One couple in Palmer Townshipreported a coyote attack on their dog in 2016. San Julian can even send scat to be tested for cougar DNA. Do elk live in Pennsylvania? You read it here first: Mountain lions still exist in Pennsylvania: Just prior to the start of Pennsylvania's two-week firearms deer season, the volunteers at the Eastern Puma Research Network put out a call to hunters. "He doesn't like men too much," said Suzanne Murray, owner of East Coast Exotic Animal Rescue in this south-central Pennsylvania town. The Game Commission is hiding this information from the public either that or they dont know what a mountain lion looks like. In 2016, a trail cam photo in South Jersey was later determined to show a house cat. Then another friend told me his daughter who lives in Clymer PA saw a Game Commission truck go into the woods with a large cage in the back with a mountain lion in the cage. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, bobcats are considered a species of least concern because of their wide distribution, abundance, and stable . Cougars were seen as threats to humans, livestock, and game species, resulting in unlimited harvest and bounties in some states. . An escapee is also possible. Mountain lions' canines are 3 to 4 inches long. Although the chances of being attacked by an animal are slim, and even slimmer that you could die from an attack by a creature, there are indeed animals capable of wreaking havoc on humans. Their bodies are mainly covered in tawny-beige fur, except for the whitish-gray belly and chest. The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled. In the wild, adult mountain lions can weigh anywhere from 65 to 220 pounds. Travis Lau, a spokesperson for the Game Commission, said the state has a "never say never" approach when it comes to mountain lions and acknowledges that Western cats could be moving east. None of these sightings has been authenticated, and many of them, including a recent, alleged mountain lion picked up on a surveillance camera in Lackawanna County, turned out to be bobcats. Nov. 11, 2021 - A California Mountain Lion was seen at approximately 4:52 p.m. on Nov. 11 near the University Glen water tanks and on the main part of the campus near Santa Barbara Street and Camarillo Street. Hard evidence that wild, free-ranging mountain lions are living in the state they did not. Bobcats are much smaller, only two to three feet long (head to tail) and one to two feet high at the shoulder. An Amish farmer along 944 in Cumberland County complained to the PGC a mountain lion was killing his sheep. Murray has cared for four mountain lions since she took over. Juvenile females do not disperse like males, which limits cougar range expansion. The Everglades1,150 miles south of Pennsylvaniais the only known home to a breeding population of cougars in the East (Figure 1). If a mountain lion walks around an area enough, many different humans will notice. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Big cats still roam parts of Pennsylvania. 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Mitochondrial genomes of the regionally extinct Nittany Lion (Puma concolor from Pennsylvania). I know I am not the only one who spotted this cat around the woods right outside town . Angel, her African lioness who snarls at strangers, is a big girl. She also houses a bobcat named Nia she took in from a couple who couldn't handle her. This content is restricted to subscribers of OutdoorNews.com. A walking house cat or raccoon would likely fit within the diameter of the tree. No wonder I have not seen that many rabbits or squirrels lately. Most spiders have fangs to deliver venom, but only two in Pennsylvania have bites withserious medical implications for humans: the black widow (pictured) and the brown recluse. Like Rocky, Nia is declawed. She feeds and cares for them with donations and grants. It can be difficult to tell how large an animal is in a photo, so it is best to use a known object as a scale. 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. A placard affixed to the fence outside Rocky's pen states that "cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by humans." Mountain lions, also commonly known as cougars, are officially extinct in both Pennsylvania and the United States east of the Mississippi. 1. I live in Cumberland County about a half a mile from the 944/Enola exit. Although common at the time of European settlement, the last known historical specimen in Missouri was killed in the Bootheel area in 1927. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. A female mountain lion in the Santa Susana Mountains in California. adroll_language = "en_US"; Search for cougarscontinues in Pennsylvania, Stories from the first season in a new hunting house. Mountain lions inhabited the state of Texas before European settlers arrived and the Native Americans in the area hunted them for clothing, shelter and blankets. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead. Bobcats (2a; photo credit: Dave Jackson) and coyotes (2b; photo credit Scott Weikert) are often confused for cougars (2c). 2017. Although they're occasionally reportedby hikers in remote locations, the U.S. Males territories are generally twice the size of a females territory (50-350 square miles), and they overlap the territory of several females. The most recent sighting of a mountain lion in Georgia happened in 2008 when a hunter was out looking for deer. My speed was 40mph, I got a good look at it. While it is possible for a cougar to make this journey, it is highly unlike for individuals to survive the journey. "When I started telling people, most of them didn't believe me, but I will never forget that huge face staring right at me," said a Montgomery County woman who says she saw a lion last summer in Limerick Township while walking her dog. Someone photographed the animal at the Brunswick School on Greenwich, Connecticut about 40 miles away on June 5th. He saw a cougar and ended up shooting and killing the animal. They helped to keep prey populations in balance, which created a more diverse and better functioning ecosystem that could respond to disturbances. Mountain Lions - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service) NPS.gov Park Home Learn About the Park Nature Animals Mammals Mountain Lion Mountain Lion Last updated: May 4, 2018 Was this page helpful? Adult males may be more than 8 feet long (from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail), and can weigh between 130 and 150 pounds. Days to months after the tick bite, victims can suffer severe headaches, heart palpitations, shooting pains, numbness, dizziness and trouble with short-term memory. This article addresses the history of cougars in Pennsylvania, their extirpation, and that they are now extinct. "We have lots of remote areas where people seldom go," he says, "and our high deer population would offer them bountiful food. Over 1,100 people follow her page. Coyotes are much smaller, and they have shorter fluffier tails, a pointed face, and large triangular ears. They include a reported attack on horses at a farm near Dillsburg, York County, that Foster thinks may be legitimate. The bobcat wouldn't survive. PA game commission are nothing but liers they lie to the people all the time we need to do away with them turn it over to the government I do not trust our government but the game commission lies more, what appears to be very large lion tracks the PGC says photos were of a large dog I disagree I have a deer feeder and I think that is why they are all around my house, it seems every time my cousin mason and his buddies go camping they encounter oro see a mountian lion he says he swares the the cougar stalks them when they start walking through the woodsthey live in the northern part of pa in an little mountian town of treemont in schuylkill county we know there is mountian lions up there. http://www.buckmanager.com/2009/04/17/deer-management-and-some-thoughts-on-predator-control/, Just posted if looked like this size 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." The report says 58 people suffered allergic reactions and died from stings in Pennsylvania between 2001-13. Mountain lions are commonly identified by trail camera photographs, tracks, and feces. Then it disappeared for some time, until scat was found again in New York, and it was finally killed in Connecticut. Follow Michael & PhillyVoice on Twitter @mtanen88| @thePhillyVoice Ok, so they may have been extinct for some time, but if people are sighting them, has anyone considered migration? In the wild, adult mountain lions can weigh anywhere from 65 to 220 pounds. U.S. Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While there have been many reports of wild cougars returning to Pennsylvania, none of these have been proven to be wild cougars. Isolated juvenile males have been found as far east as Michigans Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin. Cougars are a tawny brown to orange and much larger than bobcats; cougars weigh up to a muscular 220lbs; bobcats are grey to brown with black spots and only weigh on average 25lbs. Idaho Fish and Game officers and personnel responded to . Fish and Wildlife Service declared the eastern cougar extinct. Lion sightings they got. Hildreth says the animals are capable of moving long distances across the state. For more information on mountain lions, visit the . Hard evidence that wild, free-ranging mountain lions are living in the state they did not. Angel, her African lioness who snarls at strangers, is a big girl. The state has an estimated1.5 milliondeer, about 30 per square mile. Friends in the area reported having a large long tailed mountain lion run across a road just in front of their truck. An escapee is also possible. State officials question the lack of proof from recent sightings. The Royal Society 284(1857). An adult male mountain lion in California. A bobcat gives you a warm, that-kind-of-looks-like-my-cat-but-slightly-bigger feeling. So, if a. There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. Copyright 2023Outdoor News. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Some restrictions apply. Foster said mountain lions and bobcats could not breed. The very sad news: there was a PGC ear tag on it. It will happen eventually. Mountain Lion Sighting Nov. 11, 2021 A California Mountain Lion was seen at approximately 4:52 p.m. on Nov. 11 near the University Glen water tanks and later on the main part of the campus near Santa Barbara Street and Camarillo Street. 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. "I have been in this business long enough not to doubt what people say they have seen," says San Julian, "but I think most sightings are escaped pets or animals released by people.". "Over the years, I've received a number of cougar reports, some pretty factual, such as a partly devoured calf left up in a tree, but nobody has ever provided clear proof. Sadly, the last period when mountain lions roamed freely throughout Pennsylvania is the end of the 19th century. Still, Pennsylvania does have adequate cougar habitat, according to San Julian. State wildlife authorities have no record of the incident and the promised cougar carcass never arrived. Lion take a fawn in a swamp 1 mile from my home in the same county. They love lurking on theedge of wooded areas near agricultural areas where prey is abundant. The reports, though, continue. Cougars are kept in captivity by a few people, but these cats are large agile wild animals that are not suited to captivity. Lion sightings they got. I also seen deer in my yard, a coyote, a mink, a wood turtle and a bear earlier this year as well. The abundance of wildlife that thrives in Pennsylvania makes sightings of interesting animals fairly commonplacebears, foxes, coywolves and elk are all within the realm of expectations. In 1991 mountain lion tracks were found . That's the third-highest rate of any state in the U.S. Before that, a lion was captured on a . Then there is Rocky. If you see a bobcat or mountain lion, you can report the sighting to the DEC by calling (518) 357-2158. This development promised to resolve a decades-old controversy. Sep 16, 2018 at 12:00 am. Young cougars (one- to two-years old) leave their mothers to establish a new territory. 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. 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