Click here to login. They can grow as large as 200 pounds and have long tails. If you see 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. An estimated 20,000 of them were roaming across the Commonwealth in 2015. Coyotes are also confused for cougars (Figure 2). adroll_pix_id = "UONCO23J7FHDDMDTKEX733"; Mountain lions weigh 90-160 pounds, while bobcats weigh 20-30 pounds. Langell said two reports were . Cougars distaste for humans runs so deep that a study found that simply playing talk radio was enough to get these cougars to permanently abandon what they were eating. at least 1 mountain lion hanging out near a relatively fresh, mostly eaten deer . My speed was 40mph, I got a good look at it. and Wilmers, C.C. 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. Mountain lions still exist in Pennsylvania, http://cougarrewilding.org/CougarNews/?p=938. House cats on average are 11lbs and only a foot tall, which is much smaller than a cougar. The Journal of Wildlife Management 76(7):1364-1369. 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. Cars and car tires are also good scales; a cougar will be half the length of a sedan and taller than its tires. Pennsylvania Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser notes that his agency agrees with San Julian. Although common at the time of European settlement, the last known historical specimen in Missouri was killed in the Bootheel area in 1927. There has never been any conclusive evidence.". What you wouldn't expect to find here anymore is a mountain lion. 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." Jr. 2012. Besides a lack of physical (scat, hair, or tracks) and photographic evidence, the absence of cougars is also demonstrated by a lack of road-killed cougars. 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. On another occasion my sons best friend saw a fawn colored mt. 3 Last 10 Years. In many places, the habitat hasn't changed much in hundreds of years. Slowly, mountain lions recolonized North America after having retreated to warmer climates in South America during the Pleistocene ice age. Looked just like the Nittany Lion except it was alive and running! After hearing of alleged sightings over the years -- sketchy reports of rural folks listening to big cat screams in the night, inconclusive paw prints, photos and videos that never materialized and the occasional unexplained livestock killing -- a cougar carcass was supposed to be delivered to university wildlife experts for necropsy. Mountain Lion Sighting. There have been two mountain lion sightings this week in western Montana. It wa an buff colored animal about two feet tall and maybe three feet long with a very long very thick tail. PA game commission are nothing but liers they lie to the people all the time we need to do away with them turn it over to the government I do not trust our government but the game commission lies more, what appears to be very large lion tracks the PGC says photos were of a large dog I disagree I have a deer feeder and I think that is why they are all around my house, it seems every time my cousin mason and his buddies go camping they encounter oro see a mountian lion he says he swares the the cougar stalks them when they start walking through the woodsthey live in the northern part of pa in an little mountian town of treemont in schuylkill county we know there is mountian lions up there. They will not find a female in these areas, so they eventually make their way back to the western range or die in the attempt. 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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. Still, Pennsylvania does have adequate cougar habitat, according to San Julian. When it came back without the lion, she stopped them and asked why they had let a mountain lion out in the woods. "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". Mountain Lion. Human-Wildlife Interactions 5(1) 135-158. Let us know. Hawley, J.E., Rego, P.W., Wydeven, A.P., Schwartz, M.K., Viner, T.C., Kays R., Pilgrim, K.L., and Jenks, J.A. Many believe mountain lions still exist in Pennsylvania. "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. While juvenile males do make long journeys when they are young, they rarely make it to the Lake States (Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin). Males territories are generally twice the size of a females territory (50-350 square miles), and they overlap the territory of several females. Find Easton area news on Facebook. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. Factors governing risk of cougar attacks on humans. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. Was about 30 feet down the road when it crossed in front of me. adroll_language = "en_US"; Search for cougarscontinues in Pennsylvania, Stories from the first season in a new hunting house. 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. The bobcat wouldn't survive. 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. The one pictured is in a New York zoo. Big Cat, long tail, Mountain Lion past directly in front of my car. Are dangerous creatures lurking outside your tent flap or in the woods beyond your backyard if you live in Pennsylvania? Cougar range based on sightings and physical evidence (Image credit: LaRue et al, 2008). Sep 16, 2018 at 12:00 am. Upon investigation, the mountain lion was clearly a Florida panther that had wandered . So, if a. Cougars were extirpated from Pennsylvania before the 1900s and exterminated from the entire East Coast by the 1930s (aside from the Florida panther). 83 responses. I have seen a large cat on several occasions driving home at night from work. Over time, this will help us evaluate problem areas, movement barriers for wildlife, and potential for human-puma conflict. Mike Jacobsen found a dead mountain lion in his Denton-area field on Dec. 19. The Eastern Cougar Foundation, a clearinghouse for cougar sightings, claims it has received proof that big cats do exist in Missouri, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois and Kentucky, and in Ontario and New Brunswick, Canada. The easiest way toavoid Lyme disease is to avoid ticks altogether. No one needs to panic.". All rights reserved. Mountain lion, cougar, puma, panther, painter, and catamount are all different names for the same animal ( Puma concolor ). She feeds and cares for them with donations and grants. They were once a common predator in Pennsylvania until a combination of range-wide habitat loss, prey loss (mainly white-tailed deer and elk), and predator eradication programs in the 1800s drove them to extinction in the Commonwealth and across the East Coast later that century. "But we believe that the likely source is an illegally released animal.". The buzzards returned in late February, and Steve Pollick says you can mark your calendar by these scavengers exploits. Although mountain lions were part of Nebraska's native fauna, they were extirpated by the end of the 19th century. Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice 2017. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, bobcats are considered a species of least concern because of their wide distribution, abundance, and stable . Without major changes in both cougar biology, cougar behavior, and public opinion, it is unlikely that cougars can return to the wilds of Pennsylvania. 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. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. Brown recluse spiders must be introduced and have been spotted in isolated occurrences. UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A recent rumor of a cougar killed by a vehicle on Interstate 80 attracted some attention at Penn State. 2 houses up from my house. That doesnt stop some from believing mountain lions do exist in the East. Cougars are seven to eight feet in length (head to tail) and stand two to three feet at the shoulder. State Farm insurancecalculates that one out of every 67 drivers in Pennsylvania had a claim related to a deer collision in 2016. If you're hiking, stay on the path and don't venture into the woods. Are the mountain lion sightings in Monterey for real? "So the mystery goes on," says Gary San Julian, professor of wildlife resources in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Share on Social They usually go after rabbits and small game but can kill animals as large as deer, according to pennlive.com. I saw a large black cat about the size of a mediym sized dog walking towards my car in pike county Journal of Mammalogy 97(5):1435-1440. Add Michael's RSS feed to your feed reader They denied there was a mountain lion in their truck. In the winter, cougar tracks maybe up to six inches long. Over 1,100 people follow her page. My neighbor had one (maybe the same one) in her backyard. They have adapted to live in the suburbs in woods, fields or evenbackyards without being seen by people. There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. She also houses a bobcat named Nia she took in from a couple who couldn't handle her. Pennsylvania had more than 7,300 confirmed cases of the disease in 2015. One on Salem Rd and another in the . But they're probably bobcats. . Was the craziest thing I have ever heard or seen in the woods of pa. "I kind of doubt they saw a cougar, but I'm not God.". 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 on the main part of the campus near Santa Barbara Street and Camarillo Street. I live in Harrisburg, in the 70s and by Central Dauphin high school there was a creek called Beaver Creek so one day ask someone what are they called Beaver Creek and said there used to be a beaver there till about seven or eight years ago and the last one was killed by some person they named and he was actually bragging up that he killed the last beaver in Beaver Creek. 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). "Likewise, I'm not aware of any escapes from captive facilities in my time here. 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. Jones has never seen a mountain lion, but he thinks they're prowling around. "I know they're native to this area. The hikers did not see the prey animal, but the mountain lion was focused and had zeroed in on something in the bushes. Reintroduction of the cougar (Felis concolor) in Adirondack Park: A problem analysis and recommendations. Long-distance dispersal of a subadult male cougar from South Dakota to Connecticut documented with DNA evidence. 0:57 A phantom creature has been sighted in the vast Delaware State Forest region of Pike County. The only animal with a similar sized track is the black bear. 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. Most are about three feet long. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. State officials question the lack of proof from recent sightings. An attack on a 4-year-old near San Diego is just the latest in a string of mountain lion attacks in California. (Preferably while videotaping it) There is a $4000 bounty for a mountain lion carcass in PA. For those not following the debate, the PGC's official position is that there has not been a mountain lion in PA in more than 50 years. Mountain lions are 7-9 feet, while bobcats are 3 feet long. The distance traveled varies based on habitat, time of year, and study methods. "With all of that said, though, there's a general lack of evidence of mountain lions in Pennsylvania. If a mountain lion walks around an area enough, many different humans will notice. I saw a mountain lion crossing a state highway,the Oklahoma-Salem FRoad near DuBois PA about 4:30 pm. 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