Allyson Halm

PHOTOS: Two Bobcats Seen on Marvin Ridge Road

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A pair of bobcats were photographed on a Marvin Ridge Road property, officials said Friday. 

A rare sighting, the pair likely are a female with a male in pursuit, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. She noted that the breeding season is just getting underway: Bobcats breed between February and March, and one to four kittens generally are born in a litter in April. Halm said she has reported the sighting to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The sighting of the reclusive species is the first reported in New Canaan in one year. Animal Control received reports of sightings on Marvin Ridge Road and Ponus Ridge last February.

Animal 411

Five Bobcat Sightings Reported in New Canaan in the Last Month

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Police on Tuesday received a report and photo confirming a bobcat sighting on Marvin Ridge Road, the fifth sighting in less than one month of a species known for its reclusiveness. Bobcats are “showing themselves on a regular basis,” according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control Section. Residents should continue to report the sightings and “check your security cameras routinely for any other large predators that we would like to know about and accept be aware of their presence, just like coyote, bear and the possibility of a mountain lion passing through,” Halm said. The five recent bobcat sightings were as follows:

March 6: Hickory Drive
March 16: Toby’s Lane
March 29: Frogtown Road
March 27: Summersweet Lane
April 3: Marvin Ridge Road

Though the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has collared 50 bobcats as part of an effort launched earlier this year to track the animals, none were caught in traps in New Canaan, Halm said. “They’re too smart,” she said.

Animal 411

Police: Two Bobcat Sightings in Waveny This Month

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The head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control unit is urging Waveny visitors to bring a hazing tool with them after two reported bobcat sightings in the popular park this month. A bobcat crossed in front of a jogger’s path at Waveny on Nov. 20, following an initial sighting reported on Nov. 8, according to Officer Allyson Halm. It’s a good idea at Waveny to have a hazing tool of some kind, mostly because of coyotes, she said.

Animal 411

Bobcat Spotted Monday Morning on Dogwood Lane; Animal Control Reports Steep Rise in Sightings

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A string of bobcat sightings in New Canaan has officials reopening questions about the elusive species’ prevalence in town. The sighting on Monday morning of what appeared to be a perfectly healthy bobcat in a Dogwood Lane yard marked the fifth time in just three weeks that the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section fielded a report that someone had seen one of the felines. “That’s a lot of activity,” Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm said. “They sound healthy and I’m assuming that we’re approaching the mating season, so that could be the activity. I’m also trying to understand the difference between these guys.

Animal 411

PHOTO: Bobcat Spotted Sunday Morning on Michigan Road

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A northern New Canaan family on Sunday morning photographed a bobcat in its yard—the second recorded sighting of the elusive species in town in as many months. The animal was spotted at 10 a.m. in the back yard of a residence on Michigan Road near Lukes Wood Road, according to the homeowner. The animal “seemed comfortable,” the resident said in an email. “He lingered on our lawn in back and went into the woods when we went out on the deck,” the resident said. Officials reported in October that a bobcat had tripped an outdoor camera in the woods near Oenoke Ridge at Turtle Back Road.