There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. 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. As you can see from the above images it is very difficult to confuse the two if you have a good view. It has the color of a mountain lion, but the long tail appears to be missing. Depends on who you talk to, I guess. They mostly live in the far western Trans-Pecos region of the state, where they can freely roam 50,000 to 80,000 acres of land. I spend a lot of time outdoors, and I've seen about 10 black bears in Pennsylvania, and all within ten miles of my home. Bobcats tend to be darker brown, with lighter belly fur and spots while mountain lions tend to be more uniform brown, tawny color. I receive about one email or phone call a month, on average, from people that I do not know who are contacting me because their sighting compelled them to do a Google search on puma sightings, and they found my site and previously posted questions. 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). Wishful thinking? I believe them. Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. At one time this fact almost resulted in this cat not being protected, since it wasn't a pure strain. 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 . You be the judge. "People think they can get them declawed and that they're safe, but they still have teeth.". All rights reserved. "From people that I trust have had visual sightings, they've seen mountain lions.". The claim of mountain lions on the move was bolstered in 2009 when one was killed by a car in Greenwich, Conn. If so, what would happen to the hunting industry in all of these states? Both sheep and young cattle fell prey to wolves, unless they were under constant watch. The large, undeveloped interior filled with rocky habitats perfect for mountain lions allows them to safely live and breed. What do I think of the Canon 1D Mark IV? The coat can be spotted or solid. Melanism is the reverse, where there is an abundance of dark or black pigmentation. Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead? The hunting policy of the state may be the cause of the dropping population, and pressure on the Fish and Game Commission has increased. Where they always here as a relic population? The photographer had no reason to stage the shot -- indeed, the composition and background was terrible, and not what you'd expect for something staged, but the shot wasn't perfectly clear. Lions in the Santa Monica Mountains - National Park Service Colby is a freelance writer from Charlotte, North Carolina. Is it the New Best Pack? Something to consider, even though we all trust the government. Albinos are often very light sensitive, and they certainly are conspicuous, and most do not live very long. I can't dismiss the eye-witnesses I've interviewed. 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. The Bushkill Falls are a series of eight waterfalls in a 300-acre wooded enclave hidden amongst the Poconos. The Mountain Lion is a large, slender cat with a smallish head and noticeably long tail. And book one of these Poconos cabins rentals for the best outdoor access to these activities. The next day, the photo disappeared from the site. Here, they've not been," Lau said in an e-mail. Never has this been more accurate than in today's digital, computerized world. (National Park Service). Mountain lions are 7-9 feet, while bobcats are 3 feet long. 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. Erosion from glacial melt and violence glaciers did to the land left a. The 'look' is from my The rocky habitat that covers much of the state is perfect for these ambush predators, especially since humans dont inhabit much of the land. However, if it doesn't exist, and if someone saw one, wouldn't there be a worry that it was a dangerous escapee? People can manipulate, enhance or combine photos and then create their own stories about the subject's origin, location and even identification. There also were camels, sloth and hyena, which migrated elsewhere. The earliest wave arrived at the end of the last Ice Age; the last wave is the Lenape or Delaware Tribe, which made contact with colonial settlers in the 1600s. Learn more about us & read our affiliate disclosure. 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. Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. A dark brown puma, backlighted by a strong sun, could appear all black, or very dark, and he accepted that. He knows and was familiar with bobcats, and it was not a weird house cat that he and his friends misjudged in size. 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. Mountain Lion Population (In Each U.S. State) - Wildlife Informer Mountain Lions - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service) More Questions about Pumas in Pennsylvania 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. 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. Suppose, instead of declaring the puma, or Eastern mountain lion, extinct, the USFWS actually recognized the existence of the cat as a wild, breeding species. Currently, there are only 15 states that meet that qualification. 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? The first is the mating season which can occur during the late to early spring months. Its fur is a light, tawny brown color which can appear gray or almost black, depending on light conditions. You've got a mountain lion story or photo? Recently, on a back road in Pennsylvania, a friend and I had our first sighting of a coyote in Pennsylvania. They regularly join the camp of those angrily claiming the commission has introduced the big cats back into Pennsylvania as a control measure against the state's huge deer population. Where reports dating that far back from escapees? 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. That solution: Shoot, Shovel, and Shut Up. Of course, the writer's comments were hearsay, but it does make sense. In the wild, adult mountain lions can weigh anywhere from 65 to 220 pounds. 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. Let's see a clear photo, or a carcass or something. 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. In many regions, the population within the state is actually increasing! During this time, male mountain lions will travel in search of females. Two other reports went, in detail, on what they saw, the size, the length of tail, etc. They ponder rare fossil evidence unearthed and seek to make sense of stratified geology, both fleeting in the face of what we call progress. It has long been popular with honeymooners, but today the Poconos are a popular destination for families, skiers, adventure seekers, NASCAR fans, and those from urban areas around New England, New York City, Philadelphia . Have some feedback for us? 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. On the second night, a mountain lion passed by, apparently drawn by the smell but put off by the stench, as the cat did not visit the kill. Why is bat photography so difficult? 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. Granted, the image is not great, and I used some Photoshop adjustment layers to enhance the image, making it a bit easier to see. Most of my original Questions of the Month for the last several The reintroduction of mountain lions into South Dakota is one of the great wins of modern conservation. Asa Packer Mansion Jim Thorpe. 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. Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included. All rights reserved (About Us). Mountain lions typically eat about one deer per week, along with other smaller prey as the opportunity arises. If pumas do exist in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, could they all be released cats or escapees? 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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. In August, Amy Walters said her 12-year-old son was spooked by a mountain lion in Forest County in northwest Pennsylvania while riding his dirt bike. 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. Viewers can never be certain that what they're seeing on a computer is actually what it's purported to be. The last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions - AZ Animals Most, quite honestly, don't know or can't believe or accept what they saw, they really can't believe their eyes. Every year we receive a few similar reports from hikers, hunters or other outdoor enthusiasts. 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. Cougar Network tracks mountain lion expansion from the western U.S. to the east. DCNR gave the following as examples: the saber-tooth cat; a small, three-toed horse; the Pleistocene beaver, and the mastodon. In January, the U.S. Below is a list of physical characteristics that distinguish mountain lions from more . I want to believe they're here, but I'm having some trouble. Do elk live in Pennsylvania? The first settlers kept sheep to supply their household with wool. "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. 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. 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. 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? This ideal habitat allows for a large population of 2,000 mountain lions to thrive. Bigfoot, mountain lions and other cryptids in PA "Likewise, I'm not aware of any escapes from captive facilities in my time here. I love the big cats and devote a huge amount of my field time photographing African lions, leopards, cheetahs, and in 2011, tigers. What does a Puma (Mountain Lion) look like on a Game Camera? Nevertheless, I put up a MOULTRIE game camera -- a brand that I've had tremendous satisfaction with -- at the carcass, hoping that scavengers would visit. They often would catch sheep in broad daylight. He saw a big cat. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? The Cascade Mountains are an important habitat for mountain lions in the region, and a stable population lives within the state. Mt Lions in WV, NY, and PA - Hoot Hollow 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. 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. 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. Many have a desire to see some clear-cut evidence. In only one report had an official from the Pennsylvania Game Commision, a local warden, actually agree with the person reporting the sighting. Florida is the only state on the east coast with a breeding population of mountain lions. The other three images are from my file, selected to most closely approximate the pose of the cat from the game camera. For many who have believed to have seen a cougar in the wilds of the Poconos, these arguments might be less than convincing. 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. 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?' Over 1,100 people follow her page. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Colorado has a large number of mountain lions within its borders, mostly due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. 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.". Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? It is an Italianate Villa home that features authentic Victorian furniture and finishing. In captivity mountain, lions can live to be about 20 years old. 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. 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. 25 Best Things to Do in The Pocono Mountains Area (for 2023) Goggling Eastern Puma brings up other web sites, however, with varying levels of professionalism or credibility. But more importantly, he also said that regardless of color, he saw a big cat, with a tail that looked to be about 4 feet long! Mountain Lion (Puma concolor) - Texas Same story as 'black panthers' across the country, because of course there, scientifically, can be no such thing. Eastern mountain lion officially declared extinct - pennlive.com 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? Encouraged by the bounties, settlers waged war on these perceived beasts. The sightings were great bear views, but too fast or fleeting to allow me to grab a camera. In the map above, I collected data from the state and on the federal level to find state parks . While there have been no confirmed occurrences of mountain lions in Pennsylvania since the late 1800s, dozens . In 2016, a trail cam photo in South Jersey was later determined to show a house cat. Cougar vs Mountain Lion What Are the Differences? If it were, it would be listed. 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. There are also big swaths of thick of forests in parts of the state. Bushkill Falls Trail. "They preyed upon the caribou, and probably the mastodon," Leslie wrote of these large animals flourishing on the grasses and cold-climate flora that sprouted following the glacier's retreat. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. It seems unlikely, considering captives have never shown this trait, but people are reporting big black cats. Here's more about mountain lions in Pennsylvania: If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. All rights reserved (About Us). Those special two were across a river just outside Glacier National Park in Montana, and consisted of a mother and two cubs (Mary saw both cubs, I only saw one, and we did so separately, as we were driving two vehicles). Heres What the Data Says. Bobcats, feral cats and domestic dogs may be misidentified as mountain lion. 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. Reports generally go uninvestigated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which discounts them as mistaken identities, illegal pets escaped or released and outright fabrications. It had been captured in Florida, and was to be released. Thank you for reading! 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? At the end of the last Ice Age, many animals in Pennsylvania died out. And, some may be escaped or illegally released pets. Although there was no evidence that the 2011 mountain lion ever set foot in Pennsylvania, DNA evidence confirmed that it had been both west and east of the state. However, recently I saw a photo of a melanistic bobcat, as black as could be, with bright yellow eyes. Big cats in Pennsylvania: mountain lions or bobcats? - Pocono Record 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. 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. 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. Who knows? It was recorded in Minnesota and Wisconsin in late 2009 and early 2010, and then died in Connecticut in 2011. Imagination? Can so many people be so wrong? 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. There are deserts, mountains, and swamps in the state of Utah, all of which are suitable for mountain lions. ARE THERE MOUNTAIN LIONS IN PA? - Page 8 - Pennsylvania Firearm Owners 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. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. As a state known for its mountains, its no wonder that mountain lions live here! Good luck, and let me know! Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. 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. Well, right behind our property lies a mountain ridge, one of several that makes a continuous forest that extends, with little interruption, for scores of miles in three directions. 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. Imagine my surprise. Mountain lions thrive there due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. PHILADELPHIA (AP) An instinct coiled way down in the human brain knows the difference between a bobcat and a mountain lion. All of the above images are of bobcats. At one time mountain lions, or more properly puma (Puma concolor), enjoyed the widest geographic range of any New World mammal, and were found throughout all of the contiguous United States. Hoax photo doesn't help believability of mountain lions in Poconos Sadly, the hunting guidelines for cougars in Idaho are lax, with 400-600 cats being killed each year. Other states have had sightings, especially as mountain lion populations begin to explore and look to expand. 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. 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. On that note, I was speaking with a Fed Ex driver recently who told me that one of his colleagues had seen what he swore was a dead mountain lion on the side of a road. 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. So many of these sightings have been proven wrong misidentified bobcats, coyotes or even house cats) that it would be irresponsible for a biologist to accept any of them as fact without absolute physical evidence hair, droppings, tracks or a road-killed animal. 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. What would account for the long tails? 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. Pocono Record sports writer Mike Kuhns wrote a great piece on Oct. 14, "Does the mountain lion roam PA?" Today, we are going to explore the 15 US states that have mountain lions, plus a few others that may have some. I'm a photographer, yet I've never had a chance to snap a photograph of one of these bears. 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. In 2015, a Pennsylvania State Historical Marker was placed near the site where the mastodon was found. One came to her as the result of an owner's divorce. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead.