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? For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Required fields are marked *. Mountain lions live in rescue centers like Murray's, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission said a dozen or so people are permitted to possess them. . I am not a confirmed believer that they do travel Penns woods, however I would NOT rule it out either. An adult male mountain lion in California. A report in 1981 found that it would be impossible to restore cougars to Adirondack Park in New York because there were too many humans. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Figure 1. Foster said mountain lions and bobcats could not breed. Langell said two reports were . Reintroduction of the cougar (Felis concolor) in Adirondack Park: A problem analysis and recommendations. Im an avid mature person with a biology degree. My neighbor had one (maybe the same one) in her backyard. This is a BIG cat! A few captive cougars have escaped over the years, but these cats have been quickly recaptured. (Image via the National Park Service)(), By Jason Nark | The Philadelphia Inquirer. A mountain lion named Rocky, at the East Coast Animal Rescue, Tuesday, September 4, 2018. The mountain lion is also known as cougar, panther, or puma. Bobcats (2a; photo credit: Dave Jackson) and coyotes (2b; photo credit Scott Weikert) are often confused for cougars (2c). 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. 0:57 A phantom creature has been sighted in the vast Delaware State Forest region of Pike County. Traveling Route 248 in Northampton County just 1 mile east of Pennsville. The Game Commission believes Pennsylvania's last known wild eastern mountain lion died in 1874 in Berks County. The Game Commission is hiding this information from the public either that or they dont know what a mountain lion looks like. It occurred after 8 p.m. Monday night, January 23, 2023, at Highway T and Old Highway 100 just north of Villa Ridge in Franklin County. Males do not tolerate other males in their territory, and they will fight other males to maintain their territory. The size was then confirmed to me, had a long tail also, had no markings but appeared dark grey in the sun. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Images from a homeowner's surveillance camera show a tan cat with a long body, beyond a chain-link fence. One solution [to the loss of ginseng] that [this complete nut ] believes will ensure the herbs survival is to reintroduce mountain lions, wolves or other natural predators to the Appalachians. "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. As a result, multiple sightings across different time ranges could be attributed to the same cat. Other sightings have been reported in Forks Township. Angel, her African lioness who snarls at strangers, is a big girl. Long-distance dispersal of a subadult male cougar from South Dakota to Connecticut documented with DNA evidence. Many believe mountain lions still exist in Pennsylvania. Breeding cougars are almost entirely west of the Mississippi in states like South Dakota, Texas, and California (Figure 1). "With all of that said, though, there's a general lack of evidence of mountain lions in Pennsylvania. The coloration in adults is uniform. One was spotted late Tuesday in Hamilton near a bus stop. Mike Jacobsen was checking his fences near Denton after last month's windstorm when his kids pulled . The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. Pennsylvania Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser notes that his agency agrees with San Julian. "I have been in this business long enough not to doubt what people say they have seen," says San Julian, "but I think most sightings are escaped pets or animals released by people.". It's 90-something degrees, but Rocky's stare feels like ice down your pants. TPWD Confirmed Mountain Lions. To download a high-resolution image, go to http://aginfo.psu.edu/news/august01/lion.tif. 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. I was driving on a dark and stormy night about 9 years ago on Rt-515 just off of Rt-23. 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." Some biologists thinks it's time to bring them back to help manage deer populations. This number of car strikes is in spite of having low population densities and the significant efforts to reduce car strikes, such as reduced speed limits, warning signs, and obstacles (fences and road underpasses) built along or under roads that cut through panther habitat. That said there have been numerous sightings of them over the years. An escapee is also possible. "I hear rumors all the time about mountain lion sightings," said Brian Anderson, deputy game protector for Northumberland County. Its eventual death and poor condition show how difficult dispersal is and unlikely it is for individuals to survive when they disperse outside of their range. Murray has cared for four mountain lions since she took over. On a recent stifling morning in Adams County, the 290-pound mountain lion with perfect bone structure is ignoring the raw chicken breast and pork chops a handler tossed into his pen. Turkey vultures return to Ohio a sure harbinger of the coming spring? There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. Bear attacks are thankfully rare. 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. You know, the Penn State Nittany Lions.". A lion that was killed by Berks County coal-burners and . 2023 WWB Holdings, LLC. Females tend to go an average of 18-30 miles, while males travel much farther (45-170 miles). "The day will come," he said, "when someone will pull the trigger on a mountain lion.". More than half of California is mountain lion habitat and mountain lions generally exist wherever deer are found. The most recent sighting of a mountain lion in a Randallstown field Tuesday has revived claims that cougars aren't extinct in Maryland. Their bodies are mainly covered in tawny-beige fur, except for the whitish-gray belly and chest. Follow Michael & PhillyVoice on Twitter @mtanen88| @thePhillyVoice Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Provided by Touchpoints Here, they've not been," Lau said in an e-mail. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, feline predators such as the eastern cougar, which is also known as the mountain lion, are " extirpated ," meaning they're all but wiped out in. Some restrictions apply. Contact a location near you for products or services. adroll_currency = "USD"; Sep 16, 2018 at 12:00 am. So glad to post. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. I also seen deer in my yard, a coyote, a mink, a wood turtle and a bear earlier this year as well. "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. Must of been chasing it for quite some time. 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. These indentations on their cheeks help them sense heat and find prey. The next highest state, New Jersey, had only 3,900, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Are the mountain lion sightings in Monterey for real? "The day will come," he said, "when someone will pull the trigger on a mountain lion.". You read it here first: Mountain lions still exist in Pennsylvania: Just prior to the start of Pennsylvania's two-week firearms deer season, the volunteers at the Eastern Puma Research Network put out a call to hunters. The Royal Society 284(1857). 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. Lion sightings they got. This photo of a cougar was taken in Michigans Upper Peninsula (photos obtained by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources). It will happen eventually. After the male mountain lion was removed from Red Hill Trail on May 11, additional sightings in that area were reported: one on May 16, and two over the weekend of May 19 and 20. Mountain lions' canines are 3 to 4 inches long. adroll_adv_id = "T6XR4YM2C5FGXNZIDZPFXI"; Sadly, the last period when mountain lions roamed freely throughout Pennsylvania is the end of the 19th century. 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. Add Michael's RSS feed to your feed reader Pennsylvania had more than 7,300 confirmed cases of the disease in 2015. "Who knows, could be a mutant. 'Nothing to see here folks, move along'". Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. The timber rattlesnake and northern copperhead are close to threatened, according to pennlive.com. Eventually they will reach areas where they never lived, or once lived,and will repopulate that area. I know I am not the only one who spotted this cat around the woods right outside town . They include a reported attack on horses at a farm near Dillsburg, York County, that Foster thinks may be legitimate. Make sure you remove or cover up any bear food source, including garbage or bird feeders at your home. So, if you live close to here please keep this in mind while you are hiking or walking along the wooded areas. What is the fascination in Pennsylvania that they always want to kill a mountain line if they find one theyre indigenous they belong there just leave the damn things alone. 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. Although they're occasionally reportedby hikers in remote locations, the U.S. By Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com. There's also a $10k bounty for evidence of anyone illegally re-introducing them to PA. By Heather Bellow, The Berkshire Eagle Dec 15, 2018 1 of 2 Mountain lions are believed not to exist in Massachusetts, but that only means they don't live or breed here. The last native. Pennsylvania's venomous snakes are hard to find. Mountain lions weigh 90-160 pounds, while bobcats weigh 20-30 pounds. In many places, the habitat hasn't changed much in hundreds of years. The very sad news: there was a PGC ear tag on it. adroll_pix_id = "UONCO23J7FHDDMDTKEX733"; adroll_version = "2.0"; San Julian can even send scat to be tested for cougar DNA. The easiest way toavoid Lyme disease is to avoid ticks altogether. Mountain lions' canines are 3 to 4 inches long. Coyoteseat wildlife including mice, voles, deer, rabbits and woodchucks. 1. The bobcat is native to most of North America and is the only feline predator, aside from feral domestic cats, found in Pennsylvania. Cougars were seen as threats to humans, livestock, and game species, resulting in unlimited harvest and bounties in some states. The only cats still hunting in Pennsylvania are bobcats, according to the state game commission. 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. Have a news tip? All rights reserved (About Us). 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. This content is restricted to subscribers of OutdoorNews.com. Spotting mountain lions is becoming a Pennsylvania pastime. A recent alleged sighting in South Abington Township, Lackawanna County, had Facebook groups abuzz. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead. U.S. FOREST SERVICE PHOTO "Likewise, I'm not aware of any escapes from captive facilities in my time here. There are more than 4,000 of them in Pennsylvania. "So the mystery goes on," says Gary San Julian, professor of wildlife resources in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Lion take a fawn in a swamp 1 mile from my home in the same county. Hard evidence that wild, free-ranging mountain lions are living in the state they did not. The hikers did not see the prey animal, but the mountain lion was focused and had zeroed in on something in the bushes. 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." 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. Brocke R. 1981. About the year 1967 I drove my corvair in a meadow and two red cats about a year old came across the road behind me south of Hancock PA. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. "Also, pretty sure there is color variation in a bobcats fur color, so what Im thinking is a good-sized, tawny colored bobcat.". She feeds and cares for them with donations and grants. In the cover photo, a cougar is walking by a mature red pine that is roughly 12 to 14 inches in diameter. My speed was 40mph, I got a good look at it. "It's probably a bobcat, but looks like a mountain lion," Nick Dodge told the station. 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. Mountain lions still exist in Pennsylvania, http://cougarrewilding.org/CougarNews/?p=938. "Now nobody is saying there is a wild emu population in Pennsylvania. Seriously, no mountain lions in Pa? After carefully considering the shape of the paw, Penn State experts concluded that the print was not made by a cougar. Since May 21, three other lion sightings were reported in the Chubbuck and Pocatello areas and one in Inkom. Ohio. The woman, a 66-year-old grandmother, asked not to be identified because she's a senior and didn't want people "bothering" her about it. State officials question the lack of proof from recent sightings. Mountain Lion Sighting Nov. 11, 2021 A California Mountain Lion was seen at approximately 4:52 p.m. on Nov. 11 near the University Glen water tanks and later on the main part of the campus near Santa Barbara Street and Camarillo Street. The track of a cougar found in Michigans Upper Peninsula (photo credit: Michigan Department of Natural Resources). But the reported road-kill apparently never happened. You should stay calm and back away from the bear. The buzzards returned in late February, and Steve Pollick says you can mark your calendar by these scavengers exploits. I just wanted to post that not only have we been hearing what we thought was a mountain lion, we spotted it the night before last. Jones has never seen a mountain lion, but he thinks they're prowling around. I called the game commission and they told me there have been no mountain lions reported in PA. Friends in the area reported having a large long tailed mountain lion run across a road just in front of their truck. The report says 58 people suffered allergic reactions and died from stings in Pennsylvania between 2001-13. Not valid with other promotions. According to the commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. Ablack widow bite is rarely fatal except in the young or elderly, according to the Penn State Cooperative Extension. " No humans were injured, but the mountain lion was apparently injured and stunned. 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. Then it disappeared for some time, until scat was found again in New York, and it was finally killed in Connecticut. A bobcat or coyote would fit within two or three red pines. "It's fall bow-hunting season soon," he said. Although common at the time of European settlement, the last known historical specimen in Missouri was killed in the Bootheel area in 1927. Mountain lion, cougar, puma, panther, painter, and catamount are all different names for the same animal ( Puma concolor ). They are not a threat to humans, and they are a protected species. Like Rocky, Nia is declawed. It has the color of a mountain lion, but the long tail appears to be missing. The cougar was photographed as it made its way from Minnesota to Wisconsin. 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. If you are not and would like to read this and all the other great content OutdoorNews.com has to offer, click here . 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.". One on Salem Rd and another in the . Courtesy photo. The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled. . Mountain lions live in rescue centers like Murray's, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission said a dozen or so people are permitted to possess them. Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. The mountain lion was killed east of Altoona and south of State College , Pa. northeast of Raystown Lake between Mt. Bears have been fought off with rocks, sticks, binoculars or even bare hands, the game commission says. February 23, . If you're bitten by a venomous snake, dial 911 immediately and seek medical attention. "They are very strong animals," she said. The Fort Worth Star-Telegraph reports on a mountain lion sighting in April 2022. Passed 10 feet in front of us. 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.". "It's 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. Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. Still, you just never know". Reports of a mountain lion have come from several residents of Hemlock Farms who were hiking on. Their coloration ranges from tan to black. The team has investigated hundreds of reports, but most turned out to be bobcats. Lion sightings they got. Most spiders have fangs to deliver venom, but only two in Pennsylvania have bites withserious medical implications for humans: the black widow (pictured) and the brown recluse.