When I first discovered this fresh carcass I examined it for throat punctures, thinking that it may have been killed by a puma. Of course, the writer's comments were hearsay, but it does make sense. 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. 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. 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. Controlled hunting of mountain lions is allowed within the state. Contrary to popular belief, there are no black panthers in North America; no one has ever captured or killed a black Mountain Lion. I've know of reports since 1973, in Cooke Forest, the heart of a lot of Pa. wilderness. No projectile points or spearheads were found with the remains, indicating the animal may have died naturally rather than killed by native hunters. Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. Every year we receive a few similar reports from hikers, hunters or other outdoor enthusiasts. Where can I find Depth of Field reference charts? The claim of mountain lions on the move was bolstered in 2009 when one was killed by a car in Greenwich, Conn. Are there pumas, or mountain lions, in Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic States? original web site, although if I ever have enough time I might It was recorded in Minnesota and Wisconsin in late 2009 and early 2010, and then died in Connecticut in 2011. Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. How, Who, and Why? 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. The last native mountain lion known to be killed in Pennsylvania is on display in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. 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. It seems unlikely, considering captives have never shown this trait, but people are reporting big black cats. If you see or photograph a puma in the mid-Atlantic states, please email or call me. There isnt an official estimate on mountain lions in the state. Leap transferred ownership rights to the state. Like Arizona, New Mexico is the perfect home for mountain lions. 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. More common critters co-existed with early Native Americans in the Poconos, including two species long since removed: the wolf and mountain lion (also known colloquially as panthers and cougars). A typical home range is around 150 square miles for adult males and 50 square miles for adult females in our region. Bo Ottman is a landscaper in Connecticut who founded an . Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. Never has this been more accurate than in today's digital, computerized world. The state of Texas is home to many mountain lion populations, but the numbers are incredibly hard to find. The Asa Packer Mansion, built in the year 1861, is a historic house museum. Arkansas isnt somewhere that we would generally think of when looking for mountain lions, but they are on the rebound! Depends on who you talk to, I guess. Activities Milford Things To Do Hotels Map Of Activities Delaware Water Gap Hotels Bushkill Lake Harmony Hawley Skytop Tannersville Pocono Mountains Counties About the Poconos Pocono Mountains History Weather Area Services . He also noted that if the cat was here, wouldn't they be reproducing and increasing in population by now? Colby is a freelance writer from Charlotte, North Carolina. Imagine my surprise. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? 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. Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. There is a big community of mountain lion enthusiasts across the Northeast convinced that the animals still exist in breeding populations. It is an Italianate Villa home that features authentic Victorian furniture and finishing. "While confirmed cougar sightings have occurred recently in the wild in the East, there is currently no scientific or physical evidence documenting the continued existence of a population of wild eastern cougars," according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Encouraged by the bounties, settlers waged war on these perceived beasts. 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. Confirmed cougar sightings have increased in the Midwest and Great Lakes states in recent years.". The image in the Upper Left was from a Game Camera, sent to me by a friend. If we say it ain't so, it ain't so! the more visible white on the chest, the lack of spots, the huge hind quarters. It's sort of like big foot, some people say they've seen him.". Angel, her African lioness who snarls at strangers, is a big girl. Bobcats tend to be darker brown, with lighter belly fur and spots while mountain lions tend to be more uniform brown, tawny color. "I know they're native to this area. The record size for this species is 8 feet, and it probably weighed 15 to 20 pounds, which shows how exaggerated this claim is. Biologists traced it back to the Black Hills of South Dakota, from where it ventured nearly 2,000 miles looking for a new mate. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? With healthy populations and strong conservation programs, however, they seem to be pushing back east. "It's one of those things where I'll believe it when I see it," said Jason Farmer of Pocono Summit, my hunting partner for the last eight years. I'll offer my own little anecdote. Certainly it is a romantic notion, but I've always held out the hope that pumas still roamed the east. Fish and Wildlife Service. The state of Idaho is large, expansive, and full of rocky wilderness. 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! The Pocono Mountains are located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. In 2015, a Pennsylvania State Historical Marker was placed near the site where the mastodon was found. Who knows? "If my son would have been on a pedal bike, without a helmet on, that thing would have nailed him," said Walters, 44. Erosion from glacial melt and violence glaciers did to the land left a great litter of boulders, rocks, clay and lakes covering today's landscape. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Many people have claimed to see them, and this writer chronicled numerous such reports in the local press from the mid-1990s to the 2010s. 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. However, my friend and I discussed this, and agreed, we saw what we saw, and had it been 40 years ago or four months ago, we knew we saw a coyote. You be the judge. 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 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. This one streaked across the road in the early evening, and fortunately, it stopped when it climbed a hill on the other side where I had another view from my side of the truck. Recently, on a back road in Pennsylvania, a friend and I had our first sighting of a coyote in 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. 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. I don't want to seem like a nut case here, but I must ask this question and you'll soon understand why? There are at least 20,000 black bears in Pa., and a small percentage are killed each year, but we're probably not talking about 20,000 pumas in the state. Recent post: Why Is It Called Beaver Stadium? I want to believe they're here, but I'm having some trouble. 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. 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. The last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. 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. Mountain lions typically eat about one deer per week, along with other smaller prey as the opportunity arises. For example, leopards and jaguars, normally spotted cats, have a melanistic color morph, the 'black panther,' the black leopard or black jaguar. 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. Is there a Mountain Lion Conspiracy? 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. Now, forty years ago coyotes were rare or almost nonexistent in Pennsylvania, and had had that same sighting back then, when coyotes were thought not to exist within the state we would have had the 'facts' to doubt what we saw. Of interestRamapough Lenape chief: National park in PA and NJ would be among 'most destructive things' since colonization. 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? When he isn't distracted by his backyard birdfeeder, you can find him camping, exploring, and telling everyone around him about what he's recently learned. What do I think of the Canon 1D Mark IV? On that, I've had emails sent with game trail photo attachments, or killed pumas, supposedly shot in Pennsylvania, but these were hoaxes. Granted, the image is not great, and I used some Photoshop adjustment layers to enhance the image, making it a bit easier to see. Did they migrate south from Canada? I don't believe someone's imagination could stretch a six inch long tail to three feet! redo these pages to match the new web site But that's not These cubs are born blind and helpless.