They denied there was a mountain lion in their truck. Get started. 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. Since the policy's inception March 1, 19 mountain lion sightings have been reported. You know I love hunting when I was younger in Pennsylvania but trying to kill the very last animal shows a sign of being inbred. Long-distance dispersal of a subadult male cougar from South Dakota to Connecticut documented with DNA evidence. Mountain lions live in rescue centers like Murray's, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission said a dozen or so people are permitted to possess them. "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. Tumble drying clothes for 10 minutes will kill ticks. This article written in 2020 has a good wrap up of the current mountain lion status in North Dakota. This article addresses the history of cougars in Pennsylvania, their extirpation, and that they are now extinct. 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. It will happen eventually. In January, the U.S. Three types ofvenomous snakes live in Pennsylvania: the timber rattlesnake (pictured), the eastern massasauga and the northern copperhead. Mountain lions are helpful in maintaining order in our ecosystem and assist to keep other wildlife numbers in check. 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. "A cougar or puma is like a UFO with four feet." Cougars, also known as mountain lions or pumas, once were native to the eastern U.S. 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. The Florida panther reached a population low of 20-30 individuals in 1970s, and currently are between 120-200 sub-adults and adults. Across . adroll_adv_id = "T6XR4YM2C5FGXNZIDZPFXI"; "They are very strong animals," she said. Lion take a fawn in a swamp 1 mile from my home in the same county. Let us know. Courtesy photo. Mountain lions live in rescue centers like Murray's, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission said a dozen or so people are permitted to possess them. After the male mountain lion was removed from Red Hill Trail on May 11, additional sightings in that area were reported: one on May 16, and two over the weekend of May 19 and 20. Was the craziest thing I have ever heard or seen in the woods of pa. Reintroduction of the cougar (Felis concolor) in Adirondack Park: A problem analysis and recommendations. Images from a homeowner's surveillance camera show a tan cat with a long body, beyond a chain-link fence. Unfortunately, is it unlikely that cougars will return to Pennsylvania in the near future. Previous Post Dani Moz featured in blockbuster movie trailer Black bear can be easily told apart from cougars: black bears have five toes to cougars four and their footpads are more elongated. Bobcat and coyote tracks have been misidentified as cougar tracks. "Absolutely bobcat," Taylor said. The distance traveled varies based on habitat, time of year, and study methods. Jones has never seen a mountain lion, but he thinks they're prowling around. It's 90-something degrees, but Rocky's stare feels like ice down your pants. Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the Eastern subspecies of the mountain lion extinct, which would seem to bolster the skeptics. State Farm insurancecalculates that one out of every 67 drivers in Pennsylvania had a claim related to a deer collision in 2016. The only animal with a similar sized track is the black bear. "Now nobody is saying there is a wild emu population in Pennsylvania. (The fear of cougars is unfounded. The team has investigated hundreds of reports, but most turned out to be bobcats. Angel, her African lioness who snarls at strangers, is a big girl. This definitely wasnt a bobcat. Looked just like the Nittany Lion except it was alive and running! Cougars need areas without humans because they do not like to be around humans and humans kill them (intentionally and unintentionally). "He doesn't like men too much," said Suzanne Murray, owner of East Coast Exotic Animal Rescue in this south-central Pennsylvania town. The young adult male was killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford, Connecticut on June 11, 2011. Already a subscriber to OutdoorNews.com? Cars and car tires are also good scales; a cougar will be half the length of a sedan and taller than its tires. Of course, the New Jersey Wildlife people will flat out tell you there are no mountain lions anywhere in New Jersey. So is the second largest extant cat in North America still managing to eke out a living in the Keystone state? Pennsylvania would be incredibly difficult for cougars to reach. "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. On another occasion my sons best friend saw a fawn colored mt. Three sightings, in fact, are considered credible and have some backing to them. Here, they've not been," Lau said in an e-mail. // February 12, 2021 Many believe mountain lions still exist in Pennsylvania. San Julian can even send scat to be tested for cougar DNA. She also houses a bobcat named Nia she took in from a couple who couldn't handle her. You should stay calm and back away from the bear. A lion that was killed by Berks County coal-burners and . If you encounter a bear that hasn't had time to leave, the game commission advises you to make a noise to alert the bear of your presence. Dispersing cats do not stay in new areas because there are no females. Murray said Rocky was emaciated and chained when she found him at a private zoo. A bobcat or coyote would fit within two or three red pines. 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. Foster said mountain lions and bobcats could not breed. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead. Sunbury, PA 17801 Phone: 570-286-5671 Email . On some investigations, Foster has teamed up with Stacey Griffiths, who started the Central PA Mountain Lion Sightings page earlier this year. Residents should report any possible mountain lion sightings immediately to law enforcement or to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. The nearest known populations of mountain lions are in Wyoming, Colorado, North . Jones has never seen a mountain lion, but he thinks they're prowling around. "But we believe that the likely source is an illegally released animal.". Journal of Mammalogy 97(5):1435-1440. The best way to differentiate cougar tracks from other animals is size; cougar tracks are usually four inches from heel to toe and four inches wide, roughly twice the size of bobcats or coyotes. Im 62 and hunted most of my life here in PA. Dont EVER expect to get the truth from anyone with Game departments in any U.S. state. These indentations on their cheeks help them sense heat and find prey. Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the Eastern subspecies of the mountain lion extinct, which would seem to bolster the skeptics. The PGC's historical approach to mountain lion sightings is relevant to understanding their approach to the Jacobs photos. The cougar was photographed as it made its way from Minnesota to Wisconsin. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the eastern cougar extinct. The state has an estimated1.5 milliondeer, about 30 per square mile. UPDATE: An alert reader took this photo late September, 2008, from his trail camera near Plummer, PA. UPDATE: An alert reader sent this photo of a mountain lion taken about three weeks ago (September 2009) near Farmington, Pa, in Fayette County. This photo of a cougar was taken in Michigans Upper Peninsula (photos obtained by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources). The mountain lion was killed east of Altoona and south of State College , Pa. northeast of Raystown Lake between Mt. "I kind of doubt they saw a cougar, but I'm not God.". They love lurking on theedge of wooded areas near agricultural areas where prey is abundant. Then it disappeared for some time, until scat was found again in New York, and it was finally killed in Connecticut. 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. 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. 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. Pennsylvania is too inhabited to support a population of cougars, unless there are major changes in cougar biology, cougar behavior, and public opinion. The size was then confirmed to me, had a long tail also, had no markings but appeared dark grey in the sun. To download a high-resolution image, go to http://aginfo.psu.edu/news/august01/lion.tif. What you. The Fort Worth Star-Telegraph reports on a mountain lion sighting in April 2022. For more information on mountain lions, visit the . The most recent sighting of a mountain lion in a Randallstown field Tuesday has revived claims that cougars aren't extinct in Maryland. All rights reserved (About Us). From PD: Read your article about mountain lions in NJ. There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. It had recently killed a buck and was dragging it across the road. 1 Last 365 Days. 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. We run through the list from mammals to reptiles to insects. A placard affixed to the fence outside Rocky's pen states that "cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by humans." Paws 'N' Claws Animal Park in the Poconos has two. Your email address will not be published. adroll_language = "en_US"; Search for cougarscontinues in Pennsylvania, Stories from the first season in a new hunting house. 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. It has the color of a mountain lion, but the long tail appears to be missing. They shared the unusual sight with WHNT-News. "It's fall bow-hunting season soon," he said. A mountain lion named Rocky, at the East Coast Animal Rescue, Tuesday, September 4, 2018. What you wouldn't expect to find here anymore is a mountain lion. 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). The tail of the cat is an excellent identification tool: cougars have two- to three-foot-long wiry tails with a black tip, and bobcats have a short bobbed tail that is only three to eight inches long. Hard evidence that wild, free-ranging mountain lions are living in the state they did not. It is a known fact that when an area is overpopulated, wild animals will migrate out of an area and into a new area that is less populated. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead. "If my son would have been on a pedal bike, without a helmet on, that thing would have nailed him," said Walters, 44. Mountain Lion Sighting. 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