In 2016, a trail cam photo in South Jersey was later determined to show a house cat. Mountain Lions do remain in the western states and there is evidence that in 2011, a . She feeds and cares for them with donations and grants. I have seen Bobcats. The nearest breed population of cougars is in Nebraskas Niobrara River Valleynearly 1,000 miles from Pennsylvanias eastern border (Figure 1). Page 3 Pa Mountain Lion. Cougars, also known as mountain lions or pumas, once were native to the eastern U.S. Some have even reported seeing a "black panther," a near-impossibility because of the rarity of that recessive gene. Mountain lions once lived in much of the eastern United States. Bobcats are much smaller, only two to three feet long (head to tail) and one to two feet high at the shoulder. Still, people say they know what they saw out there. 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. The Everglades1,150 miles south of Pennsylvaniais the only known home to a breeding population of cougars in the East (Figure 1). This was hit by a truck on Mill Creek Road . "They are very strong animals," she said. Lion sightings they got. This cat had brown fur with a white underbelly, and a black, brown and white face. The mystery of whether wild eastern cougars, also commonly known as mountain lions, pumas, or panthers, really survive in the Keystone State might finally unravel. So, if a. 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. Ohio. "The day will come," he said, "when someone will pull the trigger on a mountain lion.". Reintroduction of the cougar (Felis concolor) in Adirondack Park: A problem analysis and recommendations. An Amish farmer along 944 in Cumberland County complained to the PGC a mountain lion was killing his sheep. A hunter and an angler, San Julian, like most other outdoorsmen and nature lovers, wants to believe wild mountain lions survive in the woods of Pennsylvania. The buzzards returned in late February, and Steve Pollick says you can mark your calendar by these scavengers exploits. They're common in the rural areas of the Lehigh Valley but are moving into more populated areas as evidenced by a600-pound specimen (pictured) that was tranquilized in March after neighbors in Forks Township and Easton's College Hill section called authorities. All rights reserved. A friend sent this to me. 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. I am not a drinker and dont di drugs. Murray has cared for four mountain lions since she took over. All rights reserved (About Us). But they're probably bobcats. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Pennsylvania had more than 7,300 confirmed cases of the disease in 2015. 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. San Julian dutifully follows up on every cougar report he can. Until recently, whenever the sighting of a mountain lion was reported in PA, the intial response from the PGC was to say the sighting was a misidentification. Follow Michael & PhillyVoice on Twitter @mtanen88| @thePhillyVoice If a mountain lion walks around an area enough, many different humans will notice. "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. Offer valid thru 3/31/23. Cougars distaste for humans runs so deep that a study found that simply playing talk radio was enough to get these cougars to permanently abandon what they were eating. Furthermore, a juvenile female has not been recorded in the Midwest, much less in Pennsylvania, without a change in this trend no breeding populations can be established. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Seventy to 80 percent of victims develop a rash. This number of car strikes is in spite of having low population densities and the significant efforts to reduce car strikes, such as reduced speed limits, warning signs, and obstacles (fences and road underpasses) built along or under roads that cut through panther habitat. And, if. PA game commission are nothing but liers they lie to the people all the time we need to do away with them turn it over to the government I do not trust our government but the game commission lies more, what appears to be very large lion tracks the PGC says photos were of a large dog I disagree I have a deer feeder and I think that is why they are all around my house, it seems every time my cousin mason and his buddies go camping they encounter oro see a mountian lion he says he swares the the cougar stalks them when they start walking through the woodsthey live in the northern part of pa in an little mountian town of treemont in schuylkill county we know there is mountian lions up there. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Do elk live in Pennsylvania? JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. "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. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The green shading represents areas with established breeding populations. "People think they can get them declawed and that they're safe, but they still have teeth.". If you ask me, the answer is yes. This offer only applies to OutdoorNews.com and not for any Outdoor News print subscriptions. A placard affixed to the fence outside Rocky's pen states that "cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by humans." Across . Upperparts are grizzled gray or dark brown to buff, cinnamon tawny, or rufous. Recent post: Why Is It Called Beaver Stadium? Jr. 2012. A second photo of the cat, though shaded, appears to show more of a splotchy coloration on the animal's front limb. It had recently killed a buck and was dragging it across the road. State Farm insurancecalculates that one out of every 67 drivers in Pennsylvania had a claim related to a deer collision in 2016. A placard affixed to the fence outside Rocky's pen states that "cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by humans." Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. The only animal with a similar sized track is the black bear. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the eastern cougar extinct. While living in Potter County, Pennsylvania and riding my horses. The most recent sighting of a mountain lion in Georgia happened in 2008 when a hunter was out looking for deer. Adult females can be 7 feet long and weigh between . 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. Coyotes are also confused for cougars (Figure 2). Dispersal can be mean treks as long as 1,000 miles in search of territory. Passed 10 feet in front of us. There have been no "confirmed" reports of mountain lions, AKA Puma concolor, in Pennsylvania since the late 1800s. "I hear rumors all the time about mountain lion sightings," said Brian Anderson, deputy game protector for Northumberland County. She also houses a bobcat named Nia she took in from a couple who couldn't handle her. "Thus a rural legend is perpetuated. Then there is Rocky. They can be easily differentiated by the size of their size (large house cats only weigh 30lb and raccoons 20lbs) and their tails (cougar tails are much longer and wiry). Body coloration can range from tan to gray and cubs are usually covered with blackish brown spots. You know I love hunting when I was younger in Pennsylvania but trying to kill the very last animal shows a sign of being inbred. "A cougar or puma is like a UFO with four feet." The track of a cougar found in Michigans Upper Peninsula (photo credit: Michigan Department of Natural Resources). (The fear of cougars is unfounded. Paws 'N' Claws Animal Park in the Poconos has two. One was spotted late Tuesday in Hamilton near a bus stop. Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents have periodically reported big cat sightings to local police, prompting minor scares that can last a few days. The Fort Worth Star-Telegraph reports on a mountain lion sighting in April 2022. If you're hiking, stay on the path and don't venture into the woods. Hildreth says the animals are capable of moving long distances across the state. The hikers did not see the prey animal, but the mountain lion was focused and had zeroed in on something in the bushes. 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. Im 62 and hunted most of my life here in PA. Dont EVER expect to get the truth from anyone with Game departments in any U.S. state. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Dashboard for displaying mountain lion reports to the public. Get started. The Florida panther reached a population low of 20-30 individuals in 1970s, and currently are between 120-200 sub-adults and adults. The bobcat wouldn't survive. Theyre not predators, but if one runs out in front of your moving car it can certainly pose a threat to your safety. U.S. Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Denise Kunzig, who lives in Orchard Valley on. While juvenile males do make long journeys when they are young, they rarely make it to the Lake States (Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin). A coyote or bobcat is a little shorter than a tire and roughly one and half the length of tire. Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Was running and had very long stride, at least 6 foot. The report says 58 people suffered allergic reactions and died from stings in Pennsylvania between 2001-13. All rights reserved. The eastern massasauga is endangered in Pennsylvania. 2021. but they have a tail thats almost as long as their body, and this animal clearly is lacking a tail," Taylor said. A cougar or puma is like a UFO with four feet.. San Julian can even send scat to be tested for cougar DNA. Share on Social When I say large, I mean way bigger than a house cat, about the size of a 60lb dog. 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