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. Bobcats are much smaller, only two to three feet long (head to tail) and one to two feet high at the shoulder. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". A recent alleged sighting in South Abington Township, Lackawanna County, had Facebook groups abuzz. 2016. The map below includes both confirmed and unverified puma sightings in the larger San Francisco Bay region (and beyond) since 2004. From PD: Read your article about mountain lions in NJ. Paws 'N' Claws Animal Park in the Poconos has two. All rights reserved. Of course, bees are crucial to our existence. It's only found in thewestern part of the state. The Game Commission believes Pennsylvania's last known wild eastern mountain lion died in 1874 in Berks County. Although mountain lions were part of Nebraska's native fauna, they were extirpated by the end of the 19th century. Without some adaptions and major changes in public opinion, it is unlikely that cougars can be restored in Pennsylvania, as the Adirondacks in 1980s was much less populated than Pennsylvania today. 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. Juvenile males are the individuals that are seen outside of traditional" cougar range in places like Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Recent post: Why Is It Called Beaver Stadium? The only population that survived was the Florida panther (Puma concolor couguar), and it only survived with great help from conservationists. From 2015 through 2017, at least 100 pumas were spotted in the county, according to Tribune data gathered in 2018. Bobcats tend to be darker brown, with lighter belly fur and spots while mountain lions tend to be more uniform brown, tawny color. Upperparts are grizzled gray or dark brown to buff, cinnamon tawny, or rufous. They've been extinct in the eastern part of North America for more than a century. Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. Mountain lions once lived in much of the eastern United States. An attack on a 4-year-old near San Diego is just the latest in a string of mountain lion attacks in California. You know, the Penn State Nittany Lions.". The report in Greene County is the only one confirmed to be a mountain lion. Always interesting to see the pompous asses state unequivocally that hundreds of their citizens are blind, on drugs, or lying because they have not seen one! 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. Then there is Rocky. 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. Lion sightings they got. State officials question the lack of proof from recent sightings. Mountain lions, also commonly known as cougars, are officially extinct in both Pennsylvania and the United States east of the Mississippi. 2021. "We do not believe that there are any wild, native, breeding cougar populations in Pennsylvania. Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. If a mountain lion walks around an area enough, many different humans will notice. We run through the list from mammals to reptiles to insects. . Pennsylvania Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser notes that his agency agrees with San Julian. Some restrictions apply. Between 1995 and 2021, there have been 34 mountain lion sightings in Iowa," he says. 0:57 A phantom creature has been sighted in the vast Delaware State Forest region of Pike County. I also saw a mountain lion recently crossing road next to creek in Canadensis PA. In August, Amy Walters said her 12-year-old son was spooked by a mountain lion in Forest County in northwest Pennsylvania while riding his dirt bike. There are more squirrels in Pa than Mountain Lions, but not by a lot. The bite usually results in a blister-like sore that can take six to eight weeks to heal. When they are in these new areas, the young males are almost constantly moving looking for an area with females. adroll_current_page = "other"; Days to months after the tick bite, victims can suffer severe headaches, heart palpitations, shooting pains, numbness, dizziness and trouble with short-term memory. There has never been any conclusive evidence.". It stopped and looked directly at me. You read it here first: Mountain lions still exist in Pennsylvania: Just prior to the start of Pennsylvania's two-week firearms deer season, the volunteers at the Eastern Puma Research Network put out a call to hunters. "Thus a rural legend is perpetuated. The U.S. Click here to login. An Amish farmer along 944 in Cumberland County complained to the PGC a mountain lion was killing his sheep. A report in 1981 found that it would be impossible to restore cougars to Adirondack Park in New York because there were too many humans. Young cougars (one- to two-years old) leave their mothers to establish a new territory. Hikers saw a mountain lion walking along a hiking trail as it was hunting a deer in Big Bend National Park, Texas. Three types ofvenomous snakes live in Pennsylvania: the timber rattlesnake (pictured), the eastern massasauga and the northern copperhead. 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. The Florida panther reached a population low of 20-30 individuals in 1970s, and currently are between 120-200 sub-adults and adults. The farther a male must travel the more likely they are to die. In the winter, cougar tracks maybe up to six inches long. Pennsylvania would be incredibly difficult for cougars to reach. 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. Eastern coyotes are prevalent in Pennsylvania. 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. Mountain lions weigh 90-160 pounds, while bobcats weigh 20-30 pounds. If you have seen a mountain lion (also commonly called cougar, panther, or puma) in Pennsylvania or surrounding states (New York, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio), please give Kerry Gyekis a detailed description of the animal such as length of body, length of tail, approximate weight, size, thickness, coloring, etc. 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. UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A recent rumor of a cougar killed by a vehicle on Interstate 80 attracted some attention at Penn State. "Also, pretty sure there is color variation in a bobcats fur color, so what Im thinking is a good-sized, tawny colored bobcat.". She says she was on Route 347 just after 230am when she saw . The dispatch center received calls about the mountain lion at approximately 4:30 a.m. near the Copeland Creek Trail between Country Club and Snyder Lane located in the area of Sunrise Park. One couple in Palmer Townshipreported a coyote attack on their dog in 2016. 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. " No humans were injured, but the mountain lion was apparently injured and stunned. The mountain lion is also known as cougar, panther, or puma. One came to her as the result of an owner's divorce. Then I saw and was like, 'It could be a bobcat, possibly mountain lion,' " Nick Dodge said. "I know they're native to this area. 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. Jr. 2012. One on Salem Rd and another in the . Fear of the human super predator reduces feeding time in large carnivores. If you think you see a predatory cat ready to pounce, you're likely mistaken. That's the third-highest rate of any state in the U.S. Like Rocky, Nia is declawed. There have been two mountain lion sightings this week in western Montana. Lion sightings they got. Here, they've not been," Lau said in an e-mail. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Big Cat, long tail, Mountain Lion past directly in front of my car. declared the Eastern subspecies of the mountain lion extinct, California residents do not sell my data request. Follow Michael & PhillyVoice on Twitter @mtanen88| @thePhillyVoice Jones has never seen a mountain lion, but he thinks they're prowling around. Thousands of deer. Bears feed for 20 hours a day during late summer and early fall as they fatten up to hibernate. Figure 3. Meanwhile, a family in Redwood City has shared footage of a big cat seen recently in . I know I am not the only one who spotted this cat around the woods right outside town . 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. Crews help rescue bulldog from Hellertown underground tank, Pa. among 13 states hit by illness linked to pet turtles. Bears have been fought off with rocks, sticks, binoculars or even bare hands, the game commission says. 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. Denise Kunzig, who lives in Orchard Valley on. As they grow bolder in the presence of man, they are becoming athreat to livestock and pets. A placard affixed to the fence outside Rocky's pen states that "cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by humans." But they're probably bobcats. One was spotted late Tuesday in Hamilton near a bus stop. "He doesn't like men too much," said Suzanne Murray, owner of East Coast Exotic Animal Rescue in this south-central Pennsylvania town. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. (Image via the National Park Service)(), By Jason Nark | The Philadelphia Inquirer. 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. In the cover photo, a cougar is walking by a mature red pine that is roughly 12 to 14 inches in diameter. They're common in the rural areas of the Lehigh Valley but are moving into more populated areas as evidenced by a600-pound specimen (pictured) that was tranquilized in March after neighbors in Forks Township and Easton's College Hill section called authorities. Mountain lions still exist in Pennsylvania, http://cougarrewilding.org/CougarNews/?p=938. It's 90-something degrees, but Rocky's stare feels like ice down your pants. One came to her as the result of an owner's divorce. A 2011 study examined cougar attacks across the US and Canada and found that since 1890, there have been only 29 confirmed fatalities.) Get started. 2017. Cougars, also known as mountain lions or pumas, once were native to the eastern U.S. This offer only applies to OutdoorNews.com and not for any Outdoor News print subscriptions. I write stories about rural and exurban areas, the places where development meets farmland and farms meet the great outdoors. The mountain lion ( Puma concolor) is sometimes called cougar, puma, catamount, and panther. Mountain lion, cougar, puma, panther, painter, and catamount are all different names for the same animal ( Puma concolor ). Skip to content. Turkey vultures return to Ohio a sure harbinger of the coming spring? For a limited time, you can get full access to breaking news, all original Outdoor News stories and updates from the entire Great Lakes Region and beyond, the most up-to-date fishing & hunting reports, lake maps, photo & video galleries, the latest gear, wild game cooking tips and recipes, fishing & hunting tips from pros and experts, bonus web content and much, much more, all on your smartphone, tablet or desktop For just a buck per month! Brocke R. 1981. What you wouldn't expect to find here anymore is a mountain lion. They came out and investigated. "Now nobody is saying there is a wild emu population in Pennsylvania. That doesnt stop some from believing mountain lions do exist in the East. "People think they can get them declawed and that they're safe, but they still have teeth.". On a recent stifling morning in Adams County, the 290-pound mountain lion with perfect bone structure is ignoring the raw chicken breast and pork chops a handler tossed into his pen. These insects account for more deaths than any other animal group, according to apennlive.com report. Its so hard to pin anything down, said John Lutz, the West Virginia man who heads the network, a non-scientific affiliation of mountain lion seekers across the eastern United States. So it's possible that cougars survive. Claws are a great way to tell bear tracks apart from cougar tracks: cougar claws can retract their claws and their claws tend to only be extended when on slippery surfaces, on the other paw, bears cannot control their claws and they can be found on every track. In the wild, adult mountain lions can weigh anywhere from 65 to 220 pounds. By Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com. The bobcat wouldn't survive. "Over the years, I've received a number of cougar reports, some pretty factual, such as a partly devoured calf left up in a tree, but nobody has ever provided clear proof. 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. MISSOULA, Mont. Union and Huntingdon , Pa. .. One doesn't think about big cats being in this eastern part of the . Their bodies are mainly covered in tawny-beige fur, except for the whitish-gray belly and chest. Pennsylvania's venomous snakes are hard to find. None of these sightings has been authenticated, and many of them, including a recent, alleged mountain lion picked up on a surveillance camera in Lackawanna County, turned out to be bobcats. A coyote or bobcat is a little shorter than a tire and roughly one and half the length of tire. Pennlive.com reports trappers kill more than 40,000 of them in Pennsylvania every year. Then he took a closer look. She feeds and cares for them with donations and grants. "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". 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