An animal's coat can stray far from the norm. I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one game camera image that still looks very credible to me. A typical home range is around 150 square miles for adult males and 50 square miles for adult females in our region. Depends on who you talk to, I guess. Travis Lau, a spokesperson for the Game Commission, said the state has a "never say never" approach when it comes to mountain lions and acknowledges that Western cats could be moving east. Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. Recently, a man I spoke with told me that he was reminded of a sighting he and two friends had 20 years earlier, and after recalling the incident he was motivated to call his college buddies and reflect on their observation. WATCH: Sharks biting alligators, the most epic lion battles, and MUCH more. Are there Mountain Lions (Pumas, Cougars) in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic States? They include a reported attack on horses at a farm near Dillsburg, York County, that Foster thinks may be legitimate. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? 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. 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 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. What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? 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. 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. A phantom creature has been sighted in the vast Delaware State Forest region of Pike County. Like Rocky, Nia is declawed. Are the various States guilty of essentially the same thing? The Cascade Mountains are an important habitat for mountain lions in the region, and a stable population lives within the state. This happens usually around the 18-month mark. 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 is a small breeding population in the state, despite being killed off in the 1920s. He saw a big cat. I have three observations here: 1. 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. Goodrich said he once saw a mountain lion spring from a thicket and kill a sheep on a public road. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. Contrary to popular belief, there are no black panthers in North America; no one has ever captured or killed a black Mountain Lion. Possibly, but it seems unlikely that enough would have been released or had escaped to make for a viable population. Reports generally go uninvestigated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which discounts them as mistaken identities, illegal pets escaped or released and outright fabrications. It is an Italianate Villa home that features authentic Victorian furniture and finishing. Would a puma then qualify as a native species? Recently, on a back road in Pennsylvania, a friend and I had our first sighting of a coyote in Pennsylvania. 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). A mastodon's skull was first located in Marshalls Creek, Monroe County, on July 5, 1968. Phineas Teeple of Manchester Township is thought to have killed the last wolf in Wayne County. "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. Mountain lions can live in almost any habitat including forests, prairies, deserts, and swamps. 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. Two different people told me that they, or a close relative, had seen pumas on more than one occasion. 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. 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. But more and more people in Pennsylvania, from the Alleghenies to the Poconos to rolling farmlands in York County, claim they are seeing the big cats here, even though the state's "last" native lion, also known as a cougar or puma, was shot and killed in Berks County in 1871 and the feds have declared the Eastern subspecies extinct. Melanism is the reverse, where there is an abundance of dark or black pigmentation. Do elk live in Pennsylvania? 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. Obviously, other pumas must be about, and the series of ridges extending north and east and west from my location could all be included as critical habitat as well. I've looked in the PGC game laws booklet and saw nothing on this, which I guess you could conclude means a puma would not be legal to shoot. 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. Angel, her African lioness who snarls at strangers, is a big girl. Colorado has a large number of mountain lions within its borders, mostly due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. Encouraged by the bounties, settlers waged war on these perceived beasts. Others would like to see some scientific proof. original web site, although if I ever have enough time I might It seems unlikely, considering captives have never shown this trait, but people are reporting big black cats. But no one that I've communicated with had these preconceptions, and seeing what they saw was a complete surprise. Scientists debate whether the large prehistoric mammals became extinct at the end of the Ice Age due to over-hunting, or rapid climate warming. 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. Most nature magazines state whether the photos were taken "under controlled conditions" rather than in the wild.). "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". The Florida panther is an endemic subspecies of cougar that has lived in the everglades region for a very long time. I'm a photographer, yet I've never had a chance to snap a photograph of one of these bears. 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. 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.). If you can figure out how to travel far back in time for even a day, get lots of wildlife photos, as the rest of us might never believe your story. Biologists traced it back to the Black Hills of South Dakota, from where it ventured nearly 2,000 miles looking for a new mate. Have all of those who have seen a puma really seen a bobcat? I'd suspect it would still be considered very rare, after all, it was thought to be extinct. These powerful, majestic creatures once lived across much of the country but have since been killed or pushed out of most of it. He wrote that not being a roving animal, the mountain lion was much sooner destroyed than the wolf, and he said that if there were any left, it would have to be in the most desolate places in the county. You be the judge. Sadly, the hunting guidelines for cougars in Idaho are lax, with 400-600 cats being killed each year. Who knows? In personal contacts, that monthly average might even be higher. I believe them. Colorado is the perfect habitat for mountain lions. And a bit of an unpleasant one at that, as they now faced ridicule or doubt whenever they discussed their sightings. 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. They are there to help us. Still, people say they know what they saw out there. In 2015, a Pennsylvania State Historical Marker was placed near the site where the mastodon was found. 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. Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. 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. They know what they saw, regardless of what the facts say, and they know they saw a puma. "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. I can't dismiss the eye-witnesses I've interviewed. Mountain lions weigh 90-160 pounds, while bobcats weigh 20-30 pounds. 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. "The cougars examined in the Northeast in the past 70 years are likely released or escaped captives. According to the commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. A Mountain Lion Cover Up I've done this myself once, in Tanzania, when I saw a black house cat that I thought was a black leopard! Mountain lions that are looking for new breeding areas are known as transient and are almost always males. 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. Known as the Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania, there are four trails that lead to the cascades from the Bushkill Falls trailhead, each ranging in . "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. We hope you enjoy this foray into the most weird and wonderful our beloved Pocono Mountains have to offer. I asked our Game officials about evidence, and they cite no road kills. There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. Mountain lions are 7-9 feet, while bobcats are 3 feet long. Instead, the person usually pauses, sometimes with a sheepish or embarrassed expression on his face, and seems reluctant to continue. Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead? Can so many people be wrong? Both were a threat to the farmer and family who carved a home in the ancient wilderness of the Poconos. 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. Below is a list of physical characteristics that distinguish mountain lions from more . 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 Lion Reports Bobcats, feral cats and domestic dogs may be misidentified as mountain lion. Who knows? Ramapough Lenape chief: National park in PA and NJ would be among 'most destructive things' since colonization, Bigfoot, mountain lions, and other mythical creatures: PA officials discuss what they know, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. years are available through this link. 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. A bobcat gives you a warm, that-kind-of-looks-like-my-cat-but-slightly-bigger feeling. They ponder rare fossil evidence unearthed and seek to make sense of stratified geology, both fleeting in the face of what we call progress. 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. 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. (National Park Service). Imagine my surprise. 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. 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. It wasn't, and I assumed it was a road-kill. Discover the Little-Known U.S. River Gorge That's, The 9 Best Books About National Parks for Travelers, mountain lions seem to be making a comeback. Check out our online field guide to read more in this series. 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. One sighting I give complete belief in was from a friend who told me a puma crossed right in front of their vehicle, and paused on the berm for a few seconds, at a distant of ten yards or less. More about mountain lions in Pennsylvania: If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. The first settlers kept sheep to supply their household with wool. But this one was black, and he knows mountain lions are some variant of brown. I've seen hoaxes, of pumas carrying deer shot with game cameras, but these were of western cats. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. Oregon has a large, stable breeding population of mountain lions. An escapee is also possible.