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. " No humans were injured, but the mountain lion was apparently injured and stunned. Although they're occasionally reportedby hikers in remote locations, the U.S. Lion take a fawn in a swamp 1 mile from my home in the same county. That was a dead giveaway for Taylor. More than half of California is mountain lion habitat and mountain lions generally exist wherever deer are found. Mountain lions would have inhabited all of what is now Nebraska, roaming the hills and plains as an apex predator, hunting deer, elk and other large game. 1 Last 365 Days. They came out and investigated. Friends in the area reported having a large long tailed mountain lion run across a road just in front of their truck. The Fort Worth Star-Telegraph reports on a mountain lion sighting in April 2022. Abrown recluse bite can yield chills, fever, bloody urine, fatigue, jaundice, pain in the joints, nausea, rash, and in extremely rare cases, convulsions and death. 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 most recent sighting of a mountain lion in Georgia happened in 2008 when a hunter was out looking for deer. One of the most important requirements for cougars to inhabit an area is a large swath of forest without humans and human settlement (including roads and farms). "I hear rumors all the time about mountain lion sightings," said Brian Anderson, deputy game protector for Northumberland County. "We do not believe that there are any wild, native, breeding cougar populations in Pennsylvania. Skip to the beginning of the images gallery, FISH: Pennsylvania Frog and Toad Breeding Phenology, Questions and Answers about Centipedes, Ladybirds and Butterflies, The Effect of Coyotes on Pennsylvanias Deer Herd, Protected Species in Pennsylvania: The Bog Turtle, Protected Species in Pennsylvania: Northern Flying Squirrel. In January, the U.S. While there have been many reports of wild cougars returning to Pennsylvania, none of these have been proven to be wild cougars. Hard evidence that wild, free-ranging mountain lions are living in the state they did not. There may well be a mountain lion out there that has been illegally released.". Courtesy photo. They said it was the size of their German Shepard and theres nothing else it couldve possibly been. Females tend to go an average of 18-30 miles, while males travel much farther (45-170 miles). Foster said mountain lions and bobcats could not breed. Although the chances of being attacked by an animal are slim, and even slimmer that you could die from an attack by a creature, there are indeed animals capable of wreaking havoc on humans. Then it disappeared for some time, until scat was found again in New York, and it was finally killed in Connecticut. 0:57 A phantom creature has been sighted in the vast Delaware State Forest region of Pike County. 'Nothing to see here folks, move along'". Cougars are recolonizing the Midwest: Analysis of cougar confirmations during 19902008. Murray said Rocky was emaciated and chained when she found him at a private zoo. Angel, her African lioness who snarls at strangers, is a big girl. Figure 2. In 1991 mountain lion tracks were found . "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. I told her I knew what a Maine Coon cat looked like and this was BIG, had short hair and LONG tail. The cougar is much larger and needs at least four trees to be covered. The timber rattlesnake and northern copperhead are close to threatened, according to pennlive.com. 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 the northeastern United States. Passed 10 feet in front of us. My horse was spooked twice & I heard a guttural growling but never seen any animal. The claim of mountain lions on the move was bolstered in 2009 when one was killed by a car in Greenwich, Conn. Wasps are important because they kill off other pest insects such as caterpillars, flies and crickets. If you're bitten by a venomous snake, dial 911 immediately and seek medical attention. U.S. Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previous Post Dani Moz featured in blockbuster movie trailer 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. "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. They were extirpated from Indiana by the late 1800s. U.S. FOREST SERVICE PHOTO Union and Huntingdon , Pa. .. One doesn't think about big cats being in this eastern part of the . This offer only applies to OutdoorNews.com and not for any Outdoor News print subscriptions. All rights reserved (About Us). I think the mountain lion situation is like that. "When I started telling people, most of them didn't believe me, but I will never forget that huge face staring right at me," said a Montgomery County woman who says she saw a lion last summer in Limerick Township while walking her dog. The only cats still hunting in Pennsylvania are bobcats, according to the state game commission. "With all of that said, though, there's a general lack of evidence of mountain lions in Pennsylvania. 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." "I kind of doubt they saw a cougar, but I'm not God.". Dispersal can be mean treks as long as 1,000 miles in search of territory. Looked just like the Nittany Lion except it was alive and running! The state has an estimated1.5 milliondeer, about 30 per square mile. So it's possible that cougars survive. In the wild, adult mountain lions can weigh anywhere from 65 to 220 pounds. Cougars were extirpated from Pennsylvania before the 1900s and exterminated from the entire East Coast by the 1930s (aside from the Florida panther). Eventually they will reach areas where they never lived, or once lived,and will repopulate that area. You can also identify the venomous snakes of Pennsylvania by their vertical pupils, similar to the pupils in cats' eyes. Where a house cat would be along as a car tire and half the height of a tire. The Game Commission believes Pennsylvania's last known wild eastern mountain lion died in 1874 in Berks County. Cougars, also known as mountain lions or pumas, once were native to the eastern U.S. Then another friend told me his daughter who lives in Clymer PA saw a Game Commission truck go into the woods with a large cage in the back with a mountain lion in the cage. That the ultimate proof would come from Penn State seemed ironic -- the university's well-known mascot is a "Nittany" lion, and a mounted cougar killed in Susquehanna County in 1856 stands guard in the campus library. A recent alleged sighting in South Abington Township, Lackawanna County, had Facebook groups abuzz. Iowa DNR prepares for egg-collection netting season, Randy Claramunt vows to turn challenges into opportunities as Michigans new fisheries chief, WI Daily Update: The scoop on ice shanties, MN Daily Update: Permanent ice house dates, All-time great pro bass angler Kevin VanDam to retire following 23 season. 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. She also houses a bobcat named Nia she took in from a couple who couldn't handle her. 2021. The mystery of whether wild eastern cougars, also commonly known as mountain lions, pumas, or panthers, really survive in the Keystone State might finally unravel. If cougars are out there, why hasn't one ever been killed on a highway or shot? The buzzards returned in late February, and Steve Pollick says you can mark your calendar by these scavengers exploits. "The day will come," he said, "when someone will pull the trigger on a mountain lion.". The size was then confirmed to me, had a long tail also, had no markings but appeared dark grey in the sun. It wa an buff colored animal about two feet tall and maybe three feet long with a very long very thick tail. Young cougars (one- to two-years old) leave their mothers to establish a new territory. Follow Michael & PhillyVoice on Twitter @mtanen88| @thePhillyVoice This article addresses the history of cougars in Pennsylvania, their extirpation, and that they are now extinct. This was yesterday around 5pm 11/6/19. This article written in 2020 has a good wrap up of the current mountain lion status in North Dakota. Many believe mountain lions still exist in Pennsylvania. Recently he was given a plaster cast of what was suspected to be a cougar track from Wayne County, made after a "large cat-like creature" was seen locally. The U.S. 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.". PhillyVoice Staff, The coloration and the shape of the head lean toward mountain lion. Based on its extensive research, the Service concluded this subspecies of big cats had disappeared from the east by the 1930s. The nearest breed population of cougars is in Nebraskas Niobrara River Valleynearly 1,000 miles from Pennsylvanias eastern border (Figure 1). Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the Eastern subspecies of the mountain lion extinct, which would seem to bolster the skeptics. A placard affixed to the fence outside Rocky's pen states that "cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by humans." House cats and raccoons can also be confused for cougars. I have seen a large cat on several occasions driving home at night from work. "When I started telling people, most of them didn't believe me, but I will never forget that huge face staring right at me," said a Montgomery County woman who says she saw a lion last summer in Limerick Township while walking her dog. DNA tests have offered conclusive proof of cougars in other eastern states. An escapee is also possible. Black bear can be easily told apart from cougars: black bears have five toes to cougars four and their footpads are more elongated. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Coyotes are also confused for cougars (Figure 2). Without major changes in both cougar biology, cougar behavior, and public opinion, it is unlikely that cougars can return to the wilds of Pennsylvania. Mitochondrial genomes of the regionally extinct Nittany Lion (Puma concolor from Pennsylvania). Still, Pennsylvania does have adequate cougar habitat, according to San Julian. With industrial expansion into the heart of Pennsylvania in the 1700s, mountain lion sightings and attacks became more common as habitat destruction pit settlers against native predators. Smith, J.A., Suraci, J.P., Clinchy, M., Crawford, A., Roberts, D., Zanette, L.Y. A bobcat gives you a warm, that-kind-of-looks-like-my-cat-but-slightly-bigger feeling. A cougar or puma is like a UFO with four feet.. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. I am not a confirmed believer that they do travel Penns woods, however I would NOT rule it out either. 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. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. Saw some huge cat prints on the mountain in NEPA near white haven. 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. Cover Image: A cougar in Michigans Upper Peninsula (photo credit: Michigan DNR). Orange and tan house cats are also confused for cougars. Mattson, D., Kenneth, L., and Sweanor, L. 2011. I saw a Mountain Lion chasing a fox in Perryopolis Pa. The mountain lion sightings locations can help with all your needs. The only animal with a similar sized track is the black bear. Records show that more than 600 cougars were killed in Centre County alone during the 1800s. If you are not and would like to read this and all the other great content OutdoorNews.com has to offer, click here . The abundance of wildlife that thrives in Pennsylvania makes sightings of interesting animals fairly commonplacebears, foxes, coywolves and elk are all within the realm of expectations. 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. When they are in these new areas, the young males are almost constantly moving looking for an area with females. 2016. In one extreme dispersal event in 2011, a cougar (that was later found to be related to cats from the Black Hills) made it to Connecticut before it was killed by a car. The young adult male was killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford, Connecticut on June 11, 2011. My neighbor had one (maybe the same one) in her backyard. I saw a mountain lion crossing a state highway,the Oklahoma-Salem FRoad near DuBois PA about 4:30 pm. Click here to login. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the eastern cougar extinct. but they have a tail thats almost as long as their body, and this animal clearly is lacking a tail," Taylor said. To download a high-resolution image, go to http://aginfo.psu.edu/news/august01/lion.tif. They haven't been . You know, the Penn State Nittany Lions.". UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A recent rumor of a cougar killed by a vehicle on Interstate 80 attracted some attention at Penn State. If you see any of these four wild animals in Pennsylvania, definitely keep a safe distance. But many others believe the big cats, also known as cougars and pumas, are traveling into Pennsylvania from western states, leading to persistent alleged sightings. 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. "If my son would have been on a pedal bike, without a helmet on, that thing would have nailed him," said Walters, 44. "So the mystery goes on," says Gary San Julian, professor of wildlife resources in the College of Agricultural Sciences. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Jr. 2012. Mountain lions once lived in much of the eastern United States. Ablack widow bite is rarely fatal except in the young or elderly, according to the Penn State Cooperative Extension. "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". Of course, bees are crucial to our existence. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead. Across . I stopped while i was driving, and as i approached it SLOWLY as not to scare it, it glared at my truck walked towards it,then sat. "If my son would have been on a pedal bike, without a helmet on, that thing would have nailed him," said Walters, 44. . The only population that survived was the Florida panther (Puma concolor couguar), and it only survived with great help from conservationists. and Wilmers, C.C. adroll_language = "en_US"; Search for cougarscontinues in Pennsylvania, Stories from the first season in a new hunting house. The most recent sighting of a mountain lion in a Randallstown field Tuesday has revived claims that cougars aren't extinct in Maryland. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. One came to her as the result of an owner's divorce. Since the policy's inception March 1, 19 mountain lion sightings have been reported. These tiny critters may not look that threatening but they are carriers of Lyme disease, which can result in long-term health complications and even death. Adult males may be more than 8 feet long (from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail), and can weigh between 130 and 150 pounds. Of course, the New Jersey Wildlife people will flat out tell you there are no mountain lions anywhere in New Jersey. However, the last genuine sighting of a free-roaming mountain lion in the state was in 1967, and even that was suspected to have been someone's escaped or released pet. Turkey vultures return to Ohio a sure harbinger of the coming spring? 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. (AP FILE PHOTO) A Philadelphia Inquirer story said more and more people in Pennsylvania claim they are seeing mountain . Eastern coyotes are prevalent in Pennsylvania. That's not to say that there is not a mountain lion in the wild," he explains. "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. US Fish and Wildlife Service. Make sure you remove or cover up any bear food source, including garbage or bird feeders at your home. The coloration in adults is uniform. Conservation agents searched for the animal last night and resumed looking this morning. All rights reserved. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Although mountain lions were part of Nebraska's native fauna, they were extirpated by the end of the 19th century. Denise Kunzig, who lives in Orchard Valley on. It's 90-something degrees, but Rocky's stare feels like ice down your pants. The reports, though, continue. After carefully considering the shape of the paw, Penn State experts concluded that the print was not made by a cougar. 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