CT resident claims to have seen mountain lion
April 23, 2008
Mountain Lion’s Lair video - By News Channel 8’s Bob Wilson
By News Channel 8’s Bob Wilson
Posted April 21, 2008
11:05 PM
Wallingford (WTNH) _ Is there a mountain lion roaming the countryside in Connecticut? One Wallingford resident says yes. Environmental experts aren’t so sure. So, with this said, should people be worried?
Bob Heilnan, of Wallingford, was out working in his field when he saw an animal cross in front of him. It looked just like a mountain lion.
“It walked across the field this way, disappeared in here and that is the den. DEP was here and they say that is a den,” Heilnan noted.
But is it a mountain lion den? That is the question. Heilnan continued to describe what he saw. “About 3 and a half feet long, tan and the tail has a black tip. And, as it walks, the tail and the front legs move together.”
DEP says mountain lions are not native to Connecticut. They wanted Heilnan to get a picture of the animal. So, he called a friend who has a special wildlife camera, he mounted it next to the den in front of the animals path.
“The camera has been put in place and it’s a special camera with a motion sensor and flash so that any animal that walks in front of it will the picture of what ever animal lives in the brush.”
Beth Webb lives across from the den. She knows that everything from rabbits to wood chucks live nearby. But, a mountain lion?
“We are a little concerned to see what is out there, in the field and long as it’s nothing dangerous that’s okay,” Webb noted.
As for Heilnan, he knows what he saw and he knows that there aren’t supposed to be mountain lions in Connecticut. “This is Connecticut. I know I have deer. I know I have coyote. I know I have muskrats living in my pond. But when you stop and think about it — there is a lot of game for him and this is the perfect place for him.”
After a little internet searching, reading, and checking up on this stuff I found it’s a pretty well established product in Canada and hails from Quebec where they have this funny habit of speaking a lot of French. Thus the name, Jig-A-Loo, and the company’s claim it derives from a saying they have up north, “I’ve got it!” 
I know there are Mt. lions in CT because I have seen them, on one occasion, in Kent in 2002.
The DEP is playing games w/ the public. They are aware of numerous sightings yet they refuse to acknowledge the big cat’s presence unless you give the “proof”.
Peter, I know there has been quite a few siting reports but, to my knowledge there has been no confirmations and for me personally I will believe it when I see it. No offense but a picture tells a thousand words.
It truly could be possible, heck years ago we hardly had any bears in Connecticut and now they estimate we have at least 300 of them roaming around and that is including the sow and cub I saw a few years ago.
What is SO HARD to understand this SIMPLE FACT:
The DEP WILL NOT simply except someones word for spotting a mountain lion. They investigate that all the time. MOST time it is MISTAKEN IDENTITY. What they require to take it seriously is SIMPLE: Hard evidence. Scat. Prints. A body. A pic.
But they just don’t get that stuff. They get calls, stories. This IS NOT HOW SCIENTISTS WORK. They NEED physical evidence to comfirm. Give it to them AND THEY WILL ACT. With all these sightings, doesn’t it strike SOMEONE funny that this is NO physical proof, as of yet???
People have said that there are no mountain lions in Kent, CT but I beg to differ. One one sunny September afternoon (2008) I was driving home on Rt. 7 (N) and one crossed in front of me and ran into the backyard of the Old Chestnut Inn. It was approximately 4 p.m. Other Kent residents say they’ve seen one too.