But this one was black, and he knows mountain lions are some variant of brown. I usually follow-up on these reports and, via email or phone conversations, I receive more details. Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included. 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. A brief look, yes, but no question we saw a coyote. 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. The last native mountain lion known to be killed in Pennsylvania is on display in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. Did they migrate south from Canada? 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. 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. The first settlers kept sheep to supply their household with wool. State Game Officials do concede that some people may indeed have seen a puma, but it was undoubtedly a released captive. Check out the tails of the two! It is almost safe to say that the panther has in these parts become extinct, Goodrich wrote. Contrary to popular belief, there are no black panthers in North America; no one has ever captured or killed a black Mountain Lion. do I get an immediate, 'Oh yeah!' 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! I'd suspect it would still be considered very rare, after all, it was thought to be extinct. Would these ridges be declared off-limits for hunting? Pocono Record's Micaela Hood moves on to Lehigh Valley Public Media For our list, we only included US states with a stable breeding population. The bounty for adult wolves and cougars was raised on March 16, 1819 to $12. Granted, the image is not great, and I used some Photoshop adjustment layers to enhance the image, making it a bit easier to see. Two other reports went, in detail, on what they saw, the size, the length of tail, etc. Let me explain this. Adults are a uniform tan or tawny in color, with a white or cream-colored chin, undersides and inner legs. The other three images are from my file, selected to most closely approximate the pose of the cat from the game camera. A recent alleged sighting in South Abington Township, Lackawanna County, had Facebook groups abuzz. Are there Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic States? I could fill pages recounting the eye-witness reports I've heard, and for every report critics could certainly say 'but there's no physical evidence!' Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? - pennlive.com 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. 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). There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. 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. The Game Commission concluded they were coyotes. (National Park Service). He also published a follow-up on Oct. 15 with the same mountain lion-deer hoax photo, as well as personal stories from several local residents who claim they've seen mountain lions in the Poconos. Mountain lions have a lifespan of about 8 to 13 years old in the wild. 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. More Questions about Pumas in Pennsylvania The 2,400-square-mile area has long been a popular outdoor recreation area boasting hunting, fishing, skiing, and more. There's a whole world to learn about and Colby is content to spend his life learning as much as he can about it! 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. Something to consider, even though we all trust the government. 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. Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. Lions in the Santa Monica Mountains - National Park Service Bobcats, feral cats and domestic dogs may be misidentified as mountain lion. Mountain lion sightings could indicate its comeback to Pa. Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. What you wouldn't expect to find here anymore is a mountain lion. Each year, over tha past five, I've spoken with at least one person who swears they personally saw a puma in this state. 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. Both were a threat to the farmer and family who carved a home in the ancient wilderness of the Poconos. In 2015, a Pennsylvania State Historical Marker was placed near the site where the mastodon was found. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? "It's fall bow-hunting season soon," he said. Here's 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. The next day, the photo disappeared from the site. Where they always here as a relic population? DNA collected from the mountain lion killed on a roadway in Connecticut in 2011 showed the animal to have originated in South Dakota. The Mountain Lion is a large, slender cat with a smallish head and noticeably long tail. 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. Several populations of Gray Squirrels scattered around the country are black, and recently I heard of a neighborhood of black Eastern Chipmunks. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. I'll be anxious to learn of your report. Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead. Officially extinct, mountain lions still haunt the Adirondacks Note the size of the tail, the pointed ears, the speckled coat, the basic lack of white underneath. No An official form of the United States government. 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. However, many of my reports were at distances that people knew, and as you look at the images of the puma there really is a big difference in color and shape between a puma and a house cat. Learn more about us & read our affiliate disclosure. Reports generally go uninvestigated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which discounts them as mistaken identities, illegal pets escaped or released and outright fabrications. In many regions, the population within the state is actually increasing! He also noted that if the cat was here, wouldn't they be reproducing and increasing in population by now? I've read a lot about this, and the usual explanation is the very human desire to see something, to see what someone wants to see, and thus these people are seeing bobcats or brown cats or dogs or foxes and, because they 'want' to see a puma, they do. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, there are no wild, breeding cougar populations in this state anymore. With healthy populations and strong conservation programs, however, they seem to be pushing back east. I asked our Game officials about evidence, and they cite no road kills. 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. Unfortunately, their web site no longer seems active, and has been taken over by some wacky drug product. 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 . The last documented sighting of an eastern cougar was one killed in Maine in 1938. Puma vs Mountain Lion: Is There a Difference? 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. 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. Biologists traced it. When I first discovered this fresh carcass I examined it for throat punctures, thinking that it may have been killed by a puma. 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. The state of Arizona is home to a large, stable population of mountain lions. 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. 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. Mountain lions thrive there due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. Packer Hill Ave. Jim Thorpe, PA 18229. But even without that second look there was no question that we'd seen a coyote. The mountains and isolated forests of the state allow these large cats to live their lives without encountering humans very often. That's true. I regularly ask hunters and outdoors people if they've ever seen a mountain lion, or know of anyone that has. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. 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. Me? Other states have had sightings, especially as mountain lion populations begin to explore and look to expand. A bobcat gives you a warm, that-kind-of-looks-like-my-cat-but-slightly-bigger feeling. Mountain Lions - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service) NPS.gov Park Home Learn About the Park Nature Animals Mammals Mountain Lion Mountain Lion Last updated: May 4, 2018 Was this page helpful? a high priority. The large, undeveloped interior filled with rocky habitats perfect for mountain lions allows them to safely live and breed. It was recorded in Minnesota and Wisconsin in late 2009 and early 2010, and then died in Connecticut in 2011. 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. The hunting policy of the state may be the cause of the dropping population, and pressure on the Fish and Game Commission has increased. ", (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. 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. Hoax photo doesn't help believability of mountain lions in Poconos "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. 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. He's a hunter, a woodsman, and he's seen a lot of game, so I can believe he saw a back-lighted puma. The head of the puma is small in comparision to a house cat when compared to the entire body. You be the judge. Woolly mammoth bones were discovered in Bradford County in 1983. "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". An article in last year's New York State Conservationist magazine about mountain lions concluded that none exists in that state, even in the 6-million-acre Adirondack Mountain wilderness. A phantom creature has been sighted in the vast Delaware State Forest region of Pike County. 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. How do I deal with shaving weight for carrying my gear? 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. I had three cameras positioned, so had a cat visited, I'd have had it. 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. The last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. Pocono Mountains - Wikipedia The first is the mating season which can occur during the late to early spring months. Known as the Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania, there are four trails that lead to the cascades from the Bushkill Falls trailhead, each ranging in . Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. He saw a big cat. All of the above images are of bobcats. The Bushkill Falls are a series of eight waterfalls in a 300-acre wooded enclave hidden amongst the Poconos. "He doesn't like men too much," said Suzanne Murray, owner of East Coast Exotic Animal Rescue in this south-central Pennsylvania town. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. Interesting, too, are the reports I've heard from people who were told that they would be in big trouble if they shot a puma. Had this been faked, I'd suspect the hoaxter would try for a more authentic background. Perhaps one or more of these Pocono sightings represent early pioneers reclaiming their former territories. 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. Phineas Teeple of Manchester Township is thought to have killed the last wolf in Wayne County. Additionally, California banned the hunting of cougars back in 1972, encouraging population growth. There are controlled hunting laws in the state of Oregon. 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. These creatures lurking in Pa.'s woods can hurt or kill you 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. WATCH: Sharks biting alligators, the most epic lion battles, and MUCH more. Cougar Network tracks mountain lion expansion from the western U.S. to the east. Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. 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. While there have been no confirmed occurrences of mountain lions in Pennsylvania since the late 1800s, dozens . According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. The name Pocono is derived from the . They are there to help us. And yet today the debate continues: Are there mountain lions in Pennsylvania? Still, people say they know what they saw out there. Where reports dating that far back from escapees? Colorado has a large number of mountain lions within its borders, mostly due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. 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. Although unconfirmed, mountain lions continue to be reported in many spots across Pennsylvania, including several reports in the past couple months. Compare any game camera image with the shots above, or this game camera image, to confirm your identification. Luxury Cabin Rentals: Pocono Mountain Getaways | Glamping Hub Recently, on a back road in Pennsylvania, a friend and I had our first sighting of a coyote in Pennsylvania. Caribou meat apparently was part of their diet. 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. The other two clans were the Turtle and Turkey. A placard affixed to the fence outside Rocky's pen states that "cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by humans." Murray said Rocky was emaciated and chained when she found him at a private zoo. It has long been popular with honeymooners, but today the Poconos are a popular destination for families, skiers, adventure seekers, NASCAR fans, and those from urban areas around New England, New York City, Philadelphia . The Pocono Mountains are . "The day will come," he said, "when someone will pull the trigger on a mountain lion.". When he told me this, he commented on how an experience like the one he and his friends had just is not forgotten. I believe that the folks that are reporting, in detail, their sightings are faced with a similar situation. 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 story behind our new web site. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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. It will happen eventually. 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. Editor's note: The Pocono Record and Tri-County Independent have collaborated for a series of stories called Mountain Beasts: Pocono cryptids, legends and lore. After all, how many people have pumas? "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. Pocono Record sports writer Mike Kuhns wrote a great piece on Oct. 14, "Does the mountain lion roam PA?" 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. Hopefully, we'll see the real thing. Every year we receive a few similar reports from hikers, hunters or other outdoor enthusiasts. The same goes for New York and several other eastern states. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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. Mysterious big cat caught on security camera in Clarks Summit, Pa. 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. In personal contacts, that monthly average might even be higher. After a small population was reintroduced into their historic land, their population has grown to a stable and breeding group of between 200-300 individuals. 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. There are also big swaths of thick of forests in parts of the state. The photographer had no reason to stage the shot -- indeed, the composition and background was terrible, and not what you'd expect for something staged, but the shot wasn't perfectly clear. "I know they're native to this area. 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.". Mountain lions that are looking for new breeding areas are known as transient and are almost always males. Wyoming has a historically stable population of mountain lions, but recent drops in numbers have caused some to worry. Where they always here as a relic population? Check out our online field guide to read more in this series. If we don't see it, it doesn't exist. And book one of these Poconos cabins rentals for the best outdoor access to these activities. 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. "It was in Worthington State Forest just across the Delaware River from Smithfield Beach). Send it to me at mkuhns@poconorecord.com. Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions - AZ Animals I believe them. Yet, except for Florida, which has about 100 of them "Florida panthers"), no eastern state has a verifiable population of these large 100- to 200-pound cats that were extirpated 100 years ago. 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. But no one that I've communicated with had these preconceptions, and seeing what they saw was a complete surprise. Over time, cats that had been released in Florida, probably pets that outlived their welcome, bred with the native puma, and their genes mingled. You would think someone would have a picture on a trail camera or whatever. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? Let me know if you have seen one! I was heading up the road and I saw an animal with a long tail.". Over time, cats that had been released in Florida, probably pets that outlived their welcome, bred with the native puma, and their genes mingled, 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. This is not a Pennsylvania puma! And again, while they may have been mistaken, they certainly were completely convinced that they had seen a puma. About six months ago I posted the question, Are there Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania? "If my son would have been on a pedal bike, without a helmet on, that thing would have nailed him," said Walters, 44. And how many would let them go, or provide an opportunity for escaping? Bushkill Falls Trail. The Asa Packer Mansion, built in the year 1861, is a historic house museum. Asa Packer Mansion Jim Thorpe. "I thought I had a sighting in the late '90s," Delaware Water Gap National Recreation park ranger Chris Kross said. How, Who, and Why? Big cats in Pennsylvania: mountain lions or bobcats? - Pocono Record I haven't seen any reports like that.". It wasn't, and I assumed it was a road-kill. Mountain Lions - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service) Joseph Pugliese 2.2K views 7 years ago Beautiful Bobcat in our yard as our. "I kind of doubt they saw a cougar, but I'm not God.". Fish and Wildlife Service. 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. Where can I find Depth of Field reference charts? Melanism is the reverse, where there is an abundance of dark or black pigmentation. One of the important things for any animal is a place to call home. Features Writer Micaela Hood is signing off with the Pocono Record after five years of covering arts, culture, entertainment and sports in northeastern . 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. I've spoken to PGC personnel, two being friends, and neither believe there are pumas in Pa. One cited how a bobcat's tail can be much longer than you expect, although I've never seen a bobcat tail longer than, at most, twice the size of the tails illustrated above of the bobcat. Although in captivity, they can live much longer. 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. Many of the reports I receive are extremely credible. 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. 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. If we say it ain't so, it ain't so! 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. Mountain lions (cougars, pumas, and more) are among the top predators that live in the United States. If pumas do exist in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, could they all be released cats or escapees? A typical home range is around 150 square miles for adult males and 50 square miles for adult females in our region. Florida is the only state on the east coast with a breeding population of mountain lions. Leap transferred ownership rights to the state. The cat is known to live in the western U.S. and Florida, South America and Canada. 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. If you see or photograph a puma in the mid-Atlantic states, please email or call me. 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.
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