Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. That's true. Here's an example: A man is holding a dead eastern diamondback rattlesnake, which was found in North Carolina and measured more than 9 feet long and weighed 95 pounds. Interesting, too, are the reports I've heard from people who were told that they would be in big trouble if they shot a puma. Erosion from glacial melt and violence glaciers did to the land left a great litter of boulders, rocks, clay and lakes covering today's landscape. This is only hearsay, however, since I'm only going on their stories. A neighbor scared the animal away before it could finish its meal; the sheeps carcass was used as bait, to catch the big cat. A total of 32 mountain lions have been struck and killed by vehicles in the study area since 2002. "The day will come," he said, "when someone will pull the trigger on a mountain lion.". Colorado is the perfect habitat for mountain lions. Unfortunately, their web site no longer seems active, and has been taken over by some wacky drug product. The last known mountain lion in Pennsylvania was killed in Berks County in 1874. Colby is a freelance writer from Charlotte, North Carolina. But even without that second look there was no question that we'd seen a coyote. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Murray said Rocky was emaciated and chained when she found him at a private zoo. An escapee is also possible. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. The sightings were great bear views, but too fast or fleeting to allow me to grab a camera. I'm thinking of the solution often suggested for pesky endangered species out west, namely wolves and grizzly bears. In captivity mountain, lions can live to be about 20 years old. I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one. This is actually a good thing, as genetic isolation generally weakens a species. Find cabins in the Poconos, PA near places like Bushkill Falls, Camelback Mountain Resort, and more. The Asa Packer Mansion, built in the year 1861, is a historic house museum. Kross only saw the animal for a second, but it made a believer out of him. None of these sightings has been authenticated, and many of them, including a recent, alleged mountain lion picked up on a surveillance camera in Lackawanna County, turned out to be bobcats. Recently, on a back road in Pennsylvania, a friend and I had our first sighting of a coyote in Pennsylvania. Once a mountain lion matures, it will leave its mother and find its own territory. I don't know if a Game Commission authority has actually said this or not, but people I've spoken to have reported this. Mountain lions can live in almost any habitat including forests, prairies, deserts, and swamps. Are there Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic States? He knows and was familiar with bobcats, and it was not a weird house cat that he and his friends misjudged in size. "When I started telling people, most of them didn't believe me, but I will never forget that huge face staring right at me," said a Montgomery County woman who says she saw a lion last summer in Limerick Township while walking her dog. "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". With healthy populations and strong conservation programs, however, they seem to be pushing back east. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Outdoor adventures abound, and so do our fabulous shopping and restaurants. They regularly join the camp of those angrily claiming the commission has introduced the big cats back into Pennsylvania as a control measure against the state's huge deer population. She feeds and cares for them with donations and grants. These cubs are born blind and helpless. Of course, the writer's comments were hearsay, but it does make sense. You've got a mountain lion story or photo? (570) 325-3229. "Likewise, I'm not aware of any escapes from captive facilities in my time here. Recently the US Fish and Wildlife Service formally declared the Eastern Puma an extinct species, except for the remnant population in Florida. Biologists traced it. However, it is clearly a mountain lion, and I'm presenting this poor image as a baseline reference for anyone recording a mountain lion on a game camera, or seeing one. At one time this fact almost resulted in this cat not being protected, since it wasn't a pure strain. There are controlled hunting laws in the state of Oregon. No evidence has ever been produced to support those charges. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? "Given the period of time that has passed without verification of even a single eastern puma, the service concludes that the last remaining members of this subspecies perished decades ago," the Fish and Wildlife Service said in a Federal Register notice. Where they always here as a relic population? However, recently I saw a photo of a melanistic bobcat, as black as could be, with bright yellow eyes. That solution: Shoot, Shovel, and Shut Up. While there have been no confirmed occurrences of mountain lions in Pennsylvania since the late 1800s, dozens . At one time mountain lions, or more properly puma (Puma concolor), enjoyed the widest geographic range of any New World mammal, and were found throughout all of the contiguous United States. I have not spoken with a Game Commission officer personally, so I don't know whether anyone killing a puma in Pennsylvania could do so without legal repercussions. The last native mountain lion known to be killed in Pennsylvania is on display in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. The Poconos is a mountain area in northeastern Pennsylvania.It is 2,400 square miles of wooded mountains and valleys full of beautiful lakes, rivers, forests and wildlife. Let's see a clear photo, or a carcass or something. The hunting policy of the state may be the cause of the dropping population, and pressure on the Fish and Game Commission has increased. About six months ago I posted the question, Are there Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania? "It's fall bow-hunting season soon," he said. We hope you enjoy this foray into the most weird and wonderful our beloved Pocono Mountains have to offer. Noted Wayne County historian Phineas Goodrich recorded in his 1880 book on local history that the common gray wolf was much more common in this area than the cougar. This animal was undoubtedly a bobcat. Some cats had a South American genetic profile. Two different people told me that they, or a close relative, had seen pumas on more than one occasion. There are deserts, mountains, and swamps in the state of Utah, all of which are suitable for mountain lions. Wishful thinking? The mountain lion is a large, slender cat, with a long rope-like tail. I'd suspect it would still be considered very rare, after all, it was thought to be extinct. Everyone is familiar with albinism, the absence of pigmentation that results in a white, essentially pigment free animal, defined by pink skin and pink eyes. Check out our online field guide to read more in this series. There is no known estimate of the number of mountain lions inhabiting Texas. When he isn't distracted by his backyard birdfeeder, you can find him camping, exploring, and telling everyone around him about what he's recently learned. Mountain lions typically eat about one deer per week, along with other smaller prey as the opportunity arises. All of the above images are of bobcats. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? The story behind our new web site. While the chances that I'll ever see a puma in Pennsylvania myself are virtually zero, I'm always on the alert -- for the bobcat I've never seen in Pa., for a fisher, bear, deer, red salamander, toad, or snake, and yes, I'm always hoping that I too will become one of those who saw something that officially cannot exist within the state, a puma I know I saw but, of course, could not have! Reports of a mountain lion have come from several residents of Hemlock Farms who were hiking on. Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead? To learn more about "lion country" in Colorado check here. Fish and Wildlife Service. Mountain lion populations struggle to outpace the high hunting limits. Foster said mountain lions and bobcats could not breed. A typical home range is around 150 square miles for adult males and 50 square miles for adult females in our region. Lions in the Santa Monica Mountains - National Park Service On that note, I was speaking with a Fed Ex driver recently who told me that one of his colleagues had seen what he swore was a dead mountain lion on the side of a road. Some outdoor enthusiasts insist they have seen the big cats here and believe them to be naturally occurring, native animals. Are Mountain Lions in Missouri Making a Comeback? WATCH: Sharks biting alligators, the most epic lion battles, and MUCH more. A phantom creature has been sighted in the vast Delaware State Forest region of Pike County. A placard affixed to the fence outside Rocky's pen states that "cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by humans." Most nature magazines state whether the photos were taken "under controlled conditions" rather than in the wild.). Are There Mountain Lions In Pa? - CLJ Geologist Dr. John Yolton made the identification. All rights reserved. September 21st, 2008, 08:14 PM #74. I don't want to seem like a nut case here, but I must ask this question and you'll soon understand why? "He doesn't like men too much," said Suzanne Murray, owner of East Coast Exotic Animal Rescue in this south-central Pennsylvania town. Mysterious big cat caught on security camera in Clarks Summit, Pa. There are, from time to time, eyewitness accounts from hunters or hikers who claim to have seen the cat. Although unconfirmed, mountain lions continue to be reported in many spots across Pennsylvania, including several reports in the past couple months. Remember, this one was photographed in Arizona in good puma country, although this was the first one I've recorded there. The large tracts of untouched rocky land and bighorn sheep populations make for pristine mountain lion habitat. Erosion from glacial melt and violence glaciers did to the land left a. I Googled "Pocono mountain lion" and there it was the same photo, except the caption claimed that it was taken in Oklahoma, not Pennsylvania, and various posted comments asserted that the photo was manipulated. Jones has never seen a mountain lion, but he thinks they're prowling around. So how or why could there be a conspiracy? 25 Best Things to Do in The Pocono Mountains Area (for 2023) Over the last two years I have occasionally posted a Question of the Month soliciting sightings from people who believed that they have seen a mountain lion in Pennsylvania or in other areas in the mid-Atlantic states. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Today, we are going to explore the 15 US states that have mountain lions, plus a few others that may have some. Every year we receive a few similar reports from hikers, hunters or other outdoor enthusiasts. While there have been no confirmed occurrences of mountain lions in Pennsylvania since the late 1800s, dozens of sincere reports of sightings and tracks and even more hoaxed reports emerge across the state each year. With the Great Lakes in its way, the cat moved either north or south of the water, and the latter route would have seen it pass through at least some of Pennsylvania. There is a big community of mountain lion enthusiasts across the Northeast convinced that the animals still exist in breeding populations. And, some may be escaped or illegally released pets. Mountain Lions - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service) NPS.gov Park Home Learn About the Park Nature Animals Mammals Mountain Lion Mountain Lion Last updated: May 4, 2018 Was this page helpful? Transient males have been sighted as far east as New York! The large, undeveloped interior filled with rocky habitats perfect for mountain lions allows them to safely live and breed. After all, skeptics often suggest that puma sightings are just deer sightings, so it would be logical to worry that a hunter might shoot an endangered puma, mistaking it for a brown deer. Leslie estimated that the first humans making up the Paleo-Indians lived in the upper Delaware valley as early as 11,000 B.C. Never has this been more accurate than in today's digital, computerized world. Can so many people be wrong? PHILADELPHIA (AP) An instinct coiled way down in the human brain knows the difference between a bobcat and a mountain lion. Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. Below is a list of physical characteristics that distinguish mountain lions from more . According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. The mountain lion, which is also called a cougar, puma or panther, weighs on average between 75-120 pounds, has long whiskers and a distinctive swooping tail. Hunting is legal, but the use of dogs was banned in 1996. He saw his cat at very close range -- 20 yards or less, and when I pointed out to him that pumas are never black he said that perhaps it was the light. A tiny population of Florida cougars persists in the southeastern corner of the United States. Pa Mountain lion, cougar, or big cat in bucks county Pennsylvania Pocono Mountains: Best Things To See And Do - TravelAwaits This, after they were told that there were no pumas in Pa. I could fill pages recounting the eye-witness reports I've heard, and for every report critics could certainly say 'but there's no physical evidence!' There is a small breeding population in the state, despite being killed off in the 1920s. It was definitely a mountain lion, and it had a big buck, white-tailed deer in its jaws. Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions. Mountain Lions do remain in the western states and there is evidence that in 2011, a mountain lion migrated about 1,500 miles from South Dakota to Connecticut where it was killed by a. Bobcats, feral cats and domestic dogs may be misidentified as mountain lion. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). A Mountain Lion Cover Up In July and August I received seven different reports, and everyone involved had done a search of some type to compare images of bobcats and pumas. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? "While it seems unlikely, it's not impossible that these animals are showing up in PA," said David Foster, a biology professor at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg. For information on predator tracks, check out this guide: https://www.wildliferemoval.com/animal-track-identification-guide/, Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included. Mountain Lion Reports He notes how over the millennia, the region was inhabited by humans, only to be depopulated by migration brought on by the search of food due to a fickle climate, war or epidemic. He saw a big cat. If you see a puma (mountain lion-cougar), contact me. After all, how many people have pumas? Their are two web sites I know of that dealt with eastern pumas, with the one, the Eastern Puma Research Network, concentrating on sightings in the east. "They are very strong animals," she said. I asked our Game officials about evidence, and they cite no road kills. Over the last few years I've done several Questions of the Month regarding Mountain Lions, or Pumas as they should properly be called, in the Mid-Atlantic States and in Pennsylvania. But more importantly, he also said that regardless of color, he saw a big cat, with a tail that looked to be about 4 feet long! After a gestation period of 90 days, female mountain lions will give birth to litters of about one to six cubs.
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