are there mountain lions in the poconos

Mountain lions can live in almost any habitat including forests, prairies, deserts, and swamps. About six months ago I posted the question, Are there Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania? Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead? Instead, the person usually pauses, sometimes with a sheepish or embarrassed expression on his face, and seems reluctant to continue. In July and August I received seven different reports, and everyone involved had done a search of some type to compare images of bobcats and pumas. Local outlets carried reports of cougar encounters at least into the 1910s. This happens usually around the 18-month mark. 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. The first is the mating season which can occur during the late to early spring months. The cat was far enough away that I couldn't get a size reference, and I believed the cat was further away than it actually was. 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. 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. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead. 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. To learn more about "lion country" in Colorado check here. The last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. Same story as 'black panthers' across the country, because of course there, scientifically, can be no such thing. (PennLive has investigated many reports of mountain lions, and other mystery creatures, and has found no confirming evidence. There are an estimated 3,000 - 7,000 Mountain lions in Colorado. 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? "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. A total of 32 mountain lions have been struck and killed by vehicles in the study area since 2002. Colorado and California have the highest estimated populations of mountain lions in the United States. Looking for things to do in the Poconos? 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. An escapee is also possible. I'll be anxious to learn of your report. The story behind our new web site. Sadly, the hunting guidelines for cougars in Idaho are lax, with 400-600 cats being killed each year. Do elk live in Pennsylvania? As they get older, the cubs begin to leave the den and explore. The State cites that there are no road-kills, and in a heavily trafficed state like Pennsylvania there should be kills. The image in the Upper Left was from a Game Camera, sent to me by a friend. In many regions, the population within the state is actually increasing! Check out the tails of the two! At the end of the last Ice Age, many animals in Pennsylvania died out. In the forests of Kenya, however, they do occur. 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.". The state of Arizona is home to a large, stable population of mountain lions. The Bushkill Falls are a series of eight waterfalls in a 300-acre wooded enclave hidden amongst the Poconos. If we continue to be bombarded with manipulated photos and untrue claims in most cases by people who just want to get attention then we may be very resistant to accepting the "real McCoy" if or when) one finally arrives. Compare any game camera image with the shots above, or this game camera image, to confirm your identification. 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.). After a gestation period of 90 days, female mountain lions will give birth to litters of about one to six cubs. Have all of those who have seen a puma really seen a bobcat? "The cougars examined in the Northeast in the past 70 years are likely released or escaped captives. At one time this fact almost resulted in this cat not being protected, since it wasn't a pure strain. The Pocono Mountains are located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. 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. 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 1,100 people follow her page. There also were camels, sloth and hyena, which migrated elsewhere. So many of these sightings have been proven wrong misidentified bobcats, coyotes or even house cats) that it would be irresponsible for a biologist to accept any of them as fact without absolute physical evidence hair, droppings, tracks or a road-killed animal. Never has this been more accurate than in today's digital, computerized world. Are there Mountain Lions (Pumas, Cougars) in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic States? Martinelli said that if there were mountain lions in Pennsylvania, there would be more sightings of them. 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. 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. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? Wishful thinking? There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. I don't believe someone's imagination could stretch a six inch long tail to three feet! Mountain lion killed in Connecticut was on the opposite side of Pennsylvania a year ago, Is it real? Features Writer Micaela Hood is signing off with the Pocono Record after five years of covering arts, culture, entertainment and sports in northeastern . 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. The head of the puma is small in comparision to a house cat when compared to the entire body. 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. 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. I am bothered by the constricted neck of the cat on the game camera; 2. the tail is curved down, rather than up, but it may have been in mid-swing; 3. the goldenrod-appearing flower, and the background of cars, gives a sense of scale and location. 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. Who knows? Murray has cared for four mountain lions since she took over the rescue in 1998. I asked our Game officials about evidence, and they cite no road kills. State Game Officials do concede that some people may indeed have seen a puma, but it was undoubtedly a released captive. Only when I reviewed the images on my laptop did I discover that I had a mountain lion! Only once has anyone later determined that they had misidentified the cat, seeing a bobcat and not a mountain lion. 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. (What is meant by "heads" is not clear.). Known as the Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania, there are four trails that lead to the cascades from the Bushkill Falls trailhead, each ranging in . This ideal habitat allows for a large population of 2,000 mountain lions to thrive. 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. You would think someone would have a picture on a trail camera or whatever. The agency has declared extinct the eastern cougar, one of 11 subspecies ofmountain lions native to North America. Some may be animals that dispersed into the region from western populations. More conclusive evidence is needed: Keep your cameras handy. About half of the state of Montana is ideal for mountain lions, primarily in her western and central regions. I Googled "Pocono mountain lion" and there it was the same photo, except the caption claimed that it was taken in Oklahoma, not Pennsylvania, and various posted comments asserted that the photo was manipulated. Mountain lions' canines are 3 to 4 inches long. Still, these resilient animals reside in secluded areas across the United States, with current data suggesting they may even be returning to their historical regions! Mountain lions weigh 90-160 pounds, while bobcats weigh 20-30 pounds. Why is bat photography so difficult? While there have been no confirmed occurrences of mountain lions in Pennsylvania since the late 1800s, dozens of sincere reports of sightings and tracks and even more hoaxed reports emerge across the state each year. They ponder rare fossil evidence unearthed and seek to make sense of stratified geology, both fleeting in the face of what we call progress. Suppose, instead of declaring the puma, or Eastern mountain lion, extinct, the USFWS actually recognized the existence of the cat as a wild, breeding species. The last documented sighting of an eastern cougar was one killed in Maine in 1938. 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. 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. The same goes for New York and several other eastern states. Confirmed cougar sightings have increased in the Midwest and Great Lakes states in recent years.". Depends on who you talk to, I guess.