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. Scientists debate whether the large prehistoric mammals became extinct at the end of the Ice Age due to over-hunting, or rapid climate warming. There is a small breeding population in the state, despite being killed off in the 1920s. Currently, mountain lions seem to be making a comeback in regard to their historic range. Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. In Pennsylvania, I receive a few reports of black, big cats, which makes one wonder -- are there melanistic (black) pumas out there, or are those sightings always wrong. Have all of those who have seen a puma really seen a bobcat? Any Truth I was heading up the road and I saw an animal with a long tail.". Others would like to see some scientific proof. Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania? Some experts predict that this wide-ranging predator, which can travel 600 miles in search of a territory, will surely reach our eastern states sometime in the next few decades. A dark brown puma, backlighted by a strong sun, could appear all black, or very dark, and he accepted that. 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! Those cats for which DNA evidence was recovered had come east from South Dakota, part of the known, modern-day, U.S. mountain lion range. I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one. Packer Hill Ave. Jim Thorpe, PA 18229. The mountains and isolated forests of the state allow these large cats to live their lives without encountering humans very often. They've been extinct in the eastern part of North America for more than a century. Granted, the image is not great, and I used some Photoshop adjustment layers to enhance the image, making it a bit easier to see. I've seen hoaxes, of pumas carrying deer shot with game cameras, but these were of western cats. Mountain lions are well-established in 14 western states and have also recently been confirmed in 10 Midwestern states: Nebraska, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. Below is a list of physical characteristics that distinguish mountain lions from more . For example, leopards and jaguars, normally spotted cats, have a melanistic color morph, the 'black panther,' the black leopard or black jaguar. Let me explain this. Recently, on our Arizona Hummingbird and Bat Photo Shoot, I found a deer that had been hit by a car and had moved off to die beside a stream just 200 yards upstream from our lodge. It's sort of like big foot, some people say they've seen him.". Conversely, an outdoor writer I know told me that when Pa. enacted a menagerie permit law years ago, 'a lot of mountain lions suddenly died,' as the owners of these cats, rather than going through the paperwork, simply released their pumas and claimed that they had died. "I thought I had a sighting in the late '90s," Delaware Water Gap National Recreation park ranger Chris Kross said. Two other reports went, in detail, on what they saw, the size, the length of tail, etc. 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. Check out the tails of the two! This ideal habitat allows for a large population of 2,000 mountain lions to thrive. Here it is: I still couldn't get the big head/little neck, and the body is a bit stouter/shorter, but a striding cat might be stretched out a bit. They include a reported attack on horses at a farm near Dillsburg, York County, that Foster thinks may be legitimate. "They're getting a lot of that out west. On the other hand, there are probably thousands of game cameras covering water holes and game trails throughout Pennsylvania, and to my knowledge no one has yet recorded a puma. It is almost safe to say that the panther has in these parts become extinct, Goodrich wrote. Penn State's Nittany Lion hide sampled for DNA sequencing, Mountain lion reports in Pennsylvania popular, but often a hoax, More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. Are there Mountain Lions (Pumas, Cougars) in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic States? "We've been here 45 years and I've probably been told by people at least 100 times that they've seen a cougar or mountain lion," said owner Vince Hall. In personal contacts, that monthly average might even be higher. Is there a Puma conspiracy? That summer, a team from the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg excavated the nearly complete skeleton of the ancient elephant, the first of its kind found in the Commonwealth. I'll offer my own little anecdote. Both sheep and young cattle fell prey to wolves, unless they were under constant watch. Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". I don't want to seem like a nut case here, but I must ask this question and you'll soon understand why? 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. The 'look' is from my I believe Kross fully, but I wanted to hear more. Still, these resilient animals reside in secluded areas across the United States, with current data suggesting they may even be returning to their historical regions! The coat can be spotted or solid and varies in color from light browns, reddish and silvery grey. Foster, the Messiah College professor, said he has investigated about 15 reported mountain lion sightings since late May, and believed "three or four are pretty likely a mountain lion." When I first discovered this fresh carcass I examined it for throat punctures, thinking that it may have been killed by a puma. Possibly, but it seems unlikely that enough would have been released or had escaped to make for a viable population. Recently the US Fish and Wildlife Service formally declared the Eastern Puma an extinct species, except for the remnant population in Florida. As they get older, the cubs begin to leave the den and explore. The earliest wave arrived at the end of the last Ice Age; the last wave is the Lenape or Delaware Tribe, which made contact with colonial settlers in the 1600s. In the area around the border of Pennsylvania and West Virginia there are mountains and deep caves that contain some of the coal mines that were a major part of the state's industry in the early part of the 19 th century. Biologists traced it. More conclusive evidence is needed: Keep your cameras handy. The hunting policy of the state may be the cause of the dropping population, and pressure on the Fish and Game Commission has increased. Penn State's Nittany Lion hide sampled for DNA sequencing, Mountain lion reports in Pennsylvania popular, but often a hoax, More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. They have almost been killed off a few times, but conservation efforts have helped to keep their numbers stable. 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). Not only do hunting licenses support the various state game commissions, and in some states the acquisition and maintenance of public hunting lands, but hunters are a huge boon to local economies each fall, with purchases of food, lodging, hunting equipment, etc. The last native mountain lion known to be killed in Pennsylvania is on display in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. "From three really reliable sources who are always around the woods from Monroe County to Bradford, there is no doubt that there are mountain lions in Pennsylvania," East Stroudsburg University football team offensive coordinator and avid hunter Mike Terwilliger said. The cat is known to live in the western U.S. and Florida, South America and Canada. The mountain lion is a large, slender cat, with a long rope-like tail. The other site, The Cougar Network, is still active, and is reporting the cats expanding range from the West, but offers little about the phenomenon of Pennsylvania cats. I've never seen or heard of a verified black puma anywhere, whether wild or captive, so I'd be inclined to dismiss reports of truly black big cats as misidentifications, even when a group of guys all see the same thing. He knows and was familiar with bobcats, and it was not a weird house cat that he and his friends misjudged in size. Perhaps my Fed Ex driver was simply recalling a rural legend, but he said it was an employee that he knew, and it was a story he heard first-hand. Puma vs Mountain Lion: Is There a Difference? Caribou meat apparently was part of their diet. Looking for things to do in the Poconos? Mountain lion populations struggle to outpace the high hunting limits. The bones were found perfectly preserved. Biologists traced it back to the Black Hills of South Dakota, from where it ventured nearly 2,000 miles looking for a new mate. Wishful thinking? Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead? Hunting is legal, but the use of dogs was banned in 1996. Compare any game camera image with the shots above, or this game camera image, to confirm your identification. The State Museum of Pennsylvania, in Harrisburg, displays a taxidermy mount of a mountain lion in glass case, with the notation, "This lion, found near Hawk Mountain in Berks County around 1871, is the last native mountain lion known to have been shot in Pennsylvania. Viewers can never be certain that what they're seeing on a computer is actually what it's purported to be. If pumas do exist in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, could they all be released cats or escapees? Note the size of the tail, the pointed ears, the speckled coat, the basic lack of white underneath. ? In captivity mountain, lions can live to be about 20 years old. You be the judge. Only when I reviewed the images on my laptop did I discover that I had a mountain lion! All rights reserved. Archived Questions of the Month It had been captured in Florida, and was to be released. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? He's sitting in a plastic doghouse, paws crossed, amber eyes locked on the two men ticking him off by their mere presence out beyond the fence. However, recently I saw a photo of a melanistic bobcat, as black as could be, with bright yellow eyes. Imagine my surprise. I've know of reports since 1973, in Cooke Forest, the heart of a lot of Pa. wilderness. And yet today the debate continues: Are there mountain lions in Pennsylvania? The last documented sighting of an eastern cougar was one killed in Maine in 1938. That solution: Shoot, Shovel, and Shut Up. 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. Same story as 'black panthers' across the country, because of course there, scientifically, can be no such thing. Who knows? They're seeing an animal they don't know or recognize, and while some may be watching a smaller bobcat about 35 pounds), some believe they've actually spotted a cougar. A recent alleged sighting in South Abington Township, Lackawanna County, had Facebook groups abuzz. Most of the native mountain lions live in Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, but humans rarely ever see them due to their secretive nature. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? This one streaked across the road in the early evening, and fortunately, it stopped when it climbed a hill on the other side where I had another view from my side of the truck. They mostly live in the far western Trans-Pecos region of the state, with about 50,000 to 80,000 acres of suitable land currently being used by the cat. Depends on who you talk to, I guess. In Yellowstone, definite puma country (perhaps not ideal habitat, but pumas are found in every section of Yellowstone), I've spoken to guys on road crews and with rangers, each with 20 years of field or road experience in Yellowstone, and the ranger had only seen 2 (both road kills and together) and the road crew guys two or three in all their years. Where they always here as a relic population? Bobcats tend to be darker brown, with lighter belly fur and spots while mountain lions tend to be more uniform brown, tawny color. Colorado and California have the highest estimated populations of mountain lions in the United States. Knowing that pumas range widely, would my ridge be the only one closed? Again, I've been told that some Game Commission personnel have admitted that pumas may exist in Pennsylvania, but they rationalize this by saying that the pumas are not breeding and they are not from original wild stock. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. 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. I spend a lot of time outdoors, and I've seen about 10 black bears in Pennsylvania, and all within ten miles of my home. 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. Do elk live in Pennsylvania? The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. In 2011, a confirmed mountain lion was killed by a vehicle in Connecticut and which had been determined that it had wandered east from the Mid-West. There also were camels, sloth and hyena, which migrated elsewhere. Kross only saw the animal for a second, but it made a believer out of him. Today, we are going to explore the 15 US states that have mountain lions, plus a few others that may have some. The Asa Packer Mansion, built in the year 1861, is a historic house museum. Since mountain lions are the top predators (unlike most other states with grizzly bears), they have a well-developed population. (PennLive has investigated many reports of mountain lions, and other mystery creatures, and has found no confirming evidence. There are, from time to time, eyewitness accounts from hunters or hikers who claim to have seen the cat. Transient males have been sighted as far east as New York! But many others believe wild mountain lions are traveling from Western states, where as many as 30,000 could exist, and across the Midwest to Pennsylvania seeking new territory. I've done this myself once, in Tanzania, when I saw a black house cat that I thought was a black leopard! The state of Texas is home to many mountain lion populations, but the numbers are incredibly hard to find. All of the above images are of bobcats. Many people have claimed to see them, and this writer chronicled numerous such reports in the local press from the mid-1990s to the 2010s. The next day, another friend, who works for Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, called me to ask if I had seen the photo of a Pocono mountain lion with a deer in its jaws. But this one was black, and he knows mountain lions are some variant of brown. What the Lenape Indians never did, the European colonists and their descendants did swiftly eradicate the wolf and cougars viewed as a menace to their families and livestock. I hope no one ever shoots a puma to prove their existence here, but I hope someone gets a great photo, of the cat, of a road-kill, of tracks, and that I see it. Colby is a freelance writer from Charlotte, North Carolina. Other states have had sightings, especially as mountain lion populations begin to explore and look to expand. 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. DNA collected from the mountain lion killed on a roadway in Connecticut in 2011 showed the animal to have originated in South Dakota. Everyone else, when reporting, were frustrated as they were told they had seen a bobcat. Colorado has a large number of mountain lions within its borders, mostly due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. This is not a Pennsylvania puma! 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. Bushkill Falls Trail. Mountain lions were once widespread across North America, but their range shrunk dramatically as they were pursued through unregulated hunting and by farmers aiming to protect their livestock, and moved off the landscape by habitat fragmentation. One came to her as the result of an owner's divorce. Let's say the facts indicate that there have been a lot of 'pet' pumas, and many of these escaped. They are generally believed to be young cats roaming in search of new breeding territories to claim as their own. Ashley Catherine Fontones, Pocono Record. At the end of the last Ice Age, many animals in Pennsylvania died out. Who knows? Perhaps one or more of these Pocono sightings represent early pioneers reclaiming their former territories. He's a hunter, a woodsman, and he's seen a lot of game, so I can believe he saw a back-lighted puma. Two different people told me that they, or a close relative, had seen pumas on more than one occasion. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Provided by Touchpoints YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. I asked our Game officials about evidence, and they cite no road kills. In Tennessee, the most likely places you would find them would be in the forest. the more visible white on the chest, the lack of spots, the huge hind quarters. To learn more about "lion country" in Colorado check here. What do I think of the Canon 1D Mark IV? Bobcats, feral cats and domestic dogs may be misidentified as mountain lion. "If my son would have been on a pedal bike, without a helmet on, that thing would have nailed him," said Walters, 44. "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. In Pennsylvania, I receive a few reports of black, big cats, which makes one wonder -- are there melanistic (black) pumas out there, or are those sightings always wrong. "There hasn't been one solid piece of proof to believe they are here. "Hunters are always saying they see mountain lions, and the Game Commission always says there aren't any," said Robert Hale, owner of Buffalo Gap Outfitters in Dillsburg. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? Where reports dating that far back from escapees? Unfortunately, their web site no longer seems active, and has been taken over by some wacky drug product. The life cycle then repeats itself. 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. Here's a glimpse at what long-gone Pocono beasts the region's very first wave of residents may have seen, and the wild things that followed up to as late as the early 20th century. All of the above are Mountain Lions, or Pumas, or Cougars. Florida is the only state on the east coast with a breeding population of mountain lions. Learn more about us & read our affiliate disclosure. Have some feedback for us? Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. Here in central Pennsylvania we live on the outskirts of what one puma-tracking website has as almost the high point of sightings, extending from north-central Pennsylvania in a southwestern diagonal that extends into the mountains of West Virginia. At one point, there was debate whether that cat should be protected, since its genes were diluted from escapees or released pumas that originated in South America or our West. He saw a big cat. Newspapers carried stories in 1956 about hunters supposedly seeing and killing wolves in Pike and Monroe Counties. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? Claws 'N' Paws Animal Park in Lake Ariel has two. When he told me this, he commented on how an experience like the one he and his friends had just is not forgotten. 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. These experiences are still available, but the reality is there is so much more for the mature traveler to enjoy in the Pocono Mountains. The states beautiful wilderness and mountainous terrain are prime mountain lion habitats. They know what they saw, regardless of what the facts say, and they know they saw a puma. The woman, a 66-year-old grandmother, asked not to be identified because she's a senior and didn't want people "bothering" her about it. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead. I can't dismiss the eye-witnesses I've interviewed. Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included. Among those who have investigated the primeval times of the Pocono Plateau and Delaware River valleys and tributaries was the late Vernon Leslie, Ph.D., a Wayne County historian and archaeologist. There had been 17 other mastodon finds in Pennsylvania up to 1968, but all were fragmentary. They mostly live in the far western Trans-Pecos region of the state, where they can freely roam 50,000 to 80,000 acres of land. They are there to help us. The claim of mountain lions on the move was bolstered in 2009 when one was killed by a car in Greenwich, Conn. This, after they were told that there were no pumas in Pa. Those special two were across a river just outside Glacier National Park in Montana, and consisted of a mother and two cubs (Mary saw both cubs, I only saw one, and we did so separately, as we were driving two vehicles). Is it the New Best Pack? The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. Mountain Lion in Pocono's Pennsylvania Kacie PA 7.9K views 2 years ago Mountain lion in bucks county pa or not? What does a Puma (Mountain Lion) look like on a Game Camera? One might argue that the eastern puma is extinct, but that does not mean that there are not pumas (mountain lions, cougars) in the east. Encouraged by the bounties, settlers waged war on these perceived beasts. In his 1973 book "Faces in Clay" Leslie lays open the archaeological treasures of stone arrow or spear points and tools lost long ago by a succession of native peoples. I've seen about 20 mountain lions, or pumas, in the field, but all but 2 were in Chile. So it happens, and who knows if it is existing in wild pumas in the East. Mountain lions have an interesting life cycle that consists of a few different characteristics. Cougar vs Mountain Lion What Are the Differences? In the map above, I collected data from the state and on the federal level to find state parks . In some areas, entire populations of a species exhibit this trait, for unlike albinism, which results in a conspicuous white color and light-sensitive pink eyes, there are no ill effects with melanism. "From people that I trust have had visual sightings, they've seen mountain lions.". The question is just like in the story of the boy who cried wolf) if that day ever arrives, how will we believe those first, true sightings after so many hoaxes have been perpetrated on the public? What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? 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. While it would seem impossible to confuse the two after seeing them in person, Foster said many of the sightings are in the dark, from roadways and trail cams, with bodies half-concealed. 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. I've seen scores of leopards in the grasslands and deserts of East Africa and I've never seen, nor spoke with anyone, who has seen a black leopard there. Now, forty years ago coyotes were rare or almost nonexistent in Pennsylvania, and had had that same sighting back then, when coyotes were thought not to exist within the state we would have had the 'facts' to doubt what we saw. So how or why could there be a conspiracy? Asa Packer Mansion Jim Thorpe. Over 1,100 people follow her page. Many have a desire to see some clear-cut evidence. In Michigan, there has been multiple sightings of 'black panthers,' animals that were thought to be mountain lions, or pumas, except that they were black. There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. A Mountain Lion Cover Up No one needs to panic.". In books I've read critical or skeptical or down-right dismissive of the idea of pumas in the East, the argument has been advanced that the hopefull puma-dreamer/spotters arguing that the State needs to prove pumas don't exist does not mean that in the State not proving this means that pumas indeed do exist in this state. Flying over the area, I've looked down and commented upon the amount of habitat that would be available for a puma, if only they existed. Murray said Rocky was emaciated and chained when she found him at a private zoo. While there have been no confirmed occurrences of mountain lions in Pennsylvania since the late 1800s, dozens . With healthy populations and strong conservation programs, however, they seem to be pushing back east. Thank you for reading! Is there a Mountain Lion Conspiracy? 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 large, undeveloped interior filled with rocky habitats perfect for mountain lions allows them to safely live and breed. Hopefully, we'll see the real thing. Let me know if you have seen one! Albinos are often very light sensitive, and they certainly are conspicuous, and most do not live very long. 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. Still, people say they know what they saw out there. Now, if there were any escapes, and if any of these bred with a possible minuscule number of eastern pumas, a relic native population, wouldn't the gene pool be corrupted? With that hope in mind, I have, for years, asked outdoors people if they ever heard of a mountain lion, or puma, in their area -- with my questioning limited to people in my home state of Pennsylvania. So many of these sightings have been proven wrong misidentified bobcats, coyotes or even house cats) that it would be irresponsible for a biologist to accept any of them as fact without absolute physical evidence hair, droppings, tracks or a road-killed animal. Interestingly, almost all of the people I've spoken to who claim to have seen a puma have not seen a bobcat, an animal that is common enough in Pennsylvania to support a legal trapping season! Who knows? In Michigan, there has been multiple sightings of 'black panthers,' animals that were thought to be mountain lions, or pumas, except that they were black. I haven't seen any reports like that.". There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one game camera image that still looks very credible to me.
Piolo Pascual And Kc Concepcion Wedding, Non Living Things Can Breathe True Or False, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians White Marsh Lab Hours, Hunting Land For Lease In Cleburne County, Al, Tom Cosgrove Newport News Shipbuilding, Articles A