Bushkill Falls Trail. There are an estimated 3,000 - 7,000 Mountain lions in Colorado. Apparently, this picture was really making the rounds. There's a whole world to learn about and Colby is content to spend his life learning as much as he can about it! He also noted that if the cat was here, wouldn't they be reproducing and increasing in population by now? Outdoor adventures abound, and so do our fabulous shopping and restaurants. What does a Puma (Mountain Lion) look like on a Game Camera? Biologists traced it back to the Black Hills of South Dakota, from where it ventured nearly 2,000 miles looking for a new mate. 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. They are generally believed to be young cats roaming in search of new breeding territories to claim as their own. 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. Its fur is a light, tawny brown color which can appear gray or almost black, depending on light conditions. Check out our online field guide to read more in this series. 1.8 miles, 2 hours, moderate. The bobcat wouldn't survive. One man, in the southwestern part of Pennsylvania, had seen one, at night, about 25 years ago. Noted Wayne County historian Phineas Goodrich recorded in his 1880 book on local history that the common gray wolf was much more common in this area than the cougar. Recently, on a back road in Pennsylvania, a friend and I had our first sighting of a coyote in Pennsylvania. WATCH: Sharks biting alligators, the most epic lion battles, and MUCH more. 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. 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. After all, how many people have pumas? On the second night, a mountain lion passed by, apparently drawn by the smell but put off by the stench, as the cat did not visit the kill. Possibly, but it seems unlikely that enough would have been released or had escaped to make for a viable population. 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. I love the big cats and devote a huge amount of my field time photographing African lions, leopards, cheetahs, and in 2011, tigers. 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. That summer, a team from the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg excavated the nearly complete skeleton of the ancient elephant, the first of its kind found in the Commonwealth. 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. 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). Recent post: Why Is It Called Beaver Stadium? Although there was no evidence that the 2011 mountain lion ever set foot in Pennsylvania, DNA evidence confirmed that it had been both west and east of the state. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. The head of the puma is small in comparision to a house cat when compared to the entire body. What equipment do we take in the field? Controlled hunting of mountain lions is allowed within the state. Once a mountain lion matures, it will leave its mother and find its own territory. There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. And, some may be escaped or illegally released pets. 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! Furthermore, a different set of photos showed a "mountain lion" dragging a deer into the woods in Bradford County. Today, we are going to explore the 15 US states that have mountain lions, plus a few others that may have some. This is actually a good thing, as genetic isolation generally weakens a species. Colby is a freelance writer from Charlotte, North Carolina. Me? Bo Ottman is a landscaper in Connecticut who founded an . Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead? There are controlled hunting laws in the state of Oregon. I regularly ask hunters and outdoors people if they've ever seen a mountain lion, or know of anyone that has. Where they always here as a relic population? The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. 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 sheep and young cattle fell prey to wolves, unless they were under constant watch. The same goes for New York and several other eastern states. 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. The Bushkill Falls are a series of eight waterfalls in a 300-acre wooded enclave hidden amongst the Poconos. Best hike for seeing waterfalls. 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. Newspapers carried stories in 1956 about hunters supposedly seeing and killing wolves in Pike and Monroe Counties. Some may be animals that dispersed into the region from western populations. The Florida panther is an endemic subspecies of cougar that has lived in the everglades region for a very long time. 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. A dark brown puma, backlighted by a strong sun, could appear all black, or very dark, and he accepted that. "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. There are also big swaths of thick of forests in parts of the state. 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 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. Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. Never has this been more accurate than in today's digital, computerized world. Thank you for reading! Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included. There is a big community of mountain lion enthusiasts across the Northeast convinced that the animals still exist in breeding populations. Heres What the Data Says. This will be one of your best identification marks, along with size. The story behind our new web site. 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? 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! 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. Do Mountain Lions Attack Humans? They've been extinct in the eastern part of North America for more than a century. Where reports dating that far back from escapees? Conversely, an outdoor writer I know told me that when Pa. enacted a menagerie permit law years ago, 'a lot of mountain lions suddenly died,' as the owners of these cats, rather than going through the paperwork, simply released their pumas and claimed that they had died. 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. According to the commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. Mountain Lion in Pocono's Pennsylvania Kacie PA 7.9K views 2 years ago Mountain lion in bucks county pa or not? So, couldn't that same argument apply to pumas in the Northeast? Currently, there are only 15 states that meet that qualification. 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. Every year we receive a few similar reports from hikers, hunters or other outdoor enthusiasts. I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one game camera image that still looks very credible to me. 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. (PennLive has investigated many reports of mountain lions, and other mystery creatures, and has found no confirming evidence. In the forests of Kenya, however, they do occur. Like Arizona, New Mexico is the perfect home for mountain lions. One came to her as the result of an owner's divorce. 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. 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. 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. There isnt an official estimate on mountain lions in the state. Erosion from glacial melt and violence glaciers did to the land left a. And yet today the debate continues: Are there mountain lions in Pennsylvania? The last known mountain lion in Pennsylvania was killed in Berks County in 1874. They regularly join the camp of those angrily claiming the commission has introduced the big cats back into Pennsylvania as a control measure against the state's huge deer population. Enter your email in the box below to get the most mind-blowing animal stories and videos delivered directly to your inbox every day. The Pennsylvania Game Commission is always open to review evidence, but to date only hoaxes have crossed the PGC. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 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. After a gestation period of 90 days, female mountain lions will give birth to litters of about one to six cubs. A second image of the same cat, in a different light, reveals the trademark spots of a bobcat. He notes how over the millennia, the region was inhabited by humans, only to be depopulated by migration brought on by the search of food due to a fickle climate, war or epidemic. I'd love to hear of any reports you have. So it happens, and who knows if it is existing in wild pumas in the East. With healthy populations and strong conservation programs, however, they seem to be pushing back east. 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. 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. That may be true, or was once true, but even a declawed puma, if it can survive off rabbits and squirrels, and breeds, its offspring would be fully equipted to survive. Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions. 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. He's a hunter, a woodsman, and he's seen a lot of game, so I can believe he saw a back-lighted puma. 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. Hunting is legal in the state, but it is heavily controlled and restricted. 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. I've know of reports since 1973, in Cooke Forest, the heart of a lot of Pa. wilderness. 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. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Most nature magazines state whether the photos were taken "under controlled conditions" rather than in the wild.). Any Truth Illinois can also now be added to this list a mountain lion was found on the outskirts of Chicago. Let's say the facts indicate that there have been a lot of 'pet' pumas, and many of these escaped. In this at this distant epoch, archaeologists attempt to clear some of the mists and mysteries of prehistoric times. "It's fall bow-hunting season soon," he said. Only once has anyone later determined that they had misidentified the cat, seeing a bobcat and not a mountain lion. Contrary to popular belief, there are no black panthers in North America; no one has ever captured or killed a black Mountain Lion. The life cycle then repeats itself. 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. 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 state of Arizona is home to a large, stable population of mountain lions. (What is meant by "heads" is not clear.). Several populations of Gray Squirrels scattered around the country are black, and recently I heard of a neighborhood of black Eastern Chipmunks. You know, the Penn State Nittany Lions.". It wasn't, and I assumed it was a road-kill. Murray said Rocky was emaciated and chained when she found him at a private zoo. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? 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. You be the judge. Penn State's Nittany Lion hide sampled for DNA sequencing, Mountain lion reports in Pennsylvania popular, but often a hoax, More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. At the end of the last Ice Age, many animals in Pennsylvania died out. A brief look, yes, but no question we saw a coyote. If pumas do exist in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, could they all be released cats or escapees? 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. 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? Cougar vs Mountain Lion What Are the Differences? I believe them. 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. 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). The large tracts of untouched rocky land and bighorn sheep populations make for pristine mountain lion habitat. Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. 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!' 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. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) also reports evidence that humans arrived during the last glaciation or soon after. No one needs to panic.". They know what they saw, regardless of what the facts say, and they know they saw a puma. The state of Texas is home to many mountain lion populations, but the numbers are incredibly hard to find. 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. The reintroduction of mountain lions into South Dakota is one of the great wins of modern conservation. Over the last few months several people have responded to this question with reports of their own. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? Goggling Eastern Puma brings up other web sites, however, with varying levels of professionalism or credibility. Images from a homeowner's surveillance camera show a tan cat with a long body, beyond a chain-link fence. Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included. "We've been here 45 years and I've probably been told by people at least 100 times that they've seen a cougar or mountain lion," said owner Vince Hall. Are Mountain Lions in Missouri Making a Comeback? It had been captured in Florida, and was to be released.
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