are there mountain lions in the poconos are there mountain lions in the poconos

Are Mountain Lions in Missouri Making a Comeback? 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. Imagine my surprise. Packer Hill Ave. Jim Thorpe, PA 18229. No An official form of the United States government. You be the judge. I was heading up the road and I saw an animal with a long tail.". Newspapers carried stories in 1956 about hunters supposedly seeing and killing wolves in Pike and Monroe Counties. Mountain lions can live in almost any habitat including forests, prairies, deserts, and swamps. Thank you for reading! The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Two different people told me that they, or a close relative, had seen pumas on more than one occasion. As you can see from the above images it is very difficult to confuse the two if you have a good view. Can so many people be so wrong? At one time this fact almost resulted in this cat not being protected, since it wasn't a pure strain. Any Truth In the wild, adult mountain lions can weigh anywhere from 65 to 220 pounds. They include a reported attack on horses at a farm near Dillsburg, York County, that Foster thinks may be legitimate. There are controlled hunting laws in the state of Oregon. I don't believe someone's imagination could stretch a six inch long tail to three feet! Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? He saw his cat at very close range -- 20 yards or less, and when I pointed out to him that pumas are never black he said that perhaps it was the light. There's a whole world to learn about and Colby is content to spend his life learning as much as he can about it! There are, from time to time, eyewitness accounts from hunters or hikers who claim to have seen the cat. "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. To learn more about "lion country" in Colorado check here. the more visible white on the chest, the lack of spots, the huge hind quarters. Would my mountain ridge be declared 'Critical Habitat' for the puma? Cougar vs Mountain Lion What Are the Differences? Additionally, California banned the hunting of cougars back in 1972, encouraging population growth. 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. Let me know if you have seen one! There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. In all those hours I never saw a coyote, bear, or bobcat, and yet all live in my area. I don't want to seem like a nut case here, but I must ask this question and you'll soon understand why? On some investigations, Foster has teamed up with Stacey Griffiths, who started the Central PA Mountain Lion Sightings page earlier this year. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Colorado and California have the highest estimated populations of mountain lions in the United States. The last documented sighting of an eastern cougar was one killed in Maine in 1938. "With all of that said, though, there's a general lack of evidence of mountain lions in Pennsylvania. I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one. Consider that the endangered Florida puma has mixed genes. The state of Idaho is large, expansive, and full of rocky wilderness. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The cat was far enough away that I couldn't get a size reference, and I believed the cat was further away than it actually was. I want to believe they're here, but I'm having some trouble. Angel, her African lioness who snarls at strangers, is a big girl. Albinos are often very light sensitive, and they certainly are conspicuous, and most do not live very long. One came to her as the result of an owner's divorce. There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. Do Mountain Lions Attack Humans? He knows and was familiar with bobcats, and it was not a weird house cat that he and his friends misjudged in size. The other two clans were the Turtle and Turkey. An article in last year's New York State Conservationist magazine about mountain lions concluded that none exists in that state, even in the 6-million-acre Adirondack Mountain wilderness. Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead? With the Great Lakes in its way, the cat moved either north or south of the water, and the latter route would have seen it pass through at least some of Pennsylvania. I'm a photographer, yet I've never had a chance to snap a photograph of one of these bears. But this one was black, and he knows mountain lions are some variant of brown. "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. do I get an immediate, 'Oh yeah!' A mastodon's skull was first located in Marshalls Creek, Monroe County, on July 5, 1968. Remember, this one was photographed in Arizona in good puma country, although this was the first one I've recorded there. I've seen so many examples of these distortions, exaggerations and lies over the last couple of years that I've grown very dubious about anything I see on a computer. Over the last two years I have occasionally posted a Question of the Month soliciting sightings from people who believed that they have seen a mountain lion in Pennsylvania or in other areas in the mid-Atlantic states. Currently, there are only 15 states that meet that qualification. But the point of this article isn't whether or not mountain lions exist in Pennsylvania or the Poconos. Every year we receive a few similar reports from hikers, hunters or other outdoor enthusiasts. 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 sightings were great bear views, but too fast or fleeting to allow me to grab a camera. After a gestation period of 90 days, female mountain lions will give birth to litters of about one to six cubs. Sadly, the hunting guidelines for cougars in Idaho are lax, with 400-600 cats being killed each year. "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. The bobcat wouldn't survive. All rights reserved (About Us). The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. You would think someone would have a picture on a trail camera or whatever. If you see or photograph a puma in the mid-Atlantic states, please email or call me. 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. Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead. Are there Mountain Lions (Pumas, Cougars) in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic States? 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. The reintroduction of mountain lions into South Dakota is one of the great wins of modern conservation. "If there was mountain lions in Pennsylvania), I think we'd be getting reports from farmers and people with pets that there were attacks on their animals," Martinelli said. Like Arizona, New Mexico is the perfect home for mountain lions. Note the long, usually thick tail. 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 owners. I receive about one email or phone call a month, on average, from people that I do not know who are contacting me because their sighting compelled them to do a Google search on puma sightings, and they found my site and previously posted questions. 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. Then there is Rocky. The State Museum of Pennsylvania, in Harrisburg, displays a taxidermy mount of a mountain lion in glass case, with the notation, "This lion, found near Hawk Mountain in Berks County around 1871, is the last native mountain lion known to have been shot in Pennsylvania.". The Poconos is a mountain area in northeastern Pennsylvania.It is 2,400 square miles of wooded mountains and valleys full of beautiful lakes, rivers, forests and wildlife. Foster said mountain lions and bobcats could not breed. One of the important things for any animal is a place to call home. The record size for this species is 8 feet, and it probably weighed 15 to 20 pounds, which shows how exaggerated this claim is. If youve done any research on your own, you may have noticed that we didnt include a lot of states that have had cougar sightings, especially in the last few years. So, couldn't that same argument apply to pumas in the Northeast? Claws 'N' Paws Animal Park in Lake Ariel has two. 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. The photographer had no reason to stage the shot -- indeed, the composition and background was terrible, and not what you'd expect for something staged, but the shot wasn't perfectly clear. Where reports dating that far back from escapees? The mountain lion population in Nevada is essential to the control of deer and rodent populations in the mountainous regions of the state. One sighting I give complete belief in was from a friend who told me a puma crossed right in front of their vehicle, and paused on the berm for a few seconds, at a distant of ten yards or less. Melanism is the reverse, where there is an abundance of dark or black pigmentation. The states beautiful wilderness and mountainous terrain are prime mountain lion habitats. 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. Granted, the image is not great, and I used some Photoshop adjustment layers to enhance the image, making it a bit easier to see. Do elk live in Pennsylvania? And how many would let them go, or provide an opportunity for escaping? The last native mountain lion known to be killed in Pennsylvania is on display in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. Mountain Lion Reports ? Because the neck bothered me, I decided to do some Photoshop on the puma in the lower left, moving his head higher up and changing the image to a contrasty black and white - to give a silhouette for comparision. However, if you've seen a mountain lion, or other mystery creature, or evidence of either, in Pennsylvania, contact outdoor writer Marcus Schneck at [email protected].). Ashley Catherine Fontones, Pocono Record. These experiences are still available, but the reality is there is so much more for the mature traveler to enjoy in the Pocono Mountains. The Cougar Network, working with state agencies, have documented multiple mountain lions as far east as Kentucky, Tennessee and Michigan in recent years, as well as that cat killed on a highway in Milford, Connecticut, in June 2011. All rights reserved. John Leap of East Stroudsburg's Lakeside Peat Humus Co. and an employee, Paul Strauser, found the bones in a peat bog off Route 209. Over the last few years I've done several Questions of the Month regarding Mountain Lions, or Pumas as they should properly be called, in the Mid-Atlantic States and in Pennsylvania. However, if you've seen a mountain lion, or other mystery creature, or evidence of either, in Pennsylvania, contact outdoor writer Marcus Schneck at [email protected].). 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. I hope no one ever shoots a puma to prove their existence here, but I hope someone gets a great photo, of the cat, of a road-kill, of tracks, and that I see it. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) also reports evidence that humans arrived during the last glaciation or soon after. "They're getting a lot of that out west. Granted, the image is not great, and I used some Photoshop adjustment layers to enhance the image, making it a bit easier to see. There are deserts, mountains, and swamps in the state of Utah, all of which are suitable for mountain lions. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. Depends on who you talk to, I guess. Have some feedback for us? I'd suspect it would still be considered very rare, after all, it was thought to be extinct. "People think they can get them declawed and that they're safe, but they still have teeth.". Features Writer Micaela Hood is signing off with the Pocono Record after five years of covering arts, culture, entertainment and sports in northeastern . Recent post: Why Is It Called Beaver Stadium? The 2,400-square-mile area has long been a popular outdoor recreation area boasting hunting, fishing, skiing, and more. "Given the period of time that has passed without verification of even a single eastern puma, the service concludes that the last remaining members of this subspecies perished decades ago," the Fish and Wildlife Service said in a Federal Register notice. I don't want to seem like a nut case here, but I must ask this question and you'll soon understand why? So it happens, and who knows if it is existing in wild pumas in the East. I had three cameras positioned, so had a cat visited, I'd have had it. They often would catch sheep in broad daylight. The claim of mountain lions on the move was bolstered in 2009 when one was killed by a car in Greenwich, Conn. If we continue to be bombarded with manipulated photos and untrue claims in most cases by people who just want to get attention then we may be very resistant to accepting the "real McCoy" if or when) one finally arrives. 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. 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. Two weeks ago, a friend of mine who teaches in one of the Monroe County school districts called to tell me he was sending me a photo of a mountain lion taken by one of his students in the Poconos. (National Park Service). Phineas Teeple of Manchester Township is thought to have killed the last wolf in Wayne County. The Mountain Lion is a large, slender cat with a smallish head and noticeably long tail. redo these pages to match the new web site But that's not "The day will come," he said, "when someone will pull the trigger on a mountain lion.". 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. A few could, perhaps, be mistaken idenity. Enter your email in the box below to get the most mind-blowing animal stories and videos delivered directly to your inbox every day. 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. I wanted to know if they're here, so I called some people I trust and asked them one simple question: Are there mountain lions 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. Where they always here as a relic population? The rounded ears, There isnt an official estimate on mountain lions in the state. Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. Are there Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania? Something to consider, even though we all trust the government. As the latest hoaxed photo of a mountain lion supposedly killed in Pennsylvania died a slow death on Facebook yesterday, the head of an organization tracking the eastern movements of the big cats was preparing a presentation for a Pennsylvania audience tonight. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Compare any game camera image with the shots above, or this game camera image, to confirm your identification. I love the big cats and devote a huge amount of my field time photographing African lions, leopards, cheetahs, and in 2011, tigers. Just take your pick of all these incredible Pocono lake house rentals or just a Pocono cabin for rent, in luxury of course! The Bushkill Falls are a series of eight waterfalls in a 300-acre wooded enclave hidden amongst the Poconos. The Cougar Network, working with state agencies, have documented multiple mountain lions as far east as Kentucky, Tennessee and Michigan in recent years, as well as one cat killed on a highway in Milford, Connecticut, in June 2011. 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. Can so many people be wrong? 2023 www.poconorecord.com. So what? I've seen about 20 mountain lions, or pumas, in the field, but all but 2 were in Chile. Ironically, I almost deleted the image, as on the small camera LCD monitor the cat was small and I thought that it was just another deer that moved along the stream. With the Great Lakes in its way, the cat moved either north or south of the water, and the latter route would have seen it pass through at least some of Pennsylvania. I regularly ask hunters and outdoors people if they've ever seen a mountain lion, or know of anyone that has. What would account for the long tails? Adults are a uniform tan or tawny in color, with a white or cream-colored chin, undersides and inner legs. Have all of those who have seen a puma really seen a bobcat? If we say it ain't so, it ain't so! 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! This is actually a good thing, as genetic isolation generally weakens a species. 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. Mountain lions that are looking for new breeding areas are known as transient and are almost always males. They are there to help us. Local outlets carried reports of cougar encounters at least into the 1910s. What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? 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. On the other hand, there are probably thousands of game cameras covering water holes and game trails throughout Pennsylvania, and to my knowledge no one has yet recorded a puma. Two other reports went, in detail, on what they saw, the size, the length of tail, etc. Note the size of the tail, the pointed ears, the speckled coat, the basic lack of white underneath. I have three observations here: 1. I asked our Game officials about evidence, and they cite no road kills. "Likewise, I'm not aware of any escapes from captive facilities in my time here. Like Rocky, Nia is declawed. In personal contacts, that monthly average might even be higher. Who knows? Did they migrate south from Canada? The same goes for New York and several other eastern states. This, after they were told that there were no pumas in Pa. After all, how many people have pumas? Over the last few months several people have responded to this question with reports of their own. A neighbor scared the animal away before it could finish its meal; the sheeps carcass was used as bait, to catch the big cat. Only when I reviewed the images on my laptop did I discover that I had a mountain lion! "There hasn't been one solid piece of proof to believe they are here. Several populations of Gray Squirrels scattered around the country are black, and recently I heard of a neighborhood of black Eastern Chipmunks. Pocono Record sports writer Mike Kuhns wrote a great piece on Oct. 14, "Does the mountain lion roam PA?" 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. Would that declaration close that ridge to hunting? Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? Bo Ottman is a landscaper in Connecticut who founded an . They are generally believed to be young cats roaming in search of new breeding territories to claim as their own. Recently, on a back road in Pennsylvania, a friend and I had our first sighting of a coyote in Pennsylvania. 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? 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. Mountain lions (cougars, pumas, and more) are among the top predators that live in the United States. It had been captured in Florida, and was to be released. Interestingly, the US Fish and Wildllife Service has declared the Eastern Puma extinct, except for the Florida population known as the Florida panther. Are there pumas, or mountain lions, in Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic States? Mountain lions roamed all of the continent prior to the arrival and westward spread of European settlers, but only the eastern and Florida subspecies were found east of the Mississippi. Scientists debate whether the large prehistoric mammals became extinct at the end of the Ice Age due to over-hunting, or rapid climate warming. (National Park Service). The Pennsylvania Game Commission is always open to review evidence, but to date only hoaxes have crossed the PGC. I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one game camera image that still looks very credible to me. The story behind our new web site. Mountain lions' canines are 3 to 4 inches long. Where they always here as a relic population? 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). Encouraged by the bounties, settlers waged war on these perceived beasts. It also mentioned that someone raising a mountain lion without a license may either have let it go when it became too large to handle, or that the animal had escaped. years are available through this link. In some areas, entire populations of a species exhibit this trait, for unlike albinism, which results in a conspicuous white color and light-sensitive pink eyes, there are no ill effects with melanism. He wrote that not being a roving animal, the mountain lion was much sooner destroyed than the wolf, and he said that if there were any left, it would have to be in the most desolate places in the county. "It was in Worthington State Forest just across the Delaware River from Smithfield Beach). Here's 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. This will be one of your best identification marks, along with size. In 2015, a Pennsylvania State Historical Marker was placed near the site where the mastodon was found. But even without that second look there was no question that we'd seen a coyote. Possibly, but it seems unlikely that enough would have been released or had escaped to make for a viable population. Send it to me at [email protected]. Here's a glimpse at what long-gone Pocono beasts the region's very first wave of residents may have seen, and the wild things that followed up to as late as the early 20th century. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. 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. If you're interested in this, please pass on this link, and if you see a cat, please let me know! Biologists traced it back to the Black Hills of South Dakota, from where it ventured nearly 2,000 miles looking for a new mate. I think it is possible that recognizing the existence of pumas in the East could jeopardize this industry and an entire economy. Perhaps my Fed Ex driver was simply recalling a rural legend, but he said it was an employee that he knew, and it was a story he heard first-hand. In the area around the border of Pennsylvania and West Virginia there are mountains and deep caves that contain some of the coal mines that were a major part of the state's industry in the early part of the 19 th century. Colby is a freelance writer from Charlotte, North Carolina. Cougar Network tracks mountain lion expansion from the western U.S. to the east. Illinois can also now be added to this list a mountain lion was found on the outskirts of Chicago. They're seeing an animal they don't know or recognize, and while some may be watching a smaller bobcat about 35 pounds), some believe they've actually spotted a cougar. Although in captivity, they can live much longer. A second image of the same cat, in a different light, reveals the trademark spots of a bobcat. Periodically, via Google searches, I receive reports from people who believe they had seen a mountain lion in Pennsylvania, or in other mid-Atlantic states. The mountain lion, which is also called a cougar, puma or panther, weighs on average between 75-120 pounds, has long whiskers and a distinctive swooping tail. 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. If we don't see it, it doesn't exist. Colorado is the perfect habitat for mountain lions. Goggling Eastern Puma brings up other web sites, however, with varying levels of professionalism or credibility. Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included. When he told me this, he commented on how an experience like the one he and his friends had just is not forgotten. The other site, The Cougar Network, is still active, and is reporting the cats expanding range from the West, but offers little about the phenomenon of Pennsylvania cats. By the time he returned the vehicle was gone, and so was the cat, and no mention was ever made of this road kill in a radio or newspaper report. Fish and Wildlife Service. What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? Among those who have investigated the primeval times of the Pocono Plateau and Delaware River valleys and tributaries was the late Vernon Leslie, Ph.D., a Wayne County historian and archaeologist. For our list, we only included US states with a stable breeding population. Martinelli said that if there were mountain lions in Pennsylvania, there would be more sightings of them. 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 . Leslie estimated that the first humans making up the Paleo-Indians lived in the upper Delaware valley as early as 11,000 B.C. with a fluted projectile point were found near Middletown, Orange County, New York. Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the Eastern subspecies of the mountain lion extinct, which would seem to bolster the skeptics. In Michigan, there has been multiple sightings of 'black panthers,' animals that were thought to be mountain lions, or pumas, except that they were black. That may be true, or was once true, but even a declawed puma, if it can survive off rabbits and squirrels, and breeds, its offspring would be fully equipted to survive. Had this been faked, I'd suspect the hoaxter would try for a more authentic background. Oregon has a large, stable breeding population of mountain lions. Contrary to popular belief, there are no black panthers in North America; no one has ever captured or killed a black Mountain Lion. The next day, another friend, who works for Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, called me to ask if I had seen the photo of a Pocono mountain lion with a deer in its jaws. a high priority. "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. Joseph Pugliese 2.2K views 7 years ago Beautiful Bobcat in our yard as our. Archived Questions of the Month What does a Puma (Mountain Lion) look like on a Game Camera? Would a puma then qualify as a native species? Goodrich said he once saw a mountain lion spring from a thicket and kill a sheep on a public road. 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). An assessment list for Lower Smithfield Township in 1761 when it was part of Northampton County (Monroe having not yet been created) taxed "three pence per pound and shillings per head" laid on the land and inhabitants.