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No one needs to panic.". Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. . I've know of reports since 1973, in Cooke Forest, the heart of a lot of Pa. wilderness. Mountain lions have a lifespan of about 8 to 13 years old in the wild. I haven't seen any reports like that.". 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. What you wouldn't expect to find here anymore is a mountain lion. "I know they're native to this area. If you can figure out how to travel far back in time for even a day, get lots of wildlife photos, as the rest of us might never believe your story. And yet today the debate continues: Are there mountain lions in Pennsylvania? And book one of these Poconos cabins rentals for the best outdoor access to these activities. After all, how many people have pumas? 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. The last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. The state of Texas is home to many mountain lion populations, but the numbers are incredibly hard to find. Ramapough Lenape chief: National park in PA and NJ would be among 'most destructive things' since colonization, Bigfoot, mountain lions, and other mythical creatures: PA officials discuss what they know, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 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. Caribou meat apparently was part of their diet. Goodrich said he once saw a mountain lion spring from a thicket and kill a sheep on a public road. 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. Despite reported sightings throughout the East, including Pennsylvania, and a confirmed mountain lion killed in Connecticut in 2011, there has been no evidence that any of those cats were native to the East. The coat can be spotted or solid. That's true. "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". Continuing with that thought, if that were so, then it'd be possible, if not very likely, that the Eastern puma would be an Endangered Species. A tiny population of Florida cougars persists in the southeastern corner of the United States. Foster said mountain lions and bobcats could not breed. Over time, cats that had been released in Florida, probably pets that outlived their welcome, bred with the native puma, and their genes mingled. Most, quite honestly, don't know or can't believe or accept what they saw, they really can't believe their eyes. Instead, the person usually pauses, sometimes with a sheepish or embarrassed expression on his face, and seems reluctant to continue. Fish and Wildlife Service. Others would like to see some scientific proof. Outdoor adventures abound, and so do our fabulous shopping and restaurants. I believe that the folks that are reporting, in detail, their sightings are faced with a similar situation. DCNR gave the following as examples: the saber-tooth cat; a small, three-toed horse; the Pleistocene beaver, and the mastodon. "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. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. "It's fall bow-hunting season soon," he said. 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. I don't believe someone's imagination could stretch a six inch long tail to three feet! Me? The 6 best hikes in the Poconos Mountains - Lonely Planet What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? Knowing that pumas range widely, would my ridge be the only one closed? Are Mountain Lions in Missouri Making a Comeback? 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. If mountain lions are discovered in PA anytime soon they'll either be big foot's pets or genetically engineered and released by the DCNR to cull the orangu-bear population. State Game Officials do concede that some people may indeed have seen a puma, but it was undoubtedly a released captive. Granted, the image is not great, and I used some Photoshop adjustment layers to enhance the image, making it a bit easier to see. Colorado is the perfect habitat for mountain lions. Although a large proportion of the Lenape Nation was dispersed far from their ancestral homelands in the 18th century, colonial settlers and their descendants struggled to live in this region with wolves and cougars inhabiting the forests. 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. I've seen about 20 mountain lions, or pumas, in the field, but all but 2 were in Chile. "Likewise, I'm not aware of any escapes from captive facilities in my time here. "He doesn't like men too much," said Suzanne Murray, owner of East Coast Exotic Animal Rescue in this south-central Pennsylvania town. "They preyed upon the caribou, and probably the mastodon," Leslie wrote of these large animals flourishing on the grasses and cold-climate flora that sprouted following the glacier's retreat. Mountain lions (cougars, pumas, and more) are among the top predators that live in the United States. The sightings were great bear views, but too fast or fleeting to allow me to grab a camera. Only when I reviewed the images on my laptop did I discover that I had a mountain lion! 2023 www.poconorecord.com. At one time this fact almost resulted in this cat not being protected, since it wasn't a pure strain. Some experts predict that this wide-ranging predator, which can travel 600 miles in search of a territory, will surely reach our eastern states sometime in the next few decades. Noted Wayne County historian Phineas Goodrich recorded in his 1880 book on local history that the common gray wolf was much more common in this area than the cougar. 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. We hope you enjoy this foray into the most weird and wonderful our beloved Pocono Mountains have to offer. Imagine my surprise. What would account for the long tails? A bobcat gives you a warm, that-kind-of-looks-like-my-cat-but-slightly-bigger feeling. RelatedBigfoot, mountain lions, and other mythical creatures: PA officials discuss what they know. Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out 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. 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. Packer Hill Ave. Jim Thorpe, PA 18229. Then there is Rocky. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. Let's see a clear photo, or a carcass or something. All of the above are Mountain Lions, or Pumas, or Cougars. But this one was black, and he knows mountain lions are some variant of brown. Where they always here as a relic population? As you can see from the above images it is very difficult to confuse the two if you have a good view. Mountain Lion in Pocono's Pennsylvania Kacie PA 7.9K views 2 years ago Mountain lion in bucks county pa or not? Are There Mountain Lions In Pa? - CLJ 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. "If my son would have been on a pedal bike, without a helmet on, that thing would have nailed him," said Walters, 44. They know what they saw, regardless of what the facts say, and they know they saw a puma. However, my friend and I discussed this, and agreed, we saw what we saw, and had it been 40 years ago or four months ago, we knew we saw a coyote. Transient males have been sighted as far east as New York! There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. The states beautiful wilderness and mountainous terrain are prime mountain lion habitats. Confirmed cougar sightings have increased in the Midwest and Great Lakes states in recent years.". Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead? Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. In personal contacts, that monthly average might even be higher. 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. I usually follow-up on these reports and, via email or phone conversations, I receive more details. Of interestRamapough Lenape chief: National park in PA and NJ would be among 'most destructive things' since colonization. After all, skeptics often suggest that puma sightings are just deer sightings, so it would be logical to worry that a hunter might shoot an endangered puma, mistaking it for a brown deer. One of the three branches or clans of the Lenape Tribe at the end of the 17th century was known as the Wolf (Minsi). There had been 17 other mastodon finds in Pennsylvania up to 1968, but all were fragmentary. 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. More conclusive evidence is needed: Keep your cameras handy. The rocky habitat that covers much of the state is perfect for these ambush predators, especially since humans dont inhabit much of the land. 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. 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. 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. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? 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. Among other uses, the tax was levied "for destroying wolves, foxes, heads and crows." 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. 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. 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. Like Arizona, New Mexico is the perfect home for mountain lions. Phineas Teeple of Manchester Township is thought to have killed the last wolf in Wayne County. About six months ago I posted the question, Are there Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania? Mountain Lions - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service) Hunting is legal, but the use of dogs was banned in 1996. These cubs are born blind and helpless. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead. Pocono Mountains: Best Things To See And Do - TravelAwaits This happens usually around the 18-month mark. Heres What the Data Says. Those cats for which DNA evidence was recovered had come east from South Dakota, part of the known, modern-day, U.S. mountain lion range. When he isn't distracted by his backyard birdfeeder, you can find him camping, exploring, and telling everyone around him about what he's recently learned. 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.