are there mountain lions in the poconos

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. To learn more about "lion country" in Colorado check here. Well, right behind our property lies a mountain ridge, one of several that makes a continuous forest that extends, with little interruption, for scores of miles in three directions. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. 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. What would account for the long tails? And a bit of an unpleasant one at that, as they now faced ridicule or doubt whenever they discussed their sightings. Murray said Rocky was emaciated and chained when she found him at a private zoo. I usually follow-up on these reports and, via email or phone conversations, I receive more details. Do elk live in Pennsylvania? All of these forests are, with few exceptions, open to hunting, and hunting is a very important industry in Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. If you see a puma (mountain lion-cougar), contact me. 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. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? Although unconfirmed, mountain lions continue to be reported in many spots across Pennsylvania, including several reports in the past couple months. There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. Mountain lions thrive there due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. 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. Once a mountain lion matures, it will leave its mother and find its own territory. 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. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? It wasn't, and I assumed it was a road-kill. Asa Packer Mansion Jim Thorpe. Contrary to popular belief, there are no black panthers in North America; no one has ever captured or killed a black Mountain Lion. The Pocono Mountains are . "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. I can't dismiss the eye-witnesses I've interviewed. 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. 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. Every year we receive a few similar reports from hikers, hunters or other outdoor enthusiasts. A law was passed March 10, 1806, requiring the county to pay the person producing the scalp of a full-grown wolf or cougar, $8, and for the scalp of a young whelp or cub, $4. 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! 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. An escapee is also possible. One of these days, though, I'll get one that won't be, and I hope that will be soon. 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. If it were, it would be listed. 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. More Questions about Pumas in Pennsylvania 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. I don't know if a Game Commission authority has actually said this or not, but people I've spoken to have reported this. 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. Mountain lions, Goodrich wrote, were more dreaded than wolves as the cat could climb over any fence that could be built. Who knows? Where can I find Depth of Field reference charts? 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. There's a whole world to learn about and Colby is content to spend his life learning as much as he can about it! There are an estimated 3,000 - 7,000 Mountain lions in Colorado. How do I deal with shaving weight for carrying my gear? Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included. On that, I've had emails sent with game trail photo attachments, or killed pumas, supposedly shot in Pennsylvania, but these were hoaxes. 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. Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. So what? Oregon has a large, stable breeding population of mountain lions. Leap transferred ownership rights to the state. Many of those claiming to have encountered a cougar in Pennsylvania take that non-confirmation by the commission as an attack on their veracity and character. Additionally, California banned the hunting of cougars back in 1972, encouraging population growth. 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. It is almost safe to say that the panther has in these parts become extinct, Goodrich wrote. But even without that second look there was no question that we'd seen a coyote. She feeds and cares for them with donations and grants. Heres What the Data Says. Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. More conclusive evidence is needed: Keep your cameras handy. Mountain lions, which continue to be reported across Pennsylvania throughout the year, are officially extinct east of the Mississippi River and north of Florida, according to the U.S. It was recorded in Minnesota and Wisconsin in late 2009 and early 2010, and then died in Connecticut in 2011. Many of the reports I receive are extremely credible. The rocky habitat that covers much of the state is perfect for these ambush predators, especially since humans dont inhabit much of the land. All rights reserved (About Us). Over time, cats that had been released in Florida, probably pets that outlived their welcome, bred with the native puma, and their genes mingled. "From people that I trust have had visual sightings, they've seen mountain lions.". Most nature magazines state whether the photos were taken "under controlled conditions" rather than in the wild.). September 21st, 2008, 08:14 PM #74. Wyoming has a historically stable population of mountain lions, but recent drops in numbers have caused some to worry. In the wild, adult mountain lions can weigh anywhere from 65 to 220 pounds. The Bushkill Falls are a series of eight waterfalls in a 300-acre wooded enclave hidden amongst the Poconos. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. Cougar Network tracks mountain lion expansion from the western U.S. to the east. The mountain lion, which is also called a cougar, puma or panther, weighs on average between 75-120 pounds, has long whiskers and a distinctive swooping tail. ? Caribou remains, dated by radiocarbon in excess of 10,000 B.C. Mary saw the photo, too, and she immediately agreed, it was a puma. I don't want to seem like a nut case here, but I must ask this question and you'll soon understand why? 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. "The cougars examined in the Northeast in the past 70 years are likely released or escaped captives. 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. I had three cameras positioned, so had a cat visited, I'd have had it. 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?' "We should be getting more pictures. The sightings were great bear views, but too fast or fleeting to allow me to grab a camera. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? He saw his cat at very close range -- 20 yards or less, and when I pointed out to him that pumas are never black he said that perhaps it was the light. 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. Ramapough Lenape chief: National park in PA and NJ would be among 'most destructive things' since colonization, Bigfoot, mountain lions, and other mythical creatures: PA officials discuss what they know, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. But this one was black, and he knows mountain lions are some variant of brown. "There hasn't been one solid piece of proof to believe they are here. The last native mountain lion known to be killed in Pennsylvania is on display in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. And how many would let them go, or provide an opportunity for escaping? They're seeing an animal they don't know or recognize, and while some may be watching a smaller bobcat about 35 pounds), some believe they've actually spotted a cougar. "If there was mountain lions in Pennsylvania), I think we'd be getting reports from farmers and people with pets that there were attacks on their animals," Martinelli said. A tiny population of Florida cougars persists in the southeastern corner of the United States. The Florida panther is an endemic subspecies of cougar that has lived in the everglades region for a very long time. You've got a mountain lion story or photo? You would think someone would have a picture on a trail camera or whatever. I've looked in the PGC game laws booklet and saw nothing on this, which I guess you could conclude means a puma would not be legal to shoot. If you can figure out how to travel far back in time for even a day, get lots of wildlife photos, as the rest of us might never believe your story. 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.". The head of the puma is small in comparision to a house cat when compared to the entire body. ", (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. This, after they were told that there were no pumas in Pa. 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. 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? What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? I'd love to hear of any reports you have. 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 skeleton was reassembled at the State Museum, where it has been on display ever since. The large, undeveloped interior filled with rocky habitats perfect for mountain lions allows them to safely live and breed. Reports of a mountain lion have come from several residents of Hemlock Farms who were hiking on. DNA collected from the mountain lion killed on a roadway in Connecticut in 2011 showed the animal to have originated in South Dakota. 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? While there have been no confirmed occurrences of mountain lions in Pennsylvania since the late 1800s, dozens . However, recently I saw a photo of a melanistic bobcat, as black as could be, with bright yellow eyes. One of the three branches or clans of the Lenape Tribe at the end of the 17th century was known as the Wolf (Minsi). Woolly mammoth bones were discovered in Bradford County in 1983. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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. Suppose, instead of declaring the puma, or Eastern mountain lion, extinct, the USFWS actually recognized the existence of the cat as a wild, breeding species. 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. But more and more people in Pennsylvania, from the Alleghenies to the Poconos to rolling farmlands in York County, claim they are seeing the big cats here, even though the state's "last" native lion, also known as a cougar or puma, was shot and killed in Berks County in 1871 and the feds have declared the Eastern subspecies extinct. Let me know if you have seen one! redo these pages to match the new web site But that's not John Leap of East Stroudsburg's Lakeside Peat Humus Co. and an employee, Paul Strauser, found the bones in a peat bog off Route 209. Note the size of the tail, the pointed ears, the speckled coat, the basic lack of white underneath. They include a reported attack on horses at a farm near Dillsburg, York County, that Foster thinks may be legitimate. The state of Texas is home to many mountain lion populations, but the numbers are incredibly hard to find. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. Is there a Puma conspiracy? Both sheep and young cattle fell prey to wolves, unless they were under constant watch. Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the Eastern subspecies of the mountain lion extinct, which would seem to bolster the skeptics. Mountain lions typically eat about one deer per week, along with other smaller prey as the opportunity arises. The Game Commission concluded they were coyotes. 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. Viewers can never be certain that what they're seeing on a computer is actually what it's purported to be. Colby is a freelance writer from Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mountain Lion is a large, slender cat with a smallish head and noticeably long tail. 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. In this at this distant epoch, archaeologists attempt to clear some of the mists and mysteries of prehistoric times. The last documented sighting of an eastern cougar was one killed in Maine in 1938. 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. Best hike for seeing waterfalls. 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. There is a small breeding population in the state, despite being killed off in the 1920s. Never has this been more accurate than in today's digital, computerized world. Bobcats, feral cats and domestic dogs may be misidentified as mountain lion. Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead. Still, people say they know what they saw out there. 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. I have three observations here: 1. Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions. Claws 'N' Paws Animal Park in Lake Ariel has two. About six months ago I posted the question, Are there Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania? 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. For many who have believed to have seen a cougar in the wilds of the Poconos, these arguments might be less than convincing. But the point of this article isn't whether or not mountain lions exist in Pennsylvania or the Poconos. The life cycle then repeats itself. A Mountain Lion Cover Up Known as the Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania, there are four trails that lead to the cascades from the Bushkill Falls trailhead, each ranging in . The bones were found perfectly preserved. "I kind of doubt they saw a cougar, but I'm not God.". For example, one man I interviewed said he saw a 'black' puma, and this should disqualify his sighting as a black puma has never been recorded. I've know of reports since 1973, in Cooke Forest, the heart of a lot of Pa. wilderness. Mountain lions have a lifespan of about 8 to 13 years old in the wild. Would that declaration close that ridge to hunting? original web site, although if I ever have enough time I might The Asa Packer Mansion, built in the year 1861, is a historic house museum. 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. I'm wondering, then, if the complete dismissal of sightings of Eastern pumas (other than the acknowledgement of released or escaped pets) isn't motivated by economics. 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. As you can see from the above images it is very difficult to confuse the two if you have a good view. He saw a big cat. I don't want to seem like a nut case here, but I must ask this question and you'll soon understand why? Same story as 'black panthers' across the country, because of course there, scientifically, can be no such thing. I was heading up the road and I saw an animal with a long tail.". The story behind our new web site. But an image captured by one family's. Features Writer Micaela Hood is signing off with the Pocono Record after five years of covering arts, culture, entertainment and sports in northeastern . 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. Looking for things to do in the Poconos? 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. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. Interestingly, the US Fish and Wildllife Service has declared the Eastern Puma extinct, except for the Florida population known as the Florida panther. Florida is the only state on the east coast with a breeding population of mountain lions. Like Arizona, New Mexico is the perfect home for mountain lions. Here in central Pennsylvania we live on the outskirts of what one puma-tracking website has as almost the high point of sightings, extending from north-central Pennsylvania in a southwestern diagonal that extends into the mountains of West Virginia. 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. 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. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? Kross only saw the animal for a second, but it made a believer out of him. State Game Officials do concede that some people may indeed have seen a puma, but it was undoubtedly a released captive. No An official form of the United States government. It was decided that this shouldn't influence the decision and, in fact, an infusion of new genes produces a hybrid vigor, lessening the chance of in-breeding. I have not spoken with a Game Commission officer personally, so I don't know whether anyone killing a puma in Pennsylvania could do so without legal repercussions. I believe them. The 'look' is from my 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! Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. Below is a list of physical characteristics that distinguish mountain lions from more . 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. Granted, the image is not great, and I used some Photoshop adjustment layers to enhance the image, making it a bit easier to see. I asked our Game officials about evidence, and they cite no road kills. In captivity mountain, lions can live to be about 20 years old. WATCH: Sharks biting alligators, the most epic lion battles, and MUCH more. They ponder rare fossil evidence unearthed and seek to make sense of stratified geology, both fleeting in the face of what we call progress. With that in mind, lets break down how we classified the states. But no one that I've communicated with had these preconceptions, and seeing what they saw was a complete surprise. "If my son would have been on a pedal bike, without a helmet on, that thing would have nailed him," said Walters, 44. 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. It was definitely a mountain lion, and it had a big buck, white-tailed deer in its jaws. 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. 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. do I get an immediate, 'Oh yeah!' 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. I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one. All rights reserved. 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! 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). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. 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. Joseph Pugliese 2.2K views 7 years ago Beautiful Bobcat in our yard as our. "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". At one time this fact almost resulted in this cat not being protected, since it wasn't a pure strain. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 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. I've done this myself once, in Tanzania, when I saw a black house cat that I thought was a black leopard! 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. Remember, this one was photographed in Arizona in good puma country, although this was the first one I've recorded there. Let me explain this. They've been extinct in the eastern part of North America for more than a century. The name Pocono is derived from the . One came to her as the result of an owner's divorce. 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. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. All rights reserved. Let me explain this. Would these ridges be declared off-limits for hunting? "It was in Worthington State Forest just across the Delaware River from Smithfield Beach). 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. "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. "People think they can get them declawed and that they're safe, but they still have teeth.". 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 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. Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. ? Since mountain lions are the top predators (unlike most other states with grizzly bears), they have a well-developed population. Over the last few months several people have responded to this question with reports of their own. RelatedBigfoot, mountain lions, and other mythical creatures: PA officials discuss what they know. the more visible white on the chest, the lack of spots, the huge hind quarters. 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. They regularly join the camp of those angrily claiming the commission has introduced the big cats back into Pennsylvania as a control measure against the state's huge deer population.