Re(2): National Geographic on Eastern Cougars IP: 50.204.144.106 Posted on May 4, 2015 at 01:22:04 PM by weather01089
Complex issue and you are right on 2003. The issue out west is driven by many political issues such as livestock protection etc. But the sightings have continued to increase east of the Mississippi, and more importantly, the confirmations are on the increase north of the NE US in Canada. And yes, even some in Nova Scotia of late. Not that Nova Scotia has much effect on the US. The "cat is going to be out of the bag" for the wildlife folks in the New England states soon. Most of them have now changed the story from "there are none here" to "there may be a few travelling through" (Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts). We had a very hot lead on one in Massachusetts two weeks ago but the cat apparently moved on. Witnesses, and calls heard by one of our staff when going on site. Mass Wildlife was seen circling the area several times, not sure what they were working with. No dogs readily available at the time unfortunately. So, the states are modifying their rhetoric. Sue Morse is also agreeing with our hypothesis that dispersal will take place from our close north (150 miles in a few places) in Canada, where it likely has been historically. We have the habitat clearly (Habitat study, Keveney Clark U ). So lets see what appears. Replies: There have been no replies.