Have you seen a mountain lion in or near Pennsylvania? "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. 44 Murray has cared for four mountain lions since she took over the rescue in 1998. Jones has never seen a mountain lion, but he thinks they're prowling around. The claim of mountain lions on the move was bolstered in 2009 when one was killed by a car in Greenwich, Conn. Mountain Lions. Only the jaguar of Central and South America is bigger. There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. There are approximately 4,000 of those 10- to 40-pound cats in the state. 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." If you think you see a predatory cat ready to pounce, you're likely mistaken. Some have even reported seeing a "black panther," a near-impossibility because of the rarity of that recessive gene. Biologists traced it back to the Black Hills of South Dakota, from where it ventured nearly 2,000 miles looking for a new mate. Here, they've not been," Lau said in an e-mail. 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. In August, Amy Walters said her 12-year-old son was spooked by a mountain lion in Forest County in northwest Pennsylvania while riding his dirt bike. In the wild, adult mountain lions can weigh anywhere from 65 to 220 pounds. Over 1,100 people follow her page. PA residents share a long debate about whether there are mountain lions here. Murray said Rocky was emaciated and chained when she found him at a private zoo. Low 24F. California residents do not sell my data request. Mountain Lions have long tails with black tips. Then there is Rocky. The Cougar Network, working with state agencies, have documented multiple mountain lions as far east as Kentucky, Tennessee and Michigan … By the late 1800s, mountain lions were wiped out of almost the entire eastern United States by hunting, trapping, deforestation and the decimation of their main prey — white-tailed deer. 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. Winds light and variable.. Overcast. "I know they're native to this area. Murray has cared for four mountain lions since she took over the rescue in 1998. A male mountain lion can weigh 145lbs, whereas a bobcat usually tops out around 22lbs. 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. "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". 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. An escapee is also possible. There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. "I'm proud to know her," Murray said of the tiger, "but I wish I didn't.". "People think they can get them declawed and that they're safe, but they still have teeth.". Then there is Rocky. Winds light and variable. In January, the U.S. UPDATE: An alert reader took this photo late September, 2008, from his trail camera near Plummer, PA. "If my son would have been on a pedal bike, without a helmet on, that thing would have nailed him," said Walters, 44. Biologists traced it back to the Black Hills of South Dakota, from where it ventured nearly 2,000 miles looking for a new mate. "Likewise, I'm not aware of any escapes from captive facilities in my time here. More Videos; Oct 20, 2020 @ 2:14am. Images from a homeowner's surveillance camera show a tan cat with a long body, beyond a chain-link fence. Mountain lions DO still reside in PA – and no one can convince me of otherwise since. "We should be getting more pictures. Some may also be kept illicitly as pets, which would quickly become a problem as the cat matures. Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the Eastern subspecies of the mountain lion extinct, which would seem to bolster the skeptics. Think of Wilbur the Wildcat and that is a Bobcat face. There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. "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. 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. Suzanne Murray, owner of the East Coast Animal Rescue, sits with a bobcat named Nia. In August, Amy Walters said her 12-year-old son was spooked by a mountain lion in Forest County in northwest Pennsylvania while riding his dirt bike. Like Rocky, Nia is declawed. The official 2020 Women's Soccer Roster for the Concord University Mountain Lions. Related story: Animal Believed To Be Mountain Lion Chased By Dogs In Westchester; According to the Department of Environmental Conservation, “mountain lions do not have a native, self-sustaining population in New York State. "Hunters are always saying they see mountain lions, and the Game Commission always says there aren't any," said Robert Hale, owner of Buffalo Gap Outfitters in Dillsburg. ", © 2021 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC Terms of Use/Privacy Policy/California Notice California residents do not sell my data request. Main Navigation Menu. Farms often have pits where livestock carcasses end up; farmers have claimed to see them hanging out around those. No one needs to panic. Skip To Main Content. Black panthers - cats, not superheroes - have been reported repeatedly for decades in Pennsylvania, although even more rarely than have mountain lions. Democrats had a brutal 2020 in Pa. besides Biden. Murray said Rocky was emaciated and chained when she found him at a private zoo. "They have been absent from this state since the late 1800s; however, there have been a few isolated sightings. The state's natural resource department's official position is: "There are no breeding populations of mountain lions in PA." This group is for ration discussion for believers and non-believers alike. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what we saw. A placard affixed to the fence outside Rocky's pen states that "cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by humans." An adult male can be eight feet long from nose to end of its long tail. "It's fall bow-hunting season soon," he said. In a suburban apartment, nursing wildlife back to health, 'I was the only person who looked like me': Bringing diversity to the great outdoors, near-impossibility because of the rarity of that recessive gene.

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