He also published a follow-up on Oct. 15 with the same mountain lion-deer hoax photo, as well as personal stories from several local residents who claim they've seen mountain lions in the Poconos. The State argues that there is no physical evidence, and no credible photographs. Armand Martinelli isn't only the mayor of East Stroudsburg, he's also a hunter who is connected with plenty of people in the area. Most of my original Questions of the Month for the last several Mountain lions' canines are 3 to 4 inches long. 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. Leslie estimated that the first humans making up the Paleo-Indians lived in the upper Delaware valley as early as 11,000 B.C.
Hoax photo doesn't help believability of mountain lions in Poconos Many have a desire to see some clear-cut evidence. 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? And a bit of an unpleasant one at that, as they now faced ridicule or doubt whenever they discussed their sightings. "From people that I trust have had visual sightings, they've seen mountain lions.". You know, the Penn State Nittany Lions.". Ashley Catherine Fontones, Pocono Record. The first is the mating season which can occur during the late to early spring months. The Pennsylvania Game Commission is always open to review evidence, but to date only hoaxes have crossed the PGC. 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. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. I believe Kross fully, but I wanted to hear more. 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. 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. 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. Then there is Rocky. 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.
Pocono Record's Micaela Hood moves on to Lehigh Valley Public Media He knows and was familiar with bobcats, and it was not a weird house cat that he and his friends misjudged in size. Same story as 'black panthers' across the country, because of course there, scientifically, can be no such thing. As they get older, the cubs begin to leave the den and explore. "With all of that said, though, there's a general lack of evidence of mountain lions in Pennsylvania. It was recorded in Minnesota and Wisconsin in late 2009 and early 2010, and then died in Connecticut in 2011. However, many of my reports were at distances that people knew, and as you look at the images of the puma there really is a big difference in color and shape between a puma and a house cat. They've been extinct in the eastern part of North America for more than a century. See also: Mountain lions that are looking for new breeding areas are known as transient and are almost always males. Check out the tails of the two! (What is meant by "heads" is not clear.).
Does the mountain lion roam Pa? - Pocono Record In January, the U.S. . Granted, the image is not great, and I used some Photoshop adjustment layers to enhance the image, making it a bit easier to see. The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos / p o k n o z /, are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania.They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, Wyoming Valley and the Coal Region to the west, and the Lehigh Valley to the south. The life cycle then repeats itself. Although there was no evidence that the 2011 mountain lion ever set foot in Pennsylvania, DNA evidence confirmed that it had been both west and east of the state. 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. Certainly it is a romantic notion, but I've always held out the hope that pumas still roamed the east. 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 . By the mid-1900s pumas were eliminated from almost all of the eastern states, and by mid-century were officially extinct east of the Mississippi, except for a remnant population in southern Florida. Over time, cats that had been released in Florida, probably pets that outlived their welcome, bred with the native puma, and their genes mingled, 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. "We've been here 45 years and I've probably been told by people at least 100 times that they've seen a cougar or mountain lion," said owner Vince Hall. Imagination? The mountains and isolated forests of the state allow these large cats to live their lives without encountering humans very often. 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. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? 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 last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. Jones has never seen a mountain lion, but he thinks they're prowling around. I love the big cats and devote a huge amount of my field time photographing African lions, leopards, cheetahs, and in 2011, tigers. If it were, it would be listed. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead.
These creatures lurking in Pa.'s woods can hurt or kill you 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. It is an Italianate Villa home that features authentic Victorian furniture and finishing. Goggling Eastern Puma brings up other web sites, however, with varying levels of professionalism or credibility. Others would like to see some scientific proof. At one time mountain lions, or more properly puma (Puma concolor), enjoyed the widest geographic range of any New World mammal, and were found throughout all of the contiguous United States.
Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions - AZ Animals Note the long, usually thick tail. The claim of mountain lions on the move was bolstered in 2009 when one was killed by a car in Greenwich, Conn. They ponder rare fossil evidence unearthed and seek to make sense of stratified geology, both fleeting in the face of what we call progress. It wasn't, and I assumed it was a road-kill. Currently, mountain lions seem to be making a comeback in regard to their historic range. Illinois can also now be added to this list a mountain lion was found on the outskirts of Chicago. 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. I'd suspect it would still be considered very rare, after all, it was thought to be extinct. Here's an example: A man is holding a dead eastern diamondback rattlesnake, which was found in North Carolina and measured more than 9 feet long and weighed 95 pounds. Mountain lions, which continue to be reported across Pennsylvania throughout the year, are officially extinct east of the Mississippi River and north of Florida, according to the U.S. 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. 1.8 miles, 2 hours, moderate. And yet today the debate continues: Are there mountain lions in Pennsylvania? He also noted that if the cat was here, wouldn't they be reproducing and increasing in population by now? They know what they saw, regardless of what the facts say, and they know they saw a puma. Mountain lions (cougars, pumas, and more) are among the top predators that live in the United States. All of the above images are of bobcats. The Golden State has one of the largest populations of mountain lions in the country. About half of the state of Montana is ideal for mountain lions, primarily in her western and central regions. Penn State's Nittany Lion hide sampled for DNA sequencing, Mountain lion reports in Pennsylvania popular, but often a hoax, More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. For example, one man I interviewed said he saw a 'black' puma, and this should disqualify his sighting as a black puma has never been recorded. Only once has anyone later determined that they had misidentified the cat, seeing a bobcat and not a mountain lion. The agency has declared extinct the eastern cougar, one of 11 subspecies ofmountain lions native to North America. The other two clans were the Turtle and Turkey. However, if you've seen a mountain lion, or other mystery creature, or evidence of either, in Pennsylvania, contact outdoor writer Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com.). "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. Mountain lions have a lifespan of about 8 to 13 years old in the wild. The Game Commission concluded they were coyotes. How do I deal with shaving weight for carrying my gear? Most of the native mountain lions live in Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, but humans rarely ever see them due to their secretive nature. Erosion from glacial melt and violence glaciers did to the land left a. 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. 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. There isnt an official estimate on mountain lions in the state. RelatedBigfoot, mountain lions, and other mythical creatures: PA officials discuss what they know. Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. Among other uses, the tax was levied "for destroying wolves, foxes, heads and crows." It was definitely a mountain lion, and it had a big buck, white-tailed deer in its jaws. 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. 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. Goodrich said he once saw a mountain lion spring from a thicket and kill a sheep on a public road. Enter your email in the box below to get the most mind-blowing animal stories and videos delivered directly to your inbox every day. 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. Mountain lions have an interesting life cycle that consists of a few different characteristics. 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. The record size for this species is 8 feet, and it probably weighed 15 to 20 pounds, which shows how exaggerated this claim is. Mary saw the photo, too, and she immediately agreed, it was a puma. Mountain lions live almost everywhere in the state of Washington. "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. Once a mountain lion matures, it will leave its mother and find its own territory. All of the above are Mountain Lions, or Pumas, or Cougars. 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 recent alleged sighting in South Abington Township, Lackawanna County, had Facebook groups abuzz. Foster said mountain lions and bobcats could not breed. 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. Still, people say they know what they saw out there. It's sort of like big foot, some people say they've seen him.". "People think they can get them declawed and that they're safe, but they still have teeth.". 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. Currently, there are only 15 states that meet that qualification. The story behind our new web site. 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. 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. The skeleton was reassembled at the State Museum, where it has been on display ever since.
There are at least 20,000 black bears in Pa., and a small percentage are killed each year, but we're probably not talking about 20,000 pumas in the state. There is a big community of mountain lion enthusiasts across the Northeast convinced that the animals still exist in breeding populations. 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. They include a reported attack on horses at a farm near Dillsburg, York County, that Foster thinks may be legitimate. Are there Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania? 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. At the end of the last Ice Age, many animals in Pennsylvania died out. The last known mountain lion in Pennsylvania was killed in Berks County in 1874. 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. Both were a threat to the farmer and family who carved a home in the ancient wilderness of the Poconos. 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. Are the various States guilty of essentially the same thing? Hunters I've spoken with said they've been told you can't kill a puma, which they felt was ironic since the same official told them pumas don't exist in Pa. I'm thinking of the solution often suggested for pesky endangered species out west, namely wolves and grizzly bears. Packer Hill Ave. Jim Thorpe, PA 18229. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. (National Park Service). Instead, the person usually pauses, sometimes with a sheepish or embarrassed expression on his face, and seems reluctant to continue. 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. 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. People can manipulate, enhance or combine photos and then create their own stories about the subject's origin, location and even identification. Who knows? "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. Knowing that pumas range widely, would my ridge be the only one closed?
Officially extinct, mountain lions still haunt the Adirondacks 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Each year, over tha past five, I've spoken with at least one person who swears they personally saw a puma in this state. (570) 325-3229. 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. But even without that second look there was no question that we'd seen a coyote.
Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania - Hoot Hollow Let's say the facts indicate that there have been a lot of 'pet' pumas, and many of these escaped. Erosion from glacial melt and violence glaciers did to the land left a great litter of boulders, rocks, clay and lakes covering today's landscape. 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. Bobcats, feral cats and domestic dogs may be misidentified as mountain lion. 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. Sadly, the hunting guidelines for cougars in Idaho are lax, with 400-600 cats being killed each year. You've got a mountain lion story or photo? Michelle LaRue, executive director of the Cougar Network and a research ecologist at the University of Minnesota, will discuss the eastern expansion of cougars from their core range in the western U.S. at 7 p.m. in Moravian College's Haupert Union Building, Bethlehem. It had been captured in Florida, and was to be released. 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. 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. Mountain lions can live in almost any habitat including forests, prairies, deserts, and swamps. with a fluted projectile point were found near Middletown, Orange County, New York.