Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the Eastern subspecies of the mountain lion extinct, which would seem to bolster the skeptics. September 21st, 2008, 08:14 PM #74. It's sort of like big foot, some people say they've seen him.". Knowing that pumas range widely, would my ridge be the only one closed? Others would like to see some scientific proof. Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. There's a saying that "things aren't always what they appear to be." 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. (National Park Service). Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 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. I have three observations here: 1. ", (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. Here it is: I still couldn't get the big head/little neck, and the body is a bit stouter/shorter, but a striding cat might be stretched out a bit. If we don't see it, it doesn't exist. Now, forty years ago coyotes were rare or almost nonexistent in Pennsylvania, and had had that same sighting back then, when coyotes were thought not to exist within the state we would have had the 'facts' to doubt what we saw. Murray said Rocky was emaciated and chained when she found him at a private zoo. 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. The bounty for adult wolves and cougars was raised on March 16, 1819 to $12. Although unconfirmed, mountain lions continue to be reported in many spots across Pennsylvania, including several reports in the past couple months. Mountain lions are well-established in 14 western states and have also recently been confirmed in 10 Midwestern states: Nebraska, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. Mountain lions have a lifespan of about 8 to 13 years old in the wild. The rocky habitat that covers much of the state is perfect for these ambush predators, especially since humans dont inhabit much of the land. It wasn't, and I assumed it was a road-kill. 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. We hope you enjoy this foray into the most weird and wonderful our beloved Pocono Mountains have to offer. The Asa Packer Mansion, built in the year 1861, is a historic house museum. Since mountain lions are the top predators (unlike most other states with grizzly bears), they have a well-developed population. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Features Writer Micaela Hood is signing off with the Pocono Record after five years of covering arts, culture, entertainment and sports in northeastern . 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). 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.). After all, how many people have pumas? 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. People can manipulate, enhance or combine photos and then create their own stories about the subject's origin, location and even identification. Hunting is legal in the state, but it is heavily controlled and restricted. "The day will come," he said, "when someone will pull the trigger on a mountain lion.". Jones has never seen a mountain lion, but he thinks they're prowling around. Where they always here as a relic population? After all, skeptics often suggest that puma sightings are just deer sightings, so it would be logical to worry that a hunter might shoot an endangered puma, mistaking it for a brown deer. 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? Each year, over tha past five, I've spoken with at least one person who swears they personally saw a puma in this state. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? 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. Furthermore, a different set of photos showed a "mountain lion" dragging a deer into the woods in Bradford County. The mountains and isolated forests of the state allow these large cats to live their lives without encountering humans very often. The other three images are from my file, selected to most closely approximate the pose of the cat from the game camera. a high priority. ? 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 . Check out our online field guide to read more in this series. Still, these resilient animals reside in secluded areas across the United States, with current data suggesting they may even be returning to their historical regions! Goodrich said he once saw a mountain lion spring from a thicket and kill a sheep on a public road. 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. . DNA collected from the mountain lion killed on a roadway in Connecticut in 2011 showed the animal to have originated in South Dakota. Asa Packer Mansion Jim Thorpe. This happens usually around the 18-month mark. Two weeks ago, a friend of mine who teaches in one of the Monroe County school districts called to tell me he was sending me a photo of a mountain lion taken by one of his students in the Poconos. In 2016, a trail cam photo in South Jersey was later determined to show a house cat. 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. I've know of reports since 1973, in Cooke Forest, the heart of a lot of Pa. wilderness. 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. In prior interviews with the Game Commission, the suggestion was made to this writer that what many people may actually be seeing is a bobcat, perhaps in less than ideal circumstances. The State cites that there are no road-kills, and in a heavily trafficed state like Pennsylvania there should be kills. In January, the U.S. Viewers can never be certain that what they're seeing on a computer is actually what it's purported to be. In Yellowstone, definite puma country (perhaps not ideal habitat, but pumas are found in every section of Yellowstone), I've spoken to guys on road crews and with rangers, each with 20 years of field or road experience in Yellowstone, and the ranger had only seen 2 (both road kills and together) and the road crew guys two or three in all their years. Mountain lions, Goodrich wrote, were more dreaded than wolves as the cat could climb over any fence that could be built. 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. 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. There is no known estimate of the number of mountain lions inhabiting Texas. 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. 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. Every year we receive a few similar reports from hikers, hunters or other outdoor enthusiasts. And this genetic mix has been recognized, and the Florida puma is still protected. 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. For example, leopards and jaguars, normally spotted cats, have a melanistic color morph, the 'black panther,' the black leopard or black jaguar. Recently, on a back road in Pennsylvania, a friend and I had our first sighting of a coyote in Pennsylvania. For information on predator tracks, check out this guide: https://www.wildliferemoval.com/animal-track-identification-guide/, Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included. Leslie estimated that the first humans making up the Paleo-Indians lived in the upper Delaware valley as early as 11,000 B.C. 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. Mountain lions are 7-9 feet, while bobcats are 3 feet long. The Pocono Mountains are . Some have even reported seeing a "black panther," a near-impossibility because of the rarity of that recessive gene. I was heading up the road and I saw an animal with a long tail.". At the end of the last Ice Age, many animals in Pennsylvania died out. The head of the puma is small in comparision to a house cat when compared to the entire body. Do elk live in Pennsylvania? 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. Like Rocky, Nia is declawed. 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. Biologists traced it. In 2011, a confirmed mountain lion was killed by a vehicle in Connecticut and which had been determined that it had wandered east from the Mid-West. I've done this myself once, in Tanzania, when I saw a black house cat that I thought was a black leopard! Biologists who investigate these reports claim that several may, indeed, be mountain lions, but most likely they're animals that have escaped from captivity or have been released by their owners. There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. "The cougars examined in the Northeast in the past 70 years are likely released or escaped captives. "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. State Game Officials do concede that some people may indeed have seen a puma, but it was undoubtedly a released captive. 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. Send it to me at mkuhns@poconorecord.com. Granted, the image is not great, and I used some Photoshop adjustment layers to enhance the image, making it a bit easier to see. In some areas, entire populations of a species exhibit this trait, for unlike albinism, which results in a conspicuous white color and light-sensitive pink eyes, there are no ill effects with melanism. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. 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. 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. There are deserts, mountains, and swamps in the state of Utah, all of which are suitable for mountain lions. The last native mountain lion known to be killed in Pennsylvania is on display in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. How do I deal with shaving weight for carrying my gear? Compare any game camera image with the shots above, or this game camera image, to confirm your identification. In July and August I received seven different reports, and everyone involved had done a search of some type to compare images of bobcats and pumas. You be the judge. A neighbor scared the animal away before it could finish its meal; the sheeps carcass was used as bait, to catch the big cat. What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? 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. The Poconos is a mountain area in northeastern Pennsylvania.It is 2,400 square miles of wooded mountains and valleys full of beautiful lakes, rivers, forests and wildlife. The state of Idaho is large, expansive, and full of rocky wilderness. Once a mountain lion matures, it will leave its mother and find its own territory. I don't know if a Game Commission authority has actually said this or not, but people I've spoken to have reported this. Images from a homeowner's surveillance camera show a tan cat with a long body, beyond a chain-link fence. 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.". Packer Hill Ave. Jim Thorpe, PA 18229. Known as the Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania, there are four trails that lead to the cascades from the Bushkill Falls trailhead, each ranging in . What equipment do we take in the field? Colorado has a large number of mountain lions within its borders, mostly due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. Imagine my surprise. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. He saw a big cat. Who knows? The large tracts of untouched rocky land and bighorn sheep populations make for pristine mountain lion habitat. Mountain lions (cougars, pumas, and more) are among the top predators that live in the United States. On that, I've had emails sent with game trail photo attachments, or killed pumas, supposedly shot in Pennsylvania, but these were hoaxes. Is it the New Best Pack? See also: 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. As a state known for its mountains, its no wonder that mountain lions live here! 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. The record size for this species is 8 feet, and it probably weighed 15 to 20 pounds, which shows how exaggerated this claim is. I think it is possible that recognizing the existence of pumas in the East could jeopardize this industry and an entire economy. Biologists traced it back to the Black Hills of South Dakota, from where it ventured nearly 2,000 miles looking for a new mate. You know, the Penn State Nittany Lions.". These cubs are born blind and helpless. No evidence has ever been produced to support those charges. Two other reports went, in detail, on what they saw, the size, the length of tail, etc. The coat can be spotted or solid. The last known mountain lion in Pennsylvania was killed in Berks County in 1874. If you see a puma (mountain lion-cougar), contact me. The bobcat wouldn't survive. Scientists debate whether the large prehistoric mammals became extinct at the end of the Ice Age due to over-hunting, or rapid climate warming. 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. 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. Find cabins in the Poconos, PA near places like Bushkill Falls, Camelback Mountain Resort, and more. Provided by Touchpoints I've never seen or heard of a verified black puma anywhere, whether wild or captive, so I'd be inclined to dismiss reports of truly black big cats as misidentifications, even when a group of guys all see the same thing. Why do I advocate manual exposure so avidly? "I know they're native to this area. Caribou remains, dated by radiocarbon in excess of 10,000 B.C. Thank you for reading! Where can I find Depth of Field reference charts? And again, while they may have been mistaken, they certainly were completely convinced that they had seen a puma. Me? 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. 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. 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. 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. With that in mind, lets break down how we classified the states. Ashley Catherine Fontones, Pocono Record. The last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. All rights reserved. Newspapers carried stories in 1956 about hunters supposedly seeing and killing wolves in Pike and Monroe Counties. Colorado and California have the highest estimated populations of mountain lions in the United States. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. Recent post: Why Is It Called Beaver Stadium? 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. Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions. The name Pocono is derived from the . "From people that I trust have had visual sightings, they've seen mountain lions.". Encouraged by the bounties, settlers waged war on these perceived beasts. After a gestation period of 90 days, female mountain lions will give birth to litters of about one to six cubs. If pumas do exist in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, could they all be released cats or escapees? Would a puma then qualify as a native species? Bobcats, feral cats and domestic dogs may be misidentified as mountain lion. 1.8 miles, 2 hours, moderate. 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. In this at this distant epoch, archaeologists attempt to clear some of the mists and mysteries of prehistoric times. Remember, this one was photographed in Arizona in good puma country, although this was the first one I've recorded there. 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. Mountain lions thrive there due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. 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. 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. 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. Check out the tails of the two! 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! Over time, cats that had been released in Florida, probably pets that outlived their welcome, bred with the native puma, and their genes mingled, 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. Would these ridges be declared off-limits for hunting? Of interestRamapough Lenape chief: National park in PA and NJ would be among 'most destructive things' since colonization. "With all of that said, though, there's a general lack of evidence of mountain lions in Pennsylvania. The last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. Reports of a mountain lion have come from several residents of Hemlock Farms who were hiking on. She also houses a bobcat named Nia she took in from a couple who couldn't handle her. The bones were found perfectly preserved. He's a hunter, a woodsman, and he's seen a lot of game, so I can believe he saw a back-lighted puma. In the area around the border of Pennsylvania and West Virginia there are mountains and deep caves that contain some of the coal mines that were a major part of the state's industry in the early part of the 19 th century. They once inhabited the entire United States, but were killed off and pushed west. One of these days, though, I'll get one that won't be, and I hope that will be soon. What do I think of the Canon 1D Mark IV? The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Apparently, this picture was really making the rounds. Some cats had a South American genetic profile. I'll offer my own little anecdote. 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. It is an Italianate Villa home that features authentic Victorian furniture and finishing. Their are two web sites I know of that dealt with eastern pumas, with the one, the Eastern Puma Research Network, concentrating on sightings in the east. 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. When he isn't distracted by his backyard birdfeeder, you can find him camping, exploring, and telling everyone around him about what he's recently learned. The image in the Upper Left was from a Game Camera, sent to me by a friend. They know what they saw, regardless of what the facts say, and they know they saw a puma. Note the size of the tail, the pointed ears, the speckled coat, the basic lack of white underneath. I am bothered by the constricted neck of the cat on the game camera; 2. the tail is curved down, rather than up, but it may have been in mid-swing; 3. the goldenrod-appearing flower, and the background of cars, gives a sense of scale and location. Pocono Record sports writer Mike Kuhns wrote a great piece on Oct. 14, "Does the mountain lion roam PA?" As you can see from the above images it is very difficult to confuse the two if you have a good view. Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. It seems unlikely, considering captives have never shown this trait, but people are reporting big black cats. 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. 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. Where they always here as a relic population? There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. I've seen about 20 mountain lions, or pumas, in the field, but all but 2 were in Chile. I want to believe they're here, but I'm having some trouble. Interestingly, almost all of the people I've spoken to who claim to have seen a puma have not seen a bobcat, an animal that is common enough in Pennsylvania to support a legal trapping season! If it were, it would be listed.
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