HomeChris Spatz of Cougar Rewilding goes on the attack
Chris Spatz, of the cougar rewilding foundation, has gone on the attack against our researchers.
Chris claims there are no cougars in New England or Canada, and that one that allegedly walked here
from South Dakota, was a one and only deal. Any others are "escaped pets". I'm sure all of you have
a neighbor with a pet cougar.
We have gathered evidence over the years, and noted that there are quite a few confirmations of the animal that
are not really mentioned in official records. I think the population in CT would agree, there are at least a
small population of cougars (AKA Mountain Lions) present.
He puts forth decades old theories that have been proven wrong over and over.
Feel free to continue to post, but Chris feels you are all mistaken. You are seeing coyotes, house cats, and bobcats.
While some sightings clearly are misidentifications, we are well aware its not all of them.
Thanks much!!
Cougars of the Valley
May 30th, 2016 - 17:53
I know what I saw in Simsbury was a cougar.
June 3rd, 2016 - 13:10
I know what coyotes, house cats and bobcats look like. I have seen them all on my property. What I saw a year ago, here in Killingowrth, jumping out of a tree in front of me was a mountain lion/cougar which is much different than any of those. I guess we are all blind and stupid.
June 3rd, 2016 - 13:24
Well they dismissed reports of what was likely the Milford cat in that area for months prior. Of all the populated places it apparently visited, only one blurry photo was taken. Its not easy to get a camera out in time when you sight one. Our group didn’t think that photo was good enough for a verification at the time either.
June 4th, 2016 - 13:25
Just my opinion….Could Chris Spatz be right? Sure he could. Are 90% of sightings probably mistaken identity? Probably. Could the remaining 10% of sightings be “escaped pets”? Possibly. There is no question that it is a little odd that with all the sightings there aren’t at least a few pics that are clearly Mountain Lions. Also odd that with all the reported sightings there has only been one confirmed hit by a car.
So now I given due credence to the doubters.
All that said, I’ve been hunting deer in the woods of NW Ct since 1969. I’ve hunted out West and seen Mountain Lions in the wild several times in the West. I’ve seen Bobcats here in Ct and in several other states. So I know the difference. I saw one animal that I am 99.9% certain was a Mountain Lion here in Ct. Viewing conditions were ideal. About 7:00 pm in July. So plenty of light. Distance was about 90 yards. The animal was in some grass about a foot high. So the full body and tail were visible. The animal was not running. It was moving slowly. Myself and 3 other people observed the animal for a minimum of 3 minutes including the last minute with binoculars. I’ve been asked why I don’t have a picture. It was ’99…back before everybody had a phone with a built-in camera. Was it an escaped pet? It’s possible, but by the way it moved this was not an animal that had spent several years living in a cage and being fed Purina Cat Chow. This animal was in an area loaded with deer and was hunting. Could my identification be wrong? Sure it could. Just like Chris Spatz could be wrong. Anything is possible. But nobody will make me believe I didn’t see a Mountain Lion in Sharon, Ct.
As for the escaped pet theory….Can anybody explain to me why it is impossible for a male escaped pet to meet a female escaped pet and have wild-born offspring? Cats (like dogs) mark their area with urine. It tells others cats they are in the area. The urine of a female Mountain Lion in heat tells males they are ready to breed. So why couldn’t two escaped pet mountain lions breed if neither of them had been neutered? They could.
Yes. There ARE Mountain Lions in New England and upstate New York. Probably not large numbers. We must forget that in the ’60s Moose and Coyotes did not exist in Ct. Now Coyotes are everywhere and Moose sightings are not uncommon. Why do some people find it inconceivable that the same could happen with Mountain Lions?
June 4th, 2016 - 14:21
I have been told, and I am not very convinced of it, that a pet mountain lion would not survive long in the wild. With the population of Turkey, rabbits, deer, and other wildlife, I suspect they might be surprised.
June 4th, 2016 - 14:36
By the way, the cat hit in Milford had been around for some time in a populated area. the only picture was far and blurry. It most certainly would not have confirmed a mountain lion with other evidence absent.