I'll offer my own little anecdote. I'll be anxious to learn of your report. I'd suspect it would still be considered very rare, after all, it was thought to be extinct. 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? Encouraged by the bounties, settlers waged war on these perceived beasts. Let me know if you have seen one! Each year, over tha past five, I've spoken with at least one person who swears they personally saw a puma in this state. 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? So, couldn't that same argument apply to pumas in the Northeast? 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 one cat killed on a highway in Milford, Connecticut, in June 2011. Although unconfirmed, mountain lions continue to be reported in many spots across Pennsylvania, including several reports in the past couple months. 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. 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. Would these ridges be declared off-limits for hunting? You know, the Penn State Nittany Lions.". There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. 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. Mountain lions have an interesting life cycle that consists of a few different characteristics. He's a hunter, a woodsman, and he's seen a lot of game, so I can believe he saw a back-lighted puma. No evidence has ever been produced to support those charges. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? 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. The cat is known to live in the western U.S. and Florida, South America and Canada. The reintroduction of mountain lions into South Dakota is one of the great wins of modern conservation. "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. If you see a puma (mountain lion-cougar), contact me. But even without that second look there was no question that we'd seen a coyote. A Mountain Lion Cover Up In this at this distant epoch, archaeologists attempt to clear some of the mists and mysteries of prehistoric times. This, after they were told that there were no pumas in Pa. Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead? Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions. There's a whole world to learn about and Colby is content to spend his life learning as much as he can about it! Are there pumas, or mountain lions, in Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic States? All rights reserved. The other two clans were the Turtle and Turkey. Its fur is a light, tawny brown color which can appear gray or almost black, depending on light conditions. It was recorded in Minnesota and Wisconsin in late 2009 and early 2010, and then died in Connecticut in 2011. Woolly mammoth bones were discovered in Bradford County in 1983. 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. Local outlets carried reports of cougar encounters at least into the 1910s. Most nature magazines state whether the photos were taken "under controlled conditions" rather than in the wild.). "Likewise, I'm not aware of any escapes from captive facilities in my time here. The large, undeveloped interior filled with rocky habitats perfect for mountain lions allows them to safely live and breed. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. They are generally believed to be young cats roaming in search of new breeding territories to claim as their own. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Looking for things to do in the Poconos? Reports generally go uninvestigated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which discounts them as mistaken identities, illegal pets escaped or released and outright fabrications. These cubs are born blind and helpless. The Asa Packer Mansion, built in the year 1861, is a historic house museum. The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos / p o k n o z /, are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania.They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, Wyoming Valley and the Coal Region to the west, and the Lehigh Valley to the south. 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. The large tracts of untouched rocky land and bighorn sheep populations make for pristine mountain lion habitat. 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. 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. Murray said Rocky was emaciated and chained when she found him at a private zoo. 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. "If there was mountain lions in Pennsylvania), I think we'd be getting reports from farmers and people with pets that there were attacks on their animals," Martinelli said. 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. The mountains and isolated forests of the state allow these large cats to live their lives without encountering humans very often. He knows and was familiar with bobcats, and it was not a weird house cat that he and his friends misjudged in size. This is actually a good thing, as genetic isolation generally weakens a species. Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. If so, what would happen to the hunting industry in all of these states? Here, they've not been," Lau said in an e-mail. 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. The question is just like in the story of the boy who cried wolf) if that day ever arrives, how will we believe those first, true sightings after so many hoaxes have been perpetrated on the public? 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?' 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. However, if it doesn't exist, and if someone saw one, wouldn't there be a worry that it was a dangerous escapee? Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. No one needs to panic.". Controlled hunting of mountain lions is allowed within the state. The mountain lion is a large, slender cat, with a long rope-like tail. The Pocono Mountains are . That's true. 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 . "If my son would have been on a pedal bike, without a helmet on, that thing would have nailed him," said Walters, 44. 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. 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? Flying over the area, I've looked down and commented upon the amount of habitat that would be available for a puma, if only they existed. Both were a threat to the farmer and family who carved a home in the ancient wilderness of the Poconos. "I thought I had a sighting in the late '90s," Delaware Water Gap National Recreation park ranger Chris Kross said. It's sort of like big foot, some people say they've seen him.". Mountain lions were once widespread across North America, but their range shrunk dramatically as they were pursued through unregulated hunting and by farmers aiming to protect their livestock, and moved off the landscape by habitat fragmentation. But an image captured by one family's. Most of my original Questions of the Month for the last several 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. 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. The State argues that there is no physical evidence, and no credible photographs. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Arkansas isnt somewhere that we would generally think of when looking for mountain lions, but they are on the rebound! The 'look' is from my Caribou remains, dated by radiocarbon in excess of 10,000 B.C. Two different people told me that they, or a close relative, had seen pumas on more than one occasion. Phineas Teeple of Manchester Township is thought to have killed the last wolf in Wayne County. There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. Known as the Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania, there are four trails that lead to the cascades from the Bushkill Falls trailhead, each ranging in . Scientists debate whether the large prehistoric mammals became extinct at the end of the Ice Age due to over-hunting, or rapid climate warming. Are there Mountain Lions (Pumas, Cougars) in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic States? Mountain lions can live in almost any habitat including forests, prairies, deserts, and swamps. Did they migrate south from Canada? You be the judge. Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included. Recently the US Fish and Wildlife Service formally declared the Eastern Puma an extinct species, except for the remnant population in Florida. What equipment do we take in the field? 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. "It was in Worthington State Forest just across the Delaware River from Smithfield Beach). I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one. An escapee is also possible. 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. Confirmed cougar sightings have increased in the Midwest and Great Lakes states in recent years.". . I've spoken to PGC personnel, two being friends, and neither believe there are pumas in Pa. One cited how a bobcat's tail can be much longer than you expect, although I've never seen a bobcat tail longer than, at most, twice the size of the tails illustrated above of the bobcat. 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. I usually follow-up on these reports and, via email or phone conversations, I receive more details. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, there are no wild, breeding cougar populations in this state anymore. He saw a big cat. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. While the chances that I'll ever see a puma in Pennsylvania myself are virtually zero, I'm always on the alert -- for the bobcat I've never seen in Pa., for a fisher, bear, deer, red salamander, toad, or snake, and yes, I'm always hoping that I too will become one of those who saw something that officially cannot exist within the state, a puma I know I saw but, of course, could not have! Me? 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. "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. Who knows? September 21st, 2008, 08:14 PM #74. Bobcats tend to be darker brown, with lighter belly fur and spots while mountain lions tend to be more uniform brown, tawny color. with a fluted projectile point were found near Middletown, Orange County, New York. These experiences are still available, but the reality is there is so much more for the mature traveler to enjoy in the Pocono Mountains. The State cites that there are no road-kills, and in a heavily trafficed state like Pennsylvania there should be kills. Only when I reviewed the images on my laptop did I discover that I had a mountain lion! Currently, mountain lions seem to be making a comeback in regard to their historic range. 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. Then there is Rocky. All of the above images are of bobcats. They include a reported attack on horses at a farm near Dillsburg, York County, that Foster thinks may be legitimate. Asa Packer Mansion Jim Thorpe. The last known mountain lion in Pennsylvania was killed in Berks County in 1874. Let's say the facts indicate that there have been a lot of 'pet' pumas, and many of these escaped. The sightings were great bear views, but too fast or fleeting to allow me to grab a camera. "People think they can get them declawed and that they're safe, but they still have teeth.". What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? In January, the U.S. A dark brown puma, backlighted by a strong sun, could appear all black, or very dark, and he accepted that. 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. 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 Golden State has one of the largest populations of mountain lions in the country. Granted, the image is not great, and I used some Photoshop adjustment layers to enhance the image, making it a bit easier to see. So how or why could there be a conspiracy? 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.". There also were camels, sloth and hyena, which migrated elsewhere. And this genetic mix has been recognized, and the Florida puma is still protected. Is there a Puma conspiracy? In personal contacts, that monthly average might even be higher. 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. So what? Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Bushkill Falls Trail. Remember, this one was photographed in Arizona in good puma country, although this was the first one I've recorded there. And a bit of an unpleasant one at that, as they now faced ridicule or doubt whenever they discussed their sightings. (What is meant by "heads" is not clear.). There is no known estimate of the number of mountain lions inhabiting Texas. Bobcats, feral cats and domestic dogs may be misidentified as mountain lion. "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. Today, we are going to explore the 15 US states that have mountain lions, plus a few others that may have some. Features Writer Micaela Hood is signing off with the Pocono Record after five years of covering arts, culture, entertainment and sports in northeastern . Oregon has a large, stable breeding population of mountain lions. I'd love to hear of any reports you have. This happens usually around the 18-month mark. This ideal habitat allows for a large population of 2,000 mountain lions to thrive. I hope no one ever shoots a puma to prove their existence here, but I hope someone gets a great photo, of the cat, of a road-kill, of tracks, and that I see it. Colorado has a large number of mountain lions within its borders, mostly due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. 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. 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. The last native mountain lion known to be killed in Pennsylvania is on display in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. The state of Idaho is large, expansive, and full of rocky wilderness. Hopefully, we'll see the real thing. Certainly it is a romantic notion, but I've always held out the hope that pumas still roamed the east. Viewers can never be certain that what they're seeing on a computer is actually what it's purported to be. 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!' The bones were found perfectly preserved. Cougar vs Mountain Lion What Are the Differences? I believe that the folks that are reporting, in detail, their sightings are faced with a similar situation. Interesting, too, are the reports I've heard from people who were told that they would be in big trouble if they shot a puma. PHILADELPHIA (AP) An instinct coiled way down in the human brain knows the difference between a bobcat and a mountain lion. I'm wondering, then, if the complete dismissal of sightings of Eastern pumas (other than the acknowledgement of released or escaped pets) isn't motivated by economics. the more visible white on the chest, the lack of spots, the huge hind quarters. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. A typical home range is around 150 square miles for adult males and 50 square miles for adult females in our region. The Game Commission concluded they were coyotes. Interestingly, the US Fish and Wildllife Service has declared the Eastern Puma extinct, except for the Florida population known as the Florida panther. I don't know if a Game Commission authority has actually said this or not, but people I've spoken to have reported this. I've seen hoaxes, of pumas carrying deer shot with game cameras, but these were of western cats. 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 skeleton was reassembled at the State Museum, where it has been on display ever since. 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. They mostly live in the far western Trans-Pecos region of the state, with about 50,000 to 80,000 acres of suitable land currently being used by the cat. 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. Packer Hill Ave. Jim Thorpe, PA 18229. A total of 32 mountain lions have been struck and killed by vehicles in the study area since 2002. Who knows? 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. 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. 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. Biologists traced it. 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. And book one of these Poconos cabins rentals for the best outdoor access to these activities. There are also big swaths of thick of forests in parts of the state. Possibly, but it seems unlikely that enough would have been released or had escaped to make for a viable population. redo these pages to match the new web site But that's not "There hasn't been one solid piece of proof to believe they are here. The coat can be spotted or solid and varies in color from light browns, reddish and silvery grey. If we don't see it, it doesn't exist. One man, in the southwestern part of Pennsylvania, had seen one, at night, about 25 years ago. "It's fall bow-hunting season soon," he said. 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. Would a puma then qualify as a native species? Mountain lions live almost everywhere in the state of Washington. One of these days, though, I'll get one that won't be, and I hope that will be soon. Recently, on a back road in Pennsylvania, a friend and I had our first sighting of a coyote in Pennsylvania. At one point, there was debate whether that cat should be protected, since its genes were diluted from escapees or released pumas that originated in South America or our West. do I get an immediate, 'Oh yeah!' (National Park Service). As the latest hoaxed photo of a mountain lion supposedly killed in Pennsylvania died a slow death on Facebook yesterday, the head of an organization tracking the eastern movements of the big cats was preparing a presentation for a Pennsylvania audience tonight. It was decided that this shouldn't influence the decision and, in fact, an infusion of new genes produces a hybrid vigor, lessening the chance of in-breeding. Why do I advocate manual exposure so avidly? The Bushkill Falls are a series of eight waterfalls in a 300-acre wooded enclave hidden amongst the Poconos. 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. It had been captured in Florida, and was to be released. Any Truth Transient males have been sighted as far east as New York! Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The coat can be spotted or solid. The image in the Upper Left was from a Game Camera, sent to me by a friend. Goggling Eastern Puma brings up other web sites, however, with varying levels of professionalism or credibility. 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.". Among other uses, the tax was levied "for destroying wolves, foxes, heads and crows." Discover the Little-Known U.S. River Gorge That's, The 9 Best Books About National Parks for Travelers, mountain lions seem to be making a comeback. All of the above are Mountain Lions, or Pumas, or Cougars. It was estimated to be a young adult American Mastodon that had died about 12,000 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating. 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! This is huge news for conservationists around the country and a sign that cougars may be heading east once again. I've done this myself once, in Tanzania, when I saw a black house cat that I thought was a black leopard! "From people that I trust have had visual sightings, they've seen mountain lions.". ? 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. I believe Kross fully, but I wanted to hear more. Knowing that pumas range widely, would my ridge be the only one closed? There is a big community of mountain lion enthusiasts across the Northeast convinced that the animals still exist in breeding populations. A bobcat gives you a warm, that-kind-of-looks-like-my-cat-but-slightly-bigger feeling. Apparently, this picture was really making the rounds. The Pennsylvania Game Commission is always open to review evidence, but to date only hoaxes have crossed the PGC. This will be one of your best identification marks, along with size. Let's see a clear photo, or a carcass or something. 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. But the point of this article isn't whether or not mountain lions exist in Pennsylvania or the Poconos. What is the Kiboko backpack? Imagination? There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. Heres What the Data Says. Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. For example, one man I interviewed said he saw a 'black' puma, and this should disqualify his sighting as a black puma has never been recorded. There are an estimated 3,000 - 7,000 Mountain lions in Colorado. The rocky habitat that covers much of the state is perfect for these ambush predators, especially since humans dont inhabit much of the land. 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. If it were, it would be listed. 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. Like Arizona, New Mexico is the perfect home for mountain lions. Had this been faked, I'd suspect the hoaxter would try for a more authentic background. Newspapers carried stories in 1956 about hunters supposedly seeing and killing wolves in Pike and Monroe Counties. Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. 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. "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. What does a Puma (Mountain Lion) look like on a Game Camera? 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.