To post a photo, email it to me here. Please provide as much information as possible – name of the photographer, location photo was taken, date and time of day, and anything else you may have seen or noticed. Thanks! JR
(Click on the photos to view fullsize)
Last mountain lion shot in New England – Montpelier, VT
April 2017
You folks know that I’m pretty skeptical regarding photos. I’ve been sent a lot of pictures that have not panned out. But these track photos are pretty interesting. They were sent by Ken Boucher, and taken in southwest NH. To me they are definitely felid (not canid) tracks. And too big to be a bobcat. Ken did a nice job of photographing these, and giving us a sense of size.
August 26, 2016
A couple of folks have sent me photos over the past few days. One is clearly a (big) bobcat, photographed in Salem. The other, from Lyndeborough, is harder to classify, since only the front half of the cat is shown. Thoughts?
August 8, 2016
In the past two weeks, three people have sent me photos, taken in New Hampshire. None of them are mountain lion photos, in my personal opinion. One seems to be clearly a bobcat. The other two lack enough detail to be sure, but to me they seem to have more bobcat characteristics. You can be the judge. Here they are.
MOULTRIE DIGITAL GAME CAMERA
July 3, 2016
These two photos were taken recently in Webster, MA. It’s hard to tell scale in the pictures, as well as detail of coat and features.
January 31, 2016
Below are photos of tracks taken in Chester, NH on 1/27/16. These 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.
Here’s a photo taken recently on a game cam in Campton, NH. It’s hard to get a sense of scale, but the likelihood is this is a house cat.
On 10/26/2013 at 12:45 PM trail cam shot this picture on Towncrier Rd in Amherst NH (although repeated requests to the person who sent it to me for more information have gone unanswered). David Brooks of the Nashua Telegraph (one of the most credible reporters on wildlife and mountain lion stories in New Hampshire) quotes a state wildlife expert that this is a house cat. http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/granitegeek/1020628-468/is-this-a-picture-of-a-mountain.html
In the past month, five people have sent me the following photo, claiming that it was taken in (pick one) Bedford, Wilton, Greenfield or Richmond. None of the people sending it was the original photographer, they each had received it from a friend. I became more and more skeptical as each email arrived, so I did some digging. It turns out that this photo has been appearing around the internet for the past couple of years, with claims that it was taken in Ontario, Connecticut and Maryland, amongst other places. Here is a http://gb.mountainlifemag.ca/2013/mountain-lion-photo-mystery/ newspaper story describing the detective work to track this down.
Ann’s game cam photo, taken in Northumberland NH in September 2013. Looks like a bobcat, although it’s not clear.
April 2, 2014. It’s happened again. Someone has sent me a photo they claim was taken recently with their game camera, in Hampstead NH. The photo they sent is below. It took me about 5 minutes, using Search by Image on Google, to identify the original photo taken in the west in 2010 (here’s the link – http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2010/10/american-lion.html) It’s getting really annoying, that so many people (this is 5 or 6 now) would try to pass off counterfeit photos as legitimate. No wonder the NH Wildlife officials are so skeptical. As you can see if you compare the photo below with the link, these are the same animal and image, one cropped. And the vegetation is totally wrong for New Hampshire.
I would like to send a picture of possible Lynx prints in the snow, due to the cone shape of print. It walked around my house last night. Took pictures this morning when I saw the prints. Length was 3 inches not including the cone and 2 1/2 inches wide.
The Webster Ma pic looks like a large housecat… the rest are Bobcats as clearly the bobbed tail is seen.
There is also a FB page too. (not related to this blog) https://www.facebook.com/MountainLionsNH/
I wish the folks who have seen this big cats would keep the actual location a secret. The state has LOTS of poachers and trophy hunters.
“The state has lots of poachers and trophy hunters” Really? Mr Lee, are you willing to provide names or just making a completely ridiculous and uninformed statement?
Thank you for your response Mr. Parker regarding my “…completely ridiculous and uninformed statement…”. I have first hand knowledge of poaching of a big cat in central New Hampshire and I can probably identify one of the participants.
By your emotional riposte, I suspect you are either a trophy hunter or poacher yourself and you are monitoring this message board for the sole purpose of obtaining leads as to where you can stake out your next ‘hunt’. I hope John will consider banning you permanently here.
I love all animals; especially cats; especially BIG cats.
No, sorry, neither a poacher nor trophy hunter. I assume as a good citizen you reported your firsthand knowledge of poaching to the authorities and there is record of it?
Respectfully I suggest you ax John for a copy of the report.
David and Richard, enough, okay? JR
OK.
We are from south NH and some if us out here that actually see local mountain lion’s would rather the public didn’t know for the safety of the animals.
I have a report regarding poaching of a suspected mountain lion in Salisbury, NH. Is there a way to send it (in pdf or doc form) to this sire?
Email to john.f.ranta@gmail.com.
I’m almost certain I saw a mountain lion cross rte 11 in Gilford by the airport this afternoon at approximately 5pm , it was a large cat that was almost as tall as the guardrail with a long tail so I know it wasn’t a bobcat at first I thought it was domestic but then I realized by the size comparison to the guard rail it was much to big to be a domestic cat .
I don’t know if any other sitings have been reported in the area but it’s been on my mind since I saw it so I wanted to share what I had seen.
Any pics yet????
I watched a mountain lion grab a chicken and vanish in the blink of an eye right in belmont nh this summer.
Looked like a bodybuilding steroid freak of a cat. (Seriously) massive muscles short light tan hair and a big long tail.had to be over a hundred pounds and probably about 6′ tall if it stood straight up.
This was just before noon time so it was daylight and Maybe 20′ from me.
I’m just glad my dog isn’t very observant and just snored through the incident oblivious to flock of chickens screaming and running for their life.
I almost hit a mountain lion on 93 south by exit 5. I was driving about 65 at dusk when this huge cat with a long tail bolted in front of my car as I passed it I seen the long whiskers as the lights hit the animal. It was incredible to see something like that, amazed and scared.
I just sent you pictures of tracks from 10-27-16
I feel as though a couple might be mountain lions, My brother saw one down towards Keene NH an couple years back an a good friend of my family claims to have seen one too. A mountain lion as we all know is a big Cat, an we also know that Canada has them. Some of the ppl I hunt with claim the the fires in Canada pushed them down this way, I can’t remember how long ago the fires happened but know that it wouldnt take a cat that size in the woods to cover some territory. there nomads for sure.
The one with the night time game cam back end view looks like the ears are too rounded and smooth to be a bobcat and the tail too long. But most of the others are bobcats.
My friend saw two mountain lions or bobcats while walking on the Rookery Trail on the Fidelity campus in Merrimack, NH on July 11, 2016 in the morning. She said they had sleek, blonde fur and tails.
There have been several reports from friends of mine and other residents in Weare, NH that a mountain lion was sighted and it’s been going on since I was a kid. A close friend of mine on Rockland road in Weare claims to have walked out of his house for a smoke one night and came face to face with it right there in his driveway, and his neighbor across the street apparently caught it on his trail cam. A couple years ago there was a news report on wmur that it killed someones dog just off Hodgedon road in Weare. After looking up a few things and finding this website I decided I’m going to take this a step further and get a solid, full detail picture of this thing. Even if I have to track it down more than once. We live in an age where everyone has a phone with a high quality camera and can take HD video, so if it’s really out there, there’s no excuse for the spotty quality of these photos. If I get anything, I will email it.
I was a Weare resident and have long hunted in the Mount William area. About 5 years ago while deer hunting I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye approximately 100 yds away. I brought my rifle scope up in time to see 2 good sixed kits jump over a stonewall into the clear and then quickly into the tree line. Initially I was not sure of what I saw as I had never seen anything like it, and I’ve seen just about every animal indigenous to NH. After replaying the image in my mind I realized they had very long tails that twitched in the air as they jumped and had dark tufts of hair on the ends. I did not see the mother but I’m sure it was her movement that caught my attention. A cougar and her kits were too close for comfort so I slowly backed out of the area and called it a day.
I have a pic from my backyard Salem nh how do I send it ?
I replied to Christine directly, will post the photo when I have it. JR
Photo posted, it’s also from Salem, the same cat that Michelle posted. A bobcat.
Your 35 minutes west of us, not surprised anyone is seeing them in southern NH, we have a local one here years now. Best to leave nature as is than draw in attention they and locals don’t need.
Awesome site!! keep up the good work. There here for sure. My wife has seen 2, or 1 twice- here in in Fremont.
I have seen one in Hollis, NH when I was farming. They are here!
I’m glad I saw your post. Last night just before 6 pm I think a mountain lion ran across the road right in front of me. I couldn’t believe it. I’m in Fremont, NH
I was with my brother on Greenwoods road in richmond, new hampshire over the summer. It was about 6pm, driving about 20mph down the road and a very large cat with a very long tail leaped accross the entire road right in front of us. No doubts this was a big mountain lion.
Those tracks look canine. The center pad has a forward facing single lobe, while felines have a double lobe, or front facing u shape. I see front facing single lobes in those photos.
We recently had a dear torn apart outside our bedroom window by a pack of coyotes. The next day the carcass dissappeared, and similar newer tracks were left, with a snowshoe effect around the pad. We measured and took photos, thinking it might be a lion as well, but the shape of the pad seemed to show canine.
Matt, good point, but it’s kind of hard to tell. I’ve looked at lots of tracks, and photos. These are pretty clear, but there’s still some indistinction in heel pad detail. What led me to say these are cat tracks is: the very round shape; the lack of claws, the “3 and 1” toe pattern (no X pattern of toes) and the teardrop shape of toes. Tracks in snow are by nature less than clear. These are more detailed than many I’ve seen. They hit about 80% of the identifiers fore feline tracks. Here’s a good resource http://cougarrewilding.org/CougarNews/?p=162
Antrim NH police say they fought on thier dash cameras not sure if it’s true or not but that’s what the y claim. Don’t email me I wasn’t there I guess you would have to ask the Antrim PD it’s thier claim. I will say I do believe they are here again just not in big numbers yet.
I previously lived in Wolfeboro NH. I’ve seen black bear, coyote, bobcat, deer and even a fisher. I knew that wolves and mountain lions had been hunte to extinction in the New England area in the late eighteen hundreds so I never would’ve believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself. My neighbor has all kinds of small farm animals, such as chickens, geese and goats, and many were going missing. She had a permit to shoot predators eating her animals. She shot the culprit who turned out to be a mountain lion. She called fish and game and had its head in her freezer for a week before they came to retrieve it.
If this report is true, there must be photos. Please send them to me, I will post them. john.f.ranta@gmail.com
I just saw one infront of Strafford elementary school, aprox 9:15 on 12/30/2014 looked full size adult.
Last night I went to the Amherst NH Walmart to pick up my girlfriend and drove back to Milford, NH home. On the way home “With my girlfriend”, we nearly hit what I believe was a possible mountain lion.
we were heading west on the 101 bypass just before our turn off onto the rt 13 exit when left to right went a blur that was perhaps the fasting moving animal I have ever seen. It was a flash about 3 feet high and I just missed hitting the animal with my car. I jammed on the breaks and my girlfriend and I at the same time looked at each other and said that “That was no deer” and we both agreed it was a big cat.
I have been in the woods my whole life and I have seen bobcat and I know the bobcat gait and it was no bobcat..
The issue with this sighting is that I can’t tell if I saw a tail or not because it was so fast and I couldn’t get a good look at it. The only thing I know is that the color was a golden yellow and I am certain it was a big cat and probably 5-6 feet in length.
If it was exhilarating to see it and there is a part of me that wished I had hit it with the car being so close to home. Both my girlfriend and I agree it was a large cat and it would have come out of a large field from the left and there are many deer in the area to feed on…. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen the 5 deer living in my back yard for a while:/
Heard Mountain lion screams in back yard of Hillsborough NH!!!! Sons friend saw one in Washington NH, at the dump. Everyone stay alert, be safe.
Hi, I live in Wakefield Ri and we have 5 sightings in the last 3 weeks in my neighborhood. Last night I saw 2 together.
Bruce
Dunno if you noticed, but this site is devoted to New Hampshire
Then they wouldn’t accept a picture of a mountain lion taken in a neighboring state?? No, this blog has become a meeting place for people all over the east.
I’m surprised you can drive to wal-mart without hitting a mountain lion. Adding up the positive sightings I’m thinking there are around 1billion in New Hampshire alone.
Those are not mountain lions going to Wal-mart. They are Cougars…
sept 8, 2013 at about 5:45 pm we were heading down mt rd in Francestown when a mt lion came out of the woods and ran in front of our car to the other side of the woods. we got a good look at it. went home and googled pictures of mt lions . It definetly was a mt lion.
sammi, your in the right area…I spoke with my dad tonight who spoke with a good friend and a legit source that he saw one going through his trash yesterday …he lives about 2 miles past Crotched mtn golf course…ie…go down the road to the golf course…go past the course..and keep going until it turns to dirt…eventually drops you off in Antrim…he lives out there…no joke..
I have a few friends that have seen mountains lions in our area. Rindge and Jaffrey, New Hampshire. Another in New Hampshire at a state park, forgetting which one now. They were walking through the park and it was a hundred feet in front of the them, drinking out of a stream and they slowly backed up and got to their car. The other was a mom from Jaffrey with several kids and she lives close to a reserved wetlands area, her kids found skat in their backyard and the neighbor saw it in his yard. A few other Facebook friends saw a mountain lion on route 119 near Watatic Mountain crossing the road.
i have had a mom and kits in my yard
Can you provide some detail? Where (what town and area)? When (time of day and time of year)? What did you see, size of animals, behavior, distinguishing characteristics, etc? Thanks! JR
i live in a small town on the end of the road we have the cats here seen in all the towns next to me Keene Peterborough Washington NH i need a trail cam
I saw one out side of Masadonia Brook State Park in Kent, Conneticut in the spring of the year. It was on our same path about 100 yards to the left. In the fall of that year camping next to the Housatonic outside Kent, one was very near camp when it roared, I think hearing it so close was more frightening than seeing it.
That’s an area that’s had a number of reports in the past. I was hiking the Appalachian Trail through that area a dozen years ago, and the AT Ridge Runner told me about seeing a mountain lion on two separate occasions that summer.
I haven’t rec’d the blog by email for over a month. Is that because there are no new reports?
It’s been quiet, which seems odd after a busy summer. You haven’t missed anything…
Hello John! I live pretty much directly across from Crotched Mountain ski area. My bucket list pretty much consists of seeing a wild mountain lion! I know they’re around here! My sister in law say one last summer and my husband saw two one summer in the early 90’s. Just wondering if there have been any more recent sightings? I’m praying one will just pop into my yard one day 🙂 Thank you!
Sammi, I hope you get your wish. And if you do, have a camera handy, and post here! JR
i saw a mountain lion in weare nh at Toby hill. I took a walk up Toby hill in weare nh. I kept feeling like something was watching and following myself and my dogs.I decided to start heading home.When I got about a mile away from my house. My minature pinschure decided to run off the trail into the woods. I heard barking so I ran toward him and heard a screach. I couldnt beleive my eyes it was a mountain loin with my dog in its mouth., It took my minature pinschure dog of 9 years and killed it. i was 50 feet away. it looked at me then just ran up the hill with my dog.
so sorry to read this. Stay Safe
I enjoy reading the reports of sightings as well as hearing about them in my area. I know you are looking for photos. At “Four Corners Antique” store in Rochester, they have a photo hanging of a mountain lion caught on a game camera. The photo was supposedly taken in Strafford. I am not sure if you want to look into this or not. The store is at the intersection of 202A, Meaderboro road and Estes road. Good luck, Rick Zielfelder