pa game commission releases mountain lions

But some believe that the lions, as well as the now ubiquitous coyote, were "introduced" by the PGC to help control an exploding deer population; a charge the commission steadfastly denies. the fall back response by the PGC was to say the animal might have been I told her there had now. LCRT confirmed using photos and location of the sighting in close proximity with Report 96. 06/03/2022. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, feline predators such as the eastern cougar, which is also known as the mountain lion, are "extirpated," meaning they're all but wiped out in the . View Additional News Releases . The 7-year-old boy and his father had been walking up stairs in Pico Canyon Park on Monday evening . It is not true, Fuches said. On another occasion my sons best friend saw a fawn colored mt. The Pennsylvania Game Commission is your state wildlife agency and we want to help clarify and simplify some timely and commonly asked hunting- and wildlife-related questions. Florida Agricultural And Mechanical University, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Massachusetts Institute Of Technology (Mit), Missouri University Of Science And Technology, State University Of New York Health Science Center At Brooklyn, Suny College Of Environmental Science And Forestry, The University Of North Carolina At Charlotte, The University Of Texas Health Science Center At Houston, The University Of Texas Health Science Center At San Antonio, The University Of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, The University Of Texas Medical Branch At Galveston, The University Of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Uniformed Services University Of The Health Sciences, University At Buffalo Suny School Of Engineering And Applied Sciences, University Of California, Los Angeles (Ucla), University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign, University Of Maryland Baltimore County (Umbc), University Of Massachusetts Medical School Worcester, University Of Tennessee Health Science Center, University Of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Early settlers in Northeastern Pennsylvania killed off many cougars, and diseases brought in by livestock killed much of the remaining population, according to the agencys website. Mountain Lion. Paws 'N' Claws Animal Park in the Poconos has two. Lutz and several other volunteers are planning to travel to Bedford County within a few days of the next snowfall, in fact, to look for cougar sign because several sightings have been reported there in recent months. Mountain lions still exist in Pennsylvania, http://cougarrewilding.org/CougarNews/?p=938. In October 2007 the spokesman for the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC), Can I shoot a mountain lion in self defense? The one pictured is in a New York zoo. Do not run from a lion. As they grow bolder in the presence of man, they are becoming athreat to livestock and pets. Get educated & stay motivated. 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. That said there have been numerous sightings of them over the years. Today, there are none in existence in this area; the last mountain lions was seen in 1874. Wildlife experts have noted, with astonishment, cougar populations in midwestern regions like North Dakota and Nebraska. Mountain lions weigh 90-160 pounds, while bobcats weigh 20-30 pounds. The commission's furbearer biologist Thomas Keller said the PGC would "likely not be supportive of mountain lion reintroduction," pointing to the dangers posed to hikers, pets and other wildlife. mountain lion, because "there are no wild mountain lions in Pennsylvania." Brandford Era newspaper) the PGC chastised the news editor about it. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Coyoteseat wildlife including mice, voles, deer, rabbits and woodchucks. Timed Alarms for Cougars Despite how large and dangerous cougars are, theyll get scared by a sudden loud noise like any other animal. . Coyotes Spreading to Urban Areas Coyotes are considered one of Pennsylvanias most effective predators. There just isn't a mountain lion population in PA. I've since worked with schools and districts all over the country, helping them improve their curriculums and instruction methods. Jackson Township Police Chief Balavage, who has served in law enforcement for 37 years in the Back Mountain, has never received a call about a mountain lion sighting. No one was attacked or threatenned, but Are Pennsylvanians OK with these changes? Paws N Claws Animal Park in the Poconos has two. You read it here first: Mountain lions still exist in Pennsylvania: Just prior to the start of Pennsylvanias two-week firearms deer season, the volunteers at the Eastern Puma Research Network put out a call to hunters. The eastern massasauga is endangered in Pennsylvania. Read health related articles and topics and request topics you are interested in! his own grandchild, had been killed or mauled by a mountain lion at his According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, feline predators such as the eastern cougar, which is also known as the mountain lion, are "extirpated," meaning they're all but wiped out in the northeastern United States. Williams' confirmation debunks rumors of a mountain lion shot behind JJ Banko's Seafood in Nanticoke recently and a second sighting a month ago near B&E Motors in Hunlock Township. Senator Roger Madigan is surely an intelligent man, intelligent enough 83 responses. The report says 58 people suffered allergic reactions and died from stings in Pennsylvania between 2001-13. That Each sighting involved cougars that are not native to New York. same impression. If you're bitten by a venomous snake, dial 911 immediately and seek medical attention. Department of General Services. phoned the editor of the newspaper and told him that he was "spreading Whenever a witness strongly contested that reaction, My horse was spooked twice & I heard a guttural growling but never seen any animal. PGC's photo (shown above) looked distinctly unlike the Jacobs creature Abrown recluse bite can yield chills, fever, bloody urine, fatigue, jaundice, pain in the joints, nausea, rash, and in extremely rare cases, convulsions and death. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Pictures dating to the 1930s have appeared over the years in the Pennsylvania Game Commissions magazine Game News. If the pine marten requires this much paperwork, one can imagine where that leaves cougars. 1,234 were here. Today, there are none in existence in this area; the last mountain lions was seen in 1874. The very sad news: there was a PGC ear tag on it. The last wild cougar in Pennsylvania was killed in 1871 and the last cougar born on the East Coast was killed in 1938 in Maine. Reader Jay Davoli shared these photos, saying he took them a few weeks ago at the Newtown Township park. Thanks for reading! No, we havent found a black mountain lion in North America. He Photos of the cat, which were taken in South Abington Township, Lackawanna County, were posted to Facebook by WNEPs Kurt Aaron, setting off rampant speculation. Never approach a mountain lion, especially one that is feeding or with kittens. Mountain lions are large, tan cats. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Be sure to send your harvest photos into BowhuntPa.com! because "there are no mountain lions in Pennsylvania". A mountain lion in winter. I had called the Pa Game Commission and they told me the no mountain lions in Pa story but then said my report was like # 15 in Napier township. The last documented sighting of an eastern cougar was one killed in Maine in 1938. I've since worked with schools and districts all over the country, helping them improve their curriculums and instruction methods. Version 2.1.0. In Pennsylvania, elk inhabit portions of Elk, Cameron, Clinton, Clearfield and Potter counties. While mountain lion attacks are rare, they do happen. community, into a false sense of security about mountain lions in Pennsylvania. Release Date: February 5, 2008 [eBook #24518] [Most recently updated: June 27, 2021] . But when I turned around and looked at the spot, I saw it was a bobcat. I also seen deer in my yard, a coyote, a mink, a wood turtle and a bear earlier this year as well. No person has ever been attacked by one in PA, and no mountain lions Passed 10 feet in front of us. Do everything you can to fight it off. Hunza Guides is Pakistan's top mountain destination management company offering full board tours, trekking and expeditions services in Pakistan. panic" in Pennsylvania and doing a "disservice to the public". The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. Here's the schedule: Sunday, Oct. 10. They denied there was a mountain lion in their truck. Seventy to 80 percent of victims develop a rash. She tried to tell me it was a Maine Coon Cat. Plus, you can set alarms on timers to make sure they go off at certain times of the day when youve spotted cougars coming onto your property. In this interview, we talk with eyewitnesses about hitting a cougar or Mountain Lion with a vehicle in 2017. Their conclusion: Sir, you dont have a mountain lion. A week later the farmer shot the mountain lion. Cougars also called mountain lions or pumas are uniquely suited to hunt and kill deer, who not only cause traffic accidents but overgraze to the point of endangering native species and eliminating habitats for smaller animals. Both were taken in South Abington Township, Lackawanna County. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the last Pennsylvania mountain lion was killed in the late 1800s. It wa an buff colored animal about two feet tall and maybe three feet long with a very long very thick tail. An adult bobcat can grow to be 3 feet in length with a short, stubby tail and weigh between 15 to 35 pounds, according to the U.S. You should bathe soon after coming indoors, preferably within two hours. "Cougars really are deer specialists," said Laura Prugh, an author on the study. I also saw a mountain lion recently crossing road next to creek in Canadensis PA. let your guard down in the woods, especially with small children present. But in recent years, the animals have been moving east. Hunters Ive spoken with said theyve been told you cant kill a puma, which they felt was ironic since the same official told them pumas dont exist in Pa. Symptoms include nausea, chills, slight fever, rise in blood pressure, fatigue, motor disturbances, breathing difficulty, constipation, and muscle aches, particularly in the abdomen. A bobcat gives you a warm, that-kind-of-looks-like-my-cat-but-slightly-bigger feeling. Im an avid mature person with a biology degree. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced it is removing the mountain lion subspecies native to the region from its list of threatened and endangered animals because of a long known technicality its extinct. All three are pit vipers, which means you can identify them by "facial pits." Contact: Debra Chase, CEO, Mountain Lion Foundation DChase@mountainlion.org 916-442-2666 ext. Its a wonderful defense against mountain lions (also known as cougars, pumas, or panthers). He said the strange looking animal in the Jacobs photos is "definitely" Mountain lions weigh 90-160 pounds, while bobcats weigh 20-30 pounds. Was running and had very long stride, at least 6 foot. Pennsylvania Game News is a monthly, 64-page magazine about hunting and wildlife in Pennsylvania. The bite usually results in a blister-like sore that can take six to eight weeks to heal. They're common in the rural areas of the Lehigh Valley but are moving into more populated areas as evidenced by a600-pound specimen (pictured) that was tranquilized in March after neighbors in Forks Township and Easton's College Hill section called authorities. . 2022-23 Hunting Highlights: Video License/Permit Lottery. what was said, but it must have been a proud moment for U.S. federalism, but it might make the difference between no caution whatsoever, and basic Was about 30 feet down the road when it crossed in front of me. According to Prugh, cougars also could help slow the spread of Lyme's disease by taking out diseased deer and save casual gardens and crops from overgrazing. Crews help rescue bulldog from Hellertown underground tank, Pa. among 13 states hit by illness linked to pet turtles. For Immediate Release. 103. An Amish farmer along 944 in Cumberland County complained to the PGC a mountain lion was killing his sheep. After several years of teaching, I transitioned into the world of educational consulting. Probably the rarest documented take of a furbearer in all of Pennsylvania was a wolverine trapped on the East Fork of the Sinnemahoning in Potter County between 1858 and 1863 by an Uncle J.P. Nelson. Theres no record of a wolverine in the state since then. The very sad news: there was a PGC ear tag on it. no doubt about it it was a mountain lion. The PA Game Commission ASSOCIATED PRESS Shown are common pheasants on a meadow near Szeghalom, Hungary, in 2021. I saw a large black cat about the size of a mediym sized dog walking towards my car in pike county Its so hard to pin anything down, said John Lutz, the West Virginia man who heads the network, a non-scientific affiliation of mountain lion seekers across the eastern United States. So far, he said, none of them have been proven. Jerry Feaser, was quoted by various newspapers regarding the Jacobs photos. Can you shoot a mountain lion if it attacks you? This week, the Pennsylvania Game Commission plans to release about 42,000 male and female pheasants for hunters to pursue. Many people believed the large feline was a mountain lion a species that hasnt existed in the wild in Pennsylvania for more than 100 years. Pennsylvanias bobcat population is growing. because the USFWS afterward announced that there "needs When it came back without the lion, she stopped them and asked why they had let a mountain lion out in the woods. The state has an estimated1.5 milliondeer, about 30 per square mile. They are found throughout Central and South America. They reduce deadly deer-vehicle collisions and help maintain the health and viability of prey species by removing sick individuals and by reducing the spread of deadly diseases such as chronic wasting disease, an epidemic plaguing deer and elk herds throughout the country. If you need to confirm this info, just take a look at National Geographics wild life section on animals thought to be extinct altogether, or extinct from an area. 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. CWD, a fatal neurological disease, is a threat to both white-tailed deer and elk and has been detected within the wild deer population in . This was the approach of the PGC until a farmer named Roger saw a mountain My speed was 40mph, I got a good look at it. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Bobcats are smaller than a mountain lion and have short tails. People have thousands of trail cameras in the woods today and there are hunters pursuing coyotes during the winter, so you would think a cat would turn up if they were out there., Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky. Its scientific name is Lynx rufus. Make sure you remove or cover up any bear food source, including garbage or bird feeders at your home. Also on the extirpated list are wolves, lynx, moose and wolverines. death of a child by a mountain lion in Pennsylvania would create some Watch Elk Live in Pennsylvania. How Far Is Penn State Harrisburg From Main Campus? Find Easton area news on Facebook. 1. Eventually they will reach areas where they never lived, or once lived,and will repopulate that area. Someone takes a picture of a mountain lion from somewhere else, it gets sent around as being seen in Pennsylvania, Williams said. Published: Feb. 28, 2023 at 11:23 AM PST. But they'd need the cooperation of the Pennsylvania Game Commission and, for now, that's a non-starter. Mere awareness of the potential might prevent a horrible and the study should be conducted directly by the USFWS. Tired of ads? I had a mountain lion in the field across from my house a couple years ago. list of michigan quarterbacks by year. Feaser urged the editor to write a follow-up story with a retraction stating the lion's share of its funding from the sale of hunting licenses in Pennsylvania. Fish and Wildlife Service website. Ok, so they may have been extinct for some time, but if people are sighting them, has anyone considered migration? Bears feed for 20 hours a day during late summer and early fall as they fatten up to hibernate. Biology. Wednesday, January 18, 2023 - 11:37 AM MST. There haven't been any cougars in Tennessee since the early 1900s. . I'm passionate about helping people achieve their dreams, and I believe that education is the key to unlocking everyone's potential. a case of mistaken identity, as Feaser urged them to do. So is the second largest extant cat in North America still managing to eke out a living in the . 1-Oct-2009. an escaped pet mountain lion, at best. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). husbands go hunting by themselves. Click here to place a classified ad. People outside of Pennsylvania may not know that a large percentage of However, mountain lion sightings in Pennsylvania are still being reported. Biology. Local Resident Researching Bigfoot Phenomena. Fish and Wildlife Service. Cougars in Pennsylvania may still be a pipe dream in 2023, but who knows? Are there still panthers in Pennsylvania? Of course, bees are crucial to our existence. The bobcat, also known as the bay Iynx, wildcat, red lynx and swamp tiger, is the states only feline predator. This is a . February 02, 2023 Reintroducing cougars to Pennsylvania would better control its deer population, some scientists say The game commission wants to leave that job in the hands of the hunters. Remember this post from February 28, 2005. June 8, 2022 Home Pennsylvania State University Are There Mountain Lions In Pa? Are dangerous creatures lurking outside your tent flap or in the woods beyond your backyard if you live in Pennsylvania? Need to Sell? So, if you live close to here please keep this in mind while you are hiking or walking along the wooded areas. The same The Game Commission has since tested more than 118,000 wild, free-ranging whitetails and more than 1,700 elk for CWD. Applications can be purchased online at huntfish.pa.gov or any in-store hunting license vendor. The animal could not be a wild misidentification. Turns out, many of you say coywolves coyote/wolf hybrids have been spotted around Bucks County. Watch #OnTheStacks Podcast! measure of panic and terror in Pennsylania, and all surrounding states. The last wild panther known to have walked in the Pennsylvania woods did so in Berks County. Trek Magazine. If you think you see a predatory cat ready to pounce, you're likely mistaken. The only cats still hunting in Pennsylvania are bobcats, according to the state game commission. The bobcat, also known as the bay Iynx, wildcat, red lynx and swamp tiger, is the states only feline predator. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. Their conclusion: "Sir, you don't have a mountain lion.". In North America, however, hunting has reduced their range to isolated areas in Mexico, western U.S. wilderness areas, southern Florida and southwestern Canada, according to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Whats the point of hunting mountain lions? For now, the state will stick with its current deer management plan, which leans heavily on hunting. The red face of a mountain lion came out of the top of the mountain then dropped down. I got my start in education as a teacher, working with students in grades K-12. So, theyll respond swiftly to a dose of pepper spray, meaning theyll almost always beat a hasty retreat. Joe Fischer, left, and Nick Sebasovich and dog Stella, discuss pheasant hunting Dec. 30, 2021, at State Game Lands 93 in Somerset County. Hunters harvested an estimated 376,810 white-tailed deer. For more information, contact the Game Commission Northcentral Region Office at 570-398-4744. How Much Money Does Penn State Make From Football? Williams confirmation debunks rumors of a mountain lion shot behind JJ Bankos Seafood in Nanticoke recently and a second sighting a month ago near B&E Motors in Hunlock Township. people inside Pennsylvania say the PGC is not trustworthy, because the A cougar or puma is like a UFO with four feet.. Mountain lions are 7-9 feet, while bobcats are 3 feet long. A week later the farmer shot the mountain lion. Pennsylvania would not cause a panic, as it never does out west, but the mountain lions. States have tried all kinds of strategies to bring down the number of crashes, from capturing and sterilizing deer to encouraging hunters to go open season. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission approves 2022 hunt. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced it is removing the mountain lion subspecies native to the region from its list of threatened and endangered animals because of a long known technicality its extinct. Roger did not like being told that he did not see a mountain lion on his Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. That agency was When I say large, I mean way bigger than a house cat, about the size of a 60lb dog. The United . A 100-year survey of cougar attacks in the U.S. and Canada found only 10 deaths and 48 injuries. will point to a single case within their state where there was an arrest, Their bodies are mainly covered in tawny-beige fur, except for the whitish-gray belly and chest. Subscription Plans. from hunting licenses in Pennsylvania might be reduced if hunters were afraid to go into If you see any of these four wild animals in Pennsylvania, definitely keep a safe distance. I got my start in education as a teacher, working with students in grades K-12. Occasionally, though, humans fool them. These situations are common in Pennsylvania a "skinny mangy bear." It is not unexpected for wildlife, including large predators, to pass through town occasionally. Do not approach a lion. The cougar (Puma concolor), also known as mountain lion, panther, painter, puma, and catamount, is the largest feline animal in North America.