They are not a threat to humans, and they are a protected species. You read it here first: Mountain lions still exist in Pennsylvania: Just prior to the start of Pennsylvanias two-week firearms deer season, the volunteers at the Eastern Puma Research Network put out a call to hunters. Cougars were officially declared extinct east of the Mississippi in the 1930s. In one case out of Reading, a sighting of an apparent cheetah turned out to be an African serval that was likely bred and domesticated illegally. Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-865-1068 fax, http://aginfo.psu.edu/news/august01/lion.tif. "The day will come," he said, "when someone will pull the trigger on a mountain lion.". One came to her as the result of an owner's divorce. In 2016, a trail cam photo in South Jersey was later determined to show a house cat. Then another friend told me his daughter who lives in Clymer PA saw a Game Commission truck go into the woods with a large cage in the back with a mountain lion in the cage. A placard affixed to the fence outside Rocky's pen states that "cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by humans." In the wild, adult mountain lions can weigh anywhere from 65 to 220 pounds. Cover Image: A cougar in Michigans Upper Peninsula (photo credit: Michigan DNR). Over 1,100 people follow her page. "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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. If you see a bobcat or mountain lion, you can report the sighting to the DEC by calling (518) 357-2158. . "The coloration and the shape of the head lean toward mountain lion(Felis concolor)but they have a tail thats almost as long as their body, and this animal clearly is lacking a tail," Taylor said. Eastern coyotes are prevalent in Pennsylvania. Their conclusion: Sir, you dont have a mountain lion. A week later the farmer shot the mountain lion. Isolated juvenile males have been found as far east as Michigans Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin. 3 Last 10 Years. A 2011 study examined cougar attacks across the US and Canada and found that since 1890, there have been only 29 confirmed fatalities.) But after consultations with biologists inside and outside the university, he determined it was an unusual bear track showing just four toes and no claws. Home Pennsylvania Opinion Search for cougarscontinues in Pennsylvania, If youre a regular reader of this publication, or one of my neighbors, then you already know my father and, A fish may see a parade of presentations go by, therefore yours should be better than the rest. This content is restricted to subscribers of OutdoorNews.com. The cougar was photographed as it made its way from Minnesota to Wisconsin. near-impossibility because of the rarity of that recessive gene. Hard evidence that wild, free-ranging mountain lions are living in the state they did not. Still, you just never know". All rights reserved. They helped to keep prey populations in balance, which created a more diverse and better functioning ecosystem that could respond to disturbances. The bobcat wouldn't survive. The Florida panther reached a population low of 20-30 individuals in 1970s, and currently are between 120-200 sub-adults and adults. Black bear can be easily told apart from cougars: black bears have five toes to cougars four and their footpads are more elongated. Then I saw and was like, 'It could be a bobcat, possibly mountain lion,' " Nick Dodge said. "It's probably a bobcat, but looks like a mountain lion," Nick Dodge told the station. Since the policy's inception March 1, 19 mountain lion sightings have been reported. Evanitsky, M.N., George, R.J., Johnson, S., Dowell, S., and Perry, G.H. Between 1995 and 2021, there have been 34 mountain lion sightings in Iowa," he says. Mountain Lions do remain in the western states and there is evidence that in 2011, a . The distance traveled varies based on habitat, time of year, and study methods. . Ohio. State wildlife authorities have no record of the incident and the promised cougar carcass never arrived. Pennsylvania had more than 7,300 confirmed cases of the disease in 2015. Someone photographed the animal at the Brunswick School on Greenwich, Connecticut about 40 miles away on June 5th. It can be difficult to tell how large an animal is in a photo, so it is best to use a known object as a scale. Secondly, the sightings of mountain lions are likely the result of escaped or released animals that were once captive. Cougars are kept in captivity by a few people, but these cats are large agile wild animals that are not suited to captivity. The mountain lion is a very large, slender cat with a small head, small rounded ears that are not tufted, very powerful shoulders and hindquarters, and a long, heavy, cylindrical tail. How to find mountain lion sightings near me Open Google Maps on your computer or APP, just type an address or name of a place . And, if. On some investigations, Foster has teamed up with Stacey Griffiths, who started the Central PA Mountain Lion Sightings page earlier this year. "With all of that said, though, there's a general lack of evidence of mountain lions in Pennsylvania. The easiest way toavoid Lyme disease is to avoid ticks altogether. Crews help rescue bulldog from Hellertown underground tank, Pa. among 13 states hit by illness linked to pet turtles. 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. Its so hard to pin anything down, said John Lutz, the West Virginia man who heads the network, a non-scientific affiliation of mountain lion seekers across the eastern United States. Recent confirmed sightings of mountain lions in North Dakota are about 20-40 per year. This photo of a cougar was taken in Michigans Upper Peninsula (photos obtained by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources). "They are very strong animals," she said. Some biologists thinks it's time to bring them back to help manage deer populations. 83 responses. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 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. Pennsylvania would be incredibly difficult for cougars to reach. From PD: Read your article about mountain lions in NJ. 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. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. If you are already an OutdoorNews.com subscriber, you can log in here. Body coloration can range from tan to gray and cubs are usually covered with blackish brown spots. You can also identify the venomous snakes of Pennsylvania by their vertical pupils, similar to the pupils in cats' eyes. So, if you live close to here please keep this in mind while you are hiking or walking along the wooded areas. Your email address will not be published. Here, they've not been," Lau said in an e-mail. Mountain lions inhabited the state of Texas before European settlers arrived and the Native Americans in the area hunted them for clothing, shelter and blankets. I saw a large black cat about the size of a mediym sized dog walking towards my car in pike county We heard the fox screaming multiple times before we saw it. This was yesterday around 5pm 11/6/19. The tail of the cat is an excellent identification tool: cougars have two- to three-foot-long wiry tails with a black tip, and bobcats have a short bobbed tail that is only three to eight inches long. Add Michael's RSS feed to your feed reader Still, people say they know what they saw out there. A bobcat or coyote would fit within two or three red pines. The mountain lion is also known as cougar, panther, or puma. Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. Mountain lions are commonly identified by trail camera photographs, tracks, and feces. It's 90-something degrees, but Rocky's stare feels like ice down your pants. Expand. The track of a cougar found in Michigans Upper Peninsula (photo credit: Michigan Department of Natural Resources). Journal of Mammalogy 97(5):1435-1440. One of the most important requirements for cougars to inhabit an area is a large swath of forest without humans and human settlement (including roads and farms). They wanted to hear from anyone who saw a mountain lion or signs of one, like tracks or scats. Turkey vultures return to Ohio a sure harbinger of the coming spring? Idaho Fish and Game officers and personnel responded to . 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. Collection. "I hear rumors all the time about mountain lion sightings," said Brian Anderson, deputy game protector for Northumberland County. Human-Wildlife Interactions 5(1) 135-158. Tan shading indicates regions where dispersing juveniles have been sighted, but there are no established populations in these areas. While it is possible for a cougar to make this journey, it is highly unlike for individuals to survive the journey. Coyotes are much smaller, and they have shorter fluffier tails, a pointed face, and large triangular ears. at least 1 mountain lion hanging out near a relatively fresh, mostly eaten deer . 1. They denied there was a mountain lion in their truck. State officials question the lack of proof from recent sightings. They wanted to hear from anyone who saw a mountain lion or signs of one, like tracks or scats. All three are pit vipers, which means you can identify them by "facial pits." I have seen a lion twice in Sussex County. I live in Harrisburg, in the 70s and by Central Dauphin high school there was a creek called Beaver Creek so one day ask someone what are they called Beaver Creek and said there used to be a beaver there till about seven or eight years ago and the last one was killed by some person they named and he was actually bragging up that he killed the last beaver in Beaver Creek. "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. I had a mountain lion in the field across from my house a couple years ago. Mountain lions' canines are 3 to 4 inches long. Bobcats tend to be darker brown, with lighter belly fur and spots while mountain lions tend to be more uniform brown, tawny color. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. He saw a cougar and ended up shooting and killing the animal. That doesnt stop some from believing mountain lions do exist in the East. The Dodge family in Clarks Summit, Lackawanna County, captured an image of a big cat strolling behind the fence enclosing their yard and pool. That was a dead giveaway for Taylor. Union and Huntingdon , Pa. .. One doesn't think about big cats being in this eastern part of the . Pennsylvania is too inhabited to support a population of cougars, unless there are major changes in cougar biology, cougar behavior, and public opinion. An attack on a 4-year-old near San Diego is just the latest in a string of mountain lion attacks in California. The abundance of wildlife that thrives in Pennsylvania makes sightings of interesting animals fairly commonplacebears, foxes, coywolves and elk are all within the realm of expectations. Ablack widow bite is rarely fatal except in the young or elderly, according to the Penn State Cooperative Extension. Black widows are native to the state. Before that, a lion was captured on a . I have seen a large cat on several occasions driving home at night from work. The last wild cougar in Pennsylvania was killed in 1871 and the last cougar born on the East Coast was killed in 1938 in Maine. They have adapted to live in the suburbs in woods, fields or evenbackyards without being seen by people. 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. Based on its extensive research, the Service concluded this subspecies of big cats had disappeared from the east by the 1930s. "Who knows, could be a mutant. The bobcat wouldn't survive. "Over the years, I've received a number of cougar reports, some pretty factual, such as a partly devoured calf left up in a tree, but nobody has ever provided clear proof. They include a reported attack on horses at a farm near Dillsburg, York County, that Foster thinks may be legitimate. Unfortunately, is it unlikely that cougars will return to Pennsylvania in the near future. One was spotted late Tuesday in Hamilton near a bus stop. A lion that was killed by Berks County coal-burners and . Angel, her African lioness who snarls at strangers, is a big girl. Sunbury, PA 17801 Phone: 570-286-5671 Email . The only native North American mountain lion species (Puma concolor) has long since been extirpated from the eastern United States, with the exception of a small population of Florida panthers whose genetic roots are a subject of debate. An escapee is also possible. DNA tests have offered conclusive proof of cougars in other eastern states. Bears feed for 20 hours a day during late summer and early fall as they fatten up to hibernate. Offer valid thru 3/31/23. What you wouldn't expect to find here anymore is a mountain lion. 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