RE: mountain lions in pa
 

Welcome to the site BCE. :)

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

I' ve seen bobcats! (but thats not the same thing)

Interesting topic.

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

This topic could go on for ages. It is devided down the middle. Those that have seen and believe and those that haven' t and don' t. Everyone talks about shooting one and, why don' t we see one with all of the hunters. This one isn' t that hard to explain. There aren' t that many in the state, and they are alot better at seeing you and running then you are at seeing them. Also, as far as killing livestock, how many farmers are qualified enough to look at a carcass and say " well that was definately a lion" . No, they say those damn coyotes. Think of it this way, 1% of all those that hunt bear actually harvest one. That isn' t too high. Now try to imagine someone shooting an animal they aren' t looking for, with a much smaller population, and is FAR more elusive. Heck even in the most heavily lion populated areas of the country they need dogs to find and tree the cats. Both sides of this argument have good points, and I don' t know which side I would have been on had I not seen one with my own eyes. I guess it is going to take someone to kill one to prove their existance. But then we will get the same replies, It was someones pet, it had to be. I was also wondering what the fine would be for shooting a lion. You know they aren' t going to let you get off scott free on that one. I am pretty sure that any large animal that doesn' t have regulations in the pgc handbook are protected? Who knows, only time will tell.

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

[X(]How could they (PGC) fine you for killing something that they say doesn' t exist?

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

There is actually an organized group up around Red Rock Mountain (Sullivan/Luzerne/Columbia Counties) that keep records of sightings. More people than you think have seen them. Many moons ago, the people that ran the old bait store (now Good' s Campgrounds on Rt 118) swore there were mountain lions on the mountain. We thought they were full of beans. We' re not so sure they were lying now.....

Scott Meier
White Oak Lodge

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

Also - a taxidermist in the area said he saw film footage of mountain lion kits in their den. This was taken in central PA (I think).

Scott Meier
White Oak Lodge

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

The MD DNR is keeping track of the sightings in Western Maryland. There are leaflets everywhere--including grocery stores--telling how to identify them and giving out an 800 number to report sightings. I' ve talked with many of the rangers out there and have never met one who hadn' t seen them numerous times--including the blank panther variety. Further east, sightings aren' t as common, but they do occur. I' ve seen one personally, but I know quite a few people who I respect who have seen them.

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

I have spent thousands of hours in the timber in PA. In many different areas of the state. I have never seen a lion, never seen sign from a lion, never heard a lion. That does not mean there are none in PA.

As to the picture that started this thread, by now it has been pointed out where that cat came from. Coincidently, I just had that very picture sent to me last week, from a friend that lives in Austin, Texas. The story with the picture stated that the cat was killed by a Texan, in Texas. That cat sure does get around!;)

I can say this about mountain lions.....ask the Illinois DNR if there are lions in that state? They will emphatically tell you NO! Myself, and another member of this board can tell you with a left hand on a bible that there is at least one there!

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

Im a believer.... never saw one but still a believer.:) Maybe one day I will see one :D

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

Mike,
I thought the same thing. " how could the pgc fine you for an animal that doesn' t exist" . But then I was told that if an animal does not have a season or bag limit in the pgc handbook then it is illegal to harvest that animal. Now, this is hearsay and I have no idea if it is true or not but it would be nice to know for sure. I knoe I sure don' t want a fine for something I didn' t know was illegal.

Eric

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

Most of the sightings in MD are close to the border with PA. The MD DNR has examined 3 different home videos that are definitely cougars and are proven to be taken in MD. One of the videos has been on MD public TV several times.

Ater viewing the videos the MD DNR has the stance that the eastern cougar is extinct in MD and if you shoot one that is non existent you are in big trouble.

Most people think that the eastern cougars that keep being sighted are captive cougars that have escaped and can easily live off deer turkeys ducks geese and domestic animals. Even captive cougars that have escaped and were declawed have survived in the wild and were in good shape when they were recovered.

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

I live in WV and the Dept. of Natural Resources will tell you we dont have any big cats here in WV. I have hunted here all of my life and I saw my first big cat a couple of months ago in Boone county.

Someone said urban legend........... Let me tell you that is the first walking urban legend I have ever seen :)

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

lets put it this way, there are many people who have never seen a bear, bobcat or even a coyote in the wild. if mountain lions are as elusive as the experts say they are, there may very well be a small population of mountain lions living in pennsylvania. there are a lot of woods out there, many acres of uninhabited land, i believe there are mountain lions in pennsylvania

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

How ironic is it that I started this post and we have recently had NUMEROUS mountain lion sightings right here by my house that have actually made the local news. I work in the area and have spoken to at least 15 people who have all seen this lion either crossing the road or on their property. Now I don' t know about you but how can you tell 15 different people who have seen the cat right in front of them that they all have no idea what they are talking about. Well, that' s exactly what the game commission did. They didn' t even want to look for evidence. They blew it off and told them it was a bobcat or coyote. Typical. I guess I keep forgetting we have that special breed of bobcat that is 5 times larger with a 4 foot tail. And a special coyote that is 2 times bigger with no muzzle and really really short hair. I just wonder how long the pgc is going to keep thinking we' re a bunch of idiots. I know it' s easy for them to tell those who have never seen one in the wild that they are not there. I mean they have no ground to argue on and nothing to prove otherwise. But for them to lie right to our face after we have seen one and after we have offered them tracks and a fresh kill. I think that is just blatant disrespect for our intelligence.

By the way here is the link to the news story.

http://www.thewgalchannel.com/news/2574295/detail.html

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

I guess you could shoot it and drag it in their office [:o] They would probably still deny it, suggesting maybe you went out west and shot it and drug it back here.

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

I live in Centre county, not far from Clinton county and Beach Creek mountian. If I talk to my uncle over the holidays, I' ll ask him for the pictures he took of one on Beech Creek mountain. They are here folks. I also have heard from a couple different sources that the game commission has plans to distribute a few of these cats throughout the state. Now, I' m not sure how true this is, so don' t take that too seriously.

But it kinda makes you wonder what the game commission is doing we may not know about. My father is a truck driver and one of the guys he used to drive with was hauling what he though was cattle from out of state a few years back. It turned out, he was actually delivering a truck full of Coyotes for a stocking program. Ever heard of this? I didn' t.

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

I work with a guy that lives up along Rt 118 just west of Ricketts Glen State Park. He actually talked to a truck driver that transported two mountain lions from out west. I repeat, he was talking to the truck driver and asked him what he was hauling and he replied " two mountain lions" . They (PGC) released them in the state game lands. I also, have another friend that seen one cross the road in front of his truck near Millville. I have heard of many sightings around Benton/ Millville/ Rt. 118. I have alot of friends in those parts.

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

Hey CBLewis. We' re on top of Red Rock, just west of Ricketts Glen. That would be putting these things right in our area. I did find a deer carcass that was buried under a bunch of sticks a few years back. I was thinking bear but who knows. The people that used to run Good' s Camp Grounds used to always tell me about the lions on top of the mountain.

Scott Meier
White Oak Lodge

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

I seen one sitting on a rock with his tail waving around up by his head. I backed up to get a better look and he was gone. This was about 12 yrs ago in the lackawaxen area ..Bill

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

BarnesX, My buddy lives there by Grassmere Park. The truck stopped there for some reason, can' t remember whether he broke down or just stopped. My buddy was just BSing with him when he asked him what he was hauling and the driver actually told him that the Game Commision bought or traded these mountain lions. There was two in the trailer at that time. I don' t know if the GC has done this in other areas or not but they definitely did it up there. It' s amazing that our Game Commission will just flat out lie to people when confronted.

RE: mountain lions in pa
 

There were rumours of a lion loose around Waterford Pa about 10 years ago, we were renting a farm house and I was installing a stereo for a friend in the driveway, when he screamed out" Holy Crap a lion just ran across the top of the field" . The look on his face was not that of someone telling stories. I hoped on my 3 wheeler and went to look, but found nothing. A week or so later my wife was riding on the back of the wheeler with me and saw what she described as a female lion about 400 yards from where the other guy said he seen the lion. She was so certain that she called the state police and had them come out and search the area they didn' t find anything, but she swears to what she saw until this day. I believe both of them, although I never saw it, I always felt like something was watching me while hunting those woods.