Sightings of wild cats spark curiosity

Aug. 30, 2022  |  By Julia Bailey-Wells

Recent reports of big cat sightings have captured the imagination of local residents eager to know what species of wild felines might be living in Waterbury. 

Though the infamous catamount has been declared extinct in Vermont since 2018, several people spotted big cats that they thought to be mountain lions on Ripley Road two weeks ago, according to posts on Front Porch Forum.

One, Waterbury resident Jeff Kilgore’s sister-in-law, came across the cats while walking a dog on Ripley Road on a Monday morning. They were “very large, light tan, with long legs, and long white tipped tail,” Kilgore wrote, relaying the account.

The other, a utility worker checking the meter on Ripley Road, claimed he saw “two mountain lions” when describing the encounter to Ripley Road resident Russell Snow. The worker was in his truck when the cats crossed the road in front of the dog-walker, Snow said. He honked his horn to scare them off, and the cats made their way into Snow’s yard.

“At around 9:30,” Snow said, “I was outside working and I heard the horn blow. And somebody hollering. And then he drove up into my yard to read the meter. He said there were two, he called them mountain lions.”

The cats passed by, moving west through Snow’s property. 

“This is a natural wildlife corridor coming down off of the Worcester Range headed over towards the Green Mountain Range. We have a lot of bear traffic through here, and deer,” Snow said. “I did not see [the cats], but I did talk to the guy. He was very, very shook up. I'll tell you that.”

The Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife accepts reports of potential big cats using an online form here. They have not received any reports of large cats in Waterbury so far. In any case, identification without a photo is a challenge, according to Fish & Wildlife officials.

Mountain lions are not likely to pass through Vermont, according to Fish & Wildlife biologist Chris Bernier. “Having been doing this since 1994, I have yet to have had a definitive, documented, indisputable, verifiable sighting of a mountain lion,” Bernier said.

In many cases, what people may think is a mountain lion is actually an Eastern bobcat, a species with a breeding population in Vermont. And identifying which is which is all in the tail, according to Bernier.

Mountain Lion. Photo courtesy National Wildlife Federation.

Eastern bobcat. VT Fish & Wildlife photo by Deb James

“Bobcats have a white-tipped tail and mountain lions don't. And that is often what people see when they get a fleeting glimpse of a bobcat is that white tail because bobcats walk with their tails up,” Bernier said.

Bobcat tails, though prominent when they walk, are only about six or seven inches long. Mountain lion tails, however, are about three feet long, usually the length of the cat’s body.

Still, this isn’t a foolproof rule for big cat identification. “The way that people see [bobcats] in the woods, when they're running through, [their tails] can even seem longer than they are,” Bernier said.

Canada Lynx. VT Fish & Wildlife photo by Keith Williams

Another big cat look-alike in the area is the Canada Lynx, distinguishable from Eastern bobcats by their large feet. “Because they’re a northern animal, they have snow shoes by birth,” Bernier said. Though not native to Vermont, Canada lynx occasionally make their way down into Vermont.

It’s important not to rule any possibilities out, including the chance of a mountain lion, according to Bernier. “I never say ‘never’ to people who are calling with a sighting,” he said.

Though native to the western half of the U.S., mountain lions are long-distance dispersers and young male mountain lions sometimes strike out looking for mates and food. Sometimes, one will make it as far east as Vermont. 

These are rare, single events, and in such cases, the cat will “leave a prominent trail of evidence wherever they go: indisputable game camera photos, camera photos, scat, tracks, sightings,” Bernier said.

For example, a mountain lion native to North Dakota made it as far as Connecticut in 2011, according to Bernier. The cat traveled down through New York and was last sighted at Lake George in New York state before it was hit by a car and killed on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Connecticut.

If there are mountain lions skulking around Vermont, they won’t stay hidden for long, Bernier said.

“These are huge animals that make a lot of distance to the day. They're out hunting for deer and where there's deer, there's people. What’s happening in Waterbury? I doubt it – but it could be a mountain lion. And if it is, it will be just a matter of time before someone gets a photo of it,” he said.

If you do see a big cat in your neighborhood, best practice is to leave it alone, according to Waterbury Game Warden Chad Barrett. 

“Stay clear and give 'em space. They usually don't wanna be around you anyways. But every once in a while, you'll be on your property, on your deck or in your house, and you'll see one walk across your yard or something. Take some great pictures, leave it alone and enjoy the experience,” Barrett said.