Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

    There was an item in the Springfield Mass. paper to the effect that
    a bowhunter in Russell watched a mountain lion for several minutes.
    He had called in a small deer with a bleat call, and the lion was
    looking for the deer. There have beeen unconfirmed reports for the
    last few years of mountain lions in Southwick, Chester, and other
    towns in the area. Apparently nobody has gotten a good picture yet.
    
    A friend from Russell said there were DFW people taking casts of tracks
    in the area.
    
    In the Vermont conference there was mention of a mountain lion 
    attacking/mauling several head of cattle.

Here in Colo Spgs there are so many mountain lions that we could work out a 
trade. 1 mountain lion for a moose. Not to long ago about a 150# mountain lion 
was hit crossing a 4 lane highway in the midle of town.
JC

    
    
    J.C., It's just that every year there's reports but no proof. I've got
    a feeling that it's hush-hush at the Game-Dept...
    
    I don't know if you're familiar with Northern-New England, but we do
    have plenty of wilderness to support these big-cats with no problem.
    
    As for the Moose, well it's no trade....but if you want to trade Moose
    for Elk.....now that's another story.
    
    Rick
    

>    J.C., It's just that every year there's reports but no proof. I've got
>    a feeling that it's hush-hush at the Game-Dept...

 I heard reports that there is at least 1 family of the felines in northwest
NH, but the F&G won't confirm because they fear if they acknowledge them that
people will pester them. I can't remember where the cats were supposed to be 
exactly, but that's one piece of information that the F&G will not divulge. They
don't want people going looking for them.

    A coupll of years ago whil hunting in the White Mountains of N.H. I
    watched 2 (yes 2) mountain lions. Actually they scared the crap out of
    me but I remember them quite well. Their tails were about 30 inches
    long. I believe that they were yearling twins. Two months later I saw
    them again. But this time on the oppposite side of the river. The first
    time they were about 25 yards away. I jumped them. I was quite
    startled at first. But they ran away from me. The second time I saw
    them they were about 80 yards and they were watching me and the
    girlfriend I had at the time. We were walking right at them. The second
    time was on New Years weekend. I called up Fish and Game but it almost
    seemed to me like they didn't want to believe it. They said they were
    going to send a conservation officer up to check it out and they would
    get back to me but I never heard from them. Last fall in the New
    Hampshire Sunday News, John Harrigan had an article in the paper about
    how N.H. F&G refuses to believe there are Mountain Lions in this state.
    There are about 10 sightings a year. One guy had one coming into his
    backyard every night for a week. You can't tell me there are not any in
    this state. I have seen the tracks every year up north since. 
    							Bret

    I can believe it.  If there are moose in Natick, MA (Natick is a
    suburb 10 miles outside of Boston), I can easily believe mountain
    lions in NH.  
    
    BTW, police shot the moose in October while it stood in someone's
    back yard.  The incident made headlines throughout New England.

    
     There have been sightings in Maine. In fact a fire chief in a town in 
    northern Maine (exact location escapes me) actually got to take a picture 
    of one and the photo is hanging on his wall. My father went to see him 
    once (he sells fire equipment) and saw the photo.
    
     Very interesting stuff.