Mountain Lions in New Hampshire-Fact or Fiction 

Yeah. Massachusetts doesn't have any either. Except for the several I have seen. I lived and hunted [a lot] in western ma. I used to bow hunt behind a local sawmill with my son. He would use deer scent on his shoes. One afternoon I watched him move across a large opening to get to a blind. A short while later a mountain lion came out of the woods stalking the scent my son left. It was crouched down and in stalking mode about fifty yards from me. No mistaking this animal. I hooted to my son and the mountain lion ran just into the woods and moaned and growled for twenty minutes or so while my son and I examined it's tracks. I mentioned this to the mill owner who replied He and most of the other men that worked there had spotted it several times.

When you se a very large deer up in the tree, you know there is a mountain lion somewhere nearby. Rockingham county nh

One crossed in front of me while traveling on Rte. 114 in Sutton NH, broad daylight, perfect visibility. It was NOT a Bobcat.

As a New Hampshire resident, they are here. I personally know people who have seen them in the Ossipee range. I’m sure the more remote places in the state have even more.

Great subject! I hope to see one here in NH some day.

I live just south of Nashua. About 20 years ago a Mountain Lion walk through my backyard, witnessed by my neighbor as well as myself. Of course we were called crazy by the police and the state wildlife people. Two weeks later I ran into a woman from the University of Colorado in the woods behind my property. She was there looking for signs of the Mountain Lion. She claimed they/it was just passing through on its yearly migration from central VT to Cape Ann.

The mountain lion he refers to in CT was the one I observed in my town of Brookfield which is in Northern Fairfield county. My wife and I called the state and they told us there are no mountain lions in CT. A week later it was killed by a car on the Merritt Parkway in the southern part of Fairfield County. There were pictures of the cat dead on the road and the state still refused to admit there were lions here. Its pretty easy to identify a mountain lion. Bigger than a Bobcat but the real difference is in the coloration of the coat and more noticeable is a very long tail roughly the size of the torso, oh and the growl they have will stand the hair on the back of your neck much like fisher cats. Since that sighting I have talked with a couple of folks from towns north of my town who also hunt and they have seen them as well. Don't know why states don't want to admit there are mountain lions, I think they're just scaredy cats!

In Vt, many claim to have seen them. But the tens of thousands of game cameras out there have not captured images. I think it's extremely hard to eradicate an entire species. So for my personal stance, it's possible that they are here and I hope they are.

Very interesting! My dad claimed to see one in Temple, NH maybe 20 years ago - but like you mentioned, it’s hard to know for sure! Really appreciate you covering this topic, and looking forward to watching your other videos. Thanks my friend 👍🏻

Nobody believed me when I said I saw a mountain lion in Connecticut until one was killed on the Merrit Parkway.

Seen a mountain lion in NH back in 2000, coming down a trail from Mt Moosilauke it crossed the trail about 200 feet ahead. Came out from the left, it stopped and looked up the trail then continued across the trail. When I got down to the spot I didn't see anything around.

I've seen one in Connecticut. 2 a.m. walking down the breakdown Lane near Foxwoods casino. It was huge. I stopped the car right behind it. They don't care about borders.

Of course there are. My friend a major outdoorsman from Maine, has trail cams with legit mountain lions captured on photo. If the mountain lion is in Maine it's in N.H. as well. The photos made me think, Holy crap! That's in the woods with me!

Just yesterday, I saw one in my driveway. I was sitting in my deckchair and it came out of the foliage next to my garage. It was a cub. Black muzzle area, thick/stocky build, long tail with black tip. Anyone who says they're not in the state are full of it! I know what I saw. I was 30 feet away from it and the weather was clear + sunny. There's no mistaking what it was.

I believe I saw what looked like a cougar in Lancaster, nh. It was trotting along a camp road and disappeared immediately as my truck passed by. I used to work for someone who raised cougars in Florida and am familiar with their anatomical shape and build. This was a juvenile (a slightly yellower coat, rather than the mouse gray darker color of an adult). This was the only time I saw one and I have come up here for 75 years and now live here so I think the biologist is accurate in his statement about “they are rare and/or possibly got here from somewhere else.”

I did wilderness work for numerous years in the 90's in NH and western Maine. A fellow I worked with whom had much more experience in the area told me the paw prints he'd seen numerous times in EVans Notch were definitely not bobcat. HArd to get more wilderness than that area up under Route 2.

I have hunted in new england for 50 years...saw one in pike, nh 2 years ago and one in western, mass., 4 years ago...got within 50 feet from the one in ma....have seen lots of bob cats and a lynx, this was neither...gorgeous creature...i stopped walking alone at night out from my tree stand after that...

Back in 1968 on my first trip to the upper penninsula of Michigan I saw a mountain lion near to a fish hatchery weir. It ran very fast and crossed the gravel road in front of us, I have seen hundreds of deer and it was not a deer. Its tail hanged low and had that curl near the end .It cleared both sides of the road by at least 3 feet.At the time sports writers and wild life biologists were saying no way .Well Wisconsin and Minnesota had mountain lions and there is no natural border.I have been to N. Hampshire and went up north of Berlin. There sure as hell are possibilities of mountain lions up there. Not hundreds but some . if there are fish or small fur bearers available.

I have never seen a mountain lion in nh, lots of coydogs, which don't like to be sited, especially in the woods. when I used to go to the grain store, the owner had a mounted wild boar on the wall. he said he got it in northern nh. never saw a wild boar either.

I’ve seen pictures on a deer cam in Rhode Island. Mountain lion had a five point deer in its mouth.

Just one thought. The unregulated hunting in the 18th and 19th centuries was an intense evolutional pressure. If any of the cats survived in the eastern US it was the most cryptic and secretive individuals. The culture of secrecy would have been passed down through the offspring of the survivors, assuming there were some.

They are in Maine a friend of mine quarter quick glimpse the tale was as long as the animal itself he saw it clearly

Agree. Thank you for posting.

Thanks very much for giving us the timestamp in three second sentence! I wish everyone would either say it, or at least put it in the description.

The State will never admit that there are mountain lions here because managing them would bankrupt them.

3:29 I seen in New Braintree MA in 2008

Cougars are very elusive and wary. It is probable that some of them survived in the remote mountain forests despite all the relentless hunting. Hundreds of people in the Appalachian states have seen them.

We saw a mountain lion on our farm her in the western Catskills NY now several years ago, me and my wife, no mistake, tail and all. Not too far in time from the mountain lion killed in Connecticut. I was told something was wrong with me and since then I do not trust these officials. That this was the same mountain lion killed in Connecticut and traveling through my farm does not make sense to me. I am a sheep farmer and my worker said he saw a mountain lion and a few of my sheep had severe claw wounds on their hind quarters. I sent pictures to the appropriate officials but no response and I am convinced they have decided lying is the proper policy to deal with the public.

I saw two, one near twin mountain when it ran right in front of my car at 5 AM (very long tail) and the other in Jaffrey, and it tried to stalk me but I ran to my car so it couldn't get me. These were not bobcats because I think bobcats are very weird looking, these were lions, tail and all. lol

I think any mountain lion sightings are passersby from other regions - like Canada and the Midwest. As for boars and stuff (even mountain lions?), they could've escaped from Corbin Park. Maybe?

Here in the Adirondacks I’ve spoken with 3 people who say they have seen a mountain lion, if they did it was probably the same one and maybe it was passing through because they are all in the same area and the sightings were around the same time. I’ve never seen one myself.

Three years ago, at the school I worked at in Charlestown NH, I spotted a mountain lion at night under street lights. I got pretty close before it took off. Absolutely was a mountain lion, scared me pretty good, I love NH! Expanding Knowledge 🌎

seen in jaffrey at the Shattuck CC

In 2019 a black leopard or mountain lion crossing the road at raymond nh firestation in front of my truck. It took its dear time crossing, so i got a clear look at it . It was the size of a130 pound german shepard.

Like the man said, there is no evidence of Mountain Lions in NH, only Bobcats... 💥

Had a friend find a small doe carcass in a tree near ossipee

We have mountain lions here in the river valley (Minnesota). I saw a lion in Kansas while turkey hunting 10-15 years ago. Most biologist claim mtn lions just pass through Minnesota & there’s no record of lions in Kansas in the past 100 years (even though it is literally a few miles away from Colorado lmao). There was a mtn lion ran over by a vehicle 2 months ago in Bloomington Minnesota. Bloomington is a lot of swamp, marsh area. There has been wildfires in CO within the past few weeks/months so I’m sure some are getting pushed. Mountain lions have a long tail & a long back. I don’t believe they should be shot. Though Ik many ppl that would.

They are in Connecticut.

The state of CT deep doesn't know everything they are in stafford springs we have seen them

We have sightings here in north central mass not far from nh border ! 25 or so miles. We now have a lot of hunters etc w trail cams .. no saying it’s not. ..True.

One stalked me in Jaffrey during 2018, and another ran across the street right in front of my car near Franconia Notch at 4-5 AM during 2019. It was right i front of my vehicle and had a 3 foot tail. Not a bobcat, they are weird looking. I heard a hunter saw one in the area of Franconia Notch where I saw it.

Lions are in the Northeast coming in from out west and also Canada

I want so bad for them to confirm mountain lions in Massachusetts/ New England in general. My uncle has told me he has seen them in the Quabbin resivor MA. My cousin also seen one in that same area seen one plan as day in while she was on a picnic. I live in ware Ma n hope to catch a glimpse

But the Offical State response is " NH does not have Mountain Lions"

Seeing how one was in goffstown WAY BACK in the years and confirmed and the range is so small (sarcasm on) they surely cant ever wander thru... lol

Eric, Craig Laramie here. If you have any writings from my grandfather that you don’t want to get lost in time, I would love to get my hands on them!

They have been spotted in massachusetts also.

There are mountain lions that have been seen on game cameras, both still images and videos. The people that have these images are not and will not show them to anyone, especially the fish and game department.

Contact Ware gun and rod club in MA. Their trail can caught a mountain lion in their archery range. I saw the picture first hand in 2013. It looked nothing like a bobcat

Are there any wolves in NH? I have heard of sightings in Vermont

Cougars come and go wherever they want to go.

No way are all reports mistakes. I COULD accept NH saying “No breeding populations”, but nomads? Males travel hundreds of miles mate searching (see: Milton CT). Ontario has a healthy population. 🤷🏻‍♀️

New England should reintroduce them to balance the exploding deer population.

They are ABSOLUTELY in NH . I’ve seen them in Sanbornton NH

hmm...

all these comments are proving his point ... "no way, I definitely saw one!" if in fact all these people saw mountain lions in NH out and about, they would be captured on trail cameras (or a clear picture/video at the time of sighting) time and time again - but there is none of that. you can be sure of what you saw, but that doesn't mean you're right. he summed it up best, there is a chance for a transient male or two to pass through, but there is no established population. we would know

Cause back then dna tests were a thing and very affordable 🙂

There are no wolves either. 😉

Until there is any physical evidence, You'd probably find Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster first.

No Prints no fur no evidence. I promise you I spend more time in the woods than most people. I have criss crossed Northern New Hampshire Vermont and Maine all my life. I'm a Hunter of moosesheds rockhound and gold prospector, I have spent thousands of hours in the New England woods. I also lived out west for a few years. I saw and tracked many mountain lions especially in Utah. I promise you what people are seeing their bobcats.

They are there just like in upstate NY. Environmental Conservation reestablished them here.🤔

bottom line.... maybe. lol

New Hampshire is more interested in keeping the damn, tourists coming. If they admit to lions here, that' might slow down the gravey train. NH fish and game is a joke.