Other posts explained more recent sightings, but I couldnвЂ™t reach those sources. вЂњI was thinking, вЂWill I survive the situation?вЂ™ вЂќ вЂњEven if I had a camera, in that moment I was not thinking that I need to document these animals,вЂќ Notaey said. If she had had one, it wouldnвЂ™t have mattered. She saw two big cats, standing side by side, before the days of cell phone cameras. She said it was a Monday holiday, maybe Labor Day. Sherry Jackson Notaey of Epsom posted her experience with mountain lions from 20 years ago. Fish and Game wasnвЂ™t convinced, saying more, clearer proof was necessary. You can see reddish coloring on its back and white fur around its mouth. Someone posted a photo from 15 years ago. Forty pounds is unusually heavy for a bobcat, a member of the lynx family. Yet, the Facebook input stirred by HoldenвЂ™s post told you that residents believe in the existence of this giant, dangerous cat, which Tate said are muscular and can reach the size of a large dog and weigh 70 to 80 pounds. But without evidence, a wildlife biologist can not verify what they saw.вЂќ вЂќAs a wildlife biologist, it was an eye-opener on how far they can travel,вЂќ Tate said, вЂњand there is the possibility of them coming in. It was hit and killed by a car in Connecticut 10 years ago, and that, Tate said, is a fact. He said one of those western mountain lions traveled hundreds or thousands of miles, seeking a mate. There are western mountain lions, but, until further notice, the eastern version is no more. She had no time to snap a photo, and I was told by colleagues to be skeptical here. IвЂ™ve seen many bobcats and they donвЂ™t have tails, and this was no house cat.вЂќ вЂњIt was striking, because it was walking away and I clearly saw the tail, and it was long and thick and at the end was a very dark, different color from the animal. вЂњSomething caught my eyes, and I looked up and saw it for four or five seconds,вЂќ Holden said. She noticed something about 70 to 80 feet away, near a pile of leaves, over by the woods. Holden told me she was in her living room, sitting on her couch, working on her laptop. вЂњCertainly not a bobcat (had one of those here last summer). вЂњI know the controversy, but definitely saw one, from behind, with a long, thick tail this morning at the edge of my field heading into the woods,вЂќ Holden wrote. This thing weighed more than 40 pounds, according to HoldenвЂ™s admittedly rough estimate. She reached out, seeking other witnesses. She wrote on Facebook earlier this month. HoldenвЂ™s home is in Chichester, near the Epsom town line. Whether or not the mountain lion still roams the woods is on the minds of people who live in the Epsom region and elsewhere in the Suncook Valley. вЂњI will say that I can not rule out what they say, but at the same time, I can not verify what they saw.вЂќ Tate was mindful to show respect to anyone who calls his office to claim that they saw a mountain lion. вЂњAnd those photos to date have been bobcats.вЂќ вЂњOut of those three or five sightings per week, one or two will come with photos,вЂќ Tate said. He says people sometimes show him photographic proof. Tate says reports of mountain lion sightings to conservation officers have gone up lately, to three to five per week. вЂњThe most common species (seen) is the bobcat, and people, in their eyes, say they see a mountain lion.вЂќ вЂњThere is a very low possibility of seeing them in the Eastern states,вЂќ said Pat Tate, a wildlife biologist with New Hampshire Fish and Game. State officials have said, over and over in recent years, that the eastern mountain lion has been completely wiped out from the Northeast. ThatвЂ™s the version New Hampshire Fish and Game is sticking to. вЂњI am absolutely positive that is what it was. вЂњI know what I saw,вЂќ Holden said by phone. Or at least it was recently.ДЄnd judging by the responses sheвЂ™s received on EpsomвЂ™s informal town Facebook page, a lot of Granite Staters are also confident that the eastern mountain lion is alive and well in the Granite State and visiting communities near them. SheвЂ™s convinced that at least one mountain lion вЂ“ also known as a cougar вЂ“ is wandering somewhere in the Suncook Valley. She read about their habits, their history, their homesteads. SheвЂ™s a hearty New Englander with sharp eyes and the ability to Google. In her mind, however, that doesnвЂ™t disqualify her from showing sound judgment when claiming she saw a mountain lion last month in her backyard in Chichester, beyond her deck, near the woods. Lindsay Holden is not a wildlife biologist, nor does she play one on TV.

Eastern mountain lion