These cubs are born blind and helpless. Are the various States guilty of essentially the same thing? A phantom creature has been sighted in the vast Delaware State Forest region of Pike County. Are they all the product of the off-spring of pumas that escaped their owners or were released? The rocky habitat that covers much of the state is perfect for these ambush predators, especially since humans dont inhabit much of the land. 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. The claim of mountain lions on the move was bolstered in 2009 when one was killed by a car in Greenwich, Conn. Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. Bigfoot, mountain lions and other cryptids in PA Let's see a clear photo, or a carcass or something. I've know of reports since 1973, in Cooke Forest, the heart of a lot of Pa. wilderness. I don't want to seem like a nut case here, but I must ask this question and you'll soon understand why? Goggling Eastern Puma brings up other web sites, however, with varying levels of professionalism or credibility. 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. Like Arizona, New Mexico is the perfect home for mountain lions. I've read a lot about this, and the usual explanation is the very human desire to see something, to see what someone wants to see, and thus these people are seeing bobcats or brown cats or dogs or foxes and, because they 'want' to see a puma, they do. Fish and Wildlife Service. If you're interested in this, please pass on this link, and if you see a cat, please let me know! I believe them. That summer, a team from the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg excavated the nearly complete skeleton of the ancient elephant, the first of its kind found in the Commonwealth. Biologists traced it. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. After a gestation period of 90 days, female mountain lions will give birth to litters of about one to six cubs. Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions. I'm a photographer, yet I've never had a chance to snap a photograph of one of these bears. Not only do hunting licenses support the various state game commissions, and in some states the acquisition and maintenance of public hunting lands, but hunters are a huge boon to local economies each fall, with purchases of food, lodging, hunting equipment, etc. This is not a Pennsylvania puma! 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. Murray has cared for four mountain lions since she took over the rescue in 1998. 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. And again, while they may have been mistaken, they certainly were completely convinced that they had seen a puma. Imagination? Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. 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. One of the important things for any animal is a place to call home. 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. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead. Colorado has a large number of mountain lions within its borders, mostly due to the high elk population, dense forests, and isolated mountain ranges. WATCH: Sharks biting alligators, the most epic lion battles, and MUCH more. All rights reserved (About Us). Geologist Dr. John Yolton made the identification. You know, the Penn State Nittany Lions.". A neighbor scared the animal away before it could finish its meal; the sheeps carcass was used as bait, to catch the big cat. The rounded ears, "I kind of doubt they saw a cougar, but I'm not God.". I think it is possible that recognizing the existence of pumas in the East could jeopardize this industry and an entire economy. Transient males have been sighted as far east as New York! Mountain lions' canines are 3 to 4 inches long. In many regions, the population within the state is actually increasing! a high priority. Foster said mountain lions and bobcats could not breed. The record size for this species is 8 feet, and it probably weighed 15 to 20 pounds, which shows how exaggerated this claim is. It was recorded in Minnesota and Wisconsin in late 2009 and early 2010, and then died in Connecticut in 2011. Same story as 'black panthers' across the country, because of course there, scientifically, can be no such thing. Currently, mountain lions seem to be making a comeback in regard to their historic range. It's 90-something degrees, but Rocky's stare feels like ice down your pants. 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. Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the Eastern subspecies of the mountain lion extinct, which would seem to bolster the skeptics. Bobcats tend to be darker brown, with lighter belly fur and spots while mountain lions tend to be more uniform brown, tawny color. 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. But this one was black, and he knows mountain lions are some variant of brown. 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! I am hoping that more and more people will learn of my own interest in this, and will pass on this information and that I'll receive more reports and, hopefully, sometime, a game camera photo that is definitive. 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. The Florida panther is an endemic subspecies of cougar that has lived in the everglades region for a very long time. Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? Ashley Catherine Fontones, Pocono Record. Editor's note: The Pocono Record and Tri-County Independent have collaborated for a series of stories called Mountain Beasts: Pocono cryptids, legends and lore. 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. Puma vs Mountain Lion: Is There a Difference? I've spoken to PGC personnel, two being friends, and neither believe there are pumas in Pa. One cited how a bobcat's tail can be much longer than you expect, although I've never seen a bobcat tail longer than, at most, twice the size of the tails illustrated above of the bobcat. Mountain lions weigh 90-160 pounds, while bobcats weigh 20-30 pounds. On some investigations, Foster has teamed up with Stacey Griffiths, who started the Central PA Mountain Lion Sightings page earlier this year. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. It was recorded in Minnesota and Wisconsin in late 2009 and early 2010, and then died in Connecticut in 2011. When he told me this, he commented on how an experience like the one he and his friends had just is not forgotten. 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? Encouraged by the bounties, settlers waged war on these perceived beasts. Over time, cats that had been released in Florida, probably pets that outlived their welcome, bred with the native puma, and their genes mingled. Nevertheless, I put up a MOULTRIE game camera -- a brand that I've had tremendous satisfaction with -- at the carcass, hoping that scavengers would visit. With that hope in mind, I have, for years, asked outdoors people if they ever heard of a mountain lion, or puma, in their area -- with my questioning limited to people in my home state of Pennsylvania. A total of 32 mountain lions have been struck and killed by vehicles in the study area since 2002. Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead. Recently, on a back road in Pennsylvania, a friend and I had our first sighting of a coyote in Pennsylvania. There also were camels, sloth and hyena, which migrated elsewhere. Martinelli said that if there were mountain lions in Pennsylvania, there would be more sightings of them. Here in central Pennsylvania we live on the outskirts of what one puma-tracking website has as almost the high point of sightings, extending from north-central Pennsylvania in a southwestern diagonal that extends into the mountains of West Virginia. They have almost been killed off a few times, but conservation efforts have helped to keep their numbers stable. You've got a mountain lion story or photo? Both sheep and young cattle fell prey to wolves, unless they were under constant watch. 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. 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? 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. 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. Had this been faked, I'd suspect the hoaxter would try for a more authentic background. 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. 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 . 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. The story behind our new web site. 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. If it were, it would be listed. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Several populations of Gray Squirrels scattered around the country are black, and recently I heard of a neighborhood of black Eastern Chipmunks. They mostly live in the far western Trans-Pecos region of the state, with about 50,000 to 80,000 acres of suitable land currently being used by the cat. Caribou meat apparently was part of their diet. Leap transferred ownership rights to the state. The state of Arizona is home to a large, stable population of mountain lions. And this genetic mix has been recognized, and the Florida puma is still protected. The bobcat wouldn't survive. 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. I've seen about 20 mountain lions, or pumas, in the field, but all but 2 were in Chile. Me? He saw a big cat. Instead, the person usually pauses, sometimes with a sheepish or embarrassed expression on his face, and seems reluctant to continue. "They're getting a lot of that out west. (What is meant by "heads" is not clear.). Below is a list of physical characteristics that distinguish mountain lions from more . In the map above, I collected data from the state and on the federal level to find state parks . 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. DNR: Fish & Wildlife: Mountain Lion He's a hunter, a woodsman, and he's seen a lot of game, so I can believe he saw a back-lighted puma. Do elk live in Pennsylvania? Caribou remains, dated by radiocarbon in excess of 10,000 B.C. 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.