PA GOBBLER

Posted on Sun, Jan. 22, 2006
Afield
Possible mountain lion footprint discovered in Centre County
By Mark Nale
For the CDT
Just when you think you have the outdoor world pretty well figured out, something that is difficult to explain comes along. There might now be hard evidence to support the possibility of a mountain lion roaming the wilds of Centre County.
On Saturday, Jan. 7, Jim Grieb, a sales representative for a pest control company, and his brother-in-law Jeremy Johnson were enjoying a winter-season archery hunt. They were hunting private ground in Union Township, not too far from the eastern edge of Moshannon State Forest and south of State Game Lands 103. At about 12:30 that afternoon, Johnson called Grieb over to look at a strange footprint that he found frozen in the snow.
According to Grieb, the single track was found in a small patch of un-melted snow on an old logging road. The print had turned to ice, indicating that it was at least a day old. It clearly showed four, nearly equal-sized, rounded toes and a short squared-off footpad. There were no claw marks and the track's overall appearance was round. Grieb, excited with the find, drove back to his home along the Rattlesnake Pike, near Unionville, and returned with some plaster of paris. He then made a cast of the track.
"I have been an avid outdoorsman and hunter all of my life and have seen about every wildlife track Pennsylvania has to offer -- that is, until this past Saturday," Grieb wrote in an e-mail. "There is no doubt in my mind what kind of animal made this track.
"In another patch of snow farther down the trail, we found two other round melted-out prints of about the same size. There were about 32 to 34 inches between the prints."
Grieb's plaster cast shows a round foot, with four clear toes and a footpad. It measures 41/2 inches wide by 41/4 inches long.
On Monday, Jan. 9, Bill Scimio, Grieb's friend from Spruce Creek, visited the site where Grieb made the cast and saw what was left of the original print.
Grieb called the Northcentral Regional Office of the Pennsylvania Game Commission and was later contacted by Centre County Wildlife Conservation Officer Eric Seth. Grieb then met with Seth on Jan. 10.
"The cast appears to be made from the foot print of a large cat," Seth said after examining the cast.
Seth later verified his assessment in a recent phone conversation.
A forester familiar with animal tracks examined a photo of the cast. According to him, most likely the print was that of the left front foot of a large feline. PGC furbearer biologist Matt Lovallo also examined the photograph, but declined to render an opinion based on the poor detail shown in the photograph. Lovallo, however, is interested enough to want to view the actual cast and hike the area where the track was found.
Nittany lions, mountain lions, panthers, painters, pumas and cougars are all the same animal, Felis concolor.
Four hundred years ago, mountain lions lived in Pennsylvania and all of the surrounding states. They were generally feared by European settlers and, according to Joe Kosack in "The Pennsylvania Game Commission 1895-1995: 100 Years of Conservation", bounties were first placed on mountain lions in 1802.
"Adults brought $8, juveniles, $2.50," wrote Kosack.
As evidence to the big cat's numbers, between 1808-20, Luzerne County paid out $1,822 in mountain lion bounties.
By the latter part of the 19th century, mountain lion populations had dwindled to only the remote mountainous regions of the state.
"The last panther bounty was paid for an 1886 Centre County claim. Several researchers have listed mountain lions being killed in the state from 1887 to 1914, but those reports are not supported by physical evidence," wrote Kosack.
Officially, there is no evidence of a naturally reproducing population of mountain lions living in Pennsylvania or any of our neighboring states.
"There has been no hard evidence of a free-roaming mountain lion population in Pennsylvania but, during the past few decades, there have been several cases of domesticated cats being discovered in the wild. In all cases, these cats had been castrated or de-clawed," said Lovallo in a phone interview. "The Game Commission follows up any lead that offers the chance to collect evidence. In about 95 percent of the so-called leads that I pursue, the people contacted decline, for whatever reason, to allow a follow-up.
"Mountain lions are long-range dispersers and I do keep an open mind. After all, Missouri for many years officially dismissed reports of mountain lion sightings and now they have documented a reproducing population."
In almost any given year, a few Pennsylvania residents think that they have seen a mountain lion. According to PGC press secretary Jerry Feaser, most are cases of mistaken identity. He is probably correct, but that does not explain away Grieb's track.
The official PGC position does not stop people from looking for mountain lions, either. John Lutz, a retired truck enforcement officer with the City of Baltimore, runs the Eastern Puma Research Network, an affiliation of mountain lion enthusiasts across the eastern United States. Lutz, who now lives in West Virginia, keeps track of any sign or sightings that are reported to his organization.
"There is a lot of recent mountain lion evidence showing up in Clinton and Bedford counties, as well as in Maryland, just south of the Pennsylvania border," said Lutz in a phone interview.
Lutz expressed great interest in the Grieb track.
When I penned my first column for this newspaper in 1997, I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that my 400th column -- this one -- would discuss what seems to be a genuine mountain lion track discovered in Centre County.
I met with Grieb last Saturday and viewed his cast. From all outward appearances, Grieb appears to be honest and sincere. Grieb's cast matches the descriptions and drawings found in my mammal tracking guides. It was not made from the print of a bobcat, bear or coyote. I take Grieb's evidence at face value and present it here as he shared it with me. It will be interesting to see how this story plays out.
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lost horn

Pa. mountain lions, just what Pa."Wilds needs they would fit right into the plan.

jcchartboy

Two thoughts...

1) He had the time and energy to make a cast...but never took a picture of the print or called the PGC?

2)....

PA GOBBLER

1) from what i heard at work today there was a pic in the paper, this is the online story. and about calling the PGCif you read this is what it said "Grieb called the Northcentral Regional Office of the Pennsylvania Game Commission and was later contacted by Centre County Wildlife Conservation Officer Eric Seth. Grieb then met with Seth on Jan. 10.
"The cast appears to be made from the foot print of a large cat," Seth said after examining the cast.
Seth later verified his assessment in a recent phone conversation"

2) i dont care about beating a dead horse. im not one of the mountian lion believers or nonblievers. i heard about this at work and posted it

jcchartboy

A pic of what?...the cast?....there is no mention of any pictures being taken of the actual tracks, why would take the time to prepare a cast, but not even bother to take a simple picture....

Yes...he called them on January 9th...2 days after the cast was taken. Ifhe had some "proof" of whathe was going to claim was a species living in PA that biologist currently conclude does not exist,he should have been far more concerned about contacting the authorities on a timely basis...

The cast looking like a cat print can be accepted as a fact...However the problem is that is all we know....There is no proof whatsoever he actually even took the casts where/when he claims to..

Of course if he took some pictures...or called the PGC in a timely manner he would have some actual evidence...but he didn't...why? who knows...maybe he wastoo busy with that cast...lol

I'm sorry...the Beating the Dead horse avatar was not aimed at you...I did not intend to shoot the messanger...

It was aimed at the subject matter in general...

AJ52

Bla - Bla - Bla - Anything to elaberate or disprove what might be the obvious of what might be the probable in PA.

Seems many love to watch themselves yap - yap - yap on the web.

jcchartboy

Now it should be clear why I posted the avatar in the first place...7 posts and the horse still has not budged...

AJ52

Good Story PA.

I'm not one of the believers or non.I'm one of those "Why the Hek Not" in PA.

The article surely points to some compelling evidence irregardless of what some seem hell bent to discredit.Hard to disprove or explain away a cast.

Sylvan

Heeere we go again... Wake me when its over, or if by some miracle somebody says something that hasn't been said before. I'll check in in 25 pages or so to see if this one is anysillier than the last.

jcchartboy

I'm with you Sylvan......Have fun guys!!





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