Organization Sets Out to Document Presence of Wild Mountain Lions in CT

Friends of Connecticut Mountain Lion, a grass roots organization based in Canton is preparing to launch a major trail camera initiative to undisputedly document the presence of wild mountain lions in the State of Connecticut and the Northeast.

Founder Bo Ottmann, a Canton native and mountain lion expert, has launched a  campaign on the funding site indiegogo.com. The goal is to raise enough funds for at least 20 high definition trail cameras and scent stations which to lure, video, and recover biological samples for DNA confirmatory analysis.

Volunteer field researchers will monitor and maintain the camera sites at locations starting in Connecticut. The project will likely expand beyond Connecticut into other New England States.

Connecticut has been the focus of a long standing controversy whether mountain lions have re-colonized their historical range in the Eastern United States. This controversy garnered national attention in June 2011 when a confirmed wild mountain lion was struck and killed in Milford.

Prior to the Milford mountain lion, the last known mountain lion taken by a hunter was over 100 years ago. 

For more information on mountain lions in CT and the project: 

www.ctmountainlion.org and www.indiegogo.com/ctmountainlion

Submitted by Press Release