In this at this distant epoch, archaeologists attempt to clear some of the mists and mysteries of prehistoric times. In January, the U.S. ", (PennLive has investigated many reports of mountain lions, and other mystery creatures, and has found no confirming evidence, including in a reported Berks County sighting on January 8. The Golden State has one of the largest populations of mountain lions in the country. Albinos are often very light sensitive, and they certainly are conspicuous, and most do not live very long. Some outdoor enthusiasts insist they have seen the big cats here and believe them to be naturally occurring, native animals. . This happens usually around the 18-month mark. The sightings were great bear views, but too fast or fleeting to allow me to grab a camera. There's a saying that "things aren't always what they appear to be." Things to Do in the Poconos | Attractions & Outdoors - Pocono Mountains Although there was no evidence that the 2011 mountain lion ever set foot in Pennsylvania, DNA evidence confirmed that it had been both west and east of the state. They have almost been killed off a few times, but conservation efforts have helped to keep their numbers stable. What the Lenape Indians never did, the European colonists and their descendants did swiftly eradicate the wolf and cougars viewed as a menace to their families and livestock. After a small population was reintroduced into their historic land, their population has grown to a stable and breeding group of between 200-300 individuals. One man, in the southwestern part of Pennsylvania, had seen one, at night, about 25 years ago. There is a small breeding population in the state, despite being killed off in the 1920s. And yes, there are people in Pennsylvania who say they exist here. Would a puma then qualify as a native species? All rights reserved (About Us). "From three really reliable sources who are always around the woods from Monroe County to Bradford, there is no doubt that there are mountain lions in Pennsylvania," East Stroudsburg University football team offensive coordinator and avid hunter Mike Terwilliger said. One of these days, though, I'll get one that won't be, and I hope that will be soon. One man sent me a game camera photo that was blurry but looked like a mountain lion, or puma, as I like to call them. There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. Something to consider, even though we all trust the government. These cubs are born blind and helpless. Below is a list of physical characteristics that distinguish mountain lions from more . 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. Like Arizona, New Mexico is the perfect home for mountain lions. Recently, a man I spoke with told me that he was reminded of a sighting he and two friends had 20 years earlier, and after recalling the incident he was motivated to call his college buddies and reflect on their observation. Mountain lions that are looking for new breeding areas are known as transient and are almost always males. Would my mountain ridge be declared 'Critical Habitat' for the puma? Scientists debate whether the large prehistoric mammals became extinct at the end of the Ice Age due to over-hunting, or rapid climate warming. A few could, perhaps, be mistaken idenity. Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania - Hoot Hollow There isnt an official estimate on mountain lions in the state. Let me explain this. Accounts abound concerning interaction between these great beasts and people in northeast Pennsylvania, with wolves into the early 19th century and in the case with cougars, well into the early 20th century. Wishful thinking? 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. 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. Luxury Cabin Rentals: Pocono Mountain Getaways | Glamping Hub Fish and Wildlife Service. The 'look' is from my He also noted that if the cat was here, wouldn't they be reproducing and increasing in population by now? In all those hours I never saw a coyote, bear, or bobcat, and yet all live in my area. But the point of this article isn't whether or not mountain lions exist in Pennsylvania or the Poconos. DNR: Fish & Wildlife: Mountain Lion He knows and was familiar with bobcats, and it was not a weird house cat that he and his friends misjudged in size. The last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. 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. Obviously, other pumas must be about, and the series of ridges extending north and east and west from my location could all be included as critical habitat as well. Hunters I've spoken with said they've been told you can't kill a puma, which they felt was ironic since the same official told them pumas don't exist in Pa. Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. Hoax photo doesn't help believability of mountain lions in Poconos Archived Questions of the Month Mountain lions were once widespread across North America, but their range shrunk dramatically as they were pursued through unregulated hunting and by farmers aiming to protect their livestock, and moved off the landscape by habitat fragmentation. All rights reserved. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. Sadly, the hunting guidelines for cougars in Idaho are lax, with 400-600 cats being killed each year. "They are very strong animals," she said. Mysterious big cat caught on security camera in Clarks Summit, Pa. 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? The last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. 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. Nevertheless, I put up a MOULTRIE game camera -- a brand that I've had tremendous satisfaction with -- at the carcass, hoping that scavengers would visit. Who knows? Recently, on a back road in Pennsylvania, a friend and I had our first sighting of a coyote in Pennsylvania. Since mountain lions are the top predators (unlike most other states with grizzly bears), they have a well-developed population. The Asa Packer Mansion, built in the year 1861, is a historic house museum. After a gestation period of 90 days, female mountain lions will give birth to litters of about one to six cubs. It was recorded in Minnesota and Wisconsin in late 2009 and early 2010, and then died in Connecticut in 2011. Did they migrate south from Canada? And again, while they may have been mistaken, they certainly were completely convinced that they had seen a puma. My friend was a former hunter and fisherman, and spent a lot of time in the woods, as did I, but neither of us had ever seen a coyote. A dark brown puma, backlighted by a strong sun, could appear all black, or very dark, and he accepted that. Those special two were across a river just outside Glacier National Park in Montana, and consisted of a mother and two cubs (Mary saw both cubs, I only saw one, and we did so separately, as we were driving two vehicles). It was estimated to be a young adult American Mastodon that had died about 12,000 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating. If you're interested in this, please pass on this link, and if you see a cat, please let me know! Is there a Puma conspiracy? Mountain Lions - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service) NPS.gov Park Home Learn About the Park Nature Animals Mammals Mountain Lion Mountain Lion Last updated: May 4, 2018 Was this page helpful? 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. DNA collected from the mountain lion killed on a roadway in Connecticut in 2011 showed the animal to have originated in South Dakota. Yet, except for Florida, which has about 100 of them "Florida panthers"), no eastern state has a verifiable population of these large 100- to 200-pound cats that were extirpated 100 years ago. Would these ridges be declared off-limits for hunting? As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 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. Does the mountain lion roam Pa? - Pocono Record What do I think of the Canon 1D Mark IV? Many of those claiming to have encountered a cougar in Pennsylvania take that non-confirmation by the commission as an attack on their veracity and character. A tiny population of Florida cougars persists in the southeastern corner of the United States. I regularly ask hunters and outdoors people if they've ever seen a mountain lion, or know of anyone that has. Recently, on our Arizona Hummingbird and Bat Photo Shoot, I found a deer that had been hit by a car and had moved off to die beside a stream just 200 yards upstream from our lodge. Now consider: If it was confirmed that there was a breeding population of endangered pumas on the mountain ridge behind my house, if the USFWS recognized the existence of this endangered species, what might happen? 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. Mountain Lion Reports 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. Geologist Dr. John Yolton made the identification. Can so many people be so wrong? 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?' There are also big swaths of thick of forests in parts of the state. 1.8 miles, 2 hours, moderate. There is no known estimate of the number of mountain lions inhabiting Texas. In prior interviews with the Game Commission, the suggestion was made to this writer that what many people may actually be seeing is a bobcat, perhaps in less than ideal circumstances. That's true. Have some feedback for us? In the forests of Kenya, however, they do occur. How do I deal with shaving weight for carrying my gear? At one time this fact almost resulted in this cat not being protected, since it wasn't a pure strain. Not only do hunting licenses support the various state game commissions, and in some states the acquisition and maintenance of public hunting lands, but hunters are a huge boon to local economies each fall, with purchases of food, lodging, hunting equipment, etc. But an image captured by one family's. Had this been faked, I'd suspect the hoaxter would try for a more authentic background. Me? Adults are a uniform tan or tawny in color, with a white or cream-colored chin, undersides and inner legs. It was decided that this shouldn't influence the decision and, in fact, an infusion of new genes produces a hybrid vigor, lessening the chance of in-breeding. This is not a Pennsylvania puma! The agency has declared extinct the eastern cougar, one of 11 subspecies ofmountain lions native to North America. In his 1973 book "Faces in Clay" Leslie lays open the archaeological treasures of stone arrow or spear points and tools lost long ago by a succession of native peoples. Let me explain this. They're common in the rural areas of the Lehigh Valley but are moving into more populated areas as evidenced by a 600-pound specimen (pictured) that was tranquilized in March after neighbors in. The story behind our new web site. That solution: Shoot, Shovel, and Shut Up. Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions - AZ Animals 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. In only one report had an official from the Pennsylvania Game Commision, a local warden, actually agree with the person reporting the sighting. Imagination? I've done this myself once, in Tanzania, when I saw a black house cat that I thought was a black leopard! Where they always here as a relic population? Puma vs Mountain Lion: Is There a Difference? Can so many people be wrong? Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead? 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. Conversely, an outdoor writer I know told me that when Pa. enacted a menagerie permit law years ago, 'a lot of mountain lions suddenly died,' as the owners of these cats, rather than going through the paperwork, simply released their pumas and claimed that they had died. According to the commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. The rocky habitat that covers much of the state is perfect for these ambush predators, especially since humans dont inhabit much of the land. Any Truth They've been extinct in the eastern part of North America for more than a century. One might argue that the eastern puma is extinct, but that does not mean that there are not pumas (mountain lions, cougars) in the east. The skeleton was reassembled at the State Museum, where it has been on display ever since. Best hike for seeing waterfalls. However, many of my reports were at distances that people knew, and as you look at the images of the puma there really is a big difference in color and shape between a puma and a house cat.
