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. If so, what would happen to the hunting industry in all of these states? A mastodon's skull was first located in Marshalls Creek, Monroe County, on July 5, 1968. 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. 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. Does the mountain lion roam Pa? - Pocono Record the more visible white on the chest, the lack of spots, the huge hind quarters. Is there a Mountain Lion Conspiracy? Murray also has a cross-eyed white tiger named Keisha, who crushed chicken bones with ease but delicately stepped into a metal pool to cool off. Puma vs Mountain Lion: Is There a Difference? Note the size of the tail, the pointed ears, the speckled coat, the basic lack of white underneath. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. 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.". Cougar vs Mountain Lion What Are the Differences? Mountain Lion Reports What you wouldn't expect to find here anymore is a mountain lion. Heres What the Data Says. The mountain lion population in Nevada is essential to the control of deer and rodent populations in the mountainous regions of the state. It has the color of a mountain lion, but the long tail appears to be missing. 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. "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. In 2016, a trail cam photo in South Jersey was later determined to show a house cat. Conversely, an outdoor writer I know told me that when Pa. enacted a menagerie permit law years ago, 'a lot of mountain lions suddenly died,' as the owners of these cats, rather than going through the paperwork, simply released their pumas and claimed that they had died. Everyone is familiar with albinism, the absence of pigmentation that results in a white, essentially pigment free animal, defined by pink skin and pink eyes. In 2011, a confirmed mountain lion was killed by a vehicle in Connecticut and which had been determined that it had wandered east from the Mid-West. 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. Best hike for seeing waterfalls. A bobcat gives you a warm, that-kind-of-looks-like-my-cat-but-slightly-bigger feeling. Contrary to popular belief, there are no black panthers in North America; no one has ever captured or killed a black Mountain Lion. 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. However, recently I saw a photo of a melanistic bobcat, as black as could be, with bright yellow eyes. The Pocono Mountains are . This will be one of your best identification marks, along with size. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. See also: Are there Mountain Lions (Pumas, Cougars) in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic States? The claim of mountain lions on the move was bolstered in 2009 when one was killed by a car in Greenwich, Conn. Adults are a uniform tan or tawny in color, with a white or cream-colored chin, undersides and inner legs. The State argues that there is no physical evidence, and no credible photographs. The record size for this species is 8 feet, and it probably weighed 15 to 20 pounds, which shows how exaggerated this claim is. The question is just like in the story of the boy who cried wolf) if that day ever arrives, how will we believe those first, true sightings after so many hoaxes have been perpetrated on the public? Bobcats, feral cats and domestic dogs may be misidentified as mountain lion. Mountain lions, Goodrich wrote, were more dreaded than wolves as the cat could climb over any fence that could be built. 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. She also houses a bobcat named Nia she took in from a couple who couldn't handle her. I've done this myself once, in Tanzania, when I saw a black house cat that I thought was a black leopard! "The day will come," he said, "when someone will pull the trigger on a mountain lion.". The other two clans were the Turtle and Turkey. 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. Of course, the writer's comments were hearsay, but it does make sense. Florida is the only state on the east coast with a breeding population of mountain lions. They are generally believed to be young cats roaming in search of new breeding territories to claim as their own. Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions - AZ Animals Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania - Hoot Hollow This is actually a good thing, as genetic isolation generally weakens a species. Leap transferred ownership rights to the state. Never has this been more accurate than in today's digital, computerized world. 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. Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included. 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. Are There Mountain Lions In Pa? - CLJ Foster said mountain lions and bobcats could not breed. Colby is a freelance writer from Charlotte, North Carolina. There also were camels, sloth and hyena, which migrated elsewhere. 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. Still, people say they know what they saw out there. If pumas do exist in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, could they all be released cats or escapees? Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. Ashley Catherine Fontones, Pocono Record. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? - pennlive.com "It was in Worthington State Forest just across the Delaware River from Smithfield Beach). About six months ago I posted the question, Are there Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania? In the map above, I collected data from the state and on the federal level to find state parks . And a bit of an unpleasant one at that, as they now faced ridicule or doubt whenever they discussed their sightings. Remember, this one was photographed in Arizona in good puma country, although this was the first one I've recorded there. Caribou remains, dated by radiocarbon in excess of 10,000 B.C. On the second night, a mountain lion passed by, apparently drawn by the smell but put off by the stench, as the cat did not visit the kill. It was definitely a mountain lion, and it had a big buck, white-tailed deer in its jaws. Local outlets carried reports of cougar encounters at least into the 1910s. According to the commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. "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. 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. 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. These cubs are born blind and helpless. Sadly, the hunting guidelines for cougars in Idaho are lax, with 400-600 cats being killed each year. We hope you enjoy this foray into the most weird and wonderful our beloved Pocono Mountains have to offer. 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. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? Of interestRamapough Lenape chief: National park in PA and NJ would be among 'most destructive things' since colonization. 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. Pocono beasts: Mastodons, wolves, cougars once abundant in region Here, they've not been," Lau said in an e-mail. I've never seen or heard of a verified black puma anywhere, whether wild or captive, so I'd be inclined to dismiss reports of truly black big cats as misidentifications, even when a group of guys all see the same thing. There's a whole world to learn about and Colby is content to spend his life learning as much as he can about it! Asa Packer Mansion Jim Thorpe. Mary saw the photo, too, and she immediately agreed, it was a puma. I'm thinking of the solution often suggested for pesky endangered species out west, namely wolves and grizzly bears. The last native mountain lion known to be killed in Pennsylvania is on display in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. If it were, it would be listed. The head of the puma is small in comparision to a house cat when compared to the entire body. Obviously, other pumas must be about, and the series of ridges extending north and east and west from my location could all be included as critical habitat as well. 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.
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