid buff-color. Cleared the guard rails with an ease that looked almost like slow motion. Traveling east to west across the road. It was fairly early in the morning, and I woke up very quickly.
I was driving through Milford, NH last night around 10:30 pm (just about to turn off 101, near the DMV). A large animal crossed the road in front of me. I wasn’t able to get a good look at it, but it had a noticeably long tail–longer than its body. It moved very quickly. The shape of the body was cat-like. I couldn’t think of anything it could be other than a mountain lion.
Huge tracks in snow around our house and barn in Greenfield, NH. Size, shape, and walking pattern suggested mountain lion.
About TWO YEARS AGO I SAW A MOUNTAIN LION ON MY ROAD NOTTINGHAMM 2 ft tail maybe a little longer,size of a shepherd hair like a mastiff and color. This cat ran with its 2back legs at even strides, together, not like a gallop it was in front if my car about 15 ft then turned 90° very sharply and bound into the woods from the center of road in 2 leaps.
Any chance this was around Freeman Hall Rd? That’s where I saw one a few years ago.
Last night (1/14/13) around 11:20 pm heading north on the spaulding shortly after exit 9. I would say 1/2 way between exit 9 and the Rochester toll booth it crossed over the median into the south bound lane into the woods. It was bigger than our labs so I am guessing it was over 100 lbs. Big! Light in color.
Hi. Large cat with large tail was seen crossing turnpike near lyndeboro, nh. The tail was noted as distinctly long. Around 4:00 am last Sunday morning (1/13/13).
I have noted in the past that deer are rarely seen there.
Just saw a large black cat in woods behind house in Londonderry around 3:45 this afternoon. It kinda looked like jaguar and was good sized, around 50 lbs I am guessing. It was walking in a southerly direction on the edge of the the woods, this large wooded area is directly behind the schools in the center of town.
Cyndy
Did the black cat have dark spots? Did it have long, skinny legs or short thick legs?
The cat had long legs and a lean muscular build. It’s coloring was quite dark, especially against the snow. I did not notice spots, but I saw it from a distance of about 100 ft. It was definitely not a bobcat or fisher cat. Looking at online images of cats, the catamount images look closest to the large cat I saw. Deer can be spotted from time to time in the wooded area behind our house where I saw the cat. I guessed the cat may have been around 50 lbs., a conservative guess.
The tail was long and low, but I can’t say how long I was mostly focused on its muscular upper body and cat-like head as it cruised the edge of the woods, I had come upon the cat as I pulled into my driveway and I watched from my car as it continued walking out of sight into the woods. This was a particularly cold day, with the temps dipping into the single digits.
A few days after I saw the cat, a neighbor told me of “screams” that had awoken three family members a few nights earlier. Her husband did not think it was a fisher cat and wondered if it could be. I don’t know if these screams could be at all related to the cat sighting?
[…] About Rhode Island Mountain Lion […]
may have saw a mtn lion last night when i was driving home from work an came across what i first thought was a bobcat crossing the road but as i got closer the animal was at least 3.5 feet tall had a long body an lengthy tail with a black tip of fur an i stopped to watch it an the thing took off faster than any animal i have have ever seen an I am a experienced hunter. took place off of ossippee lake rd in freedom nh
I cannot be sure at all of what I saw tonight, but fairly sure it was a LARGE cat, perhaps a mountain lion. We were driving on Route 171 in Tuftonboro, NH, a couple miles from Sodom Road (headed towards Tuftonboro 4 corners). It was about 7:30 pm and I saw something large and long and low to the ground entering the woods. Definitely not a deer or moose which are very common near us! I slowed the car and looked, but it was too dark and wooded to see anything. I am very curious as to what it could be!
I did not see how long the tail was as it was dark and there were no street lights or anything.
I have never seen a mountain lion, but last weekend I came across a fairly recently killed coyote. Its neck was clearly ripped apart and a hind leg had a smaller bite wound. No bullet wounds. I took some pictures and sent them off to NH Fish and Game because I could not figure out what happened – bears aren’t around now and the only other predator is a mountain lion…right? I live in Newfields, NH and just read the last mountain lion was killed in Lee (about 5 miles from here) back in the late 1800’s. I’ll let you know if I hear back – not holding my breath!
bc
If we go by the dictates of Occam’s Razor, the likeliest killer of your coyote is a pack of dogs. Canids (dogs, wolves and coyotes) kill in this fashion – they are particularly likely to bite the hind leg of an animal they are pursuing, and then go for thenthroat when an animal is down (a cougar or bobcat typically goes for the back of the neck, and you would also see claw marks). And the fact that this coyote was not eaten also points to a pack of domesticated dogs, who are well-fed and usually not killing for a meal. There’s no easy way to be sure, but a pack of dogs would be my guess. JR
Small world!! Please email me at betsycoes@comcast.net and I can give you more details.
NH F&G hasn’t 100% denied mountain lion/cougar not in NH,they are saying no proof “breeding pair”..to me at thats gray area.
Just think what NH F&G would face if they were to say yes also the cost to protect mountain lion/cougar as well as peoples interest.
Example..hikers etc. that visit White Mountain Park from spring to autumn,many parking lots are full plus any given weekend,one cat decides to raise little heck and certain few demand something to be done since they are paying fee..yikes,again if NH says there are no mountain lions/cougars they are somewhat off the hook…this work well for the western states until hard..hard facts were on the table…human live stock maulings killings.
Bob,
You are not crazy. I’ve collected over 1100 sightings trying to prove that cougars are here in NH. 20% of these sightings have been black. I’ve assumed they were melanistic cougars, black jaguars or jaguarundis out of their territory or escaped leopards.
However, then I saw a black cat on two different occasions that is an unknown species. It looks like a black cheetah with a skinny body, long legs and a tail that curves up at the end, but it had a huge head of hair like a chow dog!
I now believe that it is an unknown species that may also be hybridizing with bobcats, lynx and cougars as it’s the approximate size of a coyote between the smaller and larger cats.
Now I ask very specific questions on black cat sightings and always get sometimes different, but overlapping descriptions (hence the hybrid theory). Some cats look like leopards, jaguars & jaguarundis, but many are long-legged, skinny cats with turned up tails, with or without a round head of hair (male and female like an African lion?). Some have tufted ears, some rounded. Some have short fat legs like a cougar. Some look like long-legged bobcats with a longer tail. It’s all bizarre.
Please E-mail me at lmccracken2002@yahoo.com to give me further information on your sighting or if someone else has seen a black cat. I’m very interested!
Lots of black cat sightings over the years. The “escaped pets” theory is 40 yrs old, irrevelant.
The “escaped pet” thing is an old line from wildlife people. They threw that at the mountain lion hit on the road in CT when it happened. It was disproved shortly thereafter.
A wildlife biologist gave a talk on mountain lions a short time ago here, and when cat species inbreed, you will get an occasional all black one in many species. That may explain the occasional ones that get reported all over the Northeast. Throwing “escaped pet” at one of these is unscientific and unproven, and doesnt even belong in the conversation unless there is evidence to that effect.
Bob Quick I live at the Bethlehem Exit off 93 in NH. Early spring I saw a big black cat on the side of the road. I thought I was crazy and that maybe it was a dog. So I turned the car around and rolled the window down. It was a big black cat about the size of my german shepherd dog. The cat was not afraid of me at all. ( I didn’t get out of the car) and let the cat cross into the Rocks Estate. To date I have not seen the cat and it has not bothered my chickens. Would love to know I’m not crazy.
Bob, there’s a lot of talk in the “big cats” world about how many people are keeping illegal exotic cats as pets. What you describe certainly fits that category. While there very well may be wild mountain lions in New Hampshire (although proof is uncertain) it’s certain that there are not wild leopards. My bet is that what you saw is someone’s pet. JR
Thank you John! If you want this to show up, please email me and I’ll tell you what you can do. Will cost you $10 but it’s worth it.
I have two comments waiting to be approved. Why are others after me approved and mine not? I want to find out more about the lions in this area to write about it.. waiting to hear from people here first.
My apologies. I really try to approve every comment within a day or so. Somehow I missed yours. I think they are all approved and posted now. Thanks for following up! JR
I live in NY and saw one one run across NH Rt 89 south somewhere about 40 minutes drive north of Concord on my last trip over to visit family. It ran perpendicular across the road in front of me and was huge and very very fast. I was shocked because it looked just like a female lion so I am sure it must’ve been a mountain lion. It was mid November.
I am sure you did see one. Several have been seen in Bedford NH this past month and in 2006 as well. The people are seasoned NHerites and not dummies and not hunters looking for fame either. They know what they saw.
THEIR ARE DEFINITLEY MOUNTAIN LIONS IN NH I SAW ONE IN SUMMER OF2012 ABOUT 5-10 MILES EAST OF PETERBOURGH OR IS THAT PETERSBOURGH…ALMOST HIT THE SUCKA WITH MY BIG TRUCK, BEAUTIFUL CREATURE
A friend thought she saw a mountain lion in her yard in Bedford NH just this morning.
Sunday 11/25/2012 I was traveling North on 93 just past the Bethlehem exit when I saw two young wild cats of some sort bounding across the road ahead. They were both golden in color and had long distinctively ringed tails. When I got home I searched my wildlife books trying to convince myself they were young bobcats. I know the tails were quite long in comparison to the size of the cats and the pictures that most resemble them are all of young mountain lions.
I know many people, including my husband, who have seen mountain lions on Gorham hill, in Gorham, NH. My husband also saw one in Jericho, just north of Berlin. We both saw a huge wolf on Willard St in Berlin across the street from us as we were standing on the sidewalk this July. Easily 1 1/2 times as large as our 82′ Alskan husky.
A friend of mine walked out to her car this morning a saw a huge cat ( she said not bobcat) but mountain lion( long tail) verY large, going through her trash, she lives in Milford NH
My wife called me at work around noon on Tuesday Nov 6 2012 to tell me she saw a mountain lion in our back yard which borders the wilderness south of the manchester airport on the Londonderry / litchfield line. We have two large mastiffs. Large feline, tan with long tail. I’m a little in easy with my back towards the woods now.
I was bow hunting on Freeman Hall road in Nottingham in 2008 and saw a mountain lion. I was about 25 feet in a tree and saw what at first I thought was a deer; the color was the same. Then I saw the tail and instantly realized this wasn’t a deer. The tail was long and the animal was much bigger than a bobcat. The body was long and lower to the ground than a deer. I told a few people in my family, but never mentioned anything to fish and game. I really didn’t want to hear I was crazy from people I didn’t know. I already got enough weird looks from my family.
I’m not sure where you’re getting your information, but great topic.
I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more.
Thanks for excellent information I was looking for this info for my mission.
hi, i got chased with my two golden retrievers from our morning walk to a field, all my light showed were two green marble sized eyes close together, around 5:30 am on mon oct 15, center ossipee nh. then on sun oct 21st i went to walk them at 5:45 pm ( before dark because i was so terrified mon) and my dogs pointed from the road up the hill and i saw a huge mountain lion, the tail was 3 ft or more( i use 2.5 foot trays at work everyday so have good idea of the length). it was walking away from the area where i came from with the dogs, and also our kids had been playing on the hill just 20 mins or less prior to this. later on the same night , around 10 pm i went out with a flashlite and saw the whole animal and it ran farther up the hill. i warned my older son that was out and he came home around 11: to 11:30 and he saw the lion up on the hill still. im very frightened of this one because it chased us right from our path and down the road until a car came,, the eyes reflecting is very distinctive. i got the usual response from f&g and the police. so now im on a mission for pictures of it. hope it helps you.
If you see the mountain lion, don’t run! The lion will see you as prey. Make yourself “big”, holding your arms and/or jacket over your head to make yourself taller, talk in a low, loud voice like “Go Home!” and walk slowly backwards.
Don’t allow your kids back there to play, especially if small, as the mountain lion may see them as prey if they are running and squealing in high pitched voices. Most human deaths have been on young children, so do not take a chance.
Be even more afraid for your dogs, as the cat is most likely hunting four-leggeds, not two-leggeds. Walk the dogs in the opposite direction, or get them in the car and take them elsewhere.
Do get a picture if the lion is hanging around posing. Send it to the news media. It’s the only way to get NH Fish & Game to pay attention. They will probably still say it’s an escaped pet, but try. They have ignored confirmed DNA anaysis on scat from the Ossipee Mtns. in 1997 because it wasn’t done through their lab.
I saw a young cougar (maybe 6 mos. old) going north following a creek near Rt. 123 in Stoddard, NH. It was tan, very uncoordinated (scared of my car with legs going in all directions) and had huge feet and long rope-like tail with a smaller, skinny body and thin legs. It was like it had just gone through a growth spurt and hadn’t figured out how to use it’s big paws yet. It’s body hadn’t caught up yet. It also couldn’t decide whether to slink, half crouch or trot to get away from my car so it was trying to do all three at once, hence the uncoordinated movements. This was on Friday in Stoddard. I later heard that a half grown kitten was seen on Rt. 31 in Washington, NH on Tuesday and again on Wed. near Millen Pond (also in Washington).
Thanks for the post! This is a classic description of a young cougar. Get some pictures folks!!
I saw my half grown cougar on Fri. in Stoddard, but someone else saw a half grown cougar the next Tues. on Rt. 31 in Washington and again at Millen Pond in Washington on Wed.
If it’s the same one, it may have followed the creek up past Island Pond, Highland Lake and along the swamp to get to Rt. 31 and again following the waterways to get to Millen Pond.
You need to carry a camera!!
I always have a camera, but big cats don’t always hang around for pics. I saw one in CT while driving (it was night and I had to turn around, but it was gone).
I saw one in Marlow and had the camera, but was in too much shock to push the button as the cougar raced in front of me while hunting.
I saw one in Peterborough, but only for a second or two as it leaped over a hidden obstacle. It was faster than I was.
I saw one in Stoddard, but was driving and by the time I turned around, it was gone.
I also had a camera when I saw two black cats the size of coyotes, but no photos.
I tried to capture a bobcat on film a couple of weeks ago, but although it stayed longer than the larger cats while it watched me, it kept going from tree to tree hiding, and I didn’t get a photo of it either!
Unless the cat is lying or sitting in your backyard, it is probably on the move and very difficult to photograph.
I will keep trying however!
I hear you, it takes time to grab it, turn it on, and get it ready. Cell phones just as bad! Its going to take luck for someone to get a photo, they don’t stand still for you.
I live in Raymond and one of my neighbors saw one in his backyard on 10/5 which prompted me to do some research. We live near Pawtuckaway state park and are surrounded by conservation land 100 acres of private property. When he called the police they said there had been multiple sightings/calls along RT 156 in the area of the State Park.
A mountain lion was see at my neighbor’s house yesterday. We live off Route 156 in Raymond. The animal control officer confirmed that Mountain lion’s have been spotted around Mountain Road within a week of this sighting. Our street is before Mountain Road. Parents be careful, and protect your pets as well as your children.
I was out on my ATV with two friends up in Northfield N.H. We were deep into the woods after climbing some really steep rocky hills.When we came across some huge tracks in a strip of mud on the outskirts of the mud hole were some really big tracks. We took a few pictures with our cell phones. After looking at them and goggling Mountain Lion tracks they were a perfect match. C Shaw Concord N.H.
Chris, can you email the photos to me? The only difference between bobcat and mountain lion tracks is size. Is there something in the photos that gives a sense of scale, like a ruler (or a glove or a shoe)? Thanks! john.f.ranta@gmail.com
Please send pics to me, too. I’d like to compare them with the photos I’ve taken. lmccracken2002@yahoo.com .
If you saw tracks how big were they? Mountain lion tracks are usually at least 3 inches across. if you have pictures can you email them to me? Reply here and Ill get you my email
Thanks! Ray
I would love to see the pictures you have. It wohld be nice to compare them to what I saw. Can you email them? Colleengld@yahoo.com
I saw a mountain lion crossing I-93 September 18 around 6:30 PM just south of exit 28. It crossed my path about 30-40 yards ahead. Could not believe my eyes. No time to take a picture… This creature had a cats head, was tan with long lean body and long, low tail. It bounded across the highway gracely… beautiful.
I saw a mountain lion on Route 109A in Melvin Village. It was 11:30 am on Sept. 5th. It came down the embankment and crossed the road into the entrance of Copps Pond. It was about 2 feet tall and 3 feet long, beige in color with a long tail. I could not believe what I was looking at.The tail was very long and hung low. It’s head was rather round with short ears. I was in my car and it looked right at me ( I was about30 yards away) and kept going.
Here is the raw video of the infamous Manchester NH bobcat that was identified as Mountain Lion.
http://ulocal.wmur.com/_Manchester-NH-Bobcat/video/1726093/63455.html
Thanks, this is the full length video I saw elsewhere (not the edited WMUR video), clearly showing a bobcat. Here’s the description, posted by the person who posted the video:
“Description: Looked in my backyard (in Manchester NH on the east side) on 5/16/12 around 7:00pm and saw a bobcat walk across our lawn. I whistled at it for a few seconds and it stopped to look at me. During that time, I began to take this video. We’ve seen deer in our backyard before and our neighbor has had a moose…but nothing like this! There’s been some controversy as to whether it’s a bobcat or cougar…definitely confirmed as a bobcat. Sorry for the confusion, I’m not a professional!”
Again, thanks for the link. JR
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/05/18/mountain-lion-spotted-near-manchester-nh-school/
found video of one in manchester
It turns out that this was a bobcat. It’s not clear in the portion of the full video that WMUR showed, but there’s a longer clip of the same cat on the web – http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/18563455/2012/05/19/cougar-caught-on-video-in-nh-residents-back-yard. You can see that the tail is short (a foot long or less), which along with the overall profile shows it’s clearly a bobcat. What WMUR did – edit the clip to present this as a mountain lion with headlines and reporters getting all frothy – was very irresponsible. Lousy reporting, probably a crass attempt to drive eyeballs to their website. They lost a lot of credibility, with me…
Actually, if you look at the higher res version of this, the tail hangs DOWN and is long. There are no spots, and the head and face can be seen better. The higher res version looks like a mountain lion. The guy posted the full res version on his facebook.
The video isnt on there that I can find how, but he has a still showing the thick tail hanging down, but away from the view. Its clearly a long thick tail. Coloration is wrong for a bobcat. The face shot in his full res video showed the ears and facial coloring real well also. Ive seen many bobcats, this is NOT a bobcat.
I haven’t seen the higher res video, if you can post a link to that, it would be appreciated. In the video I posted (not sure why you can’t view it) it is clearly a bobcat. The tail twitches back and forth, and is a foot long or so. It is a big bobcat, but the face is clearly “bobcattish” (tall, pointy ears – as opposed to the very short rounded ears of a cougar). Also, the body is “bobcattish” – tall and not very long, as opposed to a cougar which looks “low to the ground” and long. WMUR edited out the portion of the video that shows the tail, which is clearly visible in the link I posted. Sorry it’s not working for you. You can also see that many outdoors folks commented on the WMUR story, and all agreed it was a bobcat. I would like to see the higher res video, please post the link if you can. Thanks for the feedback!
A lot of folks think a bobcat has no tail, or just a little nubbin. Most have a tail that hangs down, a foot or so. If you scroll down on this link to check out the picture of a bobcat in profile, you’ll see what I mean. http://www.wild-life-rehab.com/Education-Bobcat.htm
I’ve seen quite a few bobcats and their tails tend to curl and stand up. The guy has a facebook page, you can find it by looking for his name. The video is posted there. I couldnt paste the link for some reason. Looking at it again though, it sure can be questioned either way.
Yep this is a bobcat. That most recent posting of a link was a far better video than I looked at. Its interesting how the low res version smeared the features that point to a bobcat. Nice animal, but its not a mountain lion.
This isnt the same incident I saw the video from. This I agree is a bobcat. You can see the entire tail clearly in that video.
I knew that was a bobcat because of the little cheeky fur that sticks out. Mountain lions have a smooth head and don’t have that fuzzy look..
Just came across this article, from the Union Leader, which details an encounter, in Alstead, with alleged photo verification:
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120821/NEWHAMPSHIRE03/708219874
There are comments that claim this is a fake, a stuffed cougar or something, due to the pose of the animal. Up for discussion I guess
Yes, I read that story, and the follow-up articles. I have to say, the story itself is less than rock solid. The photo was taken months (or possibly years) ago, and it’s just showing up now? It’s very grainy (hardly looks like a 35MM SLR photo). He only had enough film in his camera to get one shot? And the photographer insists on anonymity, and claims he won’t deal with Wildlife officials? Just a bunch of reasons to maintain a healthy skepticism. If you asked me to place a bet on whether or not that photo is genuine, I’d vote no.
What we really should be asking is, if there are so many cameras (one on every cell phone) and game cameras out there, why aren’t we seeing more photos?
Colleen grenon.
I was told years back by NH F&G for the state to say yes there are moutain loins/cougars in NH they must be breeding pair,other than that,moutain loins/cougars are passing thur…ummm..really don’t make much since.
Well in Northern Massachusetts there were two Adults with cubs (2 different areas) seen this summer. So if they arent breeding how are there cubs? It will take about 8-10 years of sightings, and more (Yes there have been already) road kills before they will admit they are here. (maybe). In the meantime, they are not here. And if they are, they are allegedly escaped pets or “just passing through”. Not bad for an allegedly extinct species eh?
Where in northern Massachusetts? Is there proof of a breeding pair? This would be big news.
Well having seen one, I didnt have a camera. But if I had, you get like 3 seconds to react, take the damn thing out, find the right button, and try to get a pic. I definately can relate as to why there arent many pictures. But that I suspect is going to change.
Eric Baldridge.
John HHarrigans devoted many years writting about NH mountain loin/cougars and butted heads more than once w/NH & FG,also writes articles for Manchester Union Leader news paper.
John leaves north of where you hunt and may interested in your findings.
Good for you! We put a game camera up where I saw the one in Kingston. Fish and Game told me without a pic they can do nothing so that is the deal makers with them. I had a long chat Saturday with the Chiec of police too and he showed me pics of a local bobcat family. I looked at bim and said what I saw had no spots or stripes. Not to mention the tail…cant miss the tail. Moral: if you get a picture, maybe someone will pau attention!
Colleen i have pictures of one of the local Bobcats from Kingston. it is from the same den site as the one that got hit on rt 125 last month. It was about the fourth sighting I have had in the last 10 years so they are not easy to see but last fall i found the den but with no/little snow last winter i will not go in to close to the site, this year will be diffrent. As far as Mountian Lions go one of my co workers swears he saw one in the same area as the Kingston den site. I have not seen it but i did see one (from the chest ribs back to the twitchy tail) last summer in No. Andover,Ma, at day break looking across lake cochiwick by the Lawrence air port. i was up the looking for Eagles and noticed it jumping back into the wood line.It took me a minute to realize what i saw no mistaking that long tail and the tail twitching not wagging i was surprized to see it.
UNH has been running a study of bobcats in New Hampshire for several years. Here’s a link to their site, with articles, photos, maps, etc.
http://mlitvaitis.unh.edu/Research/BobcatWeb/bobcats.htm
For those interested in bobcats, it’s a great resource. jr
Hello, I am a hunter from Connecticut. Yesterday Sat 9/01/12 I was hunting for Black Bear in Whitefield NH. I did not see any bears but I did see a Mt. Lion. I was born and raised in California and definitely know what one looks like. I was in a tree 25 feet off the ground overlooking a basin that was 30-40 feet below me. around 7pm i heard the sound of a twig break and looked over toward the sound. There was something walking through the trees. I thought it was a deer at first because of the color, I could see its body between the leave of the trees. Then I saw the tail and I knew instantly what it was. it was reddish tan and a long thick tail. It moved so fast with out making any noise. The cat then moved into a shooting lane i had cut in the trees and I got a full view of his head (white patch under chin, full ears not pointed or cropped). It was Beautiful!!! it looked to be 80 to 100 pounds and about twice the size of my full grown golden retriever. I told the guy who owns the property and he said he has seen it as well. He then told me that Fish and Game discounts any sightings because they would have to protect it since it is been declared extinct..Stupid!! So I am debating reporting it to NH Fish and Game because I don’t feel like being told what I saw was not what i saw..Here is the good news for you and this blog. I am going to place a game camera on his property to see if I can get it on video. If I do, I will give it to you to do what you want with. I will leave it out there for six months and then report back to you.
Eric
Mansfield CT
I have seen evidence of mountain lions and even wolves in New Hampshire and Vermont while hunting. They certainly are around. However, Fish and Game doesn’t deny their existence because they would have to protect them, they deny it because if they are proven to be in the state then they would have to restrict all hunting within a 20+ mile radius of the animal’s habitat, which would probably make a few people upset. I’d be careful about sharing photos of them since I hunt in the state, too!
Can you explain in more detail what you mean by “evidence of mountain lions and even wolves in New Hampshire and Vermont while hunting”? As for any restrictions if mountain lions are proven to be living and breeding here in New Hampshire, who knows what NH F&G might do? It’s a little early to speculate, I think.
Back in the fall of ’96 my father took my brother and I partridge hunting in Piermont between routes 10 and 25C. I remember vividly the terrain, it was relatively open with mostly hardwoods, this particular area was somewhat ledgy, but not too hard to get around. Suddenly my dad stops and motions frantically to my brother and I to get behind him, when he did I saw a long tail (maybe 3 feet in length, light brown at the front, darker at then end) move up a large dead tree about 4′ wide at the base. Dad pointed his shotgun at the tree as we backed away. As soon as we could no longer see the tree we headed straight back to the house. My brother and I saw more than I did and they both said the body was much too large to be a bobcat or a lynx. I know a few others who have claimed to see them in Franconia, but I can’t prove it. As far as the wolf, I was hunting Mt. Gardner in Bath and came across some coy dog tracks. After following it for a while I realized there were some larger tracks mingled with the coy dog tracks. My first thought was, “those can’t be wolf tracks?” I realized it was probably unlikely and assumed they were from a feral dog. I told my hunting buddy about the tracks I saw and He said he saw a large dog on the same mountain about a few miles away from where I was. He thought it was a large german shepard. It was sitting down on a rock. As my friend started walking towards it, he sat up and as it took off, it had the “distinct wolf jot” as he put it. (if you’ve seen a wolf run you would know what I mean.) Again, I did not see the wolf personally, but I have seen scat and tracks of both, but honestly, I haven’t seen much in about 8 years. Regarding the 20+/- wildlife buffer zone, I didn’t assume, a game warden and friend of my Father told him that personally. Still, pretty awesome to know there are these majestic animals here in the northeast.
Thanks for the detail, great stories!
Ben – if you want us to show you where I saw the Mt Lion, email me. I would be happy to – we would be interested to see if there are tracks or anything else that indicates it was frequenting that spot.
I guess the area is known for wild turkeys and was told by a neighbor to the property that he has seen something out there before. I told him to look for the tail and take a pic next time.
I am confident in what I saw and spoke to Fish and Game today. They wanted me to check more pics to see if it could not have been a bobcat, so I went to a UNH website that shows pics of bobcats. I saw some colorings on the bobcat that is similar, but all had shorter tails – maybe a foot or less. It was the tail that struck me as odd last night…gigantic; easy 3-4 feet long…as long as the animal I would say. That was the dead give away. when researching. Had I not stayed long enough to see it get up and walk, tail flowing behind it, I would have went with the bobcat, knowing they are in the area.
colleengld@yahoo.com
I’ve heard rumors of sightings at Pawtuckaway State Park. My database has the following sightings/tracks for the surrounding area: Deerfield, 5; Epping, 4; Northwood, 1; Nottingham, 3; and Raymond 2 begginning in the 1980s, but most have been in the last decade. Even Portsmouth has had sightings, but what towns on the seacoast are you interested in?
Specific locations don’t matter as they usually keep on the move and their territories are large, but keep your eyes open for tracks!
I saw a mountain lion TONIGHT! I was riding my bicycle on Rt 107 on the Kingston/Fremont line. There is an old abandoned house there in in the middle of the field. As I cam up to the field, what I thought was an extremely large fox caught my eye so I stopped to watch. To my amazement, it was not a fox, but a huge cat! At first it was hiding behind a knoll, so I only could see its chest and head – broad face, with white chin. But when it started to walk, I was amazed at the length of the tail – easy as long as its body! He seemed to care less about me watching him, making me think he frequents the area and is used to cars coming by. I left as he was walking out of the field…not realizing exactly what I was seeing until I looked up photos.
Unfortunately, I was riding with an ipod and had no camera – you better believe I will have it with me from now on.
JR., talk to some long time NH native Rte 10 Lyme/Orford area..Dartmouth Skiway & River Rd…of sighting the last year an half.
About three years ago I saw one In Barnstead walking across the road on rte 126 It was light brown with a long tail and walked slowly across the road. I was about fifteen away in my truck and could not believe the size of the animal Chris Shaw Concor N H
I was camping on conway lake, ruturning from town with some supplies driving back to our camp site. The cat i saw was greyish, maybe 40lbs, head and face shaped like a like a florida panther, marking were more like the bark of a tree,stocky, very healthy and beutiful animal, but looked nothing like any of the pictures i’m seeing… told some people, most thought i was crazy, said they exisit but very rarely, if EVER seen.
There are some unusual, smaller cats out there that range in size from 40-80 lbs. Most are black, but some are gray. I am particularly interested in these cats as they are an unknown species (from what I can tell). Email lmccracken2002@yahoo.com . I’ve seen two black ones, but have 200 other sightings of unusual cats that I call “hybrids”. Their fur can be quite unusual… smooth, scalloped, long like an Angorra housecat, etc.
my wife and I were driving down roberts cove road in east alton around 2 in the afternoon on saturday. A large, long bodied, brownish colored cat crossed the road in front of us. Not sure what it was but certain it was no house cat
Tawny colored. Size of a german shepard. Was after my ducks at 7 am today in Sanbornton
Had a camera, but the cat was only visible for a few seconds above the ferns during the broad jump over some unseen obstacle, then it disappeared very silently into the groundcover of the ferns. It was all too fast! The sun’s rays on its coat were gorgeous though.
On Aug. 17, 2012, I was looking for tracks as two cats had been seen in the Peterborough area on Aug. 4 and Aug. 15th. I found small tracks that could not be distinguished as postive mountain lion near the beginning of the trail and one very large track towards the top of Raymond Trail which goes up to Pack Monadnock. The large track looked like a three toed cat and crossed the trail with one track in the mud. In between these two tracks, while walking up the trail, I heard a swish to my right and turned and saw a mountain lion leap and do a broad jump through a field of ferns. It was reddish brown and probably hunting whatever made the swish sound. There was no sound from the cat. The ferns were 30 in. high and hid both prey and predator except for the one graceful, powerful leap over some hidden object. This was around 5 PM. The cat was about 3.5 from the shoulder to the haunches. It was 150 ft. from me and running parallel to the Raymond Trail. I’ve collected 19 sightings of big cats in Peterborough since the year 1939.
No photo? Given how long and diligently you’ve been looking for cougar signs, you should carry a camera every time you go out. Not in a backpack though. Keep the camera around your neck, turned on, with autofocus and auto light detection set, ready to shoot.
Of course, I should take my own advice. For the past twenty years I have carried a camera with me everywhere (which has paid off a dozen or so times, with shots of deer, moose, otter, mink and even a bobcat). Except…I missed some great shots of a black bear during one hike this summer, because “I was only going out for an hour, and didn’t need to bring my camera”. So, as a reminder to myself, and all the readers out there – when should you have a camera with you? Always, always, always…
Sent from my iPad
My sister in law was coming over to our house for a cookout about a month ago when she had what she describes as a mountain lion cross the road in front of her on Moultonborough neck road. I am a hunter and have lived here my entire life and the way she described it it certainly seemed like a mountain lion. I have seen a Canadian lynx on my game camera here two years ago. Over the last two evenings I have heard it in the woods outside my window where there is a large tract of woods. I listened to the sounds of mountain lion,bobcat and lynx and it is definitely a lynx.
I just posted one comment but forgot to add two important things. A friend of mine saw a cougar crossing East Mountain Road in Peterborough on Aug. 15, (this year). Also last year on about October 15 we found a doe in our field who certainly seemed to have been killed by a cougar. Judging from rigor mortis, the doe was killed just at dawn, and her head and rump were covered with dry grass (the field had been mowed). Cougar kills I have seen in Utah and Colorado were covered with leaves in this manner. I set up a game camera but got only a photo of a bear’s nostrils when he came up to sniff the lens. He moved the carcass. Three days later all remains were gone.
Thanks for the posts! One sign of a mountain lion killed deer is a bite to the back of the neck. A mountain lion is about the only animal big and nimble enough to jump a deer and bite through the spinal cord. Do you happen to recall any bite marks?
I’m surprised that, if there is a lion in the Peterborough area, we’re not hearing of more sightings. It’s a pretty populated and well-traveled area…
Hello, I saw this blog for the first time as I tried to get info on a mountain lion talk that is happening at Fox Forest Tuesday night (4/2/13). In late September of 2006 I was driving home from work on Rt. 136 from Greenfield to Peterborough. About a mile east of Sunnyfield Farm in Peterborough a large buff-colored animal ran across the road in front of me. It looked like mountain lions I had seen growing up out west. The tail was quite long. I actually hit the animal as I was trying to serve and stop. When I got out of the car it was gone. Everyone I told about it laughed and said there were no lions in NH. That is until recently. I am taking a course in tracking at the Harris Center in Hancock. There are several people in the class who have seen mountain lions in the area.
Keep up the good fight!
Am quite sure that the WMUR photo of a “mountain lion” is in fact a Canada lynx. These are returning to NH, they’re taller than bobcats, have tufted ears and short tails. Their faces look like bobcat faces too, more than like cougar faces. But they are tan-colored, like most cougars. That could cause a misimpression. This is not to say that there are no cougars in NH–I saw one myself (I did a study of cougars in Utah and Colorado so I am sure of what I saw) our son saw one, and I know several other people who have seen one. I live near Blueberry Lane in Peterborough, site of the Aug 4 sighting. Liz T
Might be a lynx, although I have not heard of any south of the White Mountains. It looked pretty clearly like a bobcat to me, especially in the longer video. What struck me was how irresponsible (and ignorant) the WMUR newscasters were, in declaring this a mountain lion. I understand there are many people out there who don’t know much about wildlife. They shouldn’t hand those uneducated folks a microphone and put them on TV.
I saw a lynx in Amherst seven years ago early one morning. Larger than a bob cat with gray/tan/ orangey matted fur. The Fur near its mouth appeared much dirtier than ones in captivity. This was many years ago. When I saw this creature, I will not soon forget the manner in which it walked. It’s gaze was straight forward as it sauntered, like it owned the place- Not skiddish. The weight and size as well as color causes me to say it was a lynx. The animal appeared 50-60 pounds. The fur on the jaws of the face looked more like a lynx than mountain lion.
It happened in the middle of May, before dusk in Hancock, NH. I saw something crossing 202 heading toward the woods near a swampy area down the hill towards Peterborough from the Forest Rd intersection. I was coming around the bend when I saw its hind 1/2, and long low swooping tail with black tip, book it across the road and jump over the guard rail. It just took a leap like a house cat would to jump up onto a table, and then it was gone. I did not bother to report it.
I’ve been to 2 talks by Bill Betty from RI, who has a huge database of lion sightings. Helped Linda McCracken set a camera in Gilsum, NH last week in an area off Rte 10 where there was a sighting. Linda has collected hundreds of anecdotal sighting reports for years. I ask everyone I see if they’ve seen a lion and have at least half a dozen stories. One was reported lounging on a woodpile last winter here in Keene.
Today in Nashua I saw the most amazing big cat. Initially I thought it was a bobcat or lynx until I saw the tail. Good to see mountain lions are still surviving. Where I saw this mountain lion was once rural but now over developed. I am so grateful that God chose me to witness his magnificent creation. They may be wild, but to me they bring me closer to my creator like that of the site of a smiling happy child.
Mountain lion spotted in Peterborough on Blueberry Lane over the weekend (8/4/12.) The road backs acres of reserve land. Critter was spotted in the driveway. Sounds from Mountain Lion have been heard by Blueberry residents off and on over the last few weeks.
Saturday August 4th at 7:30PM Kimball Pond Dunbarton, NH saw a mountain lion at the edge of the pond. Was walking along the shoreline of the pond. Sorry, no pic. Too mesmerized.
Yesterday August 4th 2012 around 7:30 in the evening while on a bike ride on Appleby road in Milton Mills I saw my first bobcat outside of captivity. It crossed the road in front of me about 50 feet away. It was quite fast once it noticed me. Its tail was about 6 inches long and i could make out tufts around its ears.It was pretty cool to see.
I saw a mountain lion in Hollis, NH in Nov-Dec of 2009. I was standing, looking out over a field, and saw what I thought was a house cat sitting on a fence rail about 30 yards from me. The neighbor’s dogs started barking and the cat turned and took off from the field and into the woods. From its gait, I realized it was not a house cat but a very large wild cat that was actually 10-20 yards further away than the fence rail crouching on the ground. I was a little shocked since I didn’t think there were cats that big in NH. When I went home and Googled it, I found that there were no Mountain lions in NH supposedly. I’ve spend close to 50 years in the woods of New England and Canada. I’ve seen several bobcats and this was much bigger with thick legs, a long tail, tawny colored, and a smallish head relative to its body. My guess is it was probably 100-125 lbs and maybe 4-5 feet long without the tail. Nobody believes me but I know what I saw. I looked in the papers for a couple of weeks but no one reported a sighting. Then again, I didn’t report it either.
Brian, I believe you. I didn’t report it either. We should leave them alone. I live next to Hollis in Nashua. Although there has been a lot of development in Hollis, the town seems to value keeping the trust with nature. Coexisting with other creatures is what makes Hollis a special town. Although I am a conservative, I believe in preserving the trust. Most people don’t realize how our survival as a species is dependent on preserving all living beings.
If the owner of the blog could contact me at my e-mail address I would appreciate it. I sent a report today which I do not see here.
I am in Epping. I was doing some rather tedious work at my computer today and decided to take a break. I got up rather brusquely and went to the window to stretch and relax. This was early afternoon, about 1:15. As I looked out on a clearing some distance from the house, which is nearly surrounded by dense forest, I just barely had time to spot an animal with a golden coat. About the moment I positioned myself at the window, it bounded off into the woods, probably startled by my sudden movements. It never turned so that I could see its head. It moved deliberately and after taking a few paces was gone. It was able to move a short distance in a short time without actually seeming to be running. I think until a split second before it moved I hadn’t even identified an animal was there, as the growth in that section is rather more brown and parched than green and the high and bright sun helped it blend in very well with its surroundings. I would say it was about the size of a large golden retriever, except with a long body. The thing that was very distinctive, that was absolutely one of the most obvious things about it, was the very large and long tail that it had, quite unlike that of any domestic animal I know. It came to me that it might be a mountain lion, so I examined pictures on the Internet immediately and I would say it was almost certainly a mountain lion. My only hesitation is due to the fact that I would have liked to have seen the face and entire body before it ran away rather than identifying a fugitive.
Since writing the post, I looked at a Youtube video “Giant Bear Attacks Big Cougar” and from 44 seconds onward, that is precisely the type of body and tail that I saw on Monday.
I used to live in Glastonbury Ct where for years there were multiple sightings of Mountain Lions and for years DEP said no way. Wasn’t it amazing when tragically a Mountain Lion was hit around that area last year and proved it came from SD? I still live in Ct but was told a fascinating story a week or so ago about a Mountain Lion sighting not too far from you.
My nephew’s wife was taking her almost daily walk with her 2 yr old and new 2 week old in a carriage. She walks all year and is quite knowledgeable about wildlife. They have pictures of bears coming on their porch and she has seen bobcats and lynx many times having grown up in the same house they are in now not too far from Bear Brook. She saw this big brown feline type animal walk out onto the road and was saying to herself too brown and big for a bobcat or lynx and then it turned a bit to look at them revealing a long low tail. There is only one animal fitting that description. I believe her because she is very level headed and not prone to stories.
Personally I hope all the predators that have been persecuted and exterminated come back. It had to happen sooner or later.
We had a woman stop in front of my house (rte 126 in Strafford, NH yesterday (7/26/12) all excited. I wondered why she was parked on my front lawn and went out to ask. She swears that a mountain lion had just walked across the road in front of her car. Very long tail. She was VERY confident in what she saw. We looked for tracks but it was a freshly hayed field so nothing was there. The coyotes were very excited overnight and howled a number of times. I wonder if they knew something was around?
Hello John—
Pat Tate mentioned you in passing this afternoon, and I’m amazed that our paths haven’t crossed, digitally or otherwise. It might be good for us to share some experiences, and questions. I’ve just finished reading your blog, which not so surprisingly mirrors my own experiences and feedback from readers over a very long time. For instance, did Tony Barry ever come up with actual photos of the reputed breeding pair with two yearlings in the Cheshire/Sullivan region? Have you seen the Burgess trail-cam image, taken in the town of Sharon? I sent it down to F&G, and Mark Ellingwood and Steve Weber (a longtime friend of mine) and Pat concluded that it was a bobcat, a verdict that absolutely no one among the many savvy people I’ve shown it to can even begin to understand, and I don’t say this lightly, because I like and respect all three men. You perhaps saw or were sent the big Montreal Gazette headline three or four years ago, “Big Cats Are Back,” about three far-flung scented scratch-posts that yielded positive DNA, two on the North Shore, one in the Gaspe. The University of New Brunswick’s Bruce Wright did some pioneering (and lifelong) work on the Eastern Cougar, an effort that earned him little but thinly veiled scorn from his colleagues. This last is of some interest given the USF&W “extinct” announcement a while ago.
It’s a fascinating topic. It certainly is not the be-all or end-all of my life, and I have no motive, need or desire to “prove” anything to anybody, because like the wolf the big cat is going to do what it’s going to do, nature abhorring a vacuum. As I’ve probably too often written, the table has long been set, so why should we be surprised when the guests appear? So I’ve been sort of a sideline observer of this small tick on nature’s long clock, and in the process must admit that I’ve grown somewhat impatient with the general public’s lack of knowledge (in that cougars were part of the natural scene here) and with Officialdom’s undiplomatic and sometimes downright insulting and/or demeaning manner in reacting to well-meaning people making earnest reports. Sure, a huge percentage of reports are muddled, inaccurate, or could lead to nothing anyway, but there’s a nice way to respond and a not-so-nice way, and I don’t like to see Fish and Game shooting itself in the public relations foot. And of course there’s that certain hard to explain number of sightings that do indeed deserve more attention, and respect. And so I’ve been more or less keeping track of things for more than four decades, with a winnowing-out process in place from which I report (i.e., print) only the best of the best, and as a result have some finely sifted stories that simply won’t go away.
I wrote all this in this space because I couldn’t find a simple e-mail address. You can post it if you want.
Give me a ring if you’ve a mind to, John—it would be fun to visit.
John Harrigan, Colebrook (237-4445, 1237-5501, 331-4414)
How nice to see a post from JH himself! John once mentioned my experience with Blue Jays (yes not woodpeckers but Blue Jays) eating my composite garage doors, in his column 🙂
While some of these sightings can be attributed to mere Bobcats others cannot. I have heard from people who are more than outdoor-savvy and I trust their descriptions. You just don’t confuse a fuzzy little Bobcat with a large tawny beast that first fools the eye into thinking it is a deer….
That said, NH is what, 85% forest? So, why not? The deer have sure adapted and I have herds of them all over my yard even though I live quite close to a bustling city.
Hiked crotched mountain trails Gregg to Shannon and back on July 25, 2012. Saw three or four scat deposits on the shannon trail that appeared to be from a large cat or still possible-a very big dog. They were over an inch in diameter, long and smooth. Some older ones had white coating. Others were dark brown. They broke into segments. The trail is mountainous and rocky here with woods and some clearings.
Scat identification is tricky. In general, felids (cats) cover their scat. So cat scat will often be found with dirt and leaves partially covering it, and scrape marks nearby. Canids (dogs, foxes and coyotes) often defecate in the middle of a trail (their “calling card for other canids). Dog (domesticated) scat is quite smooth and even in appearance, coming from digesting homogenized dog food. Coyote scat often is full of fur and bits of bone. The book “Tracking and the Art of Seeing” has great information on scat identification, it can be an interesting subject (not for the squeamish, I know).
Thank you for the book recommendation. I will look at it, although i am not truly interested in scat. When I came upon the unusual large scat hiking, I was not interested in science but safety. Apparently, i need more pepper spray, just in case. these mountain lions should be well fed with the overpopulation of deer.
Although squam lakes science center is a neat place, charming fare farm in candia has local animals to see up close. They have mountain lion, wolves, bobcat, fisher cats, black bear. Etc.
Thank you for hosting this informative blog. I have seen no one else providing this information.
I am a native born Californian …. I saw a mountain lion a number of years ago up at the Canadian border > I filed a report with NH Fish and Game and later worked with Fish and Game. Proving there are mountain lions in NH does not mean that mountain lions are breeding here in NH. Someone may be releasing them and or etc. You must have “scat” to prove you saw one and still they will not acknowledge that they are breeding here. I am afraid your work is in vain but it is interesting . As you may also know, they have been spotted for years in Vermont. They have a similar problem in that area. Not much we can do about it. I remember the days when they did not believe they were in CA either … today they eat dogs and cats in your back yard and attack humans and they still consider them an endangered breed and you cannot hunt or harm them (lions) without punishment.
saw a mountain lion Saturday 7-21-12 at 4:45 am Route 10 Goshen NH just before Mummery road extension. It walked across the road stopped on the other side of the road looked at me and contnued going into the woods. This was no Bobcat real long tail, roughly the size of a medium size German sheppard, tan all over. Walked well like a cat. Ive been to Squam Lake observatory and there is no doubt i my mind what they have there in the cages is definately what I saw
Just saw mountain lion on Wallace Rd in Bedford Nh. It ran across the road in front of me. This was a big cat that was traveling very fast. I came home and googled it and watch an WMUR video of a sighting that occured in Manchester in May. The cat I saw looked exactly like the one on the video. Very cool!
Thanks for the report. I just checked out the video from the Manchester sighting in May. While I can understand why some people might think this is a mountain lion, it’s a bobcat. Several things give it away, most clearly the tail is far too short. You can also see the tufted ears in some of the shots, and the overall height-to-length-of-body is wrong. A mountain lion’s tail would be 4 feet long, this cat’s tail is a foot or less in length. A mountain lion has shorter, curved ears, and a mountain lion would be much longer and sleeker. We have big bobcats in New Hampshire, some with tails a foot long (like this one). I think those bobcats are responsible for many of the mountain lion reports. It’s a shame that WMUR ran this story as a “mountain lion”, such misinformation hurts our cause.
Milton Mills NH: Near Wakefield town line. Walking old trail – spotted something brown moving away from me in underbrush. Light tan- hard to see clearly. It Stopped moving away, and suddenly I was looking at it face- approx 20 feet away. It was distinctly a cat’s face, peering out of underbrush. Tan. I walked quickly away. It didnt make a sound & I didn’t see any details (like length of tail.) I suppose – possibly a bobcat? I have only the vaguest impression of size – nothing close enough to judge height from ground, etc.
Thanks for the report, and your attention to detial. Most likely this is a bobcat. Just in case, keep a camera handy! 🙂
I heard a security camera from a Lincoln bank caught a mountain lion crossing the bank parking lot in the past couple of days.
Anyone else heard of this report?
Mike
748 pm Manchester saw mountain lion walking through the woods outside my apt. Unable to capture picture
Where in Manchester? Can you provide an address? What makea you think it was a mountain lion?
Off of Hackett hill road. It had a very long thin tail with a black tip. I’ve never seen anything like it
My best friend saw one a few days ago off a snowmobile trail on RT114 on the Bradford/Henniker line. Also I know of 2 mountain lions that were sighted off Jewett Rd in Bradford last summer by a local resident. Both of these sightings were by people who have spent a lot of time in the NH woods and know it was a mountain lion. Hope this helps with your tracking.
A recent article (6/27/12) that details a sighting, in Lancaster, by a “Trained Observer”.Thought this was worth sharing.
http://www.newhampshirelakesandmountains.com/Articles-Coos-County-Democrat-c-2012-06-26-156583.113119
Thanks! I saw this article as well, glad you posted the link.
Second-hand report of a mountain lion sighted in the vicinity of Swain’s Lake & Mendum’s Pond in Barrington during the past week. Fish & Wildlife biologist dismissed it as not possible.
I understand that sometimes second hand reports are all that’s possible. But they are not as credible as first hand reports, so I encourage folks to ask the person who was involved in the sighting to make the report. Also, there have been several reports of a sighting being reported to a NH wildlife official, who then denied the sighting. If it’s possible, please provide the name of the wildlife official, so that they can be contacted for their direct opinion.
Thanks!
This man is only interested in the safety of his children and not in documenting the presence of big cats in NH. He did say that he started out by calling the animal control officer who referred him on to Fish & Game.
Okay, thanks for following up. i understand that not everyone is a cougar enthusiast…
My husband and I have seen mountains lions a few times in the New Hampshire area. 2 of them were seen in Wakefield NH in the same area at different times. ( so it couldnt have been the same one). It had the long tail and all of the mountain lion features. My husband also saw one in Meredith NH. Wildlife is making a come back in this area lately. I saw a baby bear and a coy dog also in wakefield NH within the same week of each other in the same area.
i work at an animal shelter in conway nh, and was just alerted to a sighting of a mountain lion at the foot of our driveway, i myself have seen two in madison just down the road. Was wondering if anyone else has seem any recentley in conway?
Hi!
7 other people have seen cougars in Center Conway and North Conway in the following years: 1948, 1999 (2x), 2004, 2008, 2009 & 2010.
2 other people have seen cougars in Madison in 2006 & 2010.
Could you give us a more detailed report of your two sightings?
On July 14, 2012 I was traveling on Oxbrook Road in North Charlestown, NH when a very large, muscular cat walked across the road in front of my car. It was a tawny color with a long tail. It was mid afternoon so I was able to get a good look at it before it ran into a wooded area. I think I saw a young mountain lion.
I saw one 7/14/2012 at approx 5:30PM. It crossed the road directly in front of me on Route 4 in Canaan NH. It was larger than a golden retriever, was reddish/tan in the sunlight, had a long,muscular tail and large feet. It was def. a lion of some sort, not a bobcat.
It was about six years ago in Washington N.H. on Mill PNd Rd. as I turned onto the road, there it was. As longs as the biggest dog you can imagine. It had a very long tail several feet long maybe 3 feet. A very distinctive cat head and it looked like it ate as much as it could all the time he was huge. It looked very healthy with great muscle tone. I was on my way camping with my son when we saw it. I watched it for about 20 seconds and in 2 quick leaps he was across the road and gone. We both saw it and know what we saw. Unfortunitly we had no camera. Ever since then when I hike or camp I have my Camera. It was a month or so after I’d say, in the road at night what looked like a huge kitten big paws very playfull but at least 2 maybe 3 times the size of a house cat. I couldnt believe what I was seeing. it looked like a baby mountian lion. we stoped the car and I opened my door I could have touched it if I wanted to. I watched this large cat play in the road for several minutes, until it just kinda ran and played off to the side of the road and out of sight. This was no house cat by any means! and def not a bobcat this baby mountian lion had a very long tail. Now after this ive been looking for them ever since. when I bradford about a year ago when I was looking to buy camp I spoke to an ex state trooper who told me he sees one right near his house at all times. while speaking with the trooper he told me a fellow trooper hit one with his patroll car and killed it. The officer put the dead mountian lion in his truck and had fish and game come see the lion. When fish and game arived and saw the cat he was told not to speak about this lion. I have no reason to doubt this man and believe that there are some people who do want to cover this up. I believe the state doesnt want to admit it because they would have to spend all kinds of money to do research and set up habitats for them. my question would be this.I hike all the time, and we dont have m. lions here. So if Im hiking and see one and feel threatend like hes to close or agressive I must be able to shot it because we dont have them here! Right? Id like to hear what the fish and game dept has to say about this.
Dwight, great story about your sightings. It’s too bad you didn’t have your camera when you came across the 2nd, young animal. But thanks for posting!
As for the “ex-state trooper who has a friend who…” here’s the problem I have with such a story. Please understand, I mean no disrespect. But it’s a “friend of a friend story”, it’s third hand. And despite the dramatic claims, there seems to be no evidence. And it would be so easy to provide some evidence.
Think about what you or I might do, if we had hit and killed a mountain lion with our vehicle. First off, we’d take lots of pictures. Not only to document the story, but also for insurance (a 150 pound animal is going to do some damage to a vehicle). Then we’d call friends and invite them over to see the animal. Then, (at least for me), we’d call the local paper. I’d want a reporter to come see the animal, take some pictures, and get the story out in the next edition. You know the paper would love it! At that point, I would probably send some pictures to WMUR’s website, or to the Concord Monitor. Then I’d call the NH Wildlife folks. And the wildlife folks that I know would be excited, they’d make a big deal of this. They’d test the animal to determine DNA origins, they’d file reports, they’d apply for a grant to study possible mountain lion populations. These wildlife guys are scientists, and animal lovers. They’d love to be part of the return of a new, charismatic species like mountain lions.
The assumption in the conspiracy theory that mountain lion data is being suppressed is that there is some shadow group that benefits by keeping the information secret, and that they are very well organized and powerful. Who the heck would that be? Could there be some secret group that meets regularly to plan how to suppress mountain lion information? That is very far-fetched. And even if such an organization existed, how could they possibly keep such information secret? They can’t control folks like you and me. It’s impossible to contain this kind of story. If you or I had hard evidence of a mountain lion in New Hampshire, we’d make sure it got published. I know reporters at two local papers who would salivate over such stories. David Brooks at the Nashua Telegraph regularly publishes reports of mountain lion sightings (do a google search on “David Brooks, Nashua Telegraph, and mountain lions” to see what I mean).
It sounds like this “friend of a friend” story has no evidence, no pictures, no story published in the local paper. Why not? That really makes me doubt the validity of stories like this. It’s just not human nature, either for the person who supposedly killed a mountain lion, nor for NH wildlife officials, to bury such a story.
Sorry to be a wet blanket, I am very skeptical of mountain lion “conspiracy” theories. They make no sense.
I learned today from a reliable source that “USF&WS cougar survey team said ‘eastern cougars are extinct’. States are to go along with this. If they don’t, USF&WS will dispatch teams in to search the forests & wilderness areas, then charge the states for USF&WS expeditures. Such fake expenses would cause excessive financial burdens on the already cash-strapped states.”
From what I’ve experienced personally, and from what others who do not know each other have said, this makes sense to me. I don’t know what the rationale is of USF&WS, but I do understand that the states are fearful due to financial concerns. They have told me as much when “not” checking on my info saying that they have no money and sending me to expensive places for DNA analysis when others will do it for free.
Therefor, it is up to each of us to carry a camera and ruler (even a quarter will do) for checking tracks. I
t’s no easy task to catch a cat on camera. Heck, I have trouble photographing slow animals like moose (although they can move if they want to).
As I understand it, what the USF & W means when they say the eastern cougar is extinct, is that the eastern sub-species of cougar, which roamed the eastern states (Maine to Georgia) for millennia, is gone. It died out in the late 19th century. When nearly all of the remaining cougars were killed in various eastern states from 1850 to 1900, the remaining loners were unable to breed successfully, and they disappeared. This is a genetic extinction, meaning that the particular breed of eastern cougar no longer exists.
This is different than saying there are no cougars in those same eastern states today. There obviously are. The evidence is undeniable. The cougar killed in Connecticut last year is one of a number of accepted examples, the DNA test from the Quabbin in the 1980s, or from Cape Elizabeth in the 1990s are two other proven cases. But, these three cougars were not “eastern cougars” genetically. Two showed South American DNA (meaning they were released pets) and the other showed DNA of a western cougar (it had originally been tagged in Iowa, and had migrated east).
This also happened, by the way, with the Peregrine falcon. The eastern Peregrine died out (went extinct, as a subspecies) in the 1970s, due to DDT. They were no longer able to successfully breed, and so there were no young to replace eastern Peregrine adults who died of old age. By the 1980s there were no eastern Peregrines left in the eastern United States. Today there are Peregrine falcons breeding up and down those same eastern states. Those Peregrines are all descended from western Peregrines, some introduced by wildlife professionals, some migrating naturally from western states and Canada. When we say “the eastern Peregrine is extinct” we mean that the genetic subspecies of Peregrine falcon that was once native to the eastern United States died out. But of course we have Peregrine falcons living and breeding here today (now that there’s no more DDT).
So, when wildlife officials say “the eastern cougar is extinct”, they are not saying “there are no cougars in the east”. They know (and we know) there are some cougars in the east. What we don’t know for sure is if there is an established breeding population. That’s what we’re working on in places like this blog, to determine if there is a wild population of cougars living in the woods of New Hampshire (and New England).
Searching for and reporting evidence of cougars in New Hampshire (and New England) is valuable work. And yes, always carry a camera! And post your sightings here 🙂
Dwight,
I also reported to Fish and Game about our sightings. We were told that they are only in Canada and dont cross the border. I laughed and asked them if they didnt have the right paperwork to cross the border. LOL Canada isnt that far.
Can you provide the name of the Fish and Game person to whom you made your report? I would like to ask them to reply here. Thanks!
On June 22 i was watching the wild life out my kitchen window when i saw a huge cat crossing the field .We have bob cats here and it was at least three times bigger than any we have seen.It had a very long tail ,but still did not have the great color of the adult cat .i did not get a picture so went on line to see if i could find one .Found one of a young mountain lion that was just what I saw.We live just across the line from Vermont on the connecticut River in Orford New Hampshire We are very isolated on a dead end RD.I posted the picture on my Faceboo
Eula
There have been other reports of mountain lions in your general area. You might want to keep a camera handy, in the off chance that you get a chance to take a picture. If so, please send it to me. And let us know if you see that cat again. JR
I was riding my motorcycle up the road into McDowell dam and a mountain lion dark tan in color larger than a bobcat walked across the road maybe 50 feet in front of me and went up the bank into the trees. Didn’t really seem like it acknowledged me as it crossed. Came home to look up pictures and I’m 99% sure it was a mountain lion. McDowell dam is in Peterborough NH
I know that area well, I live a few miles from there. My first guess would be bobcat, because they are common in that area. It’s a tough one to be sure of. Bobcats can get pretty big, there was one travelling around Jaffrey and Dublin a year ago that was the size of a German shepherd. Also, adult bobcats may show spots, or may seem to be mostly one color on their back, brownish gray to tan. The tail is generally a give away. A bobcat tail is a foot or so in length, whereas a mountain lion’s tail is as long as its body (4 feet or so in length). And a mountain lion is much bigger, larger by quite a bit than a German shepherd. Let me know if you see it again!
My friend & I saw mountain lion dead on the side of Rt 89 June 17th 2012. Was wondering if anyone else saw it?
Tan yellow with long tail. It was quite large. Wish we had turned around and taken a pic of it!
One of the reasons state wildlife officials give for their position that there are no mountain lions in New England is the lack of road killed animals. I wonder what happened to this one? I have not heard any other reports of a dead mountain lion. Where exactly was this, do you remember an exit or a nearby town? I do wish you had had a chance to take a picture. But hindsight is twenty-twenty…jr
I have had reports of half a dozen dead mountain lions, all of which disappeared before people could get back with cameras or, if there with officals, they were told they didn’t “see” anything and photos and negatives were confiscated.
Linda, what kind of reports? Were they all at different times and locations? Over the past 3 years I’ve had two reports of a road killed mountain lion on this blog, both seem to be of the same mountain lion, on the same day. I don’t think there’s a conspiracy to hide evidence. I have talked to NH wildlife biologists, and the folks running the bobcat study at UNH. I believe they’d love to be able to prove there are mountain lions here, these are “cat people”. The thing is, they need hard evidence. Eye witness accounts by “civilians” (i.e. folks without training or extensive background in wildlife biology) may be actual mountain lion sightings. Or they may be mistaken identity. I’ve been following these reports for a dozen years, and I’ve yet to find much hard evidence. The trail cam photo is the most compelling thing I’ve seen.
The reports I’ve heard have been from people who see a dead mountain lion on the road or on a power line, but it “disappears” and officials say they aren’t there, although people swear they were there. I’ve also heard a rumor about a trapped cougar and two that were killed and buried on someone’s property. Also, I’ve heard of actual evidence (photographic and video) being destroyed by officials. I’m trying to get my own evidence, but have not succeeded yet other than tracks.
This is the problem that you and I have to deal with. So much evidence, and so many reports, are second-hand. Mountain lions are the stuff of myth, very powerful, and I think a lot of people like to make things up, or exaggerate things. Three examples:
1. A person contacted me last year, very excited about a big cat that they had seen and photographed in their backyard in southwestern NH. They were sure it was a mountain lion, they said it was too big to be anything else. They sent me two photos. The photos were of a bobcat (one clearly showed the tracking collar that the state wildlife folks had put on it as part of our local bobcat study). I believe this person was sincere in thinking this was a mountain lion. I also believe that they told many of their friends about the “mountain lion” in their backyard. I’ll bet that their friends told friends, and the story of the “mountain lion” near Monadnock spread far and wide. I wonder how many of those same people found out that it was, indeed, just a bobcat? This is how myths spread.
2. 10 years ago, a neighbor of mine (I used to live in north central Mass, near Mount Wachusett) called me in the winter to tell me that he had seen a mountain lion in the woods near his house, and he could show me the tracks in the snow. I contacted Nick Wiznieski, the tracking expert who worked with Paul Rezendes, to go check it out. He showed us the tracks in the snow behind his house. They were canid tracks, it was probably a coyote (too big for a fox). Definitely not a mountain lion, the pad pattern was wrong, and there were toenail imprints in every track, in soft snow.
3. Last year there was a trail cam photo of a mountain lion, supposedly taken near Mt Monadnock. The photo was sent to two experts, one at the state wildlife org, and one at the Harris Center (a wildlife sanctuary near here). It turns out that the photo was taken somewhere out west, the vegetation in the photo was not New Hampshire vegetation, the stuff in the photo just doesn’t grow here. The person who posted the photo was faking it – I have no idea why. Perhaps it was like the photo that you debunked here, in the comments.
No wildlife biologist I know would destroy evidence. First of all, it’s too hard. You and I can take photos and videos, and make copies of them. We can make detailed records, and get eye witnesses. So I get suspicious when I hear second-hand rumors like you’ve heard, but somehow the photos and videos have “been destroyed”, or the carcass just “disappeared”. Everyone carries a camera now, and people love quick fame and a good story. If there’s a mountain lion dead by the side of the road, somebody’s going to take out their iPhone and send the photo to WMUR or the Nashua Telegraph (a friend of mine at the Telegraph actually follows mountain lion stories, and writes about them – here’s one . There’s no way to suppress this news, “officials” can’t control you and me. Not that they’d want to, I may be wrong but I strongly doubt that there’s a conspiracy to keep mountain lions a secret.
Also, NH Fish & Game is not interested in tracks in snow, scrapes, urine or checking scat samples (although the two I checked came back canine), but I tried.
I just reread your question and realized I didn’t answer it. All except for two buried cougars were from different towns and different places and times. Fitzwilliam, Stoddard and Washington were three I remember without going over my database thoroughly.
What town was this in?
I saw that too! I was driving home to Vermont and likewise wished I’d turned back to look again. I called my best friend who lives nearby to go check it out, but she wasn’t able to. I was pretty confident it was a mountain lion, and am so pleased you saw it as well. Thanks for posting!
I think the mountain lion was between exits 10 and 16, heading north on 89. I’m sorry, I know that’s a big area. I’ll ask my friends I was with if anyone remembers more specifically. Having just seen a bobcat last night (I’m currently in Sheffield, MA), I can confirm that it was not a bocat. I also have heard many stories in Vermont (from all over the state) about officials denying mountain lion reports, because it gets people to riled up.
I don’t know if I qualify because I live in Barnard, Vermont. Barnard is the town where the last catamount was shot in the late 1800s. It is on display at the State House in Montpelier. Last week I was near home, which is a heavily wooded area near the Chateauguay wilderness and saw what I believe was a young mountain lion. It’s tail was distinctly long, therefore not a bob cat. I have spent many hours in the woods over the last 30 years and know the difference between the kind of critters you usually see…fishers, foxes and bot cats – this was not one of those. It happened very quickly and was at dusk, but I do believe it was a young catamount.
Interesting. If you read the other posts, you will see that there have been 2-3 other sightings reported in your general area (within a 20 mile radius) this spring. If you see it again, or have a chance to gather other evidence – footprints (if you take a footprint photo put something else in the picture like a ruler, for scale) or scat or a photo of the actual animal – please send it to me. And post here agin if you see anything else. JR
I saw what I believe to be a mountian lion crossing Rt 101 between Milford, NH and Peterborough June 19, 2012 around 9:30am. There were 3 of us in the car at the time and we all agreed it was a very big cat with a long tail, therefore we figured it could only be a mountian lion.
Hmmm, this is the second report this month of a possible mountain lion in the Peterborough area. If you see a big cat with a long tail, that’s a pretty good indication of a mountain lion. The tail should be as long as the body, 4 feet in length (bobcats can have a tail up to a foot or so in length).
I know I saw a mountain lion many years ago while driving along Temple/Greenville Rd. in New Ipswich in the middle of the day. It happened about 17 years ago, probably in the spring of 1995. I know that’s a long time ago, but I thought it might interest some of you that they were around here back then. The animal was moving at a quick, steady pace through the tall grass in a field close to the road. I slowed down and got a good look at it. It was long and low to the ground, golden tan in color, had a flat “face” and small ears, and what impressed me the most was its very long tail that curved down and then up at the end. I knew it wasn’t a dog or a bobcat. It looked exactly like the pictures of mountain lions I’d seen in books and on TV. I didn’t report it at the time because I thought nobody would believe me. I have heard that the state doesn’t want to know about any sightings because of the red tape that they will have to go through to place the animal on the endangered species list. I don’t know how true that is, but it makes sense to me. I still remember that sighting as clear as the day it happened. What an impressive animal!
Thanks for sharing, great story. There have been a few recent reports of mountain lion sightings in the Temple/Peterborough area, but nothing confirmed.
A person I know said that they saw a mountain lion that had been hit by a car on Interstate 89 in Lebanon NH today about 6 hours ago. It was near mile marker 59 . They were pretty sure about what they saw. No pictures but there was a lot of blood on the Interstate when I came through and the “mountain lion” was gone in a VERY short time. Have been watching the news but nothing so far. Maybe someone else saw something? Good luck with the sightings, just thought that I would add this in case someone else knew if it was true….a small deer could be about the same size and color I suppose.
Thanks for the report. You are the second person to report that road killed mountain lion, and the detailed location is very helpful. This also fits with what have been 3-4 sightings of mountain lions in that part of Vermont/New Hampshire. I did a Google search for any report of a mountain lion killed on route 89, and nothing came up. JR
should have mentioned that it was in the northbound lane of I 89 about 4 feet after mile marker 59 to be exact. wish someone had a camera when it was there!
Deering NH about 2 miles from crotched mtn caught on trail camera feeding on deer carcus,Jan,2012 2am
Thanks for the post. I’d love to get a copy of that photo, to post here. JR
Please send a copy of photo to lmccracken2002@yahoo.com as I am trying to prove that mountain lions are here in NH. Thanks!
I’m curious, why are you trying to prove this? I think it’s cool that mountain lions may be here, it’s been a hobby of mine for many years. Do you have a similar interest, or other goals? Thanks! JR
NH Fish & Game says the eastern cougar is extinct, that none of people’s sightings are “confirmed”. That Is what the USF&WS says in their Mar. 2011 report, yet I have easily collected over 900 sightings, a scrape and some tracks. Geographically, the cats are seen in the same places for decades. People see kittens and juveniles. Confirmed proof is difficult (hair, scat, etc.), but I have trouble getting officials to even look at my data. For the USF&WS study asking for public input, they would only look at photos if I had two cougar “experts” verify that photos were “real”. Isn’t that their job? I took a course specializing in tracking big cats. Have they? I care. Do they? I’m just frustrated, and when I get frustrated, I don’t give up! It’s a passion of mine, so I guess we do have a similar interest.
Linda, I’ve read that report, and I’ve spoken with NH wildlife folks. The report is very narrow. It doesn’t say that mountain lions are not being seen in New England. It says that the sub-species of mountain lions known as the eastern cougar, which lived here until the mid to late 19th century, is extinct. I’ve talked at length with these guys. They are wild cat lovers, they would be really happy to find a breeding, wild population of mountain lions in New England. I am convinced that they are not hiding or covering up anything. They are also scientists, and quite demanding of evidence.
There is some evidence, such as you can see on this map . I was connected pretty closely to one of the DNA examples, the one from the Quabbin a couple of decades ago. I trained in animal tracking with Paul Rezendes, and met both John McCarter and Nick Wiznieski, who worked with Paul and spent a lot of time following up on reports of mountain lion sightings. This Quabbin DNA was clear evidence of a mountain lion living and hunting (at least for a while) in the Quabbin. But it wasn’t evidence of a wild, breeding population. The DNA was of a south American strain, which means it was a released pet (and not an eastern cougar). Our state wildlife guys told me that we’d be surprised how many mountain lions and other exotic predators are kept as pets. My sister lived next to a guy who kept and bred timber wolves, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised.
As you can see from reading the cougar network information, most of the DNA evidence from Northeast mountain lions is of a south American sub-species. A few are from north american migrants, such as the cougar killed in Connecticut last year, and those in southeastern Canada. The eastern cougar may be extinct, but wild cougars may still be migrating into New England and repopulating the region. That’s what keeps me interested!
I just saw one about an hour ago. I recently moved to Jaffrey and am a little over a mile from the town center in the “rural” area. I went outside to water the garden. There are woods and a small brook beside my house, and the crows were going nuts in the woods. This always means they are upset about an animal, and I was curious what it was. I went to look, expecting to see an owl or maybe a coyote.
Instead, I saw a large cat-shaped animal calmly walking parallel to my brook. It was a solid light-brown in color, no sign of spots or other obvious markings from the side view I had. It was about 4 feet long (absolute minimum body length would have been 3 feet)… not sure about its tail as the vegetation it was taller than was blocking any view of its tail if it was hanging down. It was lean (but not starving) and very good looking, no signs of injury or wear from living in the wild. It also looked like a juvenile to me, did not look like a fully grown animal. I got several glimpses of it before it walked too far along the brook for me to follow (woods is very thick and tick-filled).
I’ve only seen bobcats in zoos but this didn’t look like one to me… no spots. Looks most like online cougar photos I find.
Thanks for the post, and the detailed observation. If you can keep a camera handy, in case it shows up again. If you’re lucky enough to get a clean footprint, take a picture of that as well (with a ruler or something else in the photo to give a sense of scale). The state of New Hampshire ran a bobcat study in our area 2 years ago, and there were a couple of big bobcats in the Jaffrey area. So, that’s a possibility. But there have also been several reports of mountain lion sightings in the Jaffrey/Peterborough/Temple area in the past few weeks, so a mountain lion is also a possibility. Please post again if you see anything else. JR
I may have seen a mountain lion tonight, June 13, 2012. It was just before dark when I went into my Arrow Lane, Amherst side yard. Something ran from the bushes to my neighbor’s driveway. I did not see the head, but saw a large, muscular, tan animal with a long tail. It ran fast and was definitely not a dog.
Thanks for posting. Hard to say what it was without more detail. Please post again if you see anything else. JR
My wife saw what appeared to be juvenile mountain lion (tan in color, small head, long tail, carried low to the ground, with very large paws) crossing highway 202A in Strafford, on May 9, at approximately 8:45. It jumped up from the roadway to the top of an 8-9 foot embankment and disappeared into the woods, just past Roberts Road.
Thanks for the detailed post. In past years there were a number of reports of mountain lion sightings in the general Barnstead area. Please let us know if you see anything more (and keep a camera handy, just in case 🙂 !
I am quite certain that I saw a mountain lion this evening. The animal was traversing my property in southwestern Concord near Turkey Pond, moving from north to south on a cool, drizzly evening at 6:15 pm on June 4, 2012.
I was standing by an east facing window when I saw it moving at a fast walk. It just so happened at that moment my wife was driving home and coming up the long driveway also on the east side of the property. Her use of the automatic garage door opener elicited a sound that evidently caused the cat to stop and stare at the house—in other words right at the window through which I was looking at it.
No bobcat, I’m quite sure. It was the size of a mid to large-sized dog, but had sleek brown-orange fur and an unmistakable feline head. I was too busy looking at that face to notice its tail.
I rushed to stop my wife’s car, hoping we could both see it. But in the seconds it took me to go from kitchen window to garage it was gone, presumably into the woods to our south.
Thanks for the detailed post. There is still the possibility that it was a bobcat, given that you didn’t see the tail (and bobcats can easily get to be the size of a mmid-sized dog). But there have also been other reports of mountain lion sightings in the Concord/Contoocook area this spring/summer. So it fits a pattern. Please keep a camera handy, and let us know if you see anything else.
There is a large black cat with a body about four or five feet long and a tail of equal length in farmingron N.H. It hopped over my brother’s garden with ease and then turned and growled at my nephew . My nephew is full grown and was scared to the point that he had trouble speaking afterward. I have also seen video footage of a tan mountain lion climbing down a tree by a river in downtown Rochester N.H. They are here and
they do not fear us.
This is the first report of a black cat of that size. I know that when I spoke with state wildlife officials a year ago, they said that “we would be surprised at how many people keep big cats as pets, and then release them when they get too big to care for”. As far as I know, the only large black cat is a panther, which is not (and never was) native to north america. So a released pet is the more likely explanation (which also fits with it not being shy around humans, as wild mountain lions and bobcats are generally very shy and elusive).
I’d love to see the footage of the mountain lion in Rochester. If you can get a hold of that, and send it to me or post it somewhere, that would be fantastic.
Hi!
I would also like to see video of Mountain Lion as I am trying to prove that they are here in NH. lmccracken2002@yahoo.com
It was about 8 year sago now , but I was on my way to go camping with my 2 boys and younger brother. We were in washington N.H. on half moon pond rd. I watched this huge cat for about 30 seconds and it just stood there lookign at something. he was standing in the road. when he took off it was 2 leaps and he was gone. I would say he was a good 150 at least it looked like it was a body builder. Its a good thing I bring a handgun with me or I never would have gone camping that night. Now I would never harm an animal for any reason other then deer hunting or self defense. I have to say if I saw one from a distance I would get a picture if it was close and came near I would have to shot it. When I mentioned this to a local well knwn fish and game officier john S. he became angry and told me I didnt know what I was talking about. I was upset that he wouldnt even listen to me, its his job I thought. Well about a year later one night leaving washington I saw a baby it was the size of a small dog and you could tell it was a young mountian lion. He was playing in the road and wouldnt get out of the way of the car at first I got out for a closer look , but the realized a cub this young was proberly near mom so I got back in the car and watched it for about 3 mins befor it ran into the woods. If your a hiker or camper it doesnt hurt to carry a hand gun or pepper spray you pray you never need to use it, but youll be glad you have it if you need it. my story was in a local news paper and ive heard alot of other stories since and I belive most of them.
Dwight, great story. I haven’t heard of recent sightings in the Washington area. The baby mountain lion implies a breeding population, which is really interesting if that’s what’s going on. Post again if you see anything else.
I believe you as I’ve heard of 26 other big cat sightings in Washington including a black kitten (wild, not domestic). Other reports I’ve had of dens, kittens or adolescents include the following towns: Acworth, Alexandria, Allenstown, Ashland, Barnstead, Barrington, Columbia, Franconia, Gilford, Gilsum, Hancock, Keene, Lempster, Marlow, New London, Portsmouth, Richmond, Stewartstown, Stoddard, Surry, Sutton, Swansey, Washington, Windsor, I-95, Mt. Monadnock and the White Mountains. Those who have dens on their property protect their locations and the big cats. I have sightings that date back to the 1930s & 1940s in Conway, Errol, Lempster, Peterborough, Swansey & Washington. My take is they’ve been here all along in small pockets, but sightings are increasing drastically, including juveniles,
in the past two decades.
While I was traveling from Derry Nh on route 28, towards lake Massabesic area in Manchester I saw two mountain lions cross route 28. They had crossed from the east to the west. Their appearances looked similar in size and color and I knew that they were not bobcats due to the size of their long tails, and the large size of their bodies.
Check this picture out on Facebook from a few days ago
Mountain lion dragging a deer caught on ‘deer cam’.
(updated July 8). Turns out this photo was not taken in New Hampshire, but in Texas (see Linda’s comment just below). It did seem too good to be true.
Thanks for posting. That is an amazing photo! No doubt about it being a mountain lion, and a healthy one at that. I’d love to post that photo here, can you ask the owner if that’s okay?
Sorry, that photo is not local. It was taken on 2/15/09 on on ranch in South TX by Chet Markgraf, I believe.
Bummer. I’m glad you corrected me. I wish people would stop faking evidence.
We saw a mountain lion on our street 3 times in March, We are in the East Concord area. We lost 20 guinea hens, and chickens in less than 2 weeks.
The actual sightings were between 1-5pm.
Can you provide any more details – such as size, physical characteristics, activity? There have been a couple of other reports of mountain lion sightings around Concord (Turkey Hill Pond was one), so this fits a pattern. Please keep a camera handy, in case you get a chance to take a picture. Thanks for posting.
My friends and I spotted a good sized female mountain lion in Georges Mills, NH about one week ago roaming through the woods.
Thannks for posting. Can you provide any details – size, physical characteristics, time of day. What makes you say it was a female, could you see it that clearly and closely? There have been other sightings in that area this spring/summer. JR
Talking to a friend right now (May 8, 12:15 AM) and he is seeing mountain lion(s) [mom and cub?} on the Kancamagus, Route 112, East of Littleton.
Can you ask your friend to post here, with more details? Or a picture? Thanks, JR
I live in the middle of an open field in Canterbury, NH and this morning (8:00 am.) I was looking out the kitchen door into the field behind the house and noticed a turkey. Something orange caught my eye at the left edge of the field about 100 feet away. I had seen a fox (or at least I thought) the day before so I grabbed my binoculars. It was a big, orange cat with a long tail. Was not a bobcat or an overgrown kitty cat. Mountain lion, cougar, something else…I don’t know. It was walking along the edge of the field and then disappeared into the woods. The turkey didn’t even seem to notice it.
Thanks for the post, and the details. There have been a number of other reports this spring/summer in that general area. Please keep a camera handy, in case you get a chance to get a picture. JR
Reading these blogs comfirms my suspsions of what I briefly glimisped last spring [April of 2011] was in fact a mountain lion. I own a slopeside condo on Crotched Mtn. There is an out cropping of rocks up above the ski patrol hut, at the “true” summit. Those rocks face north. I like to hike up there & take in the view from those rocks. From this location Vermont, Pitcher Mtn, etc is to the left [west] & Sunapee, White Mtns, etc are straight ahead [north]. That early in the Spring there’s always still some melting snow up by the top of the main chairlift & patrol hut, plus alot of mud. I remember on that particular day I saw some tracks in the mud up above the hut & thought to myself that someone must have been up there with their dog. In hindsight what should have jumped out in my mind, but didn’t at the time, was lack of accompanying footprints from boots! Anyway, by going past this outcropping of rocks, a hiker would be heading south & going in the general direction of the rehab hospital on the south side of the mtn. At that point the trail gets narrow. On my way down later in the afternoon, I heard a branch snap up ahead of me, it was then that I caught a brief glimpse of an animal, tannish in color jumping across the trail about 30 yards away. My initial reaction was that I had startled & flushed out a deer. Apparently not so because what I distinctly remember was that whatever bolted across the trail had a very LONG black tipped tail; almost as long as it’s torso. I am a commercial truck driver & just 2 months ago while driving across country thru Oklahoma in stopped to look at a dead mountain lion on the highway median. It was impressive to see, even as road-kill. It probably weighed 100 lbs, it appeared to be healthy & muscular, with the same tan color, plus that same LONG, black tipped tail. The tail was about equal in length to the lion’s body torso. GMac
I just got back from a bikeride at the Gonic Trails in Rochester NH and about a quarter mile past the waterfall on the shore there was a deer carcus along with scat and a bunch of paw prints. I know this wasn’t fishercats because the deer’s head was missing all together. I’m not gonn jump to conclusions but I’m assuming it’s a bobcat.
A number of predators can and will take a deer here in NH – bobcats, coyotes and (if they’re indeed here) mountain lions. If you get a chance to take a picture of the scat of paw prints (I know, it’s too late now) please do – and put something else in the photo like a ruler for scale. Thanks!
Last night our indoor cat got out of the house and we searched our yard for hours looking for her. At around 9:30pm in Winchester NH we heard a cat scream like it was in a cat fight so we ran with flashlights to discover a big light brown animal running through the tall grass. We sadly found our cat dead with large puncture wounds to her head:( We chassed the animal off through our woods, what ever it was sounded very big! we have seen fox but it definetly was a lot larger!
I am sorry to hear about your cat. Based on going with what is most likely, the culprit was probably a bobcat. They are known to go after house cats, although it’s not all that common. This time of year, a mother bobcat has probably 2-3 small mouths to feed, and expands its hunting range. A year ago, a friend of mine who raises chickens had a bobcat coming to her backyard in the middle of the day, looking for an easy chicken dinner. During other times of the year bobcats generally avoid humans, and houses. JR
Gary, thanks for the detailed report. There have been other reports of sightings in that general area this spring, so yours fits that pattern. Please post again if you see anything else.
We saw mountain lion tracks in the snow this weekend in Dorchester. No actual animal, but we took photos of the tracks– about 3.5 inches in length and width both– with a tape measure next to it. Our neighbors down the road are also frequently seeing tracks this winter, same size, around their farm. The prints have the four pads on top, the lower larger pad, no claws visible.
Replying (better late than never) long after snow season. 3.5 inch tracks with no claws could have been made by one of several cats. That’s big for a bobcat, but not impossible. It’s perfect size for a Canada lynx which has been seen more frequently in the White Mountains area. And it’s on the small side, but possible, for a mountain lion. If you ever see such tracks again, can you take a picture, and put something to lend scale in the photo (like a glove, or ideally, a ruler)? Thanks!
Hi,no doubt about the cat I saw,I live in Weare have 10 acres of woods behind me and this past summer I saw one at 4pm in the afternoon walk by very slowly at 90 yards,i was sitting in a chair outside it was very quiet and the long tail with the black tip was the key,i do have a pic from my trail cam that isnt the best but you can tell what it is when you look at it,im not the only one that has seen this I have 3 other people that live on my street that have seen the same cat,1 person seen it chasing a coyote in the field next to her house as well
Hi!
I do cougar research to try to prove cougars are here in NH. Could you send a copy of your game camera photo to NHcougars@gmail.com ?
About four years ago I saw a mountain lion around Greenough pond in Errol, NH. I was leading a group of friends snowmobiling when the large cat ran across the trail in front of me. I couldn’t believe what I saw but unfortunately nobody else in the group saw it. It was a tan cat and had a long tail, big paws, and small head. I estimated that it weighed well over 100 lbs.
Just this past Thursday 2/23/12 I was snowmobiling with friends again in Errol, NH and saw another large cat. It was around 4:30 in the afternoon. This time though it was either very dark or black in color. I was riding just east of Clear Stream Road on Nathan Ridge Trail when this cat ran across the trail in front of me. This time two other riders in my group saw it as well. This cat took two leaps and it was up at least a 15 foot banking on the side of the trail. We were able to get a good look at it because on the second leap it sank in the deep snow and struggled to get over the top of the bank. Between the three of us we figured the cat weighed between 120-150 lbs and had a tail that was 3-4 ft long.
I can guarantee that this was not a bobcat either. I saw two bobcats the day prior while riding with my kids and this cat was 2-3 times the size of the bobcats and the tail was much longer.
The two areas where I saw these cats are less than five miles from one another.
I saw one in Bath NH near end of January 2012 around 3:45 – 4:00 pm a little over 100 yards from me. I thought it was a lynx at first but then it turned to walk toward the woods and noticed it had a very long tail. A few other people saw it and said it was a bobcat but i know it wasn’t because the tail was way to long and It was larger than any bobcat, coyote or domestic full grown dog and I am positive it was a cat of some sort. I can’t say for sure i know it was a mountain lion but being as big as it was and having a tail that long what else could it possibly be? i believe it was a mountain lion.
Feb 1 2012….My friend saw 2 mountain lions on RT 153 in Effingham, NH yesterday afternoon. She stopped and was watching them and didn’t know what they were until she saw the tails on them. They were definitely mountain lions
About 8 years ago I saw a mountain lion near my vegetable garden in Grantham, NH. We live at the foot of a logging trail in a deeply forested part of town. I ran for my camera and almost got a shot. There is no way it could have been anything other than a mountain lion. It was long-bodied and had a dark tip at the end of a fairly thick tail. The tail was certainly visible and almost as long as the body of the big cat. It didn’t seem to be as solidly built as photos of western cougars but was absolutely longer than a bobcat or a lynx. A few weeks later my husband and I both saw it. This time it was on the stone wall bordering the woods. It was there very briefly, not long enough to get the camera.
That year several other people reported sightings in town.
This year, 2012, there is talk again about a mountain lion sighting on the other side of the hill behind us.
I had a long look at it the first time and have never questioned what I saw. It was a very big cat with a body more than 4 feet long, tan colored with a long tail. What else could it be?
On May 18, 2010 at 2:00 PM I was walking 1.5 mi. into the woods on a dirt road to cast some cougar tracks I had found earlier. At 1/4 mi. in, I heard a loud crashing in the woods, then a loud “hiss-saw”! A sandy beige mountain lion came flying out of the trees as I came over the hill. It was about 200 feet in front of me. Its body was 5-6 ft. long. It seemed to be moving at 50-60 MPH with its belly low to the ground and legs pumping hard. With its paws & legs extended straight out, it looked like it was 10-12 feet long. It had dark vertical line markings on its face and a long (2.5-3′) tail with a dark brown tip which seemed to hypnotize me as it swung the tail around to balance as the cat flew across the road. It went “hiss-saw” loudly a second time as it turned up a snowmobile trail. I heard more crashing in the trees and two very confused, scared deer came out, looked at me, looked where the cougar had gone and went in the opposite direction. I have photos of the tracks in the sand in the road, but they are just 6″ wide depressions in soft sand about 15″ apart. There were no pug marks. I made my first casting, which was awful! I had my camera with me in my hands, but was too shocked and scared to push the button. I only saw it for about 10 seconds. My guess is that it weighed 130-150# and was only 18″ high (but that’s because it’s belly was grazing the ground), so that was the width of its body. I assume it was chasing a third deer which I didn’t see.
I forgot to say that I saw this cat near a pond and woods in Marlow, NH.
I saw one around 12pm today in my neighbors backyard. I suppose it was maybe 300 feet away. It was walking casually across the lawn and finally rounded the shed flicking its big long tail. I only saw it for a minute before it slipped away. It was awesome! I wish I had thought to take a picture. I live in Merrimack, and all the houses on my street back up to a woodsy area. We used to have deer in my back yard, but since the beginning of November they’ve made themselves scarce, and my dogs refuse to come inside now. They sit there with their noses up in the air in the same direction that I saw the cougar.
Emma, thanks for the post. JR
We had one the morning of 11-25-2011.
He walked around our home in Jefferson N.H.as well as3 of our neighbors homes.I did’nt see him but the paw prints and the 7-8 feet between them speaks volumes . Our mail deliver did see him once from her vehicle.
I tracked him for 2miles or more before giving up.
Scott, if you have a chance next time, take some photos of the paw prints. Place a ruler or yardstick in the photos, so that it’s easy to see the size of the paw print and the length of the stride. It’s easiest to take pictures of prints in snow when the sun is low, so that there are some shadows in the depressions.
Also, can you include exact location, description of surrounding terrain, and (if possible) details from the other sightings (what exactly did your postman see, when and where exactly did they see it?). Thanks! JR
Didn’t mention it was just outside of Keene nh in Surry…
I was at surry mountain camp ground in july2011. At 12:30 am while in my tent with my 2 year old daughter I woke up to loud growling hissing and angry cat noises. It circled the tent several times and came to our heads and sniffed for a couple of minutes. It’s nose was inches away. I kept my toddler sleeping and stayed silent. I armed myself with a flashlight and waterbottle and tried to prepare myself for it to tear through. It sat for 15 minutes ther. I could hear it sighing and huffing marked by less frequent growls until it left at nearly 2am. I listened to soundbytes of animals and the noises were without a doubt, made by a mountain lion. I’m still shaking.
A massive mountain lion crossed the OHRV trail directly in front of me in Woodsville NH during the Sep 2007 off-road dirt bike Turkey Run. It was raining heavily but the cat was less than thirty feet in front of me. It was dark tan, very muscular and I estimate it’s weight to be at least 175 lbs. It was running in a crouch, focused on something in the gulch to my right. It had a long tail and there is no doubt in my mind what it was. I have a 39 lbs stuffed bobcat in my home which was killed by a car in front of my house and this cat was nothing like the bobcat. The cat crossed in front of me and behind my friend who was riding ahead of me. I told my friend about the sighting at the next road crossing which is near the Ocean State Job Lot on RT-302 in Woodsville.
Incredible sighting of a mountain lion, I still can’t believe it! I was on rte 116 just over the Fraconia/Easton townline. I drove past my house to drop off mail for my sister-in-law and turned the car around at the end of her driveway. When I was fully turned around there it was in the road, it was on the side walking right out, very calm and confident. Not in a huge hurry, just walking across the street and didn’t bother to look in our direction either. My car was probably 30-35 feet from it and I just stopped to see it and then drove slowly a bit closer as it began to leave the road. Going into the woods between our two driveways. It was just amazing to see, but I was very confused because my first reaction was – oh my God, that looked like a lion or a puma or something, what was that? It had a short and very tidy coat, incredibly muscular shoulders, a long body, a long tail and a cat head. It was beautiful! But I still couldn’t believe it! Of course we are outside all the time and see bears quite often crossing in that area, but to see that was really incredible. I ran into my house to tell my husband and he kept asking me about the tail and I kept saying – it was long and the body was long too. Just last night he said I think you saw a mountain lion and I looked up the photos this morning and saw this blog and a moutain lion is what I saw. I saw it on August 24th (at about 3pm) so we’ve been talking about it for a bit over a week. Just amazing! I have to say, I’m a bit nervous now because he was so calm and confident and we spend lots of time in the woods on our land hiking and walking to the river, but I suppose he’s not really looking for us. Yikes!
Saw a mountain lion on August 2, 2011 in s charlestown nh. Was heading north on rt 12 next to the river, right before the 12a overpass about 5:30 pm. Ran across the road within 20 ft of my car.
I currently know of a breeding pair of mt. lions in Sullivan county with two yearlings and there are numerous sightings through out sullivan and Cheshire counties, I will be posting pics this weekend.
Tony, there’s a page here with a link for sending me photos, which I’ll happily post. It goes without saying that we’ll be surprised to see photos of mountain lions and cubs. I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ve got! JR
Tony- how would u have knowledge of this?.. I mean not to be a jerk.. But that’s amazing!.. I just fear for their lives from idiots that won’t allow them to breed and continue the eastern movement of these cougars that soo many sightings and reportings have shown us.. Part of me is happy to hear this where the other part is wondering how many lion hunter tourists etc will flock to that area?!?!… Tell me do u have photos, scat evidence, kill photos, hair samples?.. To actually kno of a actual breeding pair with cubs you obviously would have atleast those… Look forward to seeing that!.. And try to keep unwanted ppl from harming them thanks!
Have you posted the pics somewhere online Tony? Would love to see them. I have a few friends who clain to have seen them without a doubt in SUllivan/Cheshire County near Fall Mountain/Cold River and would love to see proof.
I saw one yesterday morning 07/30 about 6:30 AM it ran across the road in font of me and I was astonished. I was traveling west on route 202 near the Rochester Barrington line / Ayes Lake area. It had a tail about 3′ long and made about 3 leaps and was gone. Very tall and lanky. I am familiar with a bobcat and no way it was a bobcat.
Mark, thanks for the post. Any other details? Color? Details about the location – wooded area, fields, other? Have there been other sightings in the area? We’d love to see a picture, if you can, keep your camera ready. JR
Wish I had a camera with me, but the reality is that it was over in about 4 seconds as it was on the run crossing the road. I was so surprised it took me a minute to realize what I had seen. Color was deer like but on the dark side . Had kind of a round head from the sdie view. it was a wooded area adjacent to ayers lake. yes I have read about and heard about sitings in this area.
jr, i looked up “mountain lions in nh” and your blog came up.
i live 2mins away from 202, your right there have been many sightings here and in the surrounding towns. most of us have grown up here and have seen bobcats more times then we can count, although they are shy and not huge in population, they have still been thriving here in nh’s back woods.
many hunters and hikers have spotted dead deer high up in the trees around bald mt and hedgehog. Many of us have lost livestock during the day, without our dogs noticing any commotion. these animals exist, thats clear, but why do we need proof?
Ruby, great to see your comments. I have also heard stories of livestock killings, and deer up in trees. I’d love to get a picture of a deer stashed up in a tree, there are very few ways a deer gets up there, besides a mountain lion. Or a clear picture from a game camera. I saw a game cam picture in Jaffrey, a couple of years ago. It was hard to tell what kind of cat it was at first, but I’m pretty sure after examining it for 10 minutes, that it was of a bobcat. But it’s often tough to tell. There are three possibilities here. One is that there are no mountain lions, and people are mistaking other animals for them. Two is that there are mountain lions, but that they are released pets. It turns out that a fair number of people keep exotic animals as pets, including mountain lions. Then, when they can’t care for them any longer, they release them. Three is that there is a breeding population of wild mountain lions, scarce but present. The reason we need proof is to differentiate between these possibilities. If we have a breeding population, this is very important news. It will impact all sorts of things – wildlife management, hunting, hiking and woodlot management, etc. I have talked to wildlife biologists – they would love to see a charismatic predator like the mountain lion re-establish itself here. But they are also scientists, and they need hard proof to declare that mountain lions are here. Despite 20 plus years of rumors and stories, there is still no hard proof. I posted this blog partly to help with that. Thanks again for posting. JR
Hi JR,
I live in Rochester, NH in a highly populated area but the back of my yard is marsh runoff from the river. Today, while some friends and I were cooking hamburgers on the grill, we saw a flood of about 4 cats (my own included) running through the yard being chased by a LARGE Bobcat. It stood approx. 3 1/2 ft., was approx. 4-5ft long. The largest I have ever seen. It did tree a domestic cat, which jumped from the tree when it screamed. Unfortunately, that domestic didn’t make it. The Bobcat drug it off into the marsh.
I know it was a Bobcat due to the tail, off white belly and hairy ears/face. I also know their scream/growls very well. They have a scary, very uniquely loud hollowed out eerie sound. I use to live in AL where I was always chasing them away from my colts. I did make a report with the local PD and with Animal Control.
Though you would like to know.
Traci
Traci, thanks for the report. There are some big bobcats here in NH. I’ve heard mixed opinions on whether or not they take domestic cats, there’s no doubt in your story. JR
What kind of people let their domestic cats out in this kind of habitat? I would never let mine out…
JR I know tis blog is dead but you may want to to talk to the satellite ( cell phone tower guys) that built the towers on cranmore. They fly helicopters to the top a couple of years ago. One of the supervisors is a close friend of mine they reported seeing a mtn lion several times sunning himself on peaked mtn rock shelf. My friend is an avid hunter and spent time in california and washington state and has had encounters with mtn lions in the past. Unsubstantiated but supposedly the local game warden went with them and took a pictures. I have no doubt that thier are mtn lions in this area.
Stephen
I have been told by a couple of people now that there are some pictures of a mountain lion taken from someones game cam. They are supposedly posted at a local antique shop. I have heard stories of this thing chasing deer and dragging up into a tree.
The pictures are at Four corners antique shop in Rochester. I have not made it up there to verify. I heard of one in Barnstead acouple of years ago, and that isn’t too far from there, so maybe something worth looking into.
Dec 25 2010 about 12:15 pm.
Newton N.H. (Southern NH)
My wife and I looked at a cat approx 24″ high at the shoulders. He was tan with about a two foot long tail that looked about 1 3/4″ round. I took pictures of the tracks (I will get them to you) he left in the snow. Compared to the tracks on your site they are most common to the mountain lion and not at all like the coyote. They do show signs of claws. They are as wide as my four fingers together (approx. 4″). One set is larger than the other.
Animal looked to be very muscular with short tan fur. We were about 100 yards away, looking through a window with no screen. I have seen a fisher cat and this was not the same.
I will contact my animal control office, but I don’t think anyone will think I saw a cougar.
Let me know please.
Greetings, thanks for posting. My hunch is that you saw a bobcat, but it’s hard to be sure. If you can, keep a camera by the window, so you can get a picture if the animal returns. And please do send me the pictures of the tracks (if you can, when you take track photos, include a ruler in the photo for scale). My email is john.f.ranta@gmail.com.
You might want to check out the pictures on UNH’s bobcat research site (check out the bobcat photo gallery) to see some great pictures and info on New Hampshire bobcats. Here’s the link – http://mlitvaitis.unh.edu/research/bobcatweb/bobcats.htm
Thanks again! JR
Thank you. I picked up a copy of the Monadnock Ledger Transcript from Sept. 2nd 2010 pg. 5 and it looks like “my cat” is a bobcat. I thought for sure the one I saw had a longer tail. Well…mystery solved!
Thanks again! Nancy
Hello,
This past August I was driving on Route 124 between Jaffrey, Sharon and New Ipswich. The stretch of road past Millipore and before Nashua Road is pretty desolate and I saw a mountain lion run/leap across the road in front of me. The coat was sleek and reddish brown and it had a really long strong tail and small ears. I looked up what a bobcat looks like and that wasn’t it. I’ve contacted the Transcript/Ledger paper out of Peterborough because a friend told me they had a picture of one taken at the Jaffrey golf course right around that time. I hope to get a copy of the picture tomorrow. This has been on my mind for months. I own conservation property in Rindge between Rt. 119 and 202 and like to hike. Hopefully, I won’t come in contact with one while out there.
Thanks, Nancy A.
Nancy, thanks for post. Your story is interesting, and similar to other reports from the Monadnock area. Regarding the cat that was seen at the Shattuck golf course, a friend emailed me the pictures the golfer took (and which later were published in the Ledger), a couple of months ago. That Shattuck cat was definitely a bobcat. It was big, the biggest bobcat I’ve seen, but nonetheless it was a bobcat.
If and when you see your cat again, the thing to look for is the tail. A bobcat’s tail is about 1 foot long, whereas a mountain lion’s is 3-4 feet long (nearly as long as the body). It’s also helpful to try and get the scale of the cat by making note of objects near it, such as trees, rocks, etc (which you can use for measurement later). Of course, a picture is the best – hopefully if the cat shows up again you’ll have your camera handy 🙂
Bobcats and mountain lions can be similar in color (both tannish-greyish on top with a lighter belly). A bobcat often has slightly darker spots, but these may be vague or hard to see. Both a bobcat and a mountain lion are about 3 feet tall at the shoulder, although the mountain lion’s body will be quite a bit longer. The head and ears of both are similar when glimpsed quickly, although if you get a long look you might think the bobcat’s face looks “hairy” and the mountain lion’s ears often have black tips and are more rounded. But these kinds of details are hard to pick out when you are surprised by a quick glimpse, so the tail is the best thing to look for.
Please post again if you see anything more. JR
Nancy,
you may be on the right track. Not far from there is a nature reserve that abuts a Private owned one hundred acre wood. There have been pics of a mountain lion caught on game camera up there. Although it is easy to mistake the smaller cat family with the large ones, head on the faces are quite a bit different.
I live 20 mins away from Wilton and have lost a 900lb bull and almost a sheep to which a fish and game ranger has said “seems like a cat attack to me”. We of course have these animals . They are not going to stop at the boarder and turn around, but if it’s proven they are here in any sort of abundance, we will have to pay out more taxes to protect them. “Proof” is fine but know if there’s to much of this “proof” it will have an impact both positive AND negative
Hi JR. How goes it?
Monday,16 August, 2010, 10:00 AM.
My husband just looked out the window at the hanging birdfeeder and saw a “lion” in the backyard. When he called me, the animal looked up at him and ran into the woods. The squirrels were going “nuts.” I got on the internet and looked up a photo of a mountain lion and John said that was it. It was the size of a large dog, solid tan in color, with a cat face. He said it had run quite fast into the woods. When I looked at the birdfeeder earlier, there were 4-5 squirrels on the ground eating the dropped birdseed. John thinks it was hunting the squirrels.
Our black and white cat disappeared a couple of weeks ago.
Marilyn A. Bushman
Marilyn, thanks for the post. One other possibility is that it could have been a bobcat. People are often surprised at how big a bobcat can be (the size of a Labrador Retriever). A bobcat has a short tail, about 6-10 inches in length. Bobcats are much more likely than mountain lions to prey on squirrels and house cats (mountain lions prefer big prey – primarily white-tailed deer).
This doesn’t mean it wasn’t a mountain lion, just that a bobcat is much more likely. The key would be to get a picture – especially in profile. If you can, keep a camera by the window, and post a picture here! Thanks, JR
we were traveling home from a weekend of camping in the Monadnock region of NH and I am pretty sure that I saw a mountain lion on 202. one shoulder was raised and the cat was looking back at the road after crossing- so I got a good view of the tail and face- not anything else would be that large with the features that I saw.
Ruth, thanks for posting here. As I mentioned above, to Marilyn, bobcats can be quite large (Labrador Retriever sized), and of course are also cats. How long was the tail on the cat you saw? A mountain lion’s tail is nearly as long as its body – 3 feet – whereas a bobcat’s tail is less than a foot long. They both are tawny to light brown in color (bobcats can be somewhat gray sometimes). Where on 202 did you see it (I live not far from the intersection of rte 202 and rte 137, about 5 miles from Mt Monadnock)? There have been scattered rumors of sightings of mountain lions near here over the past couple of years, but nothing has been confirmed. This summer there have been many bobcat sightings (this seems to be the summer for bobcats). Thanks, JR
Got foot prints here in windsor nh I’m off 202/31 wish you could see them I posted the prints on my face book
Ruth emailed me her photos. Here’s my reply to her email. “thanks for sending these pictures. I can’t tell what the 3rd and 4th tracks are, they are too blurry. The first two pictures, of the single prints, don’t look like cat prints. You can see the impression of two toenails in the front of each of them, which is a feature of canid (dog or coyote) tracks. And the overall shape and symmetry are also more like canid tracks. My guess would be coyote.”
Test post. Things have been quiet, I’m not sure how to get this blog to show up in search engines. jr
You have to add it to Google. Also, pad the title with invisible search words. I found it by typing in “Latest Mountain Lion Sightings in NH.” BTW, I came here to report that a friend thought she saw a mountain lion in her yard in Bedford NH just this morning.