Cougars?
 

This pic below was posted on FB in the Potter County page. I blocked out the gentleman's name but he said he got this pic on his trail cam off East Fork Rd, Potter Co., PA!

More BS !!!
They got dropped off by Black Ops Helicopters

lots of folks out there are strong believers and disbelievers and as such, there are just as many of folks trying to make fake claims, !

either your a believer or a NON believer at this point!

I personally could care less if there are any or not
just like Bigfoot's!

I'm not saying the pic is actually from Potter Co. Im just repoting what was posted on FB. I know the PGC transplanted fishers in the state a few years ago but I've yet to see one but I know a couple guys that have. Look at coyotes. 40 or so years,ago there were none here and now they're everywhere. Bsck around the start of the 20th century there was a native population of cougars (panthers they were called) so I see no reason why they couldn't make a comeback either naturally or stocked.

That photo is nonsense! Three cougars where the odds are huge against there being one. Come on Bronco, you aren't buying that I hope.

did it ever occur to you it was a female with last year's cubs? Not saying its a valid pic but go on Facebook and search Potter Co and read all the comments on this topic. So many people have had sightings around this area and surrounding counties.

No, it never occurred to me that that two of those cats were last years cubs, the people lie and post photo's of cougars that were taken in another state, some of them just repost the picture and repeat what the person who sent it to them said. The day there is actual evidence of cougars living in the state I will take a look at it. Some obscure photo with no evidence of where it was taken is nothing I will believe. Think about this, there has never been a paw print found in any investigation by the PGC officers, PGC officers actually investigate these so called sightings . There has never been a cougar kill found anywhere in the state and cougars sloppily bury their kills and continue to visit them till it is eaten. There has never been a credible sighting and many of the so-called sightings have been debunked. Good lord, people in this state who should know better are calling bobcat sightings, how many photos of bobcats were posted here with the question of "what is it" and these are from outdoorsmen. I have seen cougars and have been up close and personal with a few, I even had a cub in my office for a while till I found a place to take it and that cub was purchased out of state. Most Pennsylvanians have never see a cougar so forgive me if I am a skeptic when a photo pops up on the internet with a claim that the photo was taken in PA. I disagree that so many people have had sightings, what we have is a lot of people have claimed to have seen cougars and many of those so called sightings have been debunked. I had a guy claiming he had a cougar in the South mountain behind his home, I went to investigate and I was in his back yard when he got all excited and yelled there he is, there he is. It was a red fox with mange. People want to believe we have cougars, that is why they are ready to believe with no evidence. I can't do that.

PA also is a top 10 state for reported cases of seeing BIG FOOTS,
and I gather we all know on them there is still no real proof period they are still walking the planet earth!

I again, don't doubt a cougar COULD live in pa, we have the food for them and honestly enough land for them too to survive
but I do think most sightings and claims are, by folks that don't know any better or well, just WANT to get some attention/fame
so much so to the point that even if a HONEST picture happens, it would be very hard to believe anymore

I WISH there were cougars roaming PA's forest and farms, I find them fascinating critters
as for the game commission doing research into sightings n a d there reports
I personally know some things DON"T get reported that happen in that agency.
I am friends with many game wardens in PA, and have seen things most wouldn;t believe if I stated so I won't waste my time doing so!
in modern times its getting harder to do so, but back in the past before modern tech and social media and body cam's and so on
there were LOTS of things that happened that were NOT reported or written down! anyone that thinks others wise is very very naive!

I know Oldtimr will have issue's with this and I don't mean to provoke him,
if being honest, I'd hope even he can admit NOT all game wardens are of the same ethic's or ???
there are good one's bad one's and everything in between,!!
and add in the fact they have the ability to use THERE discretion on many things, can mean many things DON"T get written down or??

Please pray tell how someone can take a picture of a cougar in PA and prove it was taken in PA? Do you want to have the cougar hold up a sign saying they "I'm in PA"?
Also, yes almost everyone has a camera on their phones but when something runs across the road in front of you, how often do you have the time to take out your camera/phone and take a picture of it? I honestly believe there are cougars in PA and its possible that many of these sightings in a given area could be the same one. I wouldn''t say there is a huntable population but a few. Maybe enough for a breeding population.
Look at it this way. How many hunters have seen possums, porcupines, fishers, or bobcats while hunting. Probably a small percentage. Yet these are common PA critters. In my 55+ years of hunting and more years of hiking I've only ever seen 1 possum, zero fishers, 2 bobcats and maybe a handful of porkys (not counting those killed on the road)

again I am NOT saying there are none in PA

BUT to PROVE a picture was taken in PA< isn;t that hard
what is needed is to go to where camera is taken and show its IN PA and show the SPOT where said picture was taken , with folks that are trust worthy to back claims up!

this is where things get tricky
WHO do you call trust worthy these days?
and also, why most folks WON"T come forth that have REAL pictures,a s they don't want the hassle and aggravation that comes with sharing them, or maybe just people knowing where they have things, ON there lands and so on!

the problem most NON believers have is this IMO
the fact there is no REAL HARD, HOLD IN YOUR HANDS proof,
as I agree with you 100% , that most folks in PA< have never really seen many critters PA has, never mind see them often or when holding a camera at the time fo seeing them,
and , never mind found any dead one's
as I agree , there are ton's of rather popular critters that most hunters and outdoors men/women never find dead, like bears or coyotes or??
(I have found about most critters in PA dead so I consider myself a odd ball here)
BUT the FACTS are rather simple

SOMEONE HAS found them dead at least a few times, and thus we have HARD PROOF/EVIDENCE< of them being here
so, even if RARE or low odds, there still is hard proof

yet to date, NO one has actually been able to PROVE they have hard evidence of a cougar ( or Bigfoot) being here in PA.

and this is the issue
a s video's and pictures , all have the means of being FAKE/FAKED, and even when folks are trying to be honest, showing what they have, they get beat up by non believers, making many honest folks again, NOT willing to share or tell of there claims
as NOT everyone wants the fame and bashing and attention, they get these days making any claims! or sharing any pictures or video's

SO< honestly till there is HARD evidence which will most likely HAVE to be a body/remains of one, that is documented by trust worthy people
NO one in the state game dept or any other agency will ever admit there are any,as the proof doesn't be there to back up any claim!

like it or not, that's just the way it is!

I would love to see them in PA< as again I like critters of all shapes and sizes, as long as there numbers are supported by what the area can maintain! that is!

so for m,e, again, I hope someone some days can prove there are some, till then
however, there going to be listed as NOT in PA!