Because the neck bothered me, I decided to do some Photoshop on the puma in the lower left, moving his head higher up and changing the image to a contrasty black and white - to give a silhouette for comparision. If mountain lions are discovered in PA anytime soon they'll either be big foot's pets or genetically engineered and released by the DCNR to cull the orangu-bear population. The rounded ears, But Dave "Gadget" Jones, a retired wildlife conservation officer from Lackawanna County, claims he's seen a white bigfoot and a UFO in Pennsylvania, so who knows? She also houses a bobcat named Nia she took in from a couple who couldn't handle her. That may be true, or was once true, but even a declawed puma, if it can survive off rabbits and squirrels, and breeds, its offspring would be fully equipted to survive. Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania? Goodrich said he once saw a mountain lion spring from a thicket and kill a sheep on a public road. All of the above are Mountain Lions, or Pumas, or Cougars. 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. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? "People think they can get them declawed and that they're safe, but they still have teeth.". DCNR gave the following as examples: the saber-tooth cat; a small, three-toed horse; the Pleistocene beaver, and the mastodon. My friend was a former hunter and fisherman, and spent a lot of time in the woods, as did I, but neither of us had ever seen a coyote. 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. 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. Ironically, I almost deleted the image, as on the small camera LCD monitor the cat was small and I thought that it was just another deer that moved along the stream. The image in the Upper Left was from a Game Camera, sent to me by a friend. Hoax photo doesn't help believability of mountain lions in Poconos Enter your email in the box below to get the most mind-blowing animal stories and videos delivered directly to your inbox every day. I've seen hoaxes, of pumas carrying deer shot with game cameras, but these were of western cats. Why is bat photography so difficult? Mountain Lions - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service) According to the commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. "They're getting a lot of that out west. Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. No An official form of the United States government. What does a Puma (Mountain Lion) look like on a Game Camera? No one needs to panic.". 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. In August, Amy Walters said her 12-year-old son was spooked by a mountain lion in Forest County in northwest Pennsylvania while riding his dirt bike. Ashley Catherine Fontones, Pocono Record. When he told me this, he commented on how an experience like the one he and his friends had just is not forgotten. I regularly ask hunters and outdoors people if they've ever seen a mountain lion, or know of anyone that has. I believe them. 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've seen so many examples of these distortions, exaggerations and lies over the last couple of years that I've grown very dubious about anything I see on a computer. Hunting is legal in the state, but it is heavily controlled and restricted. Are There Mountain Lions In Pa? - CLJ Asa Packer Mansion Jim Thorpe. RelatedBigfoot, mountain lions, and other mythical creatures: PA officials discuss what they know. So, couldn't that same argument apply to pumas in the Northeast? All of these forests are, with few exceptions, open to hunting, and hunting is a very important industry in Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. Imagine my surprise. Bigfoot, mountain lions and other cryptids in PA Biologists who investigate these reports claim that several may, indeed, be mountain lions, but most likely they're animals that have escaped from captivity or have been released by their. If you're interested in this, please pass on this link, and if you see a cat, please let me know! Of course, the writer's comments were hearsay, but it does make sense. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Have all of those who have seen a puma really seen a bobcat? Mountain lions' canines are 3 to 4 inches long. "It was in Worthington State Forest just across the Delaware River from Smithfield Beach). I wanted to know if they're here, so I called some people I trust and asked them one simple question: Are there mountain lions in Pennsylvania? "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. Murray has cared for four mountain lions since she took over the rescue in 1998. 1.8 miles, 2 hours, moderate. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. Who knows? 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. These powerful, majestic creatures once lived across much of the country but have since been killed or pushed out of most of it. Every year we receive a few similar reports from hikers, hunters or other outdoor enthusiasts. Michelle LaRue, executive director of the Cougar Network and a research ecologist at the University of Minnesota, will discuss the eastern expansion of cougars from their core range in the western U.S. at 7 p.m. in Moravian College's Haupert Union Building, Bethlehem. 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. Arkansas isnt somewhere that we would generally think of when looking for mountain lions, but they are on the rebound! This ideal habitat allows for a large population of 2,000 mountain lions to thrive. Find cabins in the Poconos, PA near places like Bushkill Falls, Camelback Mountain Resort, and more. Two weeks ago, a friend of mine who teaches in one of the Monroe County school districts called to tell me he was sending me a photo of a mountain lion taken by one of his students in the Poconos. Unfortunately, their web site no longer seems active, and has been taken over by some wacky drug product. Mountain lions are 7-9 feet, while bobcats are 3 feet long. As you can see from the above images it is very difficult to confuse the two if you have a good view. However, recently I saw a photo of a melanistic bobcat, as black as could be, with bright yellow eyes. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, there are no wild, breeding cougar populations in this state anymore. There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. These cubs are born blind and helpless. As they get older, the cubs begin to leave the den and explore. I receive about one email or phone call a month, on average, from people that I do not know who are contacting me because their sighting compelled them to do a Google search on puma sightings, and they found my site and previously posted questions. Accounts abound concerning interaction between these great beasts and people in northeast Pennsylvania, with wolves into the early 19th century and in the case with cougars, well into the early 20th century. You would think someone would have a picture on a trail camera or whatever. a high priority. Does the mountain lion roam Pa? - Pocono Record Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. (National Park Service). WATCH: Sharks biting alligators, the most epic lion battles, and MUCH more. Where they always here as a relic population? A typical home range is around 150 square miles for adult males and 50 square miles for adult females in our region. However, if you've seen a mountain lion, or other mystery creature, or evidence of either, in Pennsylvania, contact outdoor writer Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com.). Local outlets carried reports of cougar encounters at least into the 1910s. Many have a desire to see some clear-cut evidence. "If there was mountain lions in Pennsylvania), I think we'd be getting reports from farmers and people with pets that there were attacks on their animals," Martinelli said. 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. 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. I am hoping that more and more people will learn of my own interest in this, and will pass on this information and that I'll receive more reports and, hopefully, sometime, a game camera photo that is definitive. I receive about one email or phone call a month, on average, from people that I do not know who are contacting me because their sighting compelled them to do a Google search on puma sightings, and they found my site and previously posted questions. Are the various States guilty of essentially the same thing? 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. What you wouldn't expect to find here anymore is a mountain lion. 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. The Golden State has one of the largest populations of mountain lions in the country. 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. And this genetic mix has been recognized, and the Florida puma is still protected. About half of the state of Montana is ideal for mountain lions, primarily in her western and central regions. 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. I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one. All rights reserved (About Us). Mountain lions, Goodrich wrote, were more dreaded than wolves as the cat could climb over any fence that could be built. DNR: Fish & Wildlife: Mountain Lion Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? I don't know if a Game Commission authority has actually said this or not, but people I've spoken to have reported this. Mt Lions in WV, NY, and PA - Hoot Hollow A few could, perhaps, be mistaken idenity. It was recorded in Minnesota and Wisconsin in late 2009 and early 2010, and then died in Connecticut in 2011. And again, while they may have been mistaken, they certainly were completely convinced that they had seen a puma. 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? Eyes are normal and are not light sensitive, and the over-all color, generally black, is usually not detrimental and may actually be of benefit. 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. 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. A placard affixed to the fence outside Rocky's pen states that "cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by humans." Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead. If you see a puma (mountain lion-cougar), contact me. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. Are there Mountain Lions (Pumas, Cougars) in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic States? Only once has anyone later determined that they had misidentified the cat, seeing a bobcat and not a mountain lion. For many who have believed to have seen a cougar in the wilds of the Poconos, these arguments might be less than convincing. ? He knows and was familiar with bobcats, and it was not a weird house cat that he and his friends misjudged in size. 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. "There hasn't been one solid piece of proof to believe they are here. 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. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. Interestingly, the US Fish and Wildllife Service has declared the Eastern Puma extinct, except for the Florida population known as the Florida panther. If pumas do exist in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, could they all be released cats or escapees? . Where reports dating that far back from escapees? The name Pocono is derived from the . Like Arizona, New Mexico is the perfect home for mountain lions. Pocono Mountains - Travel guide at Wikivoyage The state of Idaho is large, expansive, and full of rocky wilderness. If we continue to be bombarded with manipulated photos and untrue claims in most cases by people who just want to get attention then we may be very resistant to accepting the "real McCoy" if or when) one finally arrives. I'm a photographer, yet I've never had a chance to snap a photograph of one of these bears. 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. They are generally believed to be young cats roaming in search of new breeding territories to claim as their own. "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. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) also reports evidence that humans arrived during the last glaciation or soon after. Here, they've not been," Lau said in an e-mail. A brief look, yes, but no question we saw a coyote. No projectile points or spearheads were found with the remains, indicating the animal may have died naturally rather than killed by native hunters. Some outdoor enthusiasts insist they have seen the big cats here and believe them to be naturally occurring, native animals. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Of interestRamapough Lenape chief: National park in PA and NJ would be among 'most destructive things' since colonization. Others would like to see some scientific proof. In only one report had an official from the Pennsylvania Game Commision, a local warden, actually agree with the person reporting the sighting. Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions - AZ Animals do I get an immediate, 'Oh yeah!' Angel, her African lioness who snarls at strangers, is a big girl. Caribou meat apparently was part of their diet. I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one game camera image that still looks very credible to me. 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. When I first discovered this fresh carcass I examined it for throat punctures, thinking that it may have been killed by a puma. Good luck, and let me know! The Mountain Lion is a large, slender cat with a smallish head and noticeably long tail. "From people that I trust have had visual sightings, they've seen mountain lions.". That's true. Imagination? She feeds and cares for them with donations and grants. Most, quite honestly, don't know or can't believe or accept what they saw, they really can't believe their eyes. I asked our Game officials about evidence, and they cite no road kills. years are available through this link. Mountain lions can live in almost any habitat including forests, prairies, deserts, and swamps. ", (PennLive has investigated many reports of mountain lions, and other mystery creatures, and has found no confirming evidence, including in a reported Berks County sighting on January 8. 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. Certainly it is a romantic notion, but I've always held out the hope that pumas still roamed the east. Although in captivity, they can live much longer. I regularly ask hunters and outdoors people if they've ever seen a mountain lion, or know of anyone that has. I believe that the folks that are reporting, in detail, their sightings are faced with a similar situation. . All rights reserved. "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. 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. Would these ridges be declared off-limits for hunting? I am bothered by the constricted neck of the cat on the game camera; 2. the tail is curved down, rather than up, but it may have been in mid-swing; 3. the goldenrod-appearing flower, and the background of cars, gives a sense of scale and location. 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. 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. One of the three branches or clans of the Lenape Tribe at the end of the 17th century was known as the Wolf (Minsi). Armand Martinelli isn't only the mayor of East Stroudsburg, he's also a hunter who is connected with plenty of people in the area. The last documented sighting of an eastern cougar was one killed in Maine in 1938. 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 is almost safe to say that the panther has in these parts become extinct, Goodrich wrote. An escapee is also possible. 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. Where they always here as a relic population? Can so many people be wrong? I'll be anxious to learn of your report. 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. Since mountain lions are the top predators (unlike most other states with grizzly bears), they have a well-developed population. In prior interviews with the Game Commission, the suggestion was made to this writer that what many people may actually be seeing is a bobcat, perhaps in less than ideal circumstances. This is only hearsay, however, since I'm only going on their stories. "I thought I had a sighting in the late '90s," Delaware Water Gap National Recreation park ranger Chris Kross said. 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. Once a mountain lion matures, it will leave its mother and find its own territory. Despite reported sightings throughout the East, including Pennsylvania, and a confirmed mountain lion killed in Connecticut in 2011, there has been no evidence that any of those cats were native to the East. 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. 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. Mountain lions (cougars, pumas, and more) are among the top predators that live in the United States. Furthermore, a different set of photos showed a "mountain lion" dragging a deer into the woods in Bradford County. He said he'd never forget the sighting, but it was only when he saw another, a few months ago, in daylight, from his cabin, that he decided it was time to tell someone. During this time, male mountain lions will travel in search of females. I'm wondering, then, if the complete dismissal of sightings of Eastern pumas (other than the acknowledgement of released or escaped pets) isn't motivated by economics. Let's see a clear photo, or a carcass or something. At the end of the last Ice Age, many animals in Pennsylvania died out. Let's say the facts indicate that there have been a lot of 'pet' pumas, and many of these escaped. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. I have three observations here: 1. 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! What equipment do we take in the field? At one time this fact almost resulted in this cat not being protected, since it wasn't a pure strain. 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." With that in mind, lets break down how we classified the states. Mountain lion populations struggle to outpace the high hunting limits. So what? Why do I advocate manual exposure so avidly? Nevertheless, I put up a MOULTRIE game camera -- a brand that I've had tremendous satisfaction with -- at the carcass, hoping that scavengers would visit. There are also big swaths of thick of forests in parts of the state. All rights reserved. One of the important things for any animal is a place to call home. I used to archery hunt for deer, and I spent a lot of time (way too much time) sitting silently in a tree stand waiting for deer. "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. That solution: Shoot, Shovel, and Shut Up. 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. Colorado has a large number of mountain lions within its borders, mostly due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. For example, one man I interviewed said he saw a 'black' puma, and this should disqualify his sighting as a black puma has never been recorded. See also: (570) 325-3229. The cat was far enough away that I couldn't get a size reference, and I believed the cat was further away than it actually was. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? Over the last few months several people have responded to this question with reports of their own. They're common in the rural areas of the Lehigh Valley but are moving into more populated areas as evidenced by a 600-pound specimen (pictured) that was tranquilized in March after neighbors in. In many regions, the population within the state is actually increasing! An assessment list for Lower Smithfield Township in 1761 when it was part of Northampton County (Monroe having not yet been created) taxed "three pence per pound and shillings per head" laid on the land and inhabitants. 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. It's 90-something degrees, but Rocky's stare feels like ice down your pants. 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. What would account for the long tails? One man sent me a game camera photo that was blurry but looked like a mountain lion, or puma, as I like to call them. Remember, this one was photographed in Arizona in good puma country, although this was the first one I've recorded there. Did they migrate south from Canada? 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. Jones has never seen a mountain lion, but he thinks they're prowling around. If we don't see it, it doesn't exist. Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. 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. The Cougar Network, working with state agencies, have documented multiple mountain lions as far east as Kentucky, Tennessee and Michigan in recent years, as well as one cat killed on a highway in Milford, Connecticut, in June 2011. I'd suspect it would still be considered very rare, after all, it was thought to be extinct. Colorado and California have the highest estimated populations of mountain lions in the United States. The state of Arizona is home to a large, stable population of mountain lions. There are controlled hunting laws in the state of Oregon. I can't dismiss the eye-witnesses I've interviewed. A total of 32 mountain lions have been struck and killed by vehicles in the study area since 2002. In personal contacts, that monthly average might even be higher. "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". Its fur is a light, tawny brown color which can appear gray or almost black, depending on light conditions. 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.
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