are there mountain lions in the poconos

The rounded ears, These experiences are still available, but the reality is there is so much more for the mature traveler to enjoy in the Pocono Mountains. One might argue that the eastern puma is extinct, but that does not mean that there are not pumas (mountain lions, cougars) in the east. Thank you for reading! Certainly it is a romantic notion, but I've always held out the hope that pumas still roamed the east. Ironically, I almost deleted the image, as on the small camera LCD monitor the cat was small and I thought that it was just another deer that moved along the stream. Colorado has a large number of mountain lions within its borders, mostly due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. 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. 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). PHILADELPHIA (AP) An instinct coiled way down in the human brain knows the difference between a bobcat and a mountain lion. There are controlled hunting laws in the state of Oregon. Bobcats, feral cats and domestic dogs may be misidentified as mountain lion. Although unconfirmed, mountain lions continue to be reported in many spots across Pennsylvania, including several reports in the past couple months. Mountain lions typically eat about one deer per week, along with other smaller prey as the opportunity arises. This is only hearsay, however, since I'm only going on their stories. The mountains and isolated forests of the state allow these large cats to live their lives without encountering humans very often. Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania? Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. Fish and Wildlife Service. Did they migrate south from Canada? Many have a desire to see some clear-cut evidence. Looking for things to do in the Poconos? If you see or photograph a puma in the mid-Atlantic states, please email or call me. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Still, people say they know what they saw out there. He saw a big 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. Remember, this one was photographed in Arizona in good puma country, although this was the first one I've recorded there. Once a mountain lion matures, it will leave its mother and find its own territory. I wanted to know if they're here, so I called some people I trust and asked them one simple question: Are there mountain lions in Pennsylvania? They've been extinct in the eastern part of North America for more than a century. 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. 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. Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. Adults are a uniform tan or tawny in color, with a white or cream-colored chin, undersides and inner legs. Mountain lions live almost everywhere in the state of Washington. If youve done any research on your own, you may have noticed that we didnt include a lot of states that have had cougar sightings, especially in the last few years. 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. Phineas Teeple of Manchester Township is thought to have killed the last wolf in Wayne County. Viewers can never be certain that what they're seeing on a computer is actually what it's purported to be. I believe them. 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? with a fluted projectile point were found near Middletown, Orange County, New York. See also: Its fur is a light, tawny brown color which can appear gray or almost black, depending on light conditions. 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?' Are the various States guilty of essentially the same thing? 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. 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. "I kind of doubt they saw a cougar, but I'm not God.". 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! I don't believe someone's imagination could stretch a six inch long tail to three feet! 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. State Game Officials do concede that some people may indeed have seen a puma, but it was undoubtedly a released captive. Pocono Record sports writer Mike Kuhns wrote a great piece on Oct. 14, "Does the mountain lion roam PA?" . original web site, although if I ever have enough time I might Eyes are normal and are not light sensitive, and the over-all color, generally black, is usually not detrimental and may actually be of benefit. Illinois can also now be added to this list a mountain lion was found on the outskirts of Chicago. Recent post: Why Is It Called Beaver Stadium? The State argues that there is no physical evidence, and no credible photographs. Same story as 'black panthers' across the country, because of course there, scientifically, can be no such thing. There's a whole world to learn about and Colby is content to spend his life learning as much as he can about it! However, if it doesn't exist, and if someone saw one, wouldn't there be a worry that it was a dangerous escapee? 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. 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 that cat killed on a highway in Milford, Connecticut, in June 2011. Learn more about us & read our affiliate disclosure. The other two clans were the Turtle and Turkey. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. How do I deal with shaving weight for carrying my gear? 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. 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. Caribou meat apparently was part of their diet. I believe Kross fully, but I wanted to hear more. Mountain lions, Goodrich wrote, were more dreaded than wolves as the cat could climb over any fence that could be built. 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 bounty for adult wolves and cougars was raised on March 16, 1819 to $12. "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. An article in last year's New York State Conservationist magazine about mountain lions concluded that none exists in that state, even in the 6-million-acre Adirondack Mountain wilderness. Biologists traced it. "Given the period of time that has passed without verification of even a single eastern puma, the service concludes that the last remaining members of this subspecies perished decades ago," the Fish and Wildlife Service said in a Federal Register notice. 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. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Both were a threat to the farmer and family who carved a home in the ancient wilderness of the Poconos. 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. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. In only one report had an official from the Pennsylvania Game Commision, a local warden, actually agree with the person reporting the sighting. This is actually a good thing, as genetic isolation generally weakens a species. 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. With the Great Lakes in its way, the cat moved either north or south of the water, and the latter route would have seen it pass through at least some of Pennsylvania. 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. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. The 2,400-square-mile area has long been a popular outdoor recreation area boasting hunting, fishing, skiing, and more. So how or why could there be a conspiracy? Images from a homeowner's surveillance camera show a tan cat with a long body, beyond a chain-link fence. Are there pumas, or mountain lions, in Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic States? Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. 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. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The image in the Upper Left was from a Game Camera, sent to me by a friend. 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. The large, undeveloped interior filled with rocky habitats perfect for mountain lions allows them to safely live and breed. A bobcat gives you a warm, that-kind-of-looks-like-my-cat-but-slightly-bigger feeling. Perhaps my Fed Ex driver was simply recalling a rural legend, but he said it was an employee that he knew, and it was a story he heard first-hand. As you can see from the above images it is very difficult to confuse the two if you have a good view. One of the three branches or clans of the Lenape Tribe at the end of the 17th century was known as the Wolf (Minsi). Would these ridges be declared off-limits for hunting? One came to her as the result of an owner's divorce. Would a puma then qualify as a native species? 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. Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. Some have even reported seeing a "black panther," a near-impossibility because of the rarity of that recessive gene. They include a reported attack on horses at a farm near Dillsburg, York County, that Foster thinks may be legitimate. Woolly mammoth bones were discovered in Bradford County in 1983. Send it to me at mkuhns@poconorecord.com. 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. Like Arizona, New Mexico is the perfect home for mountain lions. The Game Commission concluded they were coyotes. 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. Scientists debate whether the large prehistoric mammals became extinct at the end of the Ice Age due to over-hunting, or rapid climate warming. 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. 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. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. I think it is possible that recognizing the existence of pumas in the East could jeopardize this industry and an entire economy. Me? 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. The Pennsylvania Game Commission is always open to review evidence, but to date only hoaxes have crossed the PGC. "The day will come," he said, "when someone will pull the trigger on a mountain lion.". But the point of this article isn't whether or not mountain lions exist in Pennsylvania or the Poconos. Cougar vs Mountain Lion What Are the Differences? "I know they're native to this area. 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. So it happens, and who knows if it is existing in wild pumas in the East. The skeleton was reassembled at the State Museum, where it has been on display ever since. For our list, we only included US states with a stable breeding population. 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. "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. Best hike for seeing waterfalls. Possibly, but it seems unlikely that enough would have been released or had escaped to make for a viable population. Mountain lions roamed all of the continent prior to the arrival and westward spread of European settlers, but only the eastern and Florida subspecies were found east of the Mississippi. These powerful, majestic creatures once lived across much of the country but have since been killed or pushed out of most of it. They're common in the rural areas of the Lehigh Valley but are moving into more populated areas as evidenced by a 600-pound specimen (pictured) that was tranquilized in March after neighbors in. Other states have had sightings, especially as mountain lion populations begin to explore and look to expand. I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one. I used to archery hunt for deer, and I spent a lot of time (way too much time) sitting silently in a tree stand waiting for deer. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? This, after they were told that there were no pumas in Pa. 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.

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