"It was so unusual," she says. Saw one in Warren County in 2007 & 2008 while camping. -Only California bans regulated harvest of mountain lions, with all other states maintaining regulated hunting seasons for this species. Adults are a uniform tan or tawny in color, with a white or cream-colored chin, undersides and inner legs. Although they're not often seen walking. Sighting of this animal also occurred in Michigan and New York. Mountain Lions are the largest predators currently in Rocky Mountain National Park. Big Tech minions could compromise Americas Intelligence community. MassWildlifecannot investigate or confirm mountain lion reports without any evidence. It was at least four feet long and had a tail just as long. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. It walked into the tree line and disappeared. However, he did say (off the record) that he believed us - he was a hunter and had seen evidence of them in and around our area of the state. In my moment of "fear" - I called the non-emergent police number They sent an officer out and we told him what we had seen. Updated: Jul. They definitely are here! The woman reported seeing the animal along a path around 3 p.m. She told U.S. Park Police it was tall enough to come up to her waist, but didn't seem aggressive. Mass.gov is a registered service mark of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. From DS:I also spotted a mountain lion on Almonesson Rd Deptford NJ about 1 am. Hunters must also possess a valid hunting license, which is $37 for residents. More than half of California is mountain lion habitat and mountain lions generally exist wherever deer are found. Over the years I have heard stories of other encounters. l thought "oh shit" and figured l could try to use my bicycle for protection and dismounted. The West Virginia Wildlife Center is open to the public seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The state classed mountain lions as endangered in 1972 and banned all hunting of them. From TR:l just dug out my NJ Rare Wildlife Report Form of September 14, 2013. l was taking a favorite off and on-road bike ride that l call the Harrisville/Oswego Loop, which starts on Rt 679. My house, which is located in Hewitt, NJ (West Milford township), faces the woods, which is actually the edge of Wawayanda State Park. No doubt we were lookin' at a Mt. Some restrictions apply. Receive the digital, interactive PDF of the newspaper in your inbox. 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). Officers will patrol the neighborhood Friday. The feedback will only be used for improving the website. This map shows the various zones where mountain lions are hunted statewide, as determined by the Arizona Fish and Game Department. 01, 2016, . Please use caution. I live in Holland Township NJ. MLRT confirmed using the photos and other sign. Turkey vultures return to Ohio a sure harbinger of the coming spring? The latest sighting happened Wednesday afternoon, according to a News4 viewer who says she spotted the animal near the Beltway exit to Connecticut Avenue. Our wildlife research team decided to help take the mystery out of the sighting by going to the location and comparing the size of the animal to stationary objects in the frame as well as a human subject. Forget Big Foot or the Loch Ness monster. POCATELLOMountain lions are being sighted throughout Pocatello, according to official reports and social media posts from local residents. It was tan and the most amazing part of this animal was its tail. Some of these photos have taken on urban legend status. "She was hesitant to report it because she thought people wouldn't believe her," Lefleche told the paper. / CBS Baltimore. Another cougar buff, zoologist Donald Linzey, has collected 250 reports of mountain lions in Virginia over 11 years and believes 85 are credible. I KNOW WHAT I SAW and to this day every time I bring up this in conversation nobody believes me. It scowled and flipped its long just before it leaped down the bank towards the fawns. May 2015: Shannon: Citizen reported mountain lion tracks near the Current River, an investigation confirmed the track photos and other sign at the site. document.write(year) Pitch-black out and all I could hear was a long slow deep growling that sounded like nothing Id ever heard except once before 3 years ago. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. Trump plans to abolish U.S. Education Department if elected, Trump won't commit to the Republican National Committee's loyalty pledge, New Jersey woman blows up house, killing herself and her cats, rather than comply with eviction, Nancy Pelosi criticizes Joe Biden admin over handling of D.C. crime bill, Trump promises GOP will never again be led by 'freaks, neocons, globalists, open borders zealots', Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC These tracks may have been made by the mountain lion documented in Greenwich, Connecticut on June 5, 2011, and killed by a vehicle six days later. I know it is not technically in maryland but I highly doubt this cat knows where the state line is located and stays on the Pa. side all the time. I had my head tilted to the side sitting in the backseat with my daughter and I saw a very large cat jump clear across Route 23. She was driving home from a shopping trip last spring when she spotted a large animal crossing Cuba Road in Northern Baltimore County. This mountain lion was documented by DNA samples from Minnesota and Wisconsin between December 2009 and early 2010. The Washington Times - September 25, 2008, 01:00PM, Washington Commanders team name and logo reveal from Fedex Field, Scenes from snow storm that hit Washington, Warriors wanted: Army Green Beret training. Use anything at your disposal: a stick, rock, or better yet, bear spray. The mountain lion is rare in Missouri, having been extirpated since the 1920s; occasional individuals wander here from other states. It was ENORMOUS! They are here! From EG:About 10 years ago I used to frequent west Milford NJ. If youre still curious, read on to brush up on your mountain lion knowledge. AZGFD sold 11,851 tags in 2021; 260 mountain. That story prompted others to reach out to me about their sightings. If you are not and would like to read this and all the other great . A mountain lion, seen above, was sighted on Ash Street in Webster Sunday. In Zone K, which includes areas 1 and 27 and covers some of Graham and Greenlee counties, 17 lions were killed in 2021. From RV:In the summer of 2002, I was biking south on the D&R canal path near Millstone NJ. It looked so powerful! Create a password that only you will remember. All rights reserved (About Us). Mrs. Muhl isn't alone. a woman who swears she and her dog were approached by a cougar in Galloway Township. He suggested I didn't see a lion etc. Straw says. Then in late August, a woman reported seeing a mountain lion on her drive between Millville and Avalon. Today, their range stretches from the Yukon Territory in Canada along the western coast of the United States, all the way to the Southern Andes in Chile. From BK:I am so happy to read your article I have been telling people for years my friend and I saw a cougar and Greystone Park in Morris County I believe it was 2013 it was the end of September or early October we were coming from fishing and as we were riding I saw it stalking a bunch of deer. AZGFD sold 11,851 tags in 2021; 260 mountain lions were killed, 17 of those as the result of livestock depredations. I know bobcats and it definitely wasnt one especially having a 3+ foot tail that was quite thick. Well, as luck would have it, my co worker took this very nice pic of a mature female mountain lion last week just south of Uniontown Pa. "These animals have usually been misidentified because they were seen under poor conditions or by someone not familiar with the species," the post goes on to say. This page is located more than 3 levels deep within a topic. While the initial video got all of the attention, Soto posted a second video, too, showing a pack of hounds looking for scent in the area when the lion was sighted. He caught the animal in his headlights and, at first, thought it was a large Labrador retriever. "It was sitting there looking at the smoke coming out of our chimney.". They are here. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. In the Washington region, sightings have been reported in rural areas of Maryland and Virginia. This all started in the spring with the report by a woman who swears she and her dog were approached by a cougar in Galloway Township. In April 1997, experienced tracker John McCarter found scat near a beaver carcass at the Quabbin Reservation. Now and then MassWildlife gets a report with a photo of a mountain lion. However, one must assume that it actually could happen. Cars do not kill or injure cougars crossing roads. There are, after all, wild mountain lions not zoo specimens in Florida. -Arizonas first lion management plan took the form of paying a bounty for every lion killed where the pelt was turned over to authorities. The cat, which she believes is a mountain lion, ran off into some nearby woods. Mountain lions dont usually travel more than 100 miles from where they are born. From TP:I was driving on the parkway in Toms River back in the late winter and I swear I saw a dead mountain lion in the median. State workers have confirmed sightings of about 100 mountain lions also known as pumas, panthers, catamounts and cougars since 1994, when the Department of Conservation started tracking. Definitely, a mountain lion after I googled the print.Some years ago there was a really bad coyote problem at the Wawayanda State Park. A work colleague of mine lives in Layton, a town next to Walpack in Sussex County. An adult male bobcat can reach four feet in length and 35-40 pounds. It was killed in management Zone D, area 10, which appears to be mostly in Coconino County. Among them was a forestry technician who came across a female cougar nursing two cubs in remote part of the Thomas Jefferson National Forest. 60-108 inches. From D:My wife came home a couple of years ago and told me she saw two cougars crossing Range Road, a joint jurisdiction road between Fort Dix and Browns Mills, NJ, I told her they must have been something else. Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information. l never heard from the State. I thought I was nuts for thinking it was a mountain lion, but now not so much. (A valid mountain lion pursuit-only permit or a valid, unused mountain lion non-permit tag is required.). Thina Vanosnabrugge, a 41-year-old Hunt Valley woman, thinks they are. "As always, you should be diligent and cautious with your pets.". riding my dirt bike up a trail right off Rt. Saw one in my backyard in Mercer County in 2018. (I don't know if it's right, but for me the two terms are interchangeable. The same year, The Sun ran a story headlined "A Mysterious Big Cat Roams Maryland," which focused on a flurry of cougar reports in Western Maryland. On we go with just some of the reports I've received in the last few days: From RB:I've been reading your stories about mountain lion sightings, I too have seen a mountain lion; this was during the early spring or late winter of 2021. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal . As of Sept. 7, 12 animals have been tagged statewide thus far. The policeman, who didn't want to be identified, says he was on his way home from work about 3 a.m. when the cougar crossed Circle Road in an wooded area adjacent to Robert E. Lee Memorial Park. Of course, everyone thinks Im crazy because they dont want to believe it. The Missouri Dept of Conservation release information regarding a vehicle striking a mountain lion (cougar) not far from Six Flags. Mountain lions inhabit the badlands and Missouri River breaks regions of North Dakota. Mountain Lion Sighting. I myself saw one back around 2008 off of Watervale Rd in Fallston, Harford County. Bobcats are found in the mountains of western Maryland, even in some counties along the Chesapeake Bay and one sighting came from the Eastern Shore. There were five yearling animals, four 2-year-old animals, two 3-year-olds and five 4-year-olds. Although theyre not often seen walking about like the plentiful whitetailed deer, the top Maryland counties for bobcats are Garrett, Allegany, Washington and Frederick in that order. Mountain Lions have a status of extirpated in Alabama, there have been no confirmed sightings in the state in over 50 years. Males grow antlers which fall off each winter and grow back in the summer. half a mile before you reach the Deptford Mall. February 12. Video sent in to KITV4 from a local hotel in the Captain Cook area showed the reported sighting . MassWildlife receives dozens of reportsa year, most are simplyreportsor sightings with no evidence. (Or a lot of people who are very good at creative writing and fooling me.). Our wildlife research team decided to help take the mystery out of the sighting by going to the location and comparing the size of the animal to stationary objects in the frame as well as a human subject. "They never left," Mr. Lutz argues. MONTEREY There are no photos. Pearson said people should be vigilant on the Greenbelt, especially between dusk and dawn. "I believe that they're there," says a Baltimore County police officer, who claims he saw a cougar in Ruxton in 1980. People say that when they closed it down some of the animals were released into the woods around here. Shes 18 now. "It was a cougar," insists the 57-year-old Catonsville woman. It was heading northeast toward Peapack, NJ. My husband also sighted one while driving to go hunting many years ago in Wawayanda State Park. I told some people but Im not sure anyone believed me. Therres says the last of Marylands natural cougar populations disappeared in the late 1800s, probably due to the lack of the cats favorite food: venison. Diana Marchibroda and her miniature schnauzer froze in their tracks when the mountain lion stepped out of the woods last May. From RD:I live in Cumberland in Maurice River township. Please limit your input to 500 characters. In windy or mountainous areas, Elbroch says air horns are great tools to throw off a cat's focus and deter them from . Mountain lion hunting season opened Aug. 13, and remains so until May 31, 2023. This was on January 25 at around 5:30 pm. 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you would like to continue helping us improve Mass.gov, join our user panel to test new features for the site. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. There are occasional reports of people who think they saw one, maybe they even took a blurry picture, but those are most likely bobcats. What does the perfect setup look like for spring steelhead? She shared the pictures with Animal Control Officer Michelle Lefleche, who posted two on Facebook. Greenbelt Park is managed by the National Park Service. Cougars must be identified by having been captured, found dead, or the investigators must have seen definite tracks or other evidence. The bobcat is the only resident "big cat" with. "It's a mountain lion," the officer said. The USDA's Forest Service Wildlife Genetics Laboratory found that the animal came from South Dakota. Mountain lions occur across much of the state and bring about a wide range of complex conservation and management challenges. adroll_language = "en_US"; Search for cougarscontinues in Pennsylvania, Stories from the first season in a new hunting house. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. From DJ:I used to live on Albrecht Lane in East Brunswick. For an overview you may wish to view A Timeline of Bounty and Sport Hunting of Mountain Lions in the United States or our poster Where Do We Go From Here? It was when the reservoir was really low. -Mountain lions are classified as big game. They vary in size and weight, with males reaching up to 200 pounds and eight feet in length (one-third of their length is the tail). Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Evidence could include the body of a dead mountain lion or a live wild-captured animal; photos or video, in which a mountain lion can be identified and MassWildlife can confirm the location; DNA evidence from hair, scat, etc. From ER:Many years ago - back in late 2012 I was preparing a yard sale with my youngest daughter (she was 12 at the time) on our driveway in Ringwood, NJ. July 31, 2018 / 4:17 PM It doesn't make sense to me that they wouldn't be in those areas considering anything prevents them from crossing state lines especially since they can swim and the Delaware river is often shallow enough to walk across in a lot of spots. I was sitting on my front porch and I saw a very large animal at first I thought big fox. About 10 years ago I saw one crossing a narrow, rural road in Chester Township, NJ. Sighting of this animal also occurred in Michigan and New York. - U.S. Park Police responded to Greenbelt Park in Prince George's County, Maryland Tuesday after a woman said she saw a mountain lion in the area. var today = new Date() All the same, Therres and his colleagues log every report into a database (so far 150 sightings have been entered) and I suppose the wildlife specialists have a good laugh now and then. I was driving on a dark and stormy night about 9 years ago on Rt-515 just off of Rt-23. The MLRT has confirmed fewer than 100 cases. These areas are heavily wooded reserves owned by Morris County and the State of New Jersey. I slowed down and when slowed down it took off really fast into the woods. Webster residents say they spotted a mountain lion roaming around a residential neighborhood earlier this week, according to the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. State law protects all species unless otherwise noted. I feel vindicated. The young adult male was killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford, Connecticut on June 11, 2011. I had to slam on the brakes so as not to hit it. Receive the digital, interactive PDF of the newspaper in your inbox. Yes, they have been here for years. To me, it was not a dog and then carry itself like a dog. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, but I do know that there are mountain lions - or at least one lion - in the area. If you see a mountain lion, report the sighting immediately to Mission Viejo Animal Services at 949-470-3045 or the Orange County Sheriff's Department at 949-770-6011. There is also a small population in southern Florida. In the interest of gathering credible mountain lion sightings when mountain lions actually arrive in the east the research team here at eMammal has put together a guide to identifying mountain lions. I was excited for my husband to see it too, so I kept calling him and going to the dining room so he could hear me, as he was downstairs, but unfortunately by then, the mountain lion was no longer in my sight. The animals, which weight between 90 and 160 pounds and range over a large territory for food, have not left tracks that could be verified by wildlife experts. adroll_version = "2.0"; Mountain lions have a long tail that is usually darker colored at the tip. A spokesperson for the Washington HumaneSociety said someone may have been keeping the cat as a pet and then released it once they couldn't take care of it anymore. This is the longest documented travel distance of a mountain lion. This is especially true of western Maryland. Brigantino Park, on San Juan Road in Hollister, closed July 19 following the sighting of an adult mountain lion with a cub and will remain off limits until further notice, according to the park . If you're looking for some information that's important to you (such as research for work or learning how to manage your money), then the advice here is to first write down the relevant keywords on a piece of paper to figure out exactly what you want, which will be a lot more efficient. I would just like to share the information that people are sharing with me. Photo courtesy of Mountain Lion Foundation. Many believe mountain lions still exist in Pennsylvania. Mountain lion hunting season opened Aug. 13, and remains so until May 31, 2023. However, because they are capable of traveling great distances, they have turned up in all parts of North Dakota. On a side note, I've been out near West Virginia and the western parts of both Maryland and Virginia enough to know that it is a commonly held belief that mountain lions still exist 'round those parts. Roughly 100 of the pumas are not doing very well in the Sunshine state, where automobile and truck traffic or disease claim a few of the animals every year, but theyre hanging on and we wish them well.Then there are occasional reports of mountain lion sightings in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, but no one to our knowledge has ever totally proved that what they saw actually was North Americas biggest cat that can weigh 150 pounds or more and from nose to the tip of the tail can measure nearly 8 feet in length. Today, mountain lions are found in the mountainous regions of the West. It was late October and leaves were mostly down on our 500+ acre site. Mike Jacobsen found a dead mountain lion in his Denton-area field on Dec. 19. It was a rumor that State Fish and game stocked mountain lions to take care of it, to this day they deny it but I dont doubt they did. Residents should also report any mountain lion sightings to by calling Fish and Game's Southwest. My 11-year-old son was in front of me about 50 feet. The Damned Story: Eastern mountain lions, or pumas or cougars, were last officially seen in Connecticut near the end of the 19th century.A threat to livestock, they were hunted out of the state and driven to parts more wild. 15: January 22, 2011: Macon: Subadult male mountain lion shot by coyote hunters. Since May 21, three other lion sightings were reported in the Chubbuck and Pocatello areas and one in Inkom. Contact Laura Jean Schneider at LauraJean@eacourier.com, Mountain lions leave bloody path in Clifton, {child_flags:featured}Co-existing with nature, -The scientific name given to mountain lions is Puma concolor, meaning cat of one color.. There was no question as to what it was, with its coloring and long tail. If you need assistance, please contact the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Confirmed reports of mountain lions in Massachusetts Lefleche told the Telegram and Gazette that Ford's sighting seems credible. When evidence is submitted, MassWildlife carefully reviews the evidence in its entirety and attempts to verify the report. Any cougars in Maryland -- including the one reported to be stalking the field off Liberty Road in Randallstown -- were probably being held captive and either escaped or were set free, Mr. . Copyright 1998- Case 1 24K views 4 years ago #cougar #mountainlion #maryland On May 31, 2018 an interesting video of an animal walking across a field was captured in the Fallston area of Harford County, Maryland. The coloring was that of a deer but it was too strangely shaped to be a deer conclusion definitely a mountain lion. No indication of a captive animal. Advertisement Rauch said the bobcat probably traveled down the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal from. contact the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. This occurred in the spring of 2017. From PD:Read your article about mountain lions in NJ. From PD: Read your article about mountain lions in NJ. This gave Nebraska lions some protection under Commission ruling until 2014 when, in a controversial decision, hunting permits were issued . So, thanks to all who reached out, and to all who are as fascinated about this subject as I am. May 2015: Laclede Another sighting was on Storms Ave in Haskell NJ. Invalid password or account does not exist. Over the past 25 years, dozens of Maryland residents have reported cougar encounters, even though wildlife officials insist that mountain lions haven't roamed the state for at least a century. Rt 206/Lamington Rd. Another sighting involved a wild cougar that traveled through New York as it trekked nearly 1,800 miles east from its native population in South Dakota. One said his father swore he had seen one, and their guess was it was an escapee from Great Adventure. Animal control officers say they are taking the reports seriously. In comparison to our GSD, I estimated it to be around 70lbs. Me and my friend are trying to put together a list/map of sightings in MD. The Connecticut mountain lion is the best documented wild Mountain Lion in New England. l then got to thinking about a description, the color is rather unique. When the deer in those days were shot into near oblivion by market hunters, the cougar apparently looked for greener pastures elsewhere. By LAURA JEAN SCHNEIDER It was at the edge of the woods and it looked like it was just after a kill. 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. Glenn Therres, a biologist and wildlife specialist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources says, We receive a dozen or two dozen reports a year from citizens who see, hear or find signs of cougars. In 1966, an animal believed to be a cougar clawed a pony, two sheep and a calf to death in western Harford County. Maryland - There have been many sightings of mountain lions and a lot of debate about the existence of mountain lions in Maryland. There have been only two caseswhere evidence supports the presence of a mountain lion in Massachusetts. var year = today.getFullYear() Mistaken reports of mountain lions in Massachusetts are most commonly Bobcats. Quite unnerving. From ED:Im a believer. GREENBELT, Md. It was about 4 feet tall and just walked slowly crossing the highway. With land cleared for farms and factories (nearly the entire state was deforested at the turn of the 20th century), there was no place for big cats to hide and nothing for . The oldest tooth-aged mountain lion tagged in 2021 was 10. In the '70s, Jungle Habitat was located here in West Milford. The sighting has been reported to the state Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, which has historically debunked such observations. This mountain lion was documented by DNA samples from Minnesota and Wisconsin between December 2009 and early 2010. A regional wildlife biologist with the Department of Natural Resources' Forest, Park and Wildlife Service, he says mountain lions were hunted into extinction by the people who settled Maryland. A video posted Tuesday on Facebook of a mountain lion ambling across a dirt road near Edens Red Knolls has snagged a lot of interest, according to social media views and discussion. However, Fish and Game is asking area residents to be vigilant and to report any mountain lion sightings in the area by calling the Southwest Region Office at 208-465-8465, Monday through Friday . . Crews were seen from a D.C. chopper searching the park with long guns. Follow @WJZ on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook, First published on July 31, 2018 / 4:17 PM. People even report House Cats as mountain lions in a surprising number of cases. I'm completely convinced fish and game are well aware they are still here and said they are extinct to calm the public outcries.