Re(2): mountain lion sighting IP: 209.239.182.114 Posted on January 14, 2016 at 08:12:50 PM by David Wright
Mountain lions are certainly here. I have been hunting and in the woods of the Berkshire mountains my entire life of 55 years. My first sighting was in 1977 when an obviously pregnant female crossed the road in front of my car at Monument Mountain in Great Barrington. I didn't see anything else until the early 90's when I saw tracks in Lenoxdale where I hunted. Then one morning I saw the cat when I entered the woods to hunt. It jumped up and bounded away from me. During the same winter I was looking for antler sheds on October Mountain when I came across fresh mountain Lion tracks in the snow. I followed the tracks onto a reservoir where it had laid on it's side in the sun and made a full body print including the long tail. After following the tracks for a bit more, I looked ahead and the cat was on a rock outcropping at the edge of the reservoir looking at me following it's backtrail. These are magnificent animals, and there is no way to confuse them with bobcats if you know what you are doing. I approached Masswildlife after the October Mountain and Lenoxdale sightings, and was told I was lying. Ever since then I have been slightly obsessed with finding evidence that I could document. This past deer season I was hunting late in an area that holds deer until the end of the season. I could not explain why I did not find one deer track in the area after we finally got snow. On the last day of the season I hiked deep into the woods and came across the biggest Mountain Lion tracks I have ever seen! This instantly explained the deer leaving the area temporarily. This was the first evidence I had seen since the 90's and it rekindled my interest. I do have a cell phone picture of my boot next to the best track I could find. Replies: