Bears breaking into homes

[Improviser]

Anyone having this problem?

The article has some good recommendations about taking in bird feeders from March to November and keeping barbecue grills in a garage or shed when not being used.

Bear killed after breaking into CT homes, officials say

A bear that broke into several Canton homes —some occupied — has been killed and a cub was also killed accidentally, officials with DEEP said.

www.nhregister.com

 

[CL82]

There are no Mountain Lions in CT. People confuse Bobcats with Mountain Lions

You are absolutely correct. It’s just that Connecticut has a enormous breed of bobcat that looks identical to mountain lions.

That picture is from a New York Times article.
Someone driving a Hyundai S.U.V. struck an animal on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford, about 45 miles east of Greenwich. The authorities were called, and the animal was confirmed dead. More to the point, it was also confirmed to be a mountain lion.

Officials took the mountain lion, a 140-pound male, to a state Department of Environmental Protection office; officials said they believed that the dead animal was the same one that had been seen around Greenwich.

 

[Deepster]

Did you ever get chickens?

No. Thankfully. Chalk that up to a bored quarantine idea.

 

[karstenkibbe]

You are absolutely correct. It’s just that Connecticut has a enormous breed of bobcat that looks identical to mountain lions.

That picture is from a New York Times article.
Someone driving a Hyundai S.U.V. struck an animal on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford, about 45 miles east of Greenwich. The authorities were called, and the animal was confirmed dead. More to the point, it was also confirmed to be a mountain lion.

Officials took the mountain lion, a 140-pound male, to a state Department of Environmental Protection office; officials said they believed that the dead animal was the same one that had been seen around Greenwich.

It was also confirmed through DNA testing that the mountain lion killed on the Wilbur Cross traveled to CT from North Dakota. The last native mountain lion in CT was killed over 100 years ago. I’m not saying that a few couldn’t come down from northeast Canada, breed and repopulate the area. But that low-percentage scenario is much more likely to happen in Maine or northern VT/NH than in CT. The annual mountain lion sightings down this way occurred a few months ago in New Canaan. The reporting party never has time to grab their phone to snap a pic, DEEP investigates and never find scat or hair. Always ends up being a bobcat or a big dog.

 

[CL82]

It was also confirmed through DNA testing that the mountain lion killed on the Wilbur Cross traveled to CT from North Dakota. The last native mountain lion in CT was killed over 100 years ago. I’m not saying that a few couldn’t come down from northeast Canada, breed and repopulate the area. But that low-percentage scenario is much more likely to happen in Maine or northern VT/NH than in CT. The annual mountain lion sightings down this way occurred a few months ago in New Canaan. The reporting party never has time to grab their phone to snap a pic, DEEP investigates and never find scat or hair. Always ends up being a bobcat or a big dog.

Yeah, you are right, there’s never any evidence, well, except for this big friggin mountain lion lying dead in a garage. (Apparently natures Apex predator is no match for the mighty Hyundai SUV.)

Frankly, I don’t care if he hitchhiked down from Poughkeepsie. He was still a mountain lion and he was still in Connecticut. Which pretty much puts to waste the notion that there can never be a mountain lion in Connecticut.

(FWIW, if I recall correctly I think there was a picture in the Middletown press a few years ago of another one.)

 

[ctchamps]

Make a lot of noises and slowly back away. Don’t turn your back.

Also, mountain lions don’t live in CT. On rare occasions one travels down from Canada. But no mountain lions here natively .

Saw one in Goshen in 2003. It was crossing 63 north of the town center. At first I thought it was a deer but then I realized the tail was long. Someone hit and killed a mountain lion with their car a year later on that road. There were spotting of mountain lions in Goshen and Cornwall after that accident.

The moose have been in the northwest part of the state before we moved there in 1986. From the map that @dennismenace posted it appears they are successfully spreading to other parts of the state.

I’ve had multiple encounters where I was close to black bears. The closest was a young bear that stole the trout I caught while I was fishing on Yellowstone Lake. Another time I was rounding the corner of my condo in North Carolina and a mother and her two frolicking cubs were heading in my direction. We were about twenty feet apart when I saw her. Backed up slightly and they just continued in their direction. Cubs scrambled up and down trees while they trailed her. It was a wonderful encounter.

The only time I’ve ever been frightened of bears was when I was hiking in Yellowstone and came across a mother Grizzly and her two cubs. She caught my sent and stood up on her hind legs. What a magnificent creature. We had eye contact with one another for about ten seconds. Fortunately instead of being mauled she went back to looking for food. I was less than a hundred feet from her. Really, really lucky with that encounter.

 

[CL82]

No. Thankfully. Chalk that up to a bored quarantine idea.

Probably for the best. It was an animal cruelty case waiting to happen.

 

[Deepster]

Probably for the best. It was an animal cruelty case waiting to happen.

If you define "animal cruelty" as a basket of fried chicken, you're probably right.

 

[Northbound]

It was also confirmed through DNA testing that the mountain lion killed on the Wilbur Cross traveled to CT from North Dakota. The last native mountain lion in CT was killed over 100 years ago. I’m not saying that a few couldn’t come down from northeast Canada, breed and repopulate the area. But that low-percentage scenario is much more likely to happen in Maine or northern VT/NH than in CT. The annual mountain lion sightings down this way occurred a few months ago in New Canaan. The reporting party never has time to grab their phone to snap a pic, DEEP investigates and never find scat or hair. Always ends up being a bobcat or a big dog.

This is correct.

 

[huskypantz]

Mountain lions in southern new england are extremely rare - essentially a wanderer every 7-10 years from the upper midwest makes it way to our area. Yes, one was hit and killed on the merritt. There is proof of two in massachusetts over the past 30 years. These are extreme cases. They are extremely reclusive but we'd hear of scat and occasional footprints. But there is not a breeding population in the northeast and the sightings are mostly bobcats.

MassWildlife has only confirmed 2 mountain lion reports in the last 30 years. Here's why reports are so tough to prove ...

 

[aburks41]

Saw one in Goshen in 2003. It was crossing 63 north of the town center. At first I thought it was a deer but then I realized the tail was long. Someone hit and killed a mountain lion with their car a year later on that road. There were spotting of mountain lions in Goshen and Cornwall after that accident.

The moose have been in the northwest part of the state before we moved there in 1986. From the map that @dennismenace posted it appears they are successfully spreading to other parts of the state.

I’ve had multiple encounters where I was close to black bears. The closest was a young bear that stole the trout I caught while I was fishing on Yellowstone Lake. Another time I was rounding the corner of my condo in North Carolina and a mother and her two frolicking cubs were heading in my direction. We were about twenty feet apart when I saw her. Backed up slightly and they just continued in their direction. Cubs scrambled up and down trees while they trailed her. It was a wonderful encounter.

The only time I’ve ever been frightened of bears was when I was hiking in Yellowstone and came across a mother Grizzly and her two cubs. She caught my sent and stood up on her hind legs. What a magnificent creature. We had eye contact with one another for about ten seconds. Fortunately instead of being mauled she went back to looking for food. I was less than a hundred feet from her. Really, really lucky with that encounter.

Grizzly's and mountain lions scare the absolute crap out of me. I would be terrified if I saw one. Black bears don't scare me at all though. My security cameras captured a young black bear walking around our yard on Tuesday. They are pretty friendly lol

 

[uconnfan68]

If they aren’t in upstate (Northern) NY they are not in CT. Someone is feeding you a line - you sound like my neighbor in Northern NY - “i’ve sen ‘em crossing the road, DEC reintroduced them, my uncle earl has a picture of one, etc., etc.”

I spend a lot of time in the woods in remote areas as do a lot of other hunters and i mean remote. Next to impossible to avoid all the trail cams today.

But believe what you want.

I have bears on my Blink camera going through our garbage pail. Right in front of my garage door, 40’ from the road in the middle of town.

 

[CL82]

Black bears don't scare me at all though. My security cameras captured a young black bear walking around our yard on Tuesday. They are pretty friendly lol

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I live on Long Mountain in the very northern part of New Milford near the Kent town line. We had one bear in our driveway one night over a year ago. He was young but enormous, biggest black bear I ever saw anywhere, had to be 500Ibs easy. Beautiful too, shiny coat. Tried to turnover our garbage can before I yelled at him from a window. Filed a siting with the DEP because of his young age and size.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I live on Long Mountain in the very northern part of New Milford near the Kent town line. We had one bear in our driveway one night over a year ago. He was young but enormous, biggest black bear I ever saw anywhere, had to be 500Ibs easy. Beautiful too, shiny coat. Tried to turnover our garbage can before I yelled at him from a window. Filed a siting with the DEP because of his young age and size.

I'll bite. How could you tell it was a cub even at such a large size?

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I'll bite. How could you tell it was a cub even at such a large size?

I saw him up close, only 6 or 7 feet away from me. I said he was a young male black bear, not a cub (your wrong way embellishment) by any means, a teenager if you will. His coat was sleek and jet black shiny, not a mark on him, but he was huge.

 

[huskymedic]

Confirmation pending by DEEP:




Peep show

 

[karstenkibbe]

Let me guess. In today’s world, where everyone has a phone glued to their hand at all times…. none of those who reported managed to get a photo. Color me skeptical without any photographic evidence or hair/scat/prints left behind.

 

[huskypantz]

Odd that this Mountain Lion took a similar path to the one killed on the Merritt. You’d think they’d be moving toward less populated areas further north.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Odd that this Mountain Lion took a similar path to the one killed on the Merritt. You’d think they’d be moving toward less populated areas further north.

It’s interesting that DNA testing on the one killed on the Merritt showed it had ties to Mountain Lions in Minnesota and Manitoba north of Lake Superior. They go where the food is, the deer in CT have not had natural predators for hundreds of years. If they are indeed back in CT and breeding, I would not go for an easy jog in the woods. There have been several reports of joggers killed by them out west for several years now.

 

[huskypantz]

It’s interesting that DNA testing on the one killed on the Merritt showed it had ties to Mountain Lions in Minnesota and Manitoba north of Lake Superior. They go where the food is, the deer in CT have not had natural predators for hundreds of years. If they are indeed back in CT and breeding, I would not go for an easy jog in the woods. There have been several reports of joggers killed by them out west for several years now.

The volume of deaths (or even attacks) are actually minuscule. 27 in a century. Compare to bee stings - on average twice as many annually (62) compared to a 100 year tally.

WikiMtnLion

 

[karstenkibbe]

Check the WTNH Twitter feed the OP posted. Some dude responded with a pic of the feline from a backyard in Woodbridge. Of course it was a bobcat.

 

[temery]

I sprinkle food near my neighbor's porch.

 

[temery]

 

[CONN78SEJ]

The volume of deaths (or even attacks) are actually minuscule. 27 in a century. Compare to bee stings - on average twice as many annually (62) compared to a 100 year tally.

WikiMtnLion

Wow you’re good. You’re research is impeccable. Actually it’s 27 fatal attacks in the last century, non fatal attacks nation wide are in the hundreds with most in the last 30 or 40 years. Below are the dates of attacks just in California alone since 1986. Have fun when you go for your walk in the woods.

Verified Mountain Lion-Human Attacks

 

[huskypantz]

Wow you’re good. You’re research is impeccable. Actually it’s 27 fatal attacks in the last century, non fatal attacks nation wide are in the hundreds with most in the last 30 or 40 years. Below are the dates of attacks just in California alone since 1986.

Verified Mountain Lion-Human Attacks

Did someone pizz in your cheerios? I said deaths were 27, accurate. Number of attacks was 126 per wiki.