Bobcat in the bush

[Sinzibuckwud]

Thought we had one just passing through when I saw the first set of tracks on the first day tapping.
The more and more I go out tapping and collecting there are always fresh tracks. Pretty sure it is the same one I saw this previous fall early one morning, looked like a young male. It's doing pretty well been chasing the rabbits and squirrels and the big grouse who frequents my cherry tree, I need a few more predators around the area so it's a welcomed guest.
Another great opportunity to teach the next generation, the boy was running all over the place following the tracks and yelling out "updates". :)

[Noseguard76]

cool sighting, thanks for posting

[sluggish]

I was expecting to see you collecting sap with a skid steer. Your sighting is much cooler.

[CampHamp]

Very cool. Unfortunately, they started hunting them in here New Hampshire.

[Woodsrover]

Between the bobcat and the bear the whitetail deer population in NWCT has been decimated. Not one of my favorite creatures.....

[Woodsrover]

Very cool. Unfortunately, they started hunting them in here New Hampshire.

I'm hoping they open a trapping season here in ct.

[saphound]

I've seen quite a few bobcats and bears in my yard over the last several years. Funny they don't seem to have impacted the deer herd here at all. Sure wish they would... I'm overrun with those pests.

[Cedar Eater]

I think coyotes take a toll on the deer herd, but not as much as humans.

[Snappyssweets]

As a former naturalist for the state of Michigan. I can attest the coyote do a lot worse to the deer then humans.
Bobcat and bear will also play havoc on them. However bear will only mess with them first thing in spring when they are newborn. More so if the birth period coincides with them coming out of hibernation. Bobcat will attack fawn and yearling. They do not often mess with adult but will occasionally take one if it has a chance.

Coyote are nuisance nothing else to it.
If you think coyote are bad though just wait for the full return of the wolves. Upper Michigan residents can tell you all the wonderful stories and many of the dairy farmers can provide you the images of how wonderful they are compared to coyote. :rolleyes:

[bigschuss]

Funny they don't seem to have impacted the deer herd here at all. Sure wish they would... I'm overrun with those pests.

As a deer hunter, I'd be honored to help you out with that problem if you'd allow me. :)

[davrhods]

bobcat are not yet hunted in nh

[Woodsrover]

NWCT had an 83% mortality rate in fawns in the spring of 2015. That's a scary number.

[CampHamp]

bobcat are not yet hunted in nh
NH Fish and Game voted to allow hunting and trapping of bobcats a couple weeks ago.

[BreezyHill]

Thought we had one just passing through when I saw the first set of tracks on the first day tapping.
The more and more I go out tapping and collecting there are always fresh tracks. Pretty sure it is the same one I saw this previous fall early one morning, looked like a young male. It's doing pretty well been chasing the rabbits and squirrels and the big grouse who frequents my cherry tree, I need a few more predators around the area so it's a welcomed guest.
Another great opportunity to teach the next generation, the boy was running all over the place following the tracks and yelling out "updates". :)


We are seeing them fairly often now. Saw a pack of wolves(3) about 15 years ago. Made quick work of cleaning up a calf that was born dead to a heifer. The next am we went to remove it and there they were. nothing left but some hide, head, and bones.

Our deer herd is plentiful 22 in the back 45 hay field last night.

If they help clean up squirrels all the better.

Ben

[Sinzibuckwud]

We are seeing them fairly often now. Saw a pack of wolves(3) about 15 years ago. Made quick work of cleaning up a calf that was born dead to a heifer. The next am we went to remove it and there they were. nothing left but some hide, head, and bones.

Our deer herd is plentiful 22 in the back 45 hay field last night.

If they help clean up squirrels all the better.

Ben

Only heard stories from the old timers about wolves in these mountains, although I hear folks talkin they are making a comeback and pushing south.
No doubt, if they were here before they will come back given the chance.
Anything that helps with the tree rat population is good in my book. lol

I know the proposed limit of tags for bobcat was 50, a very moderate number, although I do not know what was voted. The joint research of UNH and NH fish and game stated 77 would be a moderate harvest of the cats for this upcoming season.
kinda strange timing as the fur industry is in ruins from what I've heard.

[bigschuss]

We are seeing them fairly often now. Saw a pack of wolves(3) about 15 years ago. Made quick work of cleaning up a calf that was born dead to a heifer. The next am we went to remove it and there they were. nothing left but some hide, head, and bones.

Our deer herd is plentiful 22 in the back 45 hay field last night.

If they help clean up squirrels all the better.

Ben

Wolves in Hoosick Falls, NY? Or did you see them elsewhere? A wolf in New England would be an incredibly rare event. A wolf in Hoosick Falls was without a doubt an Eastern coyote.

Wolves do not feed on squirrels. Eastern coyotes don't even feed on squirrels.

[bigschuss]

I hear folks talkin they are making a comeback and pushing south.
.

You also hear folks say Bigfoot is real. There are no wolves in New England, and they are certainly not pushing south. Most of those old timers who saw wild dogs in New England in the 40's and 50's didn't really know what they were seeing. The called them "brush wolves" or "eastern wolves" or "coy dogs" or "coy-wolves." The term "coy-dog" kind of stuck through the 70's and 80's until DNA research in the 90's showed that the animals that showed up in New England in the 40's were actually cousins of western coyotes. Strangely though, these animals had some wolf DNA. It's thought that as coyotes expanded their range east in the early 20th century the bred with wolves during the journey and showed up in New England as a bigger, more wolf-like version of their western cousins. Eastern coyotes are bigger and more social than their western cousins. They eat bigger things. Hunt in packs more. The alpha male can have a very deep, wolf like howl.

Bear and bobcats certainly will take young fawns in the spring if they stumble across one. But high coyote populations can really hammer a population of deer 12 months out of the year.

[n8hutch]

It never ceases to amaze me how people choose what science to believe & what science to ignore. There is a lot of upset people over this Bob Cat Hunt in N.H.. Yet these same people believe everything another scientists tells them about global warming. I don't Understand it.

I can Tell you that their are Plenty of Bobcats in my area of New Hampshire. And there are wayyyyyy too many coyotes. I Do Agree that these are Magnificent animals to view in the wild. Maybe not so great in your back yard.

Either way I think you were fortunate to see the Bobcat. I have only seen 2 maybe 3 hunting in my whole life. I think they are pretty hard to sneak up on & they don't generally hang around.

[BreezyHill]

Wolves in Hoosick Falls, NY? Or did you see them elsewhere? A wolf in New England would be an incredibly rare event. A wolf in Hoosick Falls was without a doubt an Eastern coyote.

Wolves do not feed on squirrels. Eastern coyotes don't even feed on squirrels.

The DEC guy agreed wolf. Stood next to a 42" tall high tensile fence post and jumped the fence like it was not an issue. They were cleaning up a calf...baby cow.

They were only in the area a short time...week at most and several people saw them.

DEC said they likely came down from the Adirondacks that winter looking for food. Supper cold winter and the deer herd was way down from a deep snow winter the year before.

The coyotes in our fields are nowhere near this big. We see them all the time when mowing hay. They eat the mice. Never bothered a live calf either. have them on game cams all the time.

Its like the people claiming no mountain lions down here; until three horses got attacked and they found hair of the cat and it came back as a mountain lion.

Rare is an uncommon occurrence; but it still happens.

[maple maniac65]

Spotted a Lynx around here and it is on camera. There is no denying what it is on camera.

[GramaCindy]

133131331413315
This little guy hung around here for a couple of days.

[bigschuss]

The DEC guy agreed wolf. Stood next to a 42" tall high tensile fence post and jumped the fence like it was not an issue. They were cleaning up a calf...baby cow.

They were only in the area a short time...week at most and several people saw them.

DEC said they likely came down from the Adirondacks that winter looking for food. Supper cold winter and the deer herd was way down from a deep snow winter the year before.

The coyotes in our fields are nowhere near this big. We see them all the time when mowing hay. They eat the mice. Never bothered a live calf either. have them on game cams all the time.

Its like the people claiming no mountain lions down here; until three horses got attacked and they found hair of the cat and it came back as a mountain lion.

Rare is an uncommon occurrence; but it still happens.

Interesting. The Northeast is the most densely populated regions of our country...and EVERYONE has a cell phone these days....but there is not a single picture of these wolves or mtn. lions?

I do believe that a single lion or wolf might move through an area. Sure. Like I said...rare, but possible. There was a lion killed in a highway in CT 2 years ago. But, that one had a collar and had been tracked from Idaho. So, not exactly a breeding population of lions.

I'm a Wildlife Biologist and will remain skeptical about all these claims of mtn. lions and wolves (I think your DEC guy was wrong...3 wolves traveling in a pack from the Daks and nobody got a picture of them?). I kind of put them in the same category as UFO's and bigfoot. People WANT to be believe they are real, so they are real.

Until science can show that the Northeast has sustainable breeding populations of lions and wolves I think probably what 99% of what people are seeing are coyotes and house cats. That's just my 2 cents. People are, of course, free to believe in whatever they want...lions, wolves, yeti's, Elvis is still alive....:)

[bigschuss]

Spotted a Lynx around here and it is on camera. There is no denying what it is on camera.

I read an article just yesterday about a Lynx spotted in NH. That's great!

[TheMapleMoose]

We've had a few lynx sightings here also, in northern Maine. Very rare to see one, and I've never seen the tracks, but some people have gotten some photos of one.

[lyford]

I'm not saying I believe or don't believe those three canids were wolves, chances are they were eastern coyotes. Who knows, I wasn't there and I didn't see them. I think it's important to keep an open mind. Bigshuss, when said the eastern coyotes don't eat squirrels, we'll that sounds just as unlikely to me as those animals being wolves sounds to you. Squirrels may not be a major part of an eastern coyotes diet, but to say they don't eat them at all, c'mon.

[saphound]

A coyote would love to eat a squirrel...if he could catch one. Those buggers are pretty fast to the trees though...very hard for a coyote to catch..but I'm sure one gets lucky now and then.
I hear of mountain lion sightings around my neck of the woods once or twice a year. My brother in law swears he saw one. But I'm skeptical too. Not one pic yet, not even of tracks in the snow. Now those cats are known to cover a lot of ground. Not one single deer hunter can get a pic of even a lion track? Not one caught on a trail cam yet? Pretty sure it would make the paper or news if somebody could get that pic.

[sluggish]

A coyote would love to eat a squirrel...if he could catch one. Those buggers are pretty fast to the trees though...very hard for a coyote to catch..but I'm sure one gets lucky now and then.
.

I would think they could catch one pretty easily. Only reason I say this is that when I was younger, we had a little mutt that caught squirrels all the time. She was short, kinda fat, but she made it her mission to catch every squirrel that came in the yard. Then she would deposit their bodies in the wheelbarrow in the back yard. Not sure why she was against squirrels, but she was darn good at catching them. Meanwhile our other dog, her sister, would lay around and do nothing. She couldn't care less about anything. Oddly enough, she was the lean one of the two.

[saphound]

lol, that's pretty good, sluggish. I think the key is catching them too far from a tree. Hard to do in the woods. :)

[sluggish]

Very true. She had about 100 ft to run them down before they hit the trees.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

I read an article just yesterday about a Lynx spotted in NH. That's great!

We saw a lynx in the north Maine woods on our moose hunt this year. 2 together actually. They didn't stick around but easy to identify by their ears. Big tracks too. There are lynx in the western mountains, my logging buddies have spotted some and see tracks all the time near height of land and Rangeley.

[Sinzibuckwud]

seeing a lynx would be great, thanks for the pics.
My neighbor and good friend has photo evidence of a Mnt Lion clear as day next to the brook on our road.
bordering 750,000 acres of national forest I cannot disclaim his picture in anyway and see no reason for him to fake it.
I am no expert so please feel free to dismiss this claim

[bigschuss]

Squirrels may not be a major part of an eastern coyotes diet, but to say they don't eat them at all, c'mon.

Sorry. I agree 100%. That's what I meant...in general. Coyotes in the East are not hunting squirrels as part of their daily diet. If a coyote happened to surprise one and catch it...of course. But they do not seek them out. Hares...yes. Rabbits...yes. Squirrels climb trees. Coyotes can't.

[bigschuss]

My neighbor and good friend has photo evidence of a Mnt Lion clear as day next to the brook on our road.
bordering 750,000 acres of national forest I cannot disclaim his picture in anyway and see no reason for him to fake it.
I am no expert so please feel free to dismiss this claim
13331

Sure looks like a mtn. lion. Did your friend and neighbor call local wildlife and report this? The Fed. Government declared the mtn. lion extinct in New England, so I am guessing they would want to see this photo and then confirm its legitimacy or declare it Photoshopped.

Every guy that I know down here in Massachusetts has seen one...or two...packs of them. But not one guy has managed to snap a photo. Weird. I just keep saying "they are not real" to which they respond "prove they're not." To prove that something doesn't exist is such a non-sensical argument.

I would love to be proved wrong. I really would.

[Sinzibuckwud]

Sure looks like a mtn. lion. Did your friend and neighbor call local wildlife and report this? The Fed. Government declared the mtn. lion extinct in New England, so I am guessing they would want to see this photo and then confirm its legitimacy or declare it Photoshopped.

Every guy that I know down here in Massachusetts has seen one...or two...packs of them. But not one guy has managed to snap a photo. Weird. I just keep saying "they are not real" to which they respond "prove they're not." To prove that something doesn't exist is such a non-sensical argument.

I would love to be proved wrong. I really would.
It was reported and made the local news.
picture is genuine, I had seen the original on the camera before it was put on a pc, but no one would say for sure what the animal was..."possible" was always the word.. ehh, it's enough for me, they're out there, not many at all, but they're out there.
wanted to add: there's always a chance it was an owned animal that has gotten loose, one animal does not justify a population so to speak... but there's at least one I know of :D

[n8hutch]

I was told by a NH Fish & Game Biologist that if and I mean If there was Mountain Lions In New Hampshire they would be Hesitant to Admit it Publicly,because it would lead to increased regulations regarding hunting & fishing laws and or access to certain properties & Regions Due to the Feds and Animal rights activists wanting to protect them & help them reproduce, survive and etc.

I also think some people may not realize that their is a difference between a mtn lion & a Canadian lynx. There is absolutely no doubt that there is Canadian lynx in Maine & Probably Northern NH. There was at least 2 lynx caught by Trappers accidentally in Maine Last year.

[BreezyHill]

Down here it was not good at all when the M L attacked the horses. But I am certain that NYS reimbursed the owner as they do when cattle are taken by coyotes. I personally have never lost a live cow or calf to coyotes but I have family that has.

There was an increase of people in the State Land in the area of the horses attacked looking for a glimpse. I think this may have deterred the cat.

I don't think that hunters would want to post a pic of a lion in there area. I would bet the doe permits would drop if not dry up. My DEC buddy said our area lost 250 DT due to the lion attack. That seemed like a lot to me but a guess a pair of lions could eat a yearling ever couple days.

We also have a fair amount of talk about something dropping the deer herd in the area. I am not seeing it here but only a few miles away people struck out hunting this season that never have in 25 years. 3 friends saw 0 deer at their camp all season long. We have a new hunter on the farm that came from that area last year due to low numbers. He filled his tags and his wife's here this season.

Now if I could just get him to shoot the squrrels he tells me about while in his stand. LOL

[bigschuss]

It was reported and made the local news.
picture is genuine, I had seen the original on the camera before it was put on a pc, but no one would say for sure what the animal was..."possible" was always the word.. ehh, it's enough for me, they're out there, not many at all, but they're out there.
wanted to add: there's always a chance it was an owned animal that has gotten loose, one animal does not justify a population so to speak... but there's at least one I know of :D

That's pretty cool! No doubt they are out there and perhaps passing through, like the one killed in CT. It's pretty special that your friend snapped a pic of one.

[saphound]

I was told by a NH Fish & Game Biologist that if and I mean If there was Mountain Lions In New Hampshire they would be Hesitant to Admit it Publicly,because it would lead to increased regulations regarding hunting & fishing laws and or access to certain properties & Regions Due to the Feds and Animal rights activists wanting to protect them & help them reproduce, survive and etc.



If I were ever fortunate enough to get photo evidence of a cougar in my area, my next call would be to the local news not the DEC. Proof is proof whether they want to admit it or not. Another big rumor around here is that the DEC actually brought in and released lions here to control the deer population, but I think that's hogwash.

[Cedar Eater]

If I were ever fortunate enough to get photo evidence of a cougar in my area, my next call would be to the local news not the DEC.

Why would you do that? Considering that it could mean that federal regulations come into play that force the animals to be protected by restricting what you can do on your own property, it seems like a risk to become known as the guy who did that.

[BreezyHill]

I agree hogwash for sure. IF a pair of cats in one season will clean off 250 deer...that is 425 less fawns on average the next season and then 722 and on and on. You would destroy the seer herd in an area pretty quick. That is using the 1.7 fawns on average per doe that they were saying a couple years ago.

It isn't like a doe permit system that you can regulate from year to year. Even with a gps tracker you still need to hunt down the cat and its offspring to stop the decimation.

Small cats re one thing... big cats have big appetites.

[bigschuss]

If I were ever fortunate enough to get photo evidence of a cougar in my area, my next call would be to the local news not the DEC.

Good luck getting a photo of one. There seems to be some strange phenomena going on with mtn. lions and cell phones. Every guy I know over here in Mass. has seen one...two...even PACKS of them. Yet not one of these guys ever has a cell phone when they see them. Never. Amazing. I think maybe mtn. lions are able to detect the radiation given off by cell phones and avoid them.

Every now and then you might get lucky...like Snzibuckwuds' neighbor. Here's a great pic that was taken on Mt. Greylock here in Massachusetts by a family in a car. Again, rare proof that mtn. lions exist in the Northeast.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r143/bigschuss/Tractors/Sasquatch_zpsf8w7a25a.jpeg

[sluggish]

Too funny. :lol:

[Sinzibuckwud]

LOL @ squatch riding lion

Well bobcat is still around, really starting to wonder if it's got a den close by.
I am going to borrow a friends game camera and see If i can get a pic of the sneaky fella.
It's quite a walk from the shack back to the house through the woods. and with late night boiling season fast approaching It might make things a little interesting if we happen to cross paths...

[saphound]

Why would you do that? Considering that it could mean that federal regulations come into play that force the animals to be protected by restricting what you can do on your own property, it seems like a risk to become known as the guy who did that.
Cedar,
Because I think the chance of that happening is zero. Hasn't happened in any state I'm aware of that has mt lions. There is currently no federal or state protections for cougars in NY. You could actually shoot one without penalty since they aren't legally protected here. But if someone did, there would no doubt be a public outcry, some state lawmaker would introduce a bill to protect them, and if passed it would then be illegal to take them unless there was a threat of bodily harm. That's it. No restrictions on anyones property use for crying out loud. Cougars are not on the endangered species list.

[saphound]

Good luck getting a photo of one. There seems to be some strange phenomena going on with mtn. lions and cell phones...
:lol: Great pic. Yeah I imagine it would take a good bit of luck to get a good pic with a cellphone. I saw a bobcat cross the road recently. Had my phone.. by the time I stopped the car and got the camera turned on it was too late. I suppose you could see one from a tree stand while deer hunting, but unless it's close a cell phone pic won't be a great pic. I took one of a bear and 3 cubs swimming in our pond at about 75 yards with my phone and they're pretty small in that pic. Should've had a better camera.

[eagle lake sugar]

My local resident cat is a lynx, I see his tracks all the time and my neighbor had him on his lawn one morning. My other neighbor hunts coyotes for the state and has several lynx on his game cams.