Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. "It's fall bow-hunting season soon," he said. Slowly, mountain lions recolonized North America after having retreated to warmer climates in South America during the Pleistocene ice age. It wa an buff colored animal about two feet tall and maybe three feet long with a very long very thick tail. Mountain lions are 7-9 feet, while bobcats are 3 feet long. Big Cat, long tail, Mountain Lion past directly in front of my car. "We should be getting more pictures. An attack on a 4-year-old near San Diego is just the latest in a string of mountain lion attacks in California. Besides a lack of physical (scat, hair, or tracks) and photographic evidence, the absence of cougars is also demonstrated by a lack of road-killed cougars. If you're bitten by a venomous snake, dial 911 immediately and seek medical attention. Heres how to pull big bluegills from Iowas West Lake Okoboji, A look at some other ways to call in a spring gobbler, How to catch and cook whitefish and tullibees, Nows the time to savor the fruits of the hunting experience. House cats and raccoons can also be confused for cougars. and Wilmers, C.C. They were once a common predator in Pennsylvania until a combination of range-wide habitat loss, prey loss (mainly white-tailed deer and elk), and predator eradication programs in the 1800s drove them to extinction in the Commonwealth and across the East Coast later that century. I also saw a mountain lion recently crossing road next to creek in Canadensis PA. There may well be a mountain lion out there that has been illegally released.". "With all of that said, though, there's a general lack of evidence of mountain lions in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, is it unlikely that cougars will return to Pennsylvania in the near future. An instinct coiled way down in the human brain knows the difference between a bobcat and a mountain lion. This article addresses the history of cougars in Pennsylvania, their extirpation, and that they are now extinct. What you wouldn't expect to find here anymore is a mountain lion. Foster said mountain lions and bobcats could not breed. This article written in 2020 has a good wrap up of the current mountain lion status in North Dakota. Juvenile males are the individuals that are seen outside of traditional" cougar range in places like Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. You know, the Penn State Nittany Lions.". Reports of a mountain lion have come from several residents of Hemlock Farms who were hiking on. EDITORS: Gary San Julian can be reached at 814-863-0401. 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. In 1991 mountain lion tracks were found . Pennsylvania would be incredibly difficult for cougars to reach. bioRxiv. If you see any of these four wild animals in Pennsylvania, definitely keep a safe distance. More than half of California is mountain lion habitat and mountain lions generally exist wherever deer are found. A second photo of the cat, though shaded, appears to show more of a splotchy coloration on the animal's front limb. Mountain Lion. Contact a location near you for products or services. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. The dispatch center received calls about the mountain lion at approximately 4:30 a.m. near the Copeland Creek Trail between Country Club and Snyder Lane located in the area of Sunrise Park. "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. Murray has cared for four mountain lions since she took over the rescue in 1998. Pennlive.com reports trappers kill more than 40,000 of them in Pennsylvania every year. February 23, . UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A recent rumor of a cougar killed by a vehicle on Interstate 80 attracted some attention at Penn State. Still, Pennsylvania does have adequate cougar habitat, according to San Julian. The only population that survived was the Florida panther (Puma concolor couguar), and it only survived with great help from conservationists. "It's probably a bobcat, but looks like a mountain lion," Nick Dodge told the station. (The fear of cougars is unfounded. The state has an estimated1.5 milliondeer, about 30 per square mile. Sadly, the last period when mountain lions roamed freely throughout Pennsylvania is the end of the 19th century. Was about 30 feet down the road when it crossed in front of me. That said there have been numerous sightings of them over the years. "If my son would have been on a pedal bike, without a helmet on, that thing would have nailed him," said Walters, 44. It's only found in thewestern part of the state. The Game Commission is hiding this information from the public either that or they dont know what a mountain lion looks like. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. While living in Potter County, Pennsylvania and riding my horses. These young males are looking to establish a new territory and they do not stay in areas without females. Although the chances of being attacked by an animal are slim, and even slimmer that you could die from an attack by a creature, there are indeed animals capable of wreaking havoc on humans. My neighbor had one (maybe the same one) in her backyard. The best way to differentiate cougar tracks from other animals is size; cougar tracks are usually four inches from heel to toe and four inches wide, roughly twice the size of bobcats or coyotes. All rights reserved (About Us). Denise Kunzig, who lives in Orchard Valley on. My cousin and his girlfriend swear they saw a mountain lion Davis hill Rd off of county route 249 in tioga county. If you're hiking, stay on the path and don't venture into the woods. Eastern coyotes are prevalent in Pennsylvania. "Likewise, I'm not aware of any escapes from captive facilities in my time here. If you think you see a predatory cat ready to pounce, you're likely mistaken. Michael Tanenbaum Much of the prime habitat in the West is already occupied by larger more dominate males, so juvenile males make long journeys to disperse to setup a new territory or find an area where they can push out the dominate male. 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). That doesnt stop some from believing mountain lions do exist in the East. 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. A recent alleged sighting in South Abington Township, Lackawanna County, had Facebook groups abuzz. In 2016, a trail cam photo in South Jersey was later determined to show a house cat. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. 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. Symptoms usually disappear after four days. Offer valid thru 3/31/23. 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 we believe that the likely source is an illegally released animal.". I called the game commission and they told me there have been no mountain lions reported in PA. If a cougar were to make it to Pennsylvania, it is illegal to harm. $1 per month for 6 months (you will be billed $6) and then your subscription will renew at standard subscription rates. Mountain lions, also commonly known as cougars, are officially extinct in both Pennsylvania and the United States east of the Mississippi. Based on its extensive research, the Service concluded this subspecies of big cats had disappeared from the east by the 1930s. It has been well known that cariabou have migrated from Canada, so why not the mountain lion? "It's so hard to pin anything down," said John Lutz, the West Virginia man who heads the network, a non-scientific affiliation of mountain lion seekers across the eastern United States. Coyotes are much smaller, and they have shorter fluffier tails, a pointed face, and large triangular ears. The other was seen roaming in Arlee on. Like Rocky, Nia is declawed. Yes I believe their are mountain lion ghost cats in PA. PA mountain areas are remote and it is impossible to kill all of the cats who are quite secretive. She says she was on Route 347 just after 230am when she saw . Some biologists thinks it's time to bring them back to help manage deer populations. He saw a cougar and ended up shooting and killing the animal. TPWD Confirmed Mountain Lions. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Some have even reported seeing a "black panther," a near-impossibility because of the rarity of that recessive gene. If you need to confirm this info, just take a look at National Geographics wild life section on animals thought to be extinct altogether, or extinct from an area. "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. There have been two mountain lion sightings this week in western Montana. Although they're occasionally reportedby hikers in remote locations, the U.S. 2016. Young cougars (one- to two-years old) leave their mothers to establish a new territory. 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. The Connecticut mountain lion is the best documented wild Mountain Lion in New England. Hildreth says the animals are capable of moving long distances across the state. So glad to post. Mountain lions are large, tan cats. Recently he was given a plaster cast of what was suspected to be a cougar track from Wayne County, made after a "large cat-like creature" was seen locally. Paws 'N' Claws Animal Park in the Poconos has two. http://www.buckmanager.com/2009/04/17/deer-management-and-some-thoughts-on-predator-control/, Just posted if looked like this size "We do not believe that there are any wild, native, breeding cougar populations in Pennsylvania. Cougars are often by hit carsin 2020, at least one-tenth of all Florida panthers (20 out of a maximum population of 200 animals) were hit by cars. Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice U.S. FOREST SERVICE PHOTO A placard affixed to the fence outside Rocky's pen states that "cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by humans." Was running and had very long stride, at least 6 foot. With industrial expansion into the heart of Pennsylvania in the 1700s, mountain lion sightings and attacks became more common as habitat destruction pit settlers against native predators. It's cable reimagined No DVR space. "I know they're native to this area. When I say large, I mean way bigger than a house cat, about the size of a 60lb dog. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. I just wanted to post that not only have we been hearing what we thought was a mountain lion, we spotted it the night before last. "Absolutely bobcat," Taylor said. If you have an encounter with a mountain lion, contact Colorado Parks and Wildlife from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays: CPW Headquarters (Denver): (303) 297-1192. That's the third-highest rate of any state in the U.S. "Hunters tell me, 'Oh yeah, we've seen them, but we love them, and we are not going to shoot them,'" he says. I know I am not the only one who spotted this cat around the woods right outside town . I received a report from a woman who drove last Sunday (August 28) from her home in the Philadelphia area to her vacation home in Avalon. A female mountain lion in the Santa Susana Mountains in California. A bobcat gives you a warm, that-kind-of-looks-like-my-cat-but-slightly-bigger feeling. More than half of California is mountain lion habitat and mountain lions generally exist wherever deer are found. 1. The PGC's historical approach to mountain lion sightings is relevant to understanding their approach to the Jacobs photos. I am not a drinker and dont di drugs. Of course, bees are crucial to our existence. The Game Commission occasionally hears about cougar sightings too, but agency officials are skeptical about their origins. Here, they've not been," Lau said in an e-mail. Records show that more than 600 cougars were killed in Centre County alone during the 1800s. The diseaseproduces fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes within three to 30 days. This population is greatly threatened by human develop on all sides. If you have seen a mountain lion (also commonly called cougar, panther, or puma) in Pennsylvania or surrounding states (New York, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio), please give Kerry Gyekis a detailed description of the animal such as length of body, length of tail, approximate weight, size, thickness, coloring, etc. "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. However, mountain lion sightings in Pennsylvania are still being reported. "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". Mountain lions would have inhabited all of what is now Nebraska, roaming the hills and plains as an apex predator, hunting deer, elk and other large game. It is possible for a cougar to escape captivity and be seen in the wild, but an escaped individual likely would not survive long or be able to establish a breeding population. For more information see Terms and Conditions. There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. "I have been in this business long enough not to doubt what people say they have seen," says San Julian, "but I think most sightings are escaped pets or animals released by people.".
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