Is there a Mountain Lion Conspiracy? Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions. What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? Kross only saw the animal for a second, but it made a believer out of him. Where they always here as a relic population? 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. Do elk live in Pennsylvania? 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 last native mountain lion known to be killed in Pennsylvania is on display in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. Is it the New Best Pack? 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. In only one report had an official from the Pennsylvania Game Commision, a local warden, actually agree with the person reporting the sighting. As they get older, the cubs begin to leave the den and explore. During this time, male mountain lions will travel in search of females. Have all of those who have seen a puma really seen a bobcat? years are available through this link. She also houses a bobcat named Nia she took in from a couple who couldn't handle her. Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. While it would seem impossible to confuse the two after seeing them in person, Foster said many of the sightings are in the dark, from roadways and trail cams, with bodies half-concealed. The Pennsylvania Game Commission is always open to review evidence, but to date only hoaxes have crossed the PGC. 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. Every year we receive a few similar reports from hikers, hunters or other outdoor enthusiasts. It seems unlikely, considering captives have never shown this trait, but people are reporting big black cats. The Pocono Mountains are . On some investigations, Foster has teamed up with Stacey Griffiths, who started the Central PA Mountain Lion Sightings page earlier this year. Mountain lion populations struggle to outpace the high hunting limits. 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. 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. Enter your email in the box below to get the most mind-blowing animal stories and videos delivered directly to your inbox every day. 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. A neighbor scared the animal away before it could finish its meal; the sheeps carcass was used as bait, to catch the big cat. All rights reserved. How, Who, and Why? 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. Mountain Lion in Pocono's Pennsylvania Kacie PA 7.9K views 2 years ago Mountain lion in bucks county pa or not? A recent alleged sighting in South Abington Township, Lackawanna County, had Facebook groups abuzz. Mountain lions are 7-9 feet, while bobcats are 3 feet long. Thank you for reading! Of interestRamapough Lenape chief: National park in PA and NJ would be among 'most destructive things' since colonization. Where can I find Depth of Field reference charts? And yes, there are people in Pennsylvania who say they exist here. Foster said mountain lions and bobcats could not breed. 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.". I'd love to hear of any reports you have. But Dave "Gadget" Jones, a retired wildlife conservation officer from Lackawanna County, claims he's seen a white bigfoot and a UFO in Pennsylvania, so who knows? Mountain lions (cougars, pumas, and more) are among the top predators that live in the United States. 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. There had been 17 other mastodon finds in Pennsylvania up to 1968, but all were fragmentary. 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. Reports of a mountain lion have come from several residents of Hemlock Farms who were hiking on. redo these pages to match the new web site But that's not But even without that second look there was no question that we'd seen a coyote. And a bit of an unpleasant one at that, as they now faced ridicule or doubt whenever they discussed their sightings. Goodrich said he once saw a mountain lion spring from a thicket and kill a sheep on a public road. Interestingly, the US Fish and Wildllife Service has declared the Eastern Puma extinct, except for the Florida population known as the Florida panther. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. Are there Mountain Lions (Pumas, Cougars) in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic States? About six months ago I posted the question, Are there Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania? Two other reports went, in detail, on what they saw, the size, the length of tail, etc. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. One of these days, though, I'll get one that won't be, and I hope that will be soon. Martinelli said that if there were mountain lions in Pennsylvania, there would be more sightings of them. The skeleton was reassembled at the State Museum, where it has been on display ever since. Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. 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. PHILADELPHIA (AP) An instinct coiled way down in the human brain knows the difference between a bobcat and a mountain lion. Adults are a uniform tan or tawny in color, with a white or cream-colored chin, undersides and inner legs. 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. 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. It will happen eventually. Now consider: If it was confirmed that there was a breeding population of endangered pumas on the mountain ridge behind my house, if the USFWS recognized the existence of this endangered species, what might happen? Something to consider, even though we all trust the government. Melanism is the reverse, where there is an abundance of dark or black pigmentation. Did they migrate south from Canada? The claim of mountain lions on the move was bolstered in 2009 when one was killed by a car in Greenwich, Conn. In 2016, a trail cam photo in South Jersey was later determined to show a house cat. Controlled hunting of mountain lions is allowed within the state. 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. Where reports dating that far back from escapees? I love the big cats and devote a huge amount of my field time photographing African lions, leopards, cheetahs, and in 2011, tigers. In personal contacts, that monthly average might even be higher. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? Apparently, this picture was really making the rounds. I want to believe they're here, but I'm having some trouble. Let me know if you have seen one! The last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. All rights reserved (About Us). In the forests of Kenya, however, they do occur. The next day, another friend, who works for Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, called me to ask if I had seen the photo of a Pocono mountain lion with a deer in its jaws. Encouraged by the bounties, settlers waged war on these perceived beasts. No An official form of the United States government. At one time this fact almost resulted in this cat not being protected, since it wasn't a pure strain. Others would like to see some scientific proof. Learn more about us & read our affiliate disclosure. Knowing that pumas range widely, would my ridge be the only one closed? Are Mountain Lions in Missouri Making a Comeback? If you're interested in this, please pass on this link, and if you see a cat, please let me know! (National Park Service). Most nature magazines state whether the photos were taken "under controlled conditions" rather than in the wild.). 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 states beautiful wilderness and mountainous terrain are prime mountain lion habitats. "I know they're native to this area. 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. Local outlets carried reports of cougar encounters at least into the 1910s. 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. It was estimated to be a young adult American Mastodon that had died about 12,000 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating. Two different people told me that they, or a close relative, had seen pumas on more than one occasion. Mountain lions live almost everywhere in the state of Washington. I asked our Game officials about evidence, and they cite no road kills. I believe that the folks that are reporting, in detail, their sightings are faced with a similar situation. A mastodon's skull was first located in Marshalls Creek, Monroe County, on July 5, 1968. It is almost safe to say that the panther has in these parts become extinct, Goodrich wrote. As you can see from the above images it is very difficult to confuse the two if you have a good view. Fish and Wildlife Service. More Questions about Pumas in Pennsylvania It was recorded in Minnesota and Wisconsin in late 2009 and early 2010, and then died in Connecticut in 2011. ? 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 example, leopards and jaguars, normally spotted cats, have a melanistic color morph, the 'black panther,' the black leopard or black jaguar. In Tennessee, the most likely places you would find them would be in the forest. By the time he returned the vehicle was gone, and so was the cat, and no mention was ever made of this road kill in a radio or newspaper report. I regularly ask hunters and outdoors people if they've ever seen a mountain lion, or know of anyone that has. Some have even reported seeing a "black panther," a near-impossibility because of the rarity of that recessive gene. Illinois can also now be added to this list a mountain lion was found on the outskirts of Chicago. All rights reserved (About Us). 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? 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. 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. 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. Note the size of the tail, the pointed ears, the speckled coat, the basic lack of white underneath. Imagine my surprise. And how many would let them go, or provide an opportunity for escaping? Bo Ottman is a landscaper in Connecticut who founded an . In 2015, a Pennsylvania State Historical Marker was placed near the site where the mastodon was found. 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. Many have a desire to see some clear-cut evidence. The other three images are from my file, selected to most closely approximate the pose of the cat from the game camera. a high priority. 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. 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 . Transient males have been sighted as far east as New York! He also noted that if the cat was here, wouldn't they be reproducing and increasing in population by now? Packer Hill Ave. Jim Thorpe, PA 18229. With healthy populations and strong conservation programs, however, they seem to be pushing back east. At one time this fact almost resulted in this cat not being protected, since it wasn't a pure strain. ? John Leap of East Stroudsburg's Lakeside Peat Humus Co. and an employee, Paul Strauser, found the bones in a peat bog off Route 209. The story behind our new web site. There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. Known as the Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania, there are four trails that lead to the cascades from the Bushkill Falls trailhead, each ranging in . Biologists traced it back to the Black Hills of South Dakota, from where it ventured nearly 2,000 miles looking for a new mate. There is no known estimate of the number of mountain lions inhabiting Texas. Wyoming has a historically stable population of mountain lions, but recent drops in numbers have caused some to worry. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. 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. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? An escapee is also possible. 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. These cubs are born blind and helpless. I usually follow-up on these reports and, via email or phone conversations, I receive more details. I've seen hoaxes, of pumas carrying deer shot with game cameras, but these were of western cats. I haven't seen any reports like that.". Mountain lions, Goodrich wrote, were more dreaded than wolves as the cat could climb over any fence that could be built. Caribou remains, dated by radiocarbon in excess of 10,000 B.C. About half of the state of Montana is ideal for mountain lions, primarily in her western and central regions. 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. with a fluted projectile point were found near Middletown, Orange County, New York. 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. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. I've seen so many examples of these distortions, exaggerations and lies over the last couple of years that I've grown very dubious about anything I see on a computer. 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! Although unconfirmed, mountain lions continue to be reported in many spots across Pennsylvania, including several reports in the past couple months. Some may be animals that dispersed into the region from western populations. 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 . Check out the tails of the two! (570) 325-3229. 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. Outdoor adventures abound, and so do our fabulous shopping and restaurants. Since mountain lions are the top predators (unlike most other states with grizzly bears), they have a well-developed population. But this one was black, and he knows mountain lions are some variant of brown. The reintroduction of mountain lions into South Dakota is one of the great wins of modern conservation. "He doesn't like men too much," said Suzanne Murray, owner of East Coast Exotic Animal Rescue in this south-central Pennsylvania town. I'm thinking of the solution often suggested for pesky endangered species out west, namely wolves and grizzly bears. I've seen about 20 mountain lions, or pumas, in the field, but all but 2 were in Chile. He saw a big cat. Why do I advocate manual exposure so avidly? Recently the US Fish and Wildlife Service formally declared the Eastern Puma an extinct species, except for the remnant population in Florida. I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one. Let me explain this. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. All of the above are Mountain Lions, or Pumas, or Cougars. And, some may be escaped or illegally released pets. 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. 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. Leslie estimated that the first humans making up the Paleo-Indians lived in the upper Delaware valley as early as 11,000 B.C. 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. However, if it doesn't exist, and if someone saw one, wouldn't there be a worry that it was a dangerous escapee? It's sort of like big foot, some people say they've seen him.". Why is bat photography so difficult? Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead. Remember, this one was photographed in Arizona in good puma country, although this was the first one I've recorded there. Find cabins in the Poconos, PA near places like Bushkill Falls, Camelback Mountain Resort, and more. After all, how many people have pumas? There is also a small population of cougars in Florida.
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