Mountain Lions in Maine?

Mountain lions are the largest North American cats. They once ranged across all of the lower 48 states but are believed to have been exterminated by humans in all but the remotest parts of the American West.  In recent decades, they have been making a resurgence as hunting has declined and as prey populations have increased.  

The evidence in the form of photographs, videos, and many reports of sightings indicates that they are here.  Maine has tens of thousands of square miles of excellent habitat and a huge prey base of deer, moose, turkeys, and small mammals.  The State of Maine acknowledges that there may be some in the state but that they are escaped or released captives.  The state also denies that there is a breeding population.  Interestingly, about twenty-five years ago, a department warden stated privately that he knew of a den site for a female with kittens.  This was very close to where one or more mountain lions were later documented in Canada.

Why is Maine’s fish and wildlife department continuing to deny the presence of a mountain lion population?  Why is every other Northeast state also denying their presence?  In 1996, a mountain lion was documented after it was seen and hair was collected in Cape Elizabeth, just outside of Portland.  A long-term study conducted in eastern Canada documented the presence of several mountain lions in Quebec and New Brunswick, including adjacent to the western Maine mountains.  Unfortunately, no such study has ever been conducted in Maine, nor is one planned.

Mountain lions have large territories, which can range up to several hundred square miles, with males typically having larger territories than females.  Young males also typically range farther than young females when searching for territory and a mate.  A car struck and killed a young adult male in southwest Connecticut in 2011.  Its DNA was consistent with a breeding population of mountain lions in South Dakota.  However, the mountain lion did not necessarily walk from South Dakota.  The mountain lion range is expanding eastward from the Dakotas, through the Great Lakes states, and eastward.  It is only a matter of time before breeding is documented in Maine.

What are your chances of seeing a mountain lion in Maine?  Some would say pretty good.  Below is a purported photo of a cat from central Maine in 2025.  What do you think?