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. The other site, The Cougar Network, is still active, and is reporting the cats expanding range from the West, but offers little about the phenomenon of Pennsylvania cats. Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. Would these ridges be declared off-limits for hunting? Over the last few months several people have responded to this question with reports of their own. I've seen hoaxes, of pumas carrying deer shot with game cameras, but these were of western cats. What do I think of the Canon 1D Mark IV? 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. 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. "It's one of those things where I'll believe it when I see it," said Jason Farmer of Pocono Summit, my hunting partner for the last eight years. 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. 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. 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. Imagine my surprise. What does a Puma (Mountain Lion) look like on a Game Camera? 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. The first is the mating season which can occur during the late to early spring months. In Tennessee, the most likely places you would find them would be in the forest. ", (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. Mountain lions typically eat about one deer per week, along with other smaller prey as the opportunity arises. There are, from time to time, eyewitness accounts from hunters or hikers who claim to have seen the cat. There is a big community of mountain lion enthusiasts across the Northeast convinced that the animals still exist in breeding populations. Remember, this one was photographed in Arizona in good puma country, although this was the first one I've recorded there. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 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'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". I've seen about 20 mountain lions, or pumas, in the field, but all but 2 were in Chile. A mastodon's skull was first located in Marshalls Creek, Monroe County, on July 5, 1968. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? A few could, perhaps, be mistaken idenity. 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? The Bushkill Falls are a series of eight waterfalls in a 300-acre wooded enclave hidden amongst the Poconos. I wanted to know if they're here, so I called some people I trust and asked them one simple question: Are there mountain lions in Pennsylvania? One of the three branches or clans of the Lenape Tribe at the end of the 17th century was known as the Wolf (Minsi). The Asa Packer Mansion, built in the year 1861, is a historic house museum. However, if it doesn't exist, and if someone saw one, wouldn't there be a worry that it was a dangerous escapee? 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. 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. Most of my original Questions of the Month for the last several 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. 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. Goggling Eastern Puma brings up other web sites, however, with varying levels of professionalism or credibility. Is there a Puma conspiracy? 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. 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. There isnt an official estimate on mountain lions in the state. Caribou meat apparently was part of their diet. Mountain lions (cougars, pumas, and more) are among the top predators that live in the United States. They ponder rare fossil evidence unearthed and seek to make sense of stratified geology, both fleeting in the face of what we call progress. "People think they can get them declawed and that they're safe, but they still have teeth.". 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?' He also noted that if the cat was here, wouldn't they be reproducing and increasing in population by now? There's a whole world to learn about and Colby is content to spend his life learning as much as he can about it! 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. Known as the Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania, there are four trails that lead to the cascades from the Bushkill Falls trailhead, each ranging in . With healthy populations and strong conservation programs, however, they seem to be pushing back east. 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. Biologists traced it back to the Black Hills of South Dakota, from where it ventured nearly 2,000 miles looking for a new mate. Everyone else, when reporting, were frustrated as they were told they had seen a bobcat. Depends on who you talk to, I guess. 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. If you see or photograph a puma in the mid-Atlantic states, please email or call me. 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. The same goes for New York and several other eastern states. 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. 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. They are generally believed to be young cats roaming in search of new breeding territories to claim as their own. 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. "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. Accounts abound concerning interaction between these great beasts and people in northeast Pennsylvania, with wolves into the early 19th century and in the case with cougars, well into the early 20th century. Most, quite honestly, don't know or can't believe or accept what they saw, they really can't believe their eyes. One came to her as the result of an owner's divorce. RelatedBigfoot, mountain lions, and other mythical creatures: PA officials discuss what they know. Who knows? Erosion from glacial melt and violence glaciers did to the land left a. 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. 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. Although unconfirmed, mountain lions continue to be reported in many spots across Pennsylvania, including several reports in the past couple months. Murray said Rocky was emaciated and chained when she found him at a private zoo. do I get an immediate, 'Oh yeah!' Mary saw the photo, too, and she immediately agreed, it was a puma. I don't want to seem like a nut case here, but I must ask this question and you'll soon understand why? But this one was black, and he knows mountain lions are some variant of brown. Some experts predict that this wide-ranging predator, which can travel 600 miles in search of a territory, will surely reach our eastern states sometime in the next few decades. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. After a gestation period of 90 days, female mountain lions will give birth to litters of about one to six cubs. These experiences are still available, but the reality is there is so much more for the mature traveler to enjoy in the Pocono Mountains. If there were wild cougars in our midst, the Game Commission also pointed out, eventually there would be solid evidence such as a carcass, scat and paw prints that could be verified. "From people that I trust have had visual sightings, they've seen mountain lions.". After all, skeptics often suggest that puma sightings are just deer sightings, so it would be logical to worry that a hunter might shoot an endangered puma, mistaking it for a brown deer. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. Many of the reports I receive are extremely credible. The large tracts of untouched rocky land and bighorn sheep populations make for pristine mountain lion habitat. Colorado has a large number of mountain lions within its borders, mostly due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. The next day, the photo disappeared from the site. Other states have had sightings, especially as mountain lion populations begin to explore and look to expand. 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. The claim of mountain lions on the move was bolstered in 2009 when one was killed by a car in Greenwich, Conn. 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. Have some feedback for us? I don't know if a Game Commission authority has actually said this or not, but people I've spoken to have reported this. DNA collected from the mountain lion killed on a roadway in Connecticut in 2011 showed the animal to have originated in South Dakota. Did they migrate south from Canada? 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? . Then there is Rocky. I don't want to seem like a nut case here, but I must ask this question and you'll soon understand why? There are also big swaths of thick of forests in parts of the state. Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. 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? 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. So how or why could there be a conspiracy? Perhaps one or more of these Pocono sightings represent early pioneers reclaiming their former territories. Mountain lion populations struggle to outpace the high hunting limits. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? No one needs to panic.". 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. Interestingly, the US Fish and Wildllife Service has declared the Eastern Puma extinct, except for the Florida population known as the Florida panther. One of the important things for any animal is a place to call home. 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. There is a small breeding population in the state, despite being killed off in the 1920s. With the Great Lakes in its way, the cat moved either north or south of the water, and the latter route would have seen it pass through at least some of Pennsylvania. The cat is known to live in the western U.S. and Florida, South America and Canada. 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. The Pocono Mountains are located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Do elk live in Pennsylvania? Looking for things to do in the Poconos? This is not a Pennsylvania puma! The sightings were great bear views, but too fast or fleeting to allow me to grab a camera. 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. No projectile points or spearheads were found with the remains, indicating the animal may have died naturally rather than killed by native hunters. Jones has never seen a mountain lion, but he thinks they're prowling around. If so, what would happen to the hunting industry in all of these states? Have all of those who have seen a puma really seen a bobcat? Note the long, usually thick tail. If pumas do exist in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, could they all be released cats or escapees? Obviously, other pumas must be about, and the series of ridges extending north and east and west from my location could all be included as critical habitat as well. 1.8 miles, 2 hours, moderate. A brief look, yes, but no question we saw a coyote. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As they get older, the cubs begin to leave the den and explore. Additionally, California banned the hunting of cougars back in 1972, encouraging population growth. Mountain lions weigh 90-160 pounds, while bobcats weigh 20-30 pounds. 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. Wishful thinking? The reintroduction of mountain lions into South Dakota is one of the great wins of modern conservation. While there have been no confirmed occurrences of mountain lions in Pennsylvania since the late 1800s, dozens . a high priority. 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. Let's see a clear photo, or a carcass or something. The large, undeveloped interior filled with rocky habitats perfect for mountain lions allows them to safely live and breed. Two other reports went, in detail, on what they saw, the size, the length of tail, etc. An escapee is also possible. 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. 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 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.
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