Friday, June 29, 2007
from the Kennebec Journal
PROPANE NO QUICK FIX
AUGUSTA Penny saved is a stamp forever Cost to mail regular letter rises 1 cent on Monday
CENTRAL MAINE Area residents' scrap metal rising to top of heap
Dunn celebrates 35 years as fire chief
Maranacook set for budget tests
FARMINGDALE NEVER FORGET
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL ROUNDUP: Rankin sparks Black Bears
Morang stymies Bulldogs in only 2nd varsity start
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Kennebec Journal
from the Morning Sentinel
Auctioneer sues woman over $300,000 Internet purchase
Prison time awaits
Waterville writer wins this year's Young Lions Fiction Award
Rising prices for scrap metal attract sellers to local facility
Colby seniors celebrate end of classes
JUDGES CHOOSE YOUTH OF YEAR Gary Fearon a 17-year-old member of Penobscot Nation Boys & Girls Club, a satellite unit of Waterville Area Boys & Girls Club
Biathlon might skip out on Fort Kent
HUSKIES COLLECT 1ST WIN
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Morning Sentinel
An anonymous resident sent a photo of a mountain lion to Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and experts there have yet to determine its validity, according to department spokesman Mark Latti.
"The photo is inconclusive, just because of the perspective, and it only shows part of the cat," he said.
Latti said it would be easier to determine the type of cat if the back end were visible in the photo, as long tails are a distinctive feature of mountain lions.
The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife receives similar sporadic calls from residents across the state, but biologists have not found evidence that they consider to be conclusive about the cats' presence, Latti said.
"There is not a wild population of mountain lions or cougars in the state," he said.
"However, there's a very real possibility that someone could have brought it in from another state and released it. Or it could be an escaped domestic one."
Latti said that if there were a wild population of mountain lions in the state, there would be more sightings or hard evidence, such as road kill.
"While it is a possibility, we just don't have enough evidence to substantiate it," he said.
Joel Elliott -- 861-9252
jelliott@centralmaine.com





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Even though I lived in prime mountain lion territory for years in Colorado, it is only in Maine that I have ever seen one in the wild. In the winter of 2001, I was driving south between Jackman and Caratunk at night and saw eyes reflected up on my left. There was no one else on the road, so I was able to slow to a crawl. On the hill above me was the very distinctive face and body of a mountain lion. And, yes, I did see the long, fluffy tail curled around its body. Like so many others have been, I was told that there are no breeding populations here and that it must have been a released or escaped pet.
About three and half years ago, I saw another possible sign of a mountain lion. I was hiking down the Bridle path of Mount Kineo with my eighteen month old son and saw the largest cat print I have ever seen. Cat prints are much rounder than canine ones and the claws, being retractable, are not visible. I kept telling myself that it was only a bobcat or lynx track, scooped my toddler up in my arms and walked quickly but not running down the hill while singing at the top of my lungs. When I lived in Colorado, I would often walk singing and carrying a large stick when I was alone in mountain lion habitat. The television news out there recommended such things. I don't know how efficacious that is, but it helps to feel like you are doing something to avoid being prey. When I told the operator of the boat shuttle back to Rockwood, he reacted as if I told him I had seen aliens land on the mountain.
I don't know if there is a breeding population in the state nor how many of these big cats it takes to make up one, but I do know that I saw one, signs of a possible second and that the photo in question does appear to show another. I also am intrigued at the prospect that this large predator may have staged a comeback in a place where humans have been determined to eliminate them and keep them away. report abuse
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