The last known mountain lion in Pennsylvania was killed in Berks County in 1874. Instead, the person usually pauses, sometimes with a sheepish or embarrassed expression on his face, and seems reluctant to continue. When I first discovered this fresh carcass I examined it for throat punctures, thinking that it may have been killed by a puma. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. I've seen scores of leopards in the grasslands and deserts of East Africa and I've never seen, nor spoke with anyone, who has seen a black leopard there. This happens usually around the 18-month mark. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Most nature magazines state whether the photos were taken "under controlled conditions" rather than in the wild.). 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! But even without that second look there was no question that we'd seen a coyote. In the forests of Kenya, however, they do occur. Where they always here as a relic population? Wyoming has a historically stable population of mountain lions, but recent drops in numbers have caused some to worry. Possibly, but it seems unlikely that enough would have been released or had escaped to make for a viable population. Oregon has a large, stable breeding population of mountain lions. These color morphs are most common in rain forests and jungles. Outdoor adventures abound, and so do our fabulous shopping and restaurants. Most of my original Questions of the Month for the last several A second image of the same cat, in a different light, reveals the trademark spots of a bobcat. 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. Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. There are controlled hunting laws in the state of Oregon. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The large tracts of untouched rocky land and bighorn sheep populations make for pristine mountain lion habitat. "We've been here 45 years and I've probably been told by people at least 100 times that they've seen a cougar or mountain lion," said owner Vince Hall. A mastodon's skull was first located in Marshalls Creek, Monroe County, on July 5, 1968. The claim of mountain lions on the move was bolstered in 2009 when one was killed by a car in Greenwich, Conn. The image in the Upper Left was from a Game Camera, sent to me by a friend. 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. Mountain lions, Goodrich wrote, were more dreaded than wolves as the cat could climb over any fence that could be built. 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. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Imagine my surprise. with a fluted projectile point were found near Middletown, Orange County, New York. 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. However, if it doesn't exist, and if someone saw one, wouldn't there be a worry that it was a dangerous escapee? DCNR gave the following as examples: the saber-tooth cat; a small, three-toed horse; the Pleistocene beaver, and the mastodon. Mountain lions thrive there due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. Where reports dating that far back from escapees? Do Mountain Lions Attack Humans? The hunting policy of the state may be the cause of the dropping population, and pressure on the Fish and Game Commission has increased. I'm thinking of the solution often suggested for pesky endangered species out west, namely wolves and grizzly bears. Colorado is the perfect habitat for mountain lions. I'll offer my own little anecdote. "There hasn't been one solid piece of proof to believe they are here. At one time this fact almost resulted in this cat not being protected, since it wasn't a pure strain. Only when I reviewed the images on my laptop did I discover that I had a mountain lion! I'll be anxious to learn of your report. Compare any game camera image with the shots above, or this game camera image, to confirm your identification. The State argues that there is no physical evidence, and no credible photographs. 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. Among those who have investigated the primeval times of the Pocono Plateau and Delaware River valleys and tributaries was the late Vernon Leslie, Ph.D., a Wayne County historian and archaeologist. 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. Bobcats, feral cats and domestic dogs may be misidentified as mountain lion. 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. So how or why could there be a conspiracy? 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. One man, in the southwestern part of Pennsylvania, had seen one, at night, about 25 years ago. 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. The Game Commission concluded they were coyotes. A few could, perhaps, be mistaken idenity. 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. I don't know if a Game Commission authority has actually said this or not, but people I've spoken to have reported this. The last documented sighting of an eastern cougar was one killed in Maine in 1938. 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?' Reports generally go uninvestigated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which discounts them as mistaken identities, illegal pets escaped or released and outright fabrications. 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. In personal contacts, that monthly average might even be higher. Mountain lions have an interesting life cycle that consists of a few different characteristics. All rights reserved (About Us). In all those hours I never saw a coyote, bear, or bobcat, and yet all live in my area. 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. A placard affixed to the fence outside Rocky's pen states that "cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by humans." Hunting is legal in the state, but it is heavily controlled and restricted. 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. Claws 'N' Paws Animal Park in Lake Ariel has two. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? She feeds and cares for them with donations and grants. But no one that I've communicated with had these preconceptions, and seeing what they saw was a complete surprise. I've know of reports since 1973, in Cooke Forest, the heart of a lot of Pa. wilderness. I love the big cats and devote a huge amount of my field time photographing African lions, leopards, cheetahs, and in 2011, tigers. As you can see from the above images it is very difficult to confuse the two if you have a good view. Joseph Pugliese 2.2K views 7 years ago Beautiful Bobcat in our yard as our. Every year we receive a few similar reports from hikers, hunters or other outdoor enthusiasts. In many regions, the population within the state is actually increasing! (570) 325-3229. 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. 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. Is there a Mountain Lion Conspiracy? Currently, mountain lions seem to be making a comeback in regard to their historic range. 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. Known as the Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania, there are four trails that lead to the cascades from the Bushkill Falls trailhead, each ranging in . He saw a big cat. There are an estimated 3,000 - 7,000 Mountain lions in Colorado. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, there are no wild, breeding cougar populations in this state anymore. Again, I've been told that some Game Commission personnel have admitted that pumas may exist in Pennsylvania, but they rationalize this by saying that the pumas are not breeding and they are not from original wild stock. Let me know if you have seen one! What would account for the long tails? These cubs are born blind and helpless. Hopefully, we'll see the real thing. I can't dismiss the eye-witnesses I've interviewed. Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. Did they migrate south from Canada? Most of the people I've spoken with live in this belt, but biologists friends I've spoken with have told me of their own reports, first-hand, from hunters in the Poconos who saw pumas, too. "The cougars examined in the Northeast in the past 70 years are likely released or escaped captives. 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. ", (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. 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 an image captured by one family's. Over 1,100 people follow her page. 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. 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. Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. 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. 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. A phantom creature has been sighted in the vast Delaware State Forest region of Pike County. You would think someone would have a picture on a trail camera or whatever. He's sitting in a plastic doghouse, paws crossed, amber eyes locked on the two men ticking him off by their mere presence out beyond the fence. But the point of this article isn't whether or not mountain lions exist in Pennsylvania or the Poconos. He wrote that not being a roving animal, the mountain lion was much sooner destroyed than the wolf, and he said that if there were any left, it would have to be in the most desolate places in the county. Angel, her African lioness who snarls at strangers, is a big girl. The other two clans were the Turtle and Turkey. Recent post: Why Is It Called Beaver Stadium? There is a small breeding population in the state, despite being killed off in the 1920s. However, if you've seen a mountain lion, or other mystery creature, or evidence of either, in Pennsylvania, contact outdoor writer Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com.). Can so many people be so wrong? Albinos are often very light sensitive, and they certainly are conspicuous, and most do not live very long. There are at least 20,000 black bears in Pa., and a small percentage are killed each year, but we're probably not talking about 20,000 pumas in the state. And, some may be escaped or illegally released pets. At one time this fact almost resulted in this cat not being protected, since it wasn't a pure strain. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? Let's say the facts indicate that there have been a lot of 'pet' pumas, and many of these escaped. Would a puma then qualify as a native species? And yet today the debate continues: Are there mountain lions in Pennsylvania? 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! A Mountain Lion Cover Up 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. 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 learn more about "lion country" in Colorado check here. Everyone else, when reporting, were frustrated as they were told they had seen a bobcat. Are the various States guilty of essentially the same thing? See also: "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. If you see or photograph a puma in the mid-Atlantic states, please email or call me. Confirmed cougar sightings have increased in the Midwest and Great Lakes states in recent years.". "People think they can get them declawed and that they're safe, but they still have teeth.". The last native mountain lion known to be killed in Pennsylvania is on display in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. I don't want to seem like a nut case here, but I must ask this question and you'll soon understand why? Here's a glimpse at what long-gone Pocono beasts the region's very first wave of residents may have seen, and the wild things that followed up to as late as the early 20th century. Encouraged by the bounties, settlers waged war on these perceived beasts. It wasn't, and I assumed it was a road-kill. More Questions about Pumas in Pennsylvania. 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. In 2016, a trail cam photo in South Jersey was later determined to show a house cat. The bones were found perfectly preserved. 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. As they get older, the cubs begin to leave the den and explore. a high priority. So, couldn't that same argument apply to pumas in the Northeast? 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. Why is bat photography so difficult? One came to her as the result of an owner's divorce. 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. Newspapers carried stories in 1956 about hunters supposedly seeing and killing wolves in Pike and Monroe Counties. Both were a threat to the farmer and family who carved a home in the ancient wilderness of the Poconos. That's true. Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania? A total of 32 mountain lions have been struck and killed by vehicles in the study area since 2002. Thank you for reading! 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. 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. And this genetic mix has been recognized, and the Florida puma is still protected. Wishful thinking? Puma vs Mountain Lion: Is There a Difference? Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? The Pennsylvania Game Commission is always open to review evidence, but to date only hoaxes have crossed the PGC. Some have even reported seeing a "black panther," a near-impossibility because of the rarity of that recessive gene. However, recently I saw a photo of a melanistic bobcat, as black as could be, with bright yellow eyes. Packer Hill Ave. Jim Thorpe, PA 18229. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. Goodrich said he once saw a mountain lion spring from a thicket and kill a sheep on a public road. Would these ridges be declared off-limits for hunting? The Pocono Mountains are . Like Arizona, New Mexico is the perfect home for mountain lions. On the other hand, there are probably thousands of game cameras covering water holes and game trails throughout Pennsylvania, and to my knowledge no one has yet recorded a puma. The sightings were great bear views, but too fast or fleeting to allow me to grab a camera. 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. 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. 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). He knows and was familiar with bobcats, and it was not a weird house cat that he and his friends misjudged in size. Controlled hunting of mountain lions is allowed within the state. Would that declaration close that ridge to hunting? The last native mountain lion known to be killed in Pennsylvania is on display in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. "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. 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. There is a big community of mountain lion enthusiasts across the Northeast convinced that the animals still exist in breeding populations. Have all of those who have seen a puma really seen a bobcat? Mountain lions live almost everywhere in the state of Washington. "They're getting a lot of that out west. 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. The bounty for adult wolves and cougars was raised on March 16, 1819 to $12. This, after they were told that there were no pumas in Pa. On that, I've had emails sent with game trail photo attachments, or killed pumas, supposedly shot in Pennsylvania, but these were hoaxes. the more visible white on the chest, the lack of spots, the huge hind quarters. 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. 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. 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. Mountain Lions do remain in the western states and there is evidence that in 2011, a mountain lion migrated about 1,500 miles from South Dakota to Connecticut where it was killed by a. 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. In only one report had an official from the Pennsylvania Game Commision, a local warden, actually agree with the person reporting the sighting. The cat is known to live in the western U.S. and Florida, South America and Canada. The story behind our new web site. 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! Both sheep and young cattle fell prey to wolves, unless they were under constant watch. Two different people told me that they, or a close relative, had seen pumas on more than one occasion. Bobcats tend to be darker brown, with lighter belly fur and spots while mountain lions tend to be more uniform brown, tawny color. But this one was black, and he knows mountain lions are some variant of brown. A typical home range is around 150 square miles for adult males and 50 square miles for adult females in our region. 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. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? He said he'd never forget the sighting, but it was only when he saw another, a few months ago, in daylight, from his cabin, that he decided it was time to tell someone. 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. 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. However, if you've seen a mountain lion, or other mystery creature, or evidence of either, in Pennsylvania, contact outdoor writer Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com.). When he told me this, he commented on how an experience like the one he and his friends had just is not forgotten. Several populations of Gray Squirrels scattered around the country are black, and recently I heard of a neighborhood of black Eastern Chipmunks. Woolly mammoth bones were discovered in Bradford County in 1983. She also houses a bobcat named Nia she took in from a couple who couldn't handle her. Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions. A Game Commission vehicle was there, and the Fed Ex driver, after reaching the bottom of a long hill, turned back to check on what he saw. 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. There are also big swaths of thick of forests in parts of the state. They are generally believed to be young cats roaming in search of new breeding territories to claim as their own. Cougar Network tracks mountain lion expansion from the western U.S. to the east. "It was in Worthington State Forest just across the Delaware River from Smithfield Beach). I believe them. One of the three branches or clans of the Lenape Tribe at the end of the 17th century was known as the Wolf (Minsi). According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. 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.