So, couldn't that same argument apply to pumas in the Northeast? One of the important things for any animal is a place to call home. However, if it doesn't exist, and if someone saw one, wouldn't there be a worry that it was a dangerous escapee? Can so many people be wrong? The state of Idaho is large, expansive, and full of rocky wilderness. Periodically, via Google searches, I receive reports from people who believe they had seen a mountain lion in Pennsylvania, or in other mid-Atlantic states. Then there is Rocky. "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. Confirmed cougar sightings have increased in the Midwest and Great Lakes states in recent years.". And when our officers go out to investigate reports of mountain lions, or when our staff reviews photos that are sent to us, often we're able to verify some other animal mistakenly was reported as a mountain lion.". Foster said mountain lions and bobcats could not breed. 1.8 miles, 2 hours, moderate. Bo Ottman is a landscaper in Connecticut who founded an . 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. Where they always here as a relic population? When he told me this, he commented on how an experience like the one he and his friends had just is not forgotten. There also were camels, sloth and hyena, which migrated elsewhere. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. I love the big cats and devote a huge amount of my field time photographing African lions, leopards, cheetahs, and in 2011, tigers. Asa Packer Mansion Jim Thorpe. This will be one of your best identification marks, along with size. After a gestation period of 90 days, female mountain lions will give birth to litters of about one to six cubs. 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. No projectile points or spearheads were found with the remains, indicating the animal may have died naturally rather than killed by native hunters. The Golden State has one of the largest populations of mountain lions in the country. Viewers can never be certain that what they're seeing on a computer is actually what it's purported to be. Mountain lions live almost everywhere in the state of Washington. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. Hopefully, we'll see the real thing. "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. 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 head of the puma is small in comparision to a house cat when compared to the entire body. The other three images are from my file, selected to most closely approximate the pose of the cat from the game camera. with a fluted projectile point were found near Middletown, Orange County, New York. Over 1,100 people follow her page. Features Writer Micaela Hood is signing off with the Pocono Record after five years of covering arts, culture, entertainment and sports in northeastern . They have almost been killed off a few times, but conservation efforts have helped to keep their numbers stable. Granted, the image is not great, and I used some Photoshop adjustment layers to enhance the image, making it a bit easier to see. Activities Milford Things To Do Hotels Map Of Activities Delaware Water Gap Hotels Bushkill Lake Harmony Hawley Skytop Tannersville Pocono Mountains Counties About the Poconos Pocono Mountains History Weather Area Services . I haven't seen any reports like that.". Many have a desire to see some clear-cut evidence. And a bit of an unpleasant one at that, as they now faced ridicule or doubt whenever they discussed their sightings. 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. The mountain lion is a large, slender cat, with a long rope-like tail. Mountain lions weigh 90-160 pounds, while bobcats weigh 20-30 pounds. The next day, the photo disappeared from the site. Hunters I've spoken with said they've been told you can't kill a puma, which they felt was ironic since the same official told them pumas don't exist in Pa. Illinois can also now be added to this list a mountain lion was found on the outskirts of Chicago. One of these days, though, I'll get one that won't be, and I hope that will be soon. Biologists traced it. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 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. Best hike for seeing waterfalls. 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? I'd love to hear of any reports you have. Learn more about us & read our affiliate disclosure. "They preyed upon the caribou, and probably the mastodon," Leslie wrote of these large animals flourishing on the grasses and cold-climate flora that sprouted following the glacier's retreat. 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. Imagine my surprise. 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.". 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. Is it the New Best Pack? No An official form of the United States government. I don't believe someone's imagination could stretch a six inch long tail to three feet! This is actually a good thing, as genetic isolation generally weakens a species. If we say it ain't so, it ain't so! Who knows? But more importantly, he also said that regardless of color, he saw a big cat, with a tail that looked to be about 4 feet long! 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. 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). 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. Everyone else, when reporting, were frustrated as they were told they had seen a bobcat. The same goes for New York and several other eastern states. 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. The rounded ears, 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. Most of my original Questions of the Month for the last several Once a mountain lion matures, it will leave its mother and find its own territory. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? There are at least 20,000 black bears in Pa., and a small percentage are killed each year, but we're probably not talking about 20,000 pumas in the state. Ashley Catherine Fontones, Pocono Record. He's a hunter, a woodsman, and he's seen a lot of game, so I can believe he saw a back-lighted puma. In only one report had an official from the Pennsylvania Game Commision, a local warden, actually agree with the person reporting the sighting. "He doesn't like men too much," said Suzanne Murray, owner of East Coast Exotic Animal Rescue in this south-central Pennsylvania town. Some outdoor enthusiasts insist they have seen the big cats here and believe them to be naturally occurring, native animals. Additionally, California banned the hunting of cougars back in 1972, encouraging population growth. Apparently, this picture was really making the rounds. There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. 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. 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 2,400-square-mile area has long been a popular outdoor recreation area boasting hunting, fishing, skiing, and more. 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!' Fish and Wildlife Service. There isnt an official estimate on mountain lions in the state. Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. Me? At the end of the last Ice Age, many animals in Pennsylvania died out. 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 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. 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. No evidence has ever been produced to support those charges. It also mentioned that someone raising a mountain lion without a license may either have let it go when it became too large to handle, or that the animal had escaped. And again, while they may have been mistaken, they certainly were completely convinced that they had seen a puma. Are there Mountain Lions (Pumas, Cougars) in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic States? A dark brown puma, backlighted by a strong sun, could appear all black, or very dark, and he accepted that. Murray also has a cross-eyed white tiger named Keisha, who crushed chicken bones with ease but delicately stepped into a metal pool to cool off. They've been extinct in the eastern part of North America for more than a century. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. I've seen about 20 mountain lions, or pumas, in the field, but all but 2 were in Chile. 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. It was recorded in Minnesota and Wisconsin in late 2009 and early 2010, and then died in Connecticut in 2011. More Questions about Pumas in Pennsylvania. To be fair, I've also spoken with people who, at first, thought they'd seen a puma only to find, to their embarassment, that they were looking at a house cat! One came to her as the result of an owner's divorce. This is not a Pennsylvania puma! They include a reported attack on horses at a farm near Dillsburg, York County, that Foster thinks may be legitimate. This ideal habitat allows for a large population of 2,000 mountain lions to thrive. Images from a homeowner's surveillance camera show a tan cat with a long body, beyond a chain-link fence. 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. September 21st, 2008, 08:14 PM #74. A placard affixed to the fence outside Rocky's pen states that "cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by humans." The sightings were great bear views, but too fast or fleeting to allow me to grab a camera. A second image of the same cat, in a different light, reveals the trademark spots of a bobcat. Mountain lions live in rescue centers like Murray's, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission said a dozen or so people are permitted to possess them. There are, from time to time, eyewitness accounts from hunters or hikers who claim to have seen the cat. Known as the Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania, there are four trails that lead to the cascades from the Bushkill Falls trailhead, each ranging in . 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. They are generally believed to be young cats roaming in search of new breeding territories to claim as their own. 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. 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. What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? 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?' 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. Although a large proportion of the Lenape Nation was dispersed far from their ancestral homelands in the 18th century, colonial settlers and their descendants struggled to live in this region with wolves and cougars inhabiting the forests. Again, I've been told that some Game Commission personnel have admitted that pumas may exist in Pennsylvania, but they rationalize this by saying that the pumas are not breeding and they are not from original wild stock. Recently, on a back road in Pennsylvania, a friend and I had our first sighting of a coyote in Pennsylvania. Where can I find Depth of Field reference charts? 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. 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. The states beautiful wilderness and mountainous terrain are prime mountain lion habitats. Many people have claimed to see them, and this writer chronicled numerous such reports in the local press from the mid-1990s to the 2010s. Leslie estimated that the first humans making up the Paleo-Indians lived in the upper Delaware valley as early as 11,000 B.C. Mountain lions roamed all of the continent prior to the arrival and westward spread of European settlers, but only the eastern and Florida subspecies were found east of the Mississippi. On some investigations, Foster has teamed up with Stacey Griffiths, who started the Central PA Mountain Lion Sightings page earlier this year. There is no known estimate of the number of mountain lions inhabiting Texas. In some areas, entire populations of a species exhibit this trait, for unlike albinism, which results in a conspicuous white color and light-sensitive pink eyes, there are no ill effects with melanism. "From 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. 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. 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. "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. "They are very strong animals," she said. It was definitely a mountain lion, and it had a big buck, white-tailed deer in its jaws. With that in mind, lets break down how we classified the states. They once inhabited the entire United States, but were killed off and pushed west. 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. He saw a big cat. The record size for this species is 8 feet, and it probably weighed 15 to 20 pounds, which shows how exaggerated this claim is. 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. In Tennessee, the most likely places you would find them would be in the forest. In Yellowstone, definite puma country (perhaps not ideal habitat, but pumas are found in every section of Yellowstone), I've spoken to guys on road crews and with rangers, each with 20 years of field or road experience in Yellowstone, and the ranger had only seen 2 (both road kills and together) and the road crew guys two or three in all their years. The Pocono Mountains are . If you're interested in this, please pass on this link, and if you see a cat, please let me know! In the forests of Kenya, however, they do occur. With healthy populations and strong conservation programs, however, they seem to be pushing back east. Looking for things to do in the Poconos? 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. I have three observations here: 1. Each year, over tha past five, I've spoken with at least one person who swears they personally saw a puma in this state. Its fur is a light, tawny brown color which can appear gray or almost black, depending on light conditions. Colorado and California have the highest estimated populations of mountain lions in the United States. Two other reports went, in detail, on what they saw, the size, the length of tail, etc. Phineas Teeple of Manchester Township is thought to have killed the last wolf in Wayne County. As a state known for its mountains, its no wonder that mountain lions live here! (What is meant by "heads" is not clear.). The State argues that there is no physical evidence, and no credible photographs. A law was passed March 10, 1806, requiring the county to pay the person producing the scalp of a full-grown wolf or cougar, $8, and for the scalp of a young whelp or cub, $4. Mountain lions can live in almost any habitat including forests, prairies, deserts, and swamps. And, some may be escaped or illegally released pets. Reports generally go uninvestigated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which discounts them as mistaken identities, illegal pets escaped or released and outright fabrications. 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. 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. On that, I've had emails sent with game trail photo attachments, or killed pumas, supposedly shot in Pennsylvania, but these were hoaxes. You would think someone would have a picture on a trail camera or whatever. Although in captivity, they can live much longer. Controlled hunting of mountain lions is allowed within the state. "With all of that said, though, there's a general lack of evidence of mountain lions in Pennsylvania. "From people that I trust have had visual sightings, they've seen mountain lions.". Wyoming has a historically stable population of mountain lions, but recent drops in numbers have caused some to worry. 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. Murray said Rocky was emaciated and chained when she found him at a private zoo. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. After all, how many people have pumas? They ponder rare fossil evidence unearthed and seek to make sense of stratified geology, both fleeting in the face of what we call progress. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. I had three cameras positioned, so had a cat visited, I'd have had it. What is the Kiboko backpack? However, recently I saw a photo of a melanistic bobcat, as black as could be, with bright yellow eyes. Murray has cared for four mountain lions since she took over the rescue in 1998. the more visible white on the chest, the lack of spots, the huge hind quarters. 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. And book one of these Poconos cabins rentals for the best outdoor access to these activities. This is huge news for conservationists around the country and a sign that cougars may be heading east once again. In all those hours I never saw a coyote, bear, or bobcat, and yet all live in my area. 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. They know what they saw, regardless of what the facts say, and they know they saw a puma. Bobcats, feral cats and domestic dogs may be misidentified as mountain lion. "I know they're native to this area. All of the above images are of bobcats. Hunting is legal, but the use of dogs was banned in 1996. The story behind our new web site. People can manipulate, enhance or combine photos and then create their own stories about the subject's origin, location and even identification. It seems unlikely, considering captives have never shown this trait, but people are reporting big black cats. These cubs are born blind and helpless. Recent post: Why Is It Called Beaver Stadium? The State cites that there are no road-kills, and in a heavily trafficed state like Pennsylvania there should be kills. 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. There is a small breeding population in the state, despite being killed off in the 1920s. The reintroduction of mountain lions into South Dakota is one of the great wins of modern conservation. 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. But even without that second look there was no question that we'd seen a coyote. It was estimated to be a young adult American Mastodon that had died about 12,000 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating. Some may be animals that dispersed into the region from western populations. Would a puma then qualify as a native species? They are there to help us. 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. For our list, we only included US states with a stable breeding population. 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. Other states have had sightings, especially as mountain lion populations begin to explore and look to expand. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information.
