The news that a 140-pound mountain lion was killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford on Saturday brought this email from alert “06880” reader Adam Stolpen:
I told Earthplace we had this issue, but they said Connecticut has no mountain lions.
The mountain lion killed in Connecticut. (Photo/Greenwich Time)
Now there have been credible sightings in Greenwich, along with the one killed in Milford and one upstate last year. They seem to be moving along, using the land abutting the Merritt Parkway as a cruise way.
The sighting in a yard near the ballfield off Route 7 in Wilton/Georgetown is equally alarming.
I saw prints in the freshly fallen snow going from the area of the Merritt across my lawn in the direction of the pond behind my house in the winter of 2009-10. I downloaded images online of actual cougar paw prints.
I measured what was in the snow, and compared them to the online images. They were a dead-on match.
I never bothered to photograph them after I asked Earthplace to come look at them, and they refused.
If you recall, a coyote jumped out, snatched and ran off with a small dog that it ate off Red Coat Road a few years back. Interestingly, I have noticed a falloff in coyotes around here lately, coinciding with the “alleged” presence of the mountain lion(s).
The issue is why, in the face of hard evidence, both Earthplace and the state refuse to acknowledge the existence of big cats in the area. I am not crying wolf (or mountain lion, for that matter), but it would be wise to remember that forewarned is forearmed. People need to exercise appropriate caution.