As you can see from the above images it is very difficult to confuse the two if you have a good view. It was estimated to be a young adult American Mastodon that had died about 12,000 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating. With that hope in mind, I have, for years, asked outdoors people if they ever heard of a mountain lion, or puma, in their area -- with my questioning limited to people in my home state of Pennsylvania. If so, what would happen to the hunting industry in all of these states? 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. 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. There are also big swaths of thick of forests in parts of the state. "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. Let me explain this. In many regions, the population within the state is actually increasing! Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. A second image of the same cat, in a different light, reveals the trademark spots of a bobcat. Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. What is the Kiboko backpack? The coat can be spotted or solid. This, after they were told that there were no pumas in Pa. "While it seems unlikely, it's not impossible that these animals are showing up in PA," said David Foster, a biology professor at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg. All rights reserved. Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. Would a puma then qualify as a native species? I have three observations here: 1. "People think they can get them declawed and that they're safe, but they still have teeth.". 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. Over time, cats that had been released in Florida, probably pets that outlived their welcome, bred with the native puma, and their genes mingled. Reports of a mountain lion have come from several residents of Hemlock Farms who were hiking on. I'm thinking of the solution often suggested for pesky endangered species out west, namely wolves and grizzly bears. 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. "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. Find cabins in the Poconos, PA near places like Bushkill Falls, Camelback Mountain Resort, and more. Ashley Catherine Fontones, Pocono Record. 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. 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. Why do I advocate manual exposure so avidly? About half of the state of Montana is ideal for mountain lions, primarily in her western and central regions. Everyone is familiar with albinism, the absence of pigmentation that results in a white, essentially pigment free animal, defined by pink skin and pink eyes. Any Truth 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. Of course, the writer's comments were hearsay, but it does make sense. What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? 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. Are there Mountain Lions (Pumas, Cougars) in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic States? 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. Where they always here as a relic population? Known as the Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania, there are four trails that lead to the cascades from the Bushkill Falls trailhead, each ranging in . Mountain lions weigh 90-160 pounds, while bobcats weigh 20-30 pounds. The question is just like in the story of the boy who cried wolf) if that day ever arrives, how will we believe those first, true sightings after so many hoaxes have been perpetrated on the public? Everyone else, when reporting, were frustrated as they were told they had seen a bobcat. And, some may be escaped or illegally released pets. Imagine my surprise. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. As they get older, the cubs begin to leave the den and explore. In January, the U.S. 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. The last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. In 2015, a Pennsylvania State Historical Marker was placed near the site where the mastodon was found. They have almost been killed off a few times, but conservation efforts have helped to keep their numbers stable. Woolly mammoth bones were discovered in Bradford County in 1983. There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. 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. To learn more about "lion country" in Colorado check here. There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. 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. Furthermore, a different set of photos showed a "mountain lion" dragging a deer into the woods in Bradford County. This is actually a good thing, as genetic isolation generally weakens a species. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. RelatedBigfoot, mountain lions, and other mythical creatures: PA officials discuss what they know. The sightings were great bear views, but too fast or fleeting to allow me to grab a camera. The bones were found perfectly preserved. Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead. Some cats had a South American genetic profile. 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. 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. (National Park Service). It wasn't, and I assumed it was a road-kill. Would a puma then qualify as a native species? 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). There are controlled hunting laws in the state of Oregon. The large, undeveloped interior filled with rocky habitats perfect for mountain lions allows them to safely live and breed. But no one that I've communicated with had these preconceptions, and seeing what they saw was a complete surprise. 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? Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the Eastern subspecies of the mountain lion extinct, which would seem to bolster the skeptics. 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. 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. What does a Puma (Mountain Lion) look like on a Game Camera? Here's more about mountain lions in Pennsylvania: If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Mountain lions, Goodrich wrote, were more dreaded than wolves as the cat could climb over any fence that could be built. While it would seem impossible to confuse the two after seeing them in person, Foster said many of the sightings are in the dark, from roadways and trail cams, with bodies half-concealed. There are an estimated 3,000 - 7,000 Mountain lions in Colorado. Like Rocky, Nia is declawed. Can so many people be so wrong? With that in mind, lets break down how we classified the states. 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. Although unconfirmed, mountain lions continue to be reported in many spots across Pennsylvania, including several reports in the past couple months. Biologists traced it back to the Black Hills of South Dakota, from where it ventured nearly 2,000 miles looking for a new mate. 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. 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. And this genetic mix has been recognized, and the Florida puma is still protected. 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. I regularly ask hunters and outdoors people if they've ever seen a mountain lion, or know of anyone that has. Flying over the area, I've looked down and commented upon the amount of habitat that would be available for a puma, if only they existed. A dark brown puma, backlighted by a strong sun, could appear all black, or very dark, and he accepted that. In the forests of Kenya, however, they do occur. Colby is a freelance writer from Charlotte, North Carolina. Mountain lions that are looking for new breeding areas are known as transient and are almost always males. Mary saw the photo, too, and she immediately agreed, it was a puma. Hunting is legal, but the use of dogs was banned in 1996. The agency has declared extinct the eastern cougar, one of 11 subspecies ofmountain lions native to North America. It also mentioned that someone raising a mountain lion without a license may either have let it go when it became too large to handle, or that the animal had escaped. Among other uses, the tax was levied "for destroying wolves, foxes, heads and crows." 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. 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?' Recent post: Why Is It Called Beaver Stadium? PHILADELPHIA (AP) An instinct coiled way down in the human brain knows the difference between a bobcat and a mountain lion. 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. If mountain lions are discovered in PA anytime soon they'll either be big foot's pets or genetically engineered and released by the DCNR to cull the orangu-bear population. They are generally believed to be young cats roaming in search of new breeding territories to claim as their own. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 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. Two different people told me that they, or a close relative, had seen pumas on more than one occasion. I asked our Game officials about evidence, and they cite no road kills. I regularly ask hunters and outdoors people if they've ever seen a mountain lion, or know of anyone that has.
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