are there mountain lions in the poconostoronto argonauts salary

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. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Check out our online field guide to read more in this series. An escapee is also possible. (National Park Service). ", (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 agency has declared extinct the eastern cougar, one of 11 subspecies ofmountain lions native to North America. The coat can be spotted or solid. Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, there are no wild, breeding cougar populations in this state anymore. A law was passed March 10, 1806, requiring the county to pay the person producing the scalp of a full-grown wolf or cougar, $8, and for the scalp of a young whelp or cub, $4. I usually follow-up on these reports and, via email or phone conversations, I receive more details. The same goes for New York and several other eastern states. "The cougars examined in the Northeast in the past 70 years are likely released or escaped captives. Mountain lions are well-established in 14 western states and have also recently been confirmed in 10 Midwestern states: Nebraska, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Pocono Mountains are located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Confirmed cougar sightings have increased in the Midwest and Great Lakes states in recent years.". The Pocono Mountains are . (National Park Service). Fish and Wildlife Service. During this time, male mountain lions will travel in search of females. Knowing that pumas range widely, would my ridge be the only one closed? Recent post: Why Is It Called Beaver Stadium? 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. However, recently I saw a photo of a melanistic bobcat, as black as could be, with bright yellow eyes. Over 1,100 people follow her page. Contrary to popular belief, there are no black panthers in North America; no one has ever captured or killed a black Mountain Lion. Possibly, but it seems unlikely that enough would have been released or had escaped to make for a viable population. Where they always here as a relic population? Caribou remains, dated by radiocarbon in excess of 10,000 B.C. The last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. The woman, a 66-year-old grandmother, asked not to be identified because she's a senior and didn't want people "bothering" her about it. And book one of these Poconos cabins rentals for the best outdoor access to these activities. 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? They are there to help us. On that note, I was speaking with a Fed Ex driver recently who told me that one of his colleagues had seen what he swore was a dead mountain lion on the side of a road. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Each year, over tha past five, I've spoken with at least one person who swears they personally saw a puma in this state. I've seen hoaxes, of pumas carrying deer shot with game cameras, but these were of western cats. There are controlled hunting laws in the state of Oregon. I've looked in the PGC game laws booklet and saw nothing on this, which I guess you could conclude means a puma would not be legal to shoot. This one streaked across the road in the early evening, and fortunately, it stopped when it climbed a hill on the other side where I had another view from my side of the truck. The rocky habitat that covers much of the state is perfect for these ambush predators, especially since humans dont inhabit much of the land. 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. 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. Are there Mountain Lions (Pumas, Cougars) in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic States? Below is a list of physical characteristics that distinguish mountain lions from more . Depends on who you talk to, I guess. The bones were found perfectly preserved. The Cascade Mountains are an important habitat for mountain lions in the region, and a stable population lives within the state. There are, from time to time, eyewitness accounts from hunters or hikers who claim to have seen the cat. Still, these resilient animals reside in secluded areas across the United States, with current data suggesting they may even be returning to their historical regions! Some outdoor enthusiasts insist they have seen the big cats here and believe them to be naturally occurring, native animals. I regularly ask hunters and outdoors people if they've ever seen a mountain lion, or know of anyone that has. Kross only saw the animal for a second, but it made a believer out of him. And again, while they may have been mistaken, they certainly were completely convinced that they had seen a puma. Mountain lions typically eat about one deer per week, along with other smaller prey as the opportunity arises. 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. 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. RelatedBigfoot, mountain lions, and other mythical creatures: PA officials discuss what they know. Asa Packer Mansion Jim Thorpe. 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." One of the three branches or clans of the Lenape Tribe at the end of the 17th century was known as the Wolf (Minsi). I've done this myself once, in Tanzania, when I saw a black house cat that I thought was a black leopard! 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.". I think it is possible that recognizing the existence of pumas in the East could jeopardize this industry and an entire economy. In Yellowstone, definite puma country (perhaps not ideal habitat, but pumas are found in every section of Yellowstone), I've spoken to guys on road crews and with rangers, each with 20 years of field or road experience in Yellowstone, and the ranger had only seen 2 (both road kills and together) and the road crew guys two or three in all their years. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. 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.". 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. "There hasn't been one solid piece of proof to believe they are here. Goodrich said he once saw a mountain lion spring from a thicket and kill a sheep on a public road. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. But this one was black, and he knows mountain lions are some variant of brown. It has the color of a mountain lion, but the long tail appears to be missing. But the point of this article isn't whether or not mountain lions exist in Pennsylvania or the Poconos. 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. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? the more visible white on the chest, the lack of spots, the huge hind quarters. Wyoming has a historically stable population of mountain lions, but recent drops in numbers have caused some to worry. Any Truth Features Writer Micaela Hood is signing off with the Pocono Record after five years of covering arts, culture, entertainment and sports in northeastern . So what? 2023 www.poconorecord.com. And, some may be escaped or illegally released pets. A Mountain Lion Cover Up To be fair, I've also spoken with people who, at first, thought they'd seen a puma only to find, to their embarassment, that they were looking at a house cat! with a fluted projectile point were found near Middletown, Orange County, New York. 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. "We should be getting more pictures. They once inhabited the entire United States, but were killed off and pushed west. These color morphs are most common in rain forests and jungles. "From people that I trust have had visual sightings, they've seen mountain lions.". Murray has cared for four mountain lions since she took over the rescue in 1998. "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 love the big cats and devote a huge amount of my field time photographing African lions, leopards, cheetahs, and in 2011, tigers. Biologists traced it. 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. "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. Why is bat photography so difficult? Recently, on a back road in Pennsylvania, a friend and I had our first sighting of a coyote in Pennsylvania. The story behind our new web site. This will be one of your best identification marks, along with size. It's 90-something degrees, but Rocky's stare feels like ice down your pants. Over the last few months several people have responded to this question with reports of their own. There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. "Likewise, I'm not aware of any escapes from captive facilities in my time here. But more importantly, he also said that regardless of color, he saw a big cat, with a tail that looked to be about 4 feet long! For information on predator tracks, check out this guide: https://www.wildliferemoval.com/animal-track-identification-guide/, Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included.

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