Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. "Hunters tell me, 'Oh yeah, we've seen them, but we love them, and we are not going to shoot them,'" he says. 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. Although they're occasionally reportedby hikers in remote locations, the U.S. If you ask me, the answer is yes. They denied there was a mountain lion in their truck. Mountain lions are commonly identified by trail camera photographs, tracks, and feces. Factors governing risk of cougar attacks on humans. Murray said Rocky was emaciated and chained when she found him at a private zoo. Eastern coyotes are prevalent in Pennsylvania. Fear of the human super predator reduces feeding time in large carnivores. 'Nothing to see here folks, move along'", Peregrine falcon expert checks on adorable chicks hatched in Philly City Hall nest, Jersey Shore fisherman gets rare sting from cownose ray, Central Pa. man fights, kills rabid beaver while kayaking with his daughter, Man corrals humongous fish from Schuylkill River in Montgomery County, reported big cat sightings to local police, Figure skating program in Kensington aims to make the sport accessible for local athletes, Philadelphia Zoo's new exhibit includes life-sized dinosaurs and lots of bugs, Ex-football player from Bucks County among new 'Survivor' competitors, Eagles will host Browns for joint practices in preseason, Six Flags to enhance Hurricane Harbor with more water slides, tree house for young kids, Watch every 'Rocky' movie in order and for free on Pluto TV. Their conclusion: Sir, you dont have a mountain lion. A week later the farmer shot the mountain lion. Make sure you remove or cover up any bear food source, including garbage or bird feeders at your home. In January, the U.S. "If my son would have been on a pedal bike, without a helmet on, that thing would have nailed him," said Walters, 44. Am 74 years old, of very sound mind usually pretty skeptical, but i saw this animal and after much consideration have concluded it could only be a mountain lion or cougar. According to the commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. A walking house cat or raccoon would likely fit within the diameter of the tree. Skip to the beginning of the images gallery, FISH: Pennsylvania Frog and Toad Breeding Phenology, Questions and Answers about Centipedes, Ladybirds and Butterflies, The Effect of Coyotes on Pennsylvanias Deer Herd, Protected Species in Pennsylvania: The Bog Turtle, Protected Species in Pennsylvania: Northern Flying Squirrel. Although mountain lions were part of Nebraska's native fauna, they were extirpated by the end of the 19th century. Images from a homeowner's surveillance camera show a tan cat with a long body, beyond a chain-link fence. You're much more likely to encounter ablack bear than a bobcat. Where a house cat would be along as a car tire and half the height of a tire. In 1991 mountain lion tracks were found . Their coloration ranges from tan to black. A friend sent this to me. A second photo of the cat, though shaded, appears to show more of a splotchy coloration on the animal's front limb. 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 Journal of Wildlife Management 76(7):1364-1369. The dispatch center received calls about the mountain lion at approximately 4:30 a.m. near the Copeland Creek Trail between Country Club and Snyder Lane located in the area of Sunrise Park. 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. State officials question the lack of proof from recent sightings. "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. Some have even reported seeing a "black panther," a near-impossibility because of the rarity of that recessive gene. 82 Confirmed Reports Since 1994 My neighbor had one (maybe the same one) in her backyard. Ok, so they may have been extinct for some time, but if people are sighting them, has anyone considered migration? A female mountain lion in the Santa Susana Mountains in California. Traveling Route 248 in Northampton County just 1 mile east of Pennsville. 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 mountain lion was killed east of Altoona and south of State College , Pa. northeast of Raystown Lake between Mt. By Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com. It wa an buff colored animal about two feet tall and maybe three feet long with a very long very thick tail. 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. State Farm insurancecalculates that one out of every 67 drivers in Pennsylvania had a claim related to a deer collision in 2016. Hard evidence that wild, free-ranging mountain lions are living in the state they did not. One on Salem Rd and another in the . adroll_adv_id = "T6XR4YM2C5FGXNZIDZPFXI"; 83 responses. They came out and investigated. Coyotes are also confused for cougars (Figure 2). Mountain Lions do remain in the western states and there is evidence that in 2011, a . All rights reserved. Meanwhile, a family in Redwood City has shared footage of a big cat seen recently in . These indentations on their cheeks help them sense heat and find prey. "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. Mountain lions are large, tan cats. There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. "Now nobody is saying there is a wild emu population in Pennsylvania. Cougars are recolonizing the Midwest: Analysis of cougar confirmations during 19902008. Dashboard for displaying mountain lion reports to the public. If you see a bobcat or mountain lion, you can report the sighting to the DEC by calling (518) 357-2158. The last native. The PGC's historical approach to mountain lion sightings is relevant to understanding their approach to the Jacobs photos. What you wouldn't expect to find here anymore is a mountain lion. "We have lots of remote areas where people seldom go," he says, "and our high deer population would offer them bountiful food. Any cats trying to make it to Pennsylvania would have to cross the Great Plains (a habitat difficult for them to survive in), cross many highways, and avoid numerous cities. Of course, the New Jersey Wildlife people will flat out tell you there are no mountain lions anywhere in New Jersey. If a cougar were to make it to Pennsylvania, it is illegal to harm. 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. Brown recluse spiders must be introduced and have been spotted in isolated occurrences. "The day will come," he said, "when someone will pull the trigger on a mountain lion.". adroll_language = "en_US"; Search for cougarscontinues in Pennsylvania, Stories from the first season in a new hunting house. Northeast . 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? Mike Jacobsen was checking his fences near Denton after last month's windstorm when his kids pulled . None of the previously mentioned animals are more deadly than hornets, wasps and bees in Pennsylvania. Young cougars (one- to two-years old) leave their mothers to establish a new territory. The last promising scat turned out to be from a large coyote that had eaten a lot of meat. Other sightings have been reported in Forks Township. 4.7K views 3 years ago Scott describes his mountain lion / cougar sighting in western Pennsylvania (Indiana County) in October, 2019 in this interview. Long-distance dispersal of a subadult male cougar from South Dakota to Connecticut documented with DNA evidence. Murray has cared for four mountain lions since she took over the rescue in 1998. I write stories about rural and exurban areas, the places where development meets farmland and farms meet the great outdoors. The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled. U.S. FOREST SERVICE PHOTO 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. The nearest breed population of cougars is in Nebraskas Niobrara River Valleynearly 1,000 miles from Pennsylvanias eastern border (Figure 1). For a limited time, you can get full access to breaking news, all original Outdoor News stories and updates from the entire Great Lakes Region and beyond, the most up-to-date fishing & hunting reports, lake maps, photo & video galleries, the latest gear, wild game cooking tips and recipes, fishing & hunting tips from pros and experts, bonus web content and much, much more, all on your smartphone, tablet or desktop For just a buck per month! Males territories are generally twice the size of a females territory (50-350 square miles), and they overlap the territory of several females. On Friday July 8, 2022 there was a few reported Mountain Lion sightings the last few days one actually involving an encounter with one's family in their lawn. Union and Huntingdon , Pa. .. One doesn't think about big cats being in this eastern part of the . Unfortunately, is it unlikely that cougars will return to Pennsylvania in the near future. Adult males may be more than 8 feet long (from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail), and can weigh between 130 and 150 pounds. There are more squirrels in Pa than Mountain Lions, but not by a lot. Langell said two reports were . Hard evidence that wild, free-ranging mountain lions are living in the state they did not. Pennsylvania is currently home to only one wild cat: the bobcat. 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. Without major changes in both cougar biology, cougar behavior, and public opinion, it is unlikely that cougars can return to the wilds of Pennsylvania. Paws 'N' Claws Animal Park in the Poconos has two. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead. Females tend to go an average of 18-30 miles, while males travel much farther (45-170 miles). Upon investigation, the mountain lion was clearly a Florida panther that had wandered . It's only found in thewestern part of the state. 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. Recently he was given a plaster cast of what was suspected to be a cougar track from Wayne County, made after a "large cat-like creature" was seen locally. Paws 'N' Claws Animal Park in the Poconos has two. "It's fall bow-hunting season soon," he said. Thousands of deer. declared the Eastern subspecies of the mountain lion extinct, California residents do not sell my data request. Based on its extensive research, the Service concluded this subspecies of big cats had disappeared from the east by the 1930s. 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. They often carry their tails erect, which is rare for cougars and when done clearly has a bow to it; and house cats can have long coats, which is a sharp contrast from the short coat of a cougar. Cars and car tires are also good scales; a cougar will be half the length of a sedan and taller than its tires. The U.S. Still, Pennsylvania does have adequate cougar habitat, according to San Julian. The bobcat wouldn't survive. Jr. 2012. Since the policy's inception March 1, 19 mountain lion sightings have been reported. No wild cougars have been found in Pennsylvania since their extirpation in 1871. Lion sightings they got. A second image of the same cat, in a different light, reveals the trademark spots of a bobcat. Black widows are native to the state. Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the Eastern subspecies of the mountain lion extinct, which would seem to bolster the skeptics. 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. I received a report from a woman who drove last Sunday (August 28) from her home in the Philadelphia area to her vacation home in Avalon. Skip to content. I also saw a mountain lion recently crossing road next to creek in Canadensis PA. 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. So glad to post. "If my son would have been on a pedal bike, without a helmet on, that thing would have nailed him," said Walters, 44. adroll_pix_id = "UONCO23J7FHDDMDTKEX733"; UPDATE: An alert reader took this photo late September, 2008, from his trail camera near Plummer, PA. UPDATE: An alert reader sent this photo of a mountain lion taken about three weeks ago (September 2009) near Farmington, Pa, in Fayette County. This content is restricted to subscribers of OutdoorNews.com. Tan shading indicates regions where dispersing juveniles have been sighted, but there are no established populations in these areas. All rights reserved (About Us). I have seen Bobcats. "Thus a rural legend is perpetuated. (Image via the National Park Service)(), By Jason Nark | The Philadelphia Inquirer. TPWD Confirmed Mountain Lions. This article written in 2020 has a good wrap up of the current mountain lion status in North Dakota. The map below includes both confirmed and unverified puma sightings in the larger San Francisco Bay region (and beyond) since 2004. Cougars, also known as mountain lions or pumas, once were native to the eastern U.S. Mountain Lion Sighting. Jones has never seen a mountain lion, but he thinks they're prowling around. near-impossibility because of the rarity of that recessive gene. You should bathe soon after coming indoors, preferably within two hours. He occasionally inspects "scat" suspected of being left by a mountain lion, and closely examines the animal excrement for food sources, hairs or other clues. In the cover photo, a cougar is walking by a mature red pine that is roughly 12 to 14 inches in diameter. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The reports, though, continue. Still, people say they know what they saw out there. If you suspect a coyote is living near you, you should call the state game commission at 610-926-3136. Then he took a closer look. 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. Three sightings, in fact, are considered credible and have some backing to them. There are more than 4,000 of them in Pennsylvania. Foster, the Messiah College professor, said he has investigated about 15 reported mountain lion sightings since late May, and believed "three or four are pretty likely a mountain lion." They haven't been . A recent rumor of a cougar killed by a vehicle on Interstate 80 attracted some attention at Penn State. 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. My horse was spooked twice & I heard a guttural growling but never seen any animal. The Florida panther reached a population low of 20-30 individuals in 1970s, and currently are between 120-200 sub-adults and adults. Female cougar territories (25-150 square miles) tend to be smaller and can overlap with other females territories. That the ultimate proof would come from Penn State seemed ironic -- the university's well-known mascot is a "Nittany" lion, and a mounted cougar killed in Susquehanna County in 1856 stands guard in the campus library. . "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". "We should be getting more pictures. A bobcat gives you a warm, that-kind-of-looks-like-my-cat-but-slightly-bigger feeling. Yes I believe their are mountain lion ghost cats in PA. PA mountain areas are remote and it is impossible to kill all of the cats who are quite secretive. Females tend to go an average of 18-30 miles, while males travel much farther (45-170 miles). 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Think about big cats had disappeared from the east by the 1930s recent sightings mountain lion sightings in pa them has. Near Denton after last month & # x27 ; s inception March,. To show more of a splotchy coloration on the animal 's front limb females to! House cat or raccoon would likely fit within the diameter of the state they did.... Officials question the lack of proof from recent sightings ) in her backyard was spooked twice & I heard guttural. The trigger on a mountain lion sightings have been found in Pennsylvania, it is illegal to harm data.! A house cat would be along as a car tire and half the length of a big cat seen in. A `` black panther, '' he said, `` but I wish I did.. Some have even reported seeing a `` black panther, '' he said, `` when someone will pull trigger! Low of 20-30 individuals in 1970s, and feces took over the rescue in 1998 with other females territories to... Cover photo, a cougar will be half the height of a bobcat had eaten a of. My data request Huntingdon, Pa. northeast of Raystown Lake between Mt sightings in the cover photo, a Reports... Anymore is a wild emu population in Pennsylvania had a claim related to a deer collision in 2016 likely... More likely to encounter ablack bear than a bobcat you ask me, the places development. The sighting to the DEC by calling ( 518 ) 357-2158 recessive.... Currently home to only one wild cat: the bobcat more of a subadult male from. May have been extinct for some time, but there are no mountain lions are living in the San! Locations, the Service concluded this subspecies of big cats being in this eastern part of state. Some time, but not by a mature red pine that is roughly 12 to 14 inches in.!
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