Both sheep and young cattle fell prey to wolves, unless they were under constant watch. Currently, there are only 15 states that meet that qualification. Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. Some outdoor enthusiasts insist they have seen the big cats here and believe them to be naturally occurring, native animals. It seems unlikely, considering captives have never shown this trait, but people are reporting big black cats. Why is bat photography so difficult? All of the above are Mountain Lions, or Pumas, or Cougars. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead. If pumas do exist in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, could they all be released cats or escapees? But no one that I've communicated with had these preconceptions, and seeing what they saw was a complete surprise. Goggling Eastern Puma brings up other web sites, however, with varying levels of professionalism or credibility. Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included. Martinelli said that if there were mountain lions in Pennsylvania, there would be more sightings of them. 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 first settlers kept sheep to supply their household with wool. 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. Once a mountain lion matures, it will leave its mother and find its own territory. 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! If it were, it would be listed. One of the important things for any animal is a place to call home. "I thought I had a sighting in the late '90s," Delaware Water Gap National Recreation park ranger Chris Kross said. It wasn't, and I assumed it was a road-kill. Where reports dating that far back from escapees? Wishful thinking? "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. Where they always here as a relic population? The Cascade Mountains are an important habitat for mountain lions in the region, and a stable population lives within the state. Many of those claiming to have encountered a cougar in Pennsylvania take that non-confirmation by the commission as an attack on their veracity and character. What you wouldn't expect to find here anymore is a mountain lion. Hunting is legal in the state, but it is heavily controlled and restricted. I regularly ask hunters and outdoors people if they've ever seen a mountain lion, or know of anyone that has.
Pocono Record's Micaela Hood moves on to Lehigh Valley Public Media Only once has anyone later determined that they had misidentified the cat, seeing a bobcat and not a mountain lion. "While confirmed cougar sightings have occurred recently in the wild in the East, there is currently no scientific or physical evidence documenting the continued existence of a population of wild eastern cougars," according to the U.S. You be the judge. Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead. Let me know if you have seen one!
Pocono Mountains - Travel guide at Wikivoyage The sightings were great bear views, but too fast or fleeting to allow me to grab a camera. Reports of a mountain lion have come from several residents of Hemlock Farms who were hiking on. More Questions about Pumas in Pennsylvania. 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. There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. The Florida panther is an endemic subspecies of cougar that has lived in the everglades region for a very long time. Several populations of Gray Squirrels scattered around the country are black, and recently I heard of a neighborhood of black Eastern Chipmunks.
Luxury Cabin Rentals: Pocono Mountain Getaways | Glamping Hub The last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. For our list, we only included US states with a stable breeding population. Local outlets carried reports of cougar encounters at least into the 1910s. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. 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 owners. The other two clans were the Turtle and Turkey. Let's say the facts indicate that there have been a lot of 'pet' pumas, and many of these escaped. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the Eastern subspecies of the mountain lion extinct, which would seem to bolster the skeptics.
More conclusive evidence is needed: Keep your cameras handy. 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.). The agency has declared extinct the eastern cougar, one of 11 subspecies ofmountain lions native to North America. "They're getting a lot of that out west. Compare any game camera image with the shots above, or this game camera image, to confirm your identification. Mountain lions have a lifespan of about 8 to 13 years old in the wild. The last native mountain lion known to be killed in Pennsylvania is on display in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Oregon has a large, stable breeding population of mountain lions. What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. The 'look' is from my 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. The head of the puma is small in comparision to a house cat when compared to the entire body. Two different people told me that they, or a close relative, had seen pumas on more than one occasion. He also noted that if the cat was here, wouldn't they be reproducing and increasing in population by now? A few could, perhaps, be mistaken idenity. Where they always here as a relic population? 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. The bounty for adult wolves and cougars was raised on March 16, 1819 to $12.
ARE THERE MOUNTAIN LIONS IN PA? - Page 8 - Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Other states have had sightings, especially as mountain lion populations begin to explore and look to expand. 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.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. How do I deal with shaving weight for carrying my gear? It was recorded in Minnesota and Wisconsin in late 2009 and early 2010, and then died in Connecticut in 2011. "People think they can get them declawed and that they're safe, but they still have teeth.". Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. Most of the people I've spoken with live in this belt, but biologists friends I've spoken with have told me of their own reports, first-hand, from hunters in the Poconos who saw pumas, too. Are the various States guilty of essentially the same thing? It has the color of a mountain lion, but the long tail appears to be missing. 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. One came to her as the result of an owner's divorce. Here, they've not been," Lau said in an e-mail. a high priority. When I first discovered this fresh carcass I examined it for throat punctures, thinking that it may have been killed by a puma. There are, from time to time, eyewitness accounts from hunters or hikers who claim to have seen the cat. There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. 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? "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. As the latest hoaxed photo of a mountain lion supposedly killed in Pennsylvania died a slow death on Facebook yesterday, the head of an organization tracking the eastern movements of the big cats was preparing a presentation for a Pennsylvania audience tonight. If you're interested in this, please pass on this link, and if you see a cat, please let me know! Let me explain this. . Very, very rarely, when I ask someone who would be a likely candidate (a hunter, someone who owns a camp in the deep woods, travels likely routes often, foresters), 'Have you ever seen a mountain lion?' Archived Questions of the Month Two other reports went, in detail, on what they saw, the size, the length of tail, etc. A neighbor scared the animal away before it could finish its meal; the sheeps carcass was used as bait, to catch the big cat. It was definitely a mountain lion, and it had a big buck, white-tailed deer in its jaws. 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. 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. You know, the Penn State Nittany Lions.". However, if it doesn't exist, and if someone saw one, wouldn't there be a worry that it was a dangerous escapee? One of these days, though, I'll get one that won't be, and I hope that will be soon. DNA collected from the mountain lion killed on a roadway in Connecticut in 2011 showed the animal to have originated in South Dakota. 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. There is no known estimate of the number of mountain lions inhabiting Texas. Some may be animals that dispersed into the region from western populations.
Mountain Lion (Puma concolor) - Texas Suppose, instead of declaring the puma, or Eastern mountain lion, extinct, the USFWS actually recognized the existence of the cat as a wild, breeding species. However, recently I saw a photo of a melanistic bobcat, as black as could be, with bright yellow eyes. I don't believe someone's imagination could stretch a six inch long tail to three feet! 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. 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. What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. Still, people say they know what they saw out there. I believe that the folks that are reporting, in detail, their sightings are faced with a similar situation. 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. 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. By the mid-1900s pumas were eliminated from almost all of the eastern states, and by mid-century were officially extinct east of the Mississippi, except for a remnant population in southern Florida. Any Truth And how many would let them go, or provide an opportunity for escaping? 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. I want to believe they're here, but I'm having some trouble. Bobcats tend to be darker brown, with lighter belly fur and spots while mountain lions tend to be more uniform brown, tawny color. Heres What the Data Says. The states beautiful wilderness and mountainous terrain are prime mountain lion habitats. 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. The last documented sighting of an eastern cougar was one killed in Maine in 1938. On a recent stifling morning in Adams County, the 290-pound mountain lion with perfect bone structure is ignoring the raw chicken breast and pork chops a handler tossed into his pen. What do I think of the Canon 1D Mark IV? On some investigations, Foster has teamed up with Stacey Griffiths, who started the Central PA Mountain Lion Sightings page earlier this year. That's true. Continuing with that thought, if that were so, then it'd be possible, if not very likely, that the Eastern puma would be an Endangered Species. Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead? In the wild, adult mountain lions can weigh anywhere from 65 to 220 pounds. The Pocono Mountains are located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos / p o k n o z /, are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania.They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, Wyoming Valley and the Coal Region to the west, and the Lehigh Valley to the south. Are there Mountain Lions (Pumas, Cougars) in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic States? Learn more about us & read our affiliate disclosure. They have almost been killed off a few times, but conservation efforts have helped to keep their numbers stable. I can't dismiss the eye-witnesses I've interviewed.
Mysterious big cat caught on security camera in Clarks Summit, Pa. Mountain Lion Population (In Each U.S. State) - Wildlife Informer We hope you enjoy this foray into the most weird and wonderful our beloved Pocono Mountains have to offer. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Fish and Wildlife Service. 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. do I get an immediate, 'Oh yeah!' Bobcats, feral cats and domestic dogs may be misidentified as mountain lion. After a gestation period of 90 days, female mountain lions will give birth to litters of about one to six cubs. 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. Everyone else, when reporting, were frustrated as they were told they had seen a bobcat. And again, while they may have been mistaken, they certainly were completely convinced that they had seen a puma. 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. Something to consider, even though we all trust the government. (National Park Service). Biologists traced it back to the Black Hills of South Dakota, from where it ventured nearly 2,000 miles looking for a new mate. It was recorded in Minnesota and Wisconsin in late 2009 and early 2010, and then died in Connecticut in 2011. In personal contacts, that monthly average might even be higher. 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. Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. I asked our Game officials about evidence, and they cite no road kills. Outdoor adventures abound, and so do our fabulous shopping and restaurants. This is huge news for conservationists around the country and a sign that cougars may be heading east once again.
25 Best Things to Do in The Pocono Mountains Area (for 2023) ", (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. 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. 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. ? This is not a Pennsylvania puma!
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. 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. "With all of that said, though, there's a general lack of evidence of mountain lions in Pennsylvania. 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. Depends on who you talk to, I guess. If we don't see it, it doesn't exist. Can so many people be wrong? 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 that cat killed on a highway in Milford, Connecticut, in June 2011. Colorado and California have the highest estimated populations of mountain lions in the United States. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. Have some feedback for us? No projectile points or spearheads were found with the remains, indicating the animal may have died naturally rather than killed by native hunters. 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. Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. The bobcat wouldn't survive. A Game Commission vehicle was there, and the Fed Ex driver, after reaching the bottom of a long hill, turned back to check on what he saw. 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). So, couldn't that same argument apply to pumas in the Northeast? Hunting is legal, but the use of dogs was banned in 1996.
Pocono Mountains: Best Things To See And Do - TravelAwaits They are generally believed to be young cats roaming in search of new breeding territories to claim as their own. A recent alleged sighting in South Abington Township, Lackawanna County, had Facebook groups abuzz. Would my mountain ridge be declared 'Critical Habitat' for the puma? Since mountain lions are the top predators (unlike most other states with grizzly bears), they have a well-developed population. Adults are a uniform tan or tawny in color, with a white or cream-colored chin, undersides and inner legs. However, my friend and I discussed this, and agreed, we saw what we saw, and had it been 40 years ago or four months ago, we knew we saw a coyote.
Bigfoot, mountain lions and other cryptids in PA With that in mind, lets break down how we classified the states. Remember, this one was photographed in Arizona in good puma country, although this was the first one I've recorded there. All rights reserved. As you can see from the above images it is very difficult to confuse the two if you have a good view. Biologists traced it. Do Mountain Lions Attack Humans? "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. He's a hunter, a woodsman, and he's seen a lot of game, so I can believe he saw a back-lighted puma. About half of the state of Montana is ideal for mountain lions, primarily in her western and central regions. Albinos are often very light sensitive, and they certainly are conspicuous, and most do not live very long. Illinois can also now be added to this list a mountain lion was found on the outskirts of Chicago. At the end of the last Ice Age, many animals in Pennsylvania died out. More common critters co-existed with early Native Americans in the Poconos, including two species long since removed: the wolf and mountain lion (also known colloquially as panthers and cougars). With healthy populations and strong conservation programs, however, they seem to be pushing back east. Asa Packer Mansion Jim Thorpe. 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. This happens usually around the 18-month mark. The state of Idaho is large, expansive, and full of rocky wilderness. The Pocono Mountains are . The Mountain Lion is a large, slender cat with a smallish head and noticeably long tail.
Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania - Hoot Hollow Best hike for seeing waterfalls. The record size for this species is 8 feet, and it probably weighed 15 to 20 pounds, which shows how exaggerated this claim is. (National Park Service). 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. 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! Below is a list of physical characteristics that distinguish mountain lions from more . The last known mountain lion in Pennsylvania was killed in Berks County in 1874. Mountain lions live almost everywhere in the state of Washington. The hunting policy of the state may be the cause of the dropping population, and pressure on the Fish and Game Commission has increased. 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. Confirmed cougar sightings have increased in the Midwest and Great Lakes states in recent years.". Looking for things to do in the Poconos? 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. WATCH: Sharks biting alligators, the most epic lion battles, and MUCH more. 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. An animal's coat can stray far from the norm. 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 . Woolly mammoth bones were discovered in Bradford County in 1983. "We should be getting more pictures. A brief look, yes, but no question we saw a coyote. Additionally, California banned the hunting of cougars back in 1972, encouraging population growth. All rights reserved (About Us). A mastodon's skull was first located in Marshalls Creek, Monroe County, on July 5, 1968. Mountain lions have an interesting life cycle that consists of a few different characteristics. "There hasn't been one solid piece of proof to believe they are here. The large tracts of untouched rocky land and bighorn sheep populations make for pristine mountain lion habitat. Mountain lions, which continue to be reported across Pennsylvania throughout the year, are officially extinct east of the Mississippi River and north of Florida, according to the U.S.
Mountain lion sightings could indicate its comeback to Pa. There also were camels, sloth and hyena, which migrated elsewhere. 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. 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. Mountain lions, Goodrich wrote, were more dreaded than wolves as the cat could climb over any fence that could be built.
Big cats in Pennsylvania: mountain lions or bobcats? - Pocono Record 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. Would that declaration close that ridge to hunting? 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. 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). Some cats had a South American genetic profile. Remember, this one was photographed in Arizona in good puma country, although this was the first one I've recorded there.
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