It was about 6 or 7 years ago. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Males grow antlers which fall off each winter and grow back in the summer. ". What drew me to it was the seeming paws. Definitely, a mountain lion after I googled the print.Some years ago there was a really bad coyote problem at the Wawayanda State Park. ; track sets or photos of track sets; other tangible physical evidence verified by qualified professionals. My dad also has a friend that lives in North Jersey I believe in alpha somewhere by the NY border in a more rural area and he has seen them in his yard and captured them on his trail camera. An adult male bobcat can reach four feet in length and 35-40 pounds. I heard a lot of animal screaming and it seemed to be getting closer to my property. MassWildlife uses evidence-based criteria for confirming reports of mountain lions. They told me they would investigate and let me know, but I never received a callback. There is no proof. From HR:I saw a MountainLion in the fall of 2017 in Bedminster/Far Hills NJ while driving south on Rt 206/Lamington Rd. Let us know what's going on! 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. From RV:In the summer of 2002, I was biking south on the D&R canal path near Millstone NJ. An adult male mountain lion can have a home range greater than 100 square miles. 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. Or so they think!. Our eyes locked and we were both motionless. Brigantino Park notice. I dont doubt that womans experience in South Jersey one little bit! The mountain lion is rare in Missouri, having been extirpated since the 1920s; occasional individuals wander here from other states. This offer only applies to OutdoorNews.com and not for any Outdoor News print subscriptions. 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. There is also a small population in southern Florida. Some kitty this is!An outfit known as the Cougar Network (www.easterncougarnet.org) tracks cougar sightings all over the various states where cougar populations are not known to exist. This still from a local video clip of a mountain lion taken Tuesday morning shows a big cat crossing a ditch before he disappears into the cotton field. The Missouri Dept of Conservation release information regarding a vehicle striking a mountain lion (cougar) not far from Six Flags. 10 Reply Gov_Martin_OweMalley 4 yr. ago Weight. #1 The tail. Straw says. Pigeons? I wish I had turned around and taken photos but, where it was located, it would have taken me too long. 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. My girlfriend remarked, Wow, that was a lion. I knew It wasnt a bear or wolf. We both stopped. (WJZ) --A reported mountain lion sightingin a Prince George's County park turned out to be a coyote. For a solid four seconds, Marchibroda watched as a large, sleek cat standing about three feet tall with a long, curled tail crossed Skyline Drive near Gavel Springs Gap less than 100 feet in front of them. Saw them all at dusk. Click here to login. If you would like to continue helping us improve Mass.gov, join our user panel to test new features for the site. Please remove any contact information or personal data from your feedback. From RE:Hi Joe, no one believed me but back in about 1986 I was. With all the deer, geese, and other prey everywhere, why wouldnt they be here!!!! Sighting of this animal also occurred in Michigan and New York. Mike Jacobsen found a dead mountain lion in his Denton-area field on Dec. 19. riding my dirt bike up a trail right off Rt. Mountain lions inhabit the badlands and Missouri River breaks regions of North Dakota. Pearson said people should be vigilant on the Greenbelt, especially between dusk and dawn. Its a one-lane road off of Riva Avenue near Farrington Lake. They are definitely here. There are only quick sightings around town of the large cat known as the mountain lion. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. It was late October and leaves were mostly down on our 500+ acre site. Mountain Lions have a status of extirpated in Alabama, there have been no confirmed sightings in the state in over 50 years. The latest sighting happened Wednesday afternoon, according to a News4 viewer who says she spotted the animal near the Beltway exit to Connecticut Avenue. It was about 4 feet tall and just walked slowly crossing the highway. 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. Mountain lions in NJ? I KNOW WHAT I SAW and to this day every time I bring up this in conversation nobody believes me. My cousin and her boyfriend, who own 40 acres in Mansfield Twp NJ saw one on their property as well. These tracks were fresh and well photographed. The most recent sighting of a mountain lion in a Randallstown field Tuesday has revived claims that cougars aren't extinct in Maryland. From TM:Hey Joe. None of the rumors are true. They can weigh between 50-300 lbs. On the return paved portion of my ride, l stopped to share my story with my friends at Mick's Canoes. A recent rumor of a cougar killed by a vehicle on Interstate 80 attracted some attention at Penn State. 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. Truly terrifying encounter even compared to a bear. If youre still curious, read on to brush up on your mountain lion knowledge. We will use this information to improve this page. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Just like New Jersey doesn't have any rattlesnakes. A mountain lion sighting was reported at, Showshoe West Virginia. One other gentleman and I almost 10 years ago saw a mountain lion on our worksite in Clinton NJ. Just a matter of time until fish and game acknowledge it. MassWildlife cannot investigate or confirm mountain lion reports without any evidence. Photo of a mountain lion taken by a game camera and a kill site of an 80 lb. 3600 New York Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20002. / CBS Baltimore. I had seen a police officer in the parking lot at the mall and told him what I saw. Lefleche told the Telegram and Gazette that Ford's sighting seems credible. 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. Open MF, 8 a.m.4 p.m. (closed noon12:30 for lunch). 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. GREENBELT, Md. If you need assistance, please contact the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. One neighbor described the creature as larger and wider than a deer, with the long tail of a cat. This was on January 25 at around 5:30 pm. It was looking away from us attempting to catch a number of small deer that [were] on the riverbank. Heres how to pull big bluegills from Iowas West Lake Okoboji, A look at some other ways to call in a spring gobbler, How to catch and cook whitefish and tullibees, Nows the time to savor the fruits of the hunting experience. adroll_current_page = "other"; Are there mountain lions in Massachusetts. JustBe Farm is the passion project of both Kate and Ray, two South Jersey locals who wanted a place where they could reconnect busy children, teens, and adults with nature. There are two records of mountain lions in Massachusetts thatmeet the evidence requirements. 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. Case 1 At the time I think my daughter was about five. // February 12, 2021. MLRT confirmed using the photos and other sign. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. I had to slam on the brakes so as not to hit it. When I got up to where I think it was it was gone and to me, if it was a bear well bears don't have tails and two to me a bear would kind of struggle to get into the woods and lose stamina after a certain point maybe this thing it ran it took off and didn't look back. Another sighting was on Storms Ave in Haskell NJ. "If there is a wild population, it is very tiny, and they are able to live and die without any evidence of them being here," Mr. "I knew a lot of people wouldn't believe I'd seen it," he says. Males, also called bucks, are about 20 percent larger than females, which are called does. This page is located more than 3 levels deep within a topic. 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). -Arizonas first lion management plan took the form of paying a bounty for every lion killed where the pelt was turned over to authorities. 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. The USDA's Forest Service Wildlife Genetics Laboratory found that the animal came from South Dakota. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Then in late August, a woman reported seeing a mountain lion on her drive between Millville and Avalon. Mountain lion fur is unspotted and tan-brown . I do have footprint pics in snow from Califon definitely not your usual coyote. Please limit your input to 500 characters. ), I have no agenda in this. Five other people also allegedly saw what they thought was a mountain lion in the area, Lefleche said. Fish and Game has to acknowledge their existence so the public is aware. By LAURA JEAN SCHNEIDER The MLRT has confirmed fewer than 100 cases. 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. Read more about the status of Mountain Lions in Alabama here. Video sent in to KITV4 from a local hotel in the Captain Cook area showed the reported sighting . The youngest was less than 1-year-old. Shirley Ford took photos of the svelte creature she saw lurking by her home on Ash Street Sunday, The Telegram and Gazette reports. Contact Laura Jean Schneider at [email protected], 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.. This is the longest documented travel distance of a mountain lion. 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. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Mountain Lion Weight: 80-160 pounds Length: About 7-8 feet long Tail: 2-3 feet long (up to half of the total length) Identification The mountain lion is a large, slender cat, with a long rope-like tail. He tells the story of a friend who managed to snap a picture of a cougar prowling in his backyard in Phoenix. Luckily it looked healthy and well-fed. "It was so unusual," she says. When the deer in those days were shot into near oblivion by market hunters, the cougar apparently looked for greener pastures elsewhere. from afar it looked like silk black fur. "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. I then said to my friend, oh wow he said what did you see I said no you tell me, he then described that he saw a big brown animal with a little face and a big tail in a different color brown than the deer, I then told him I saw it as well and it was a cougar he thought I was crazy for saying that and then I showed him an article where someone had just seen it at Burnham Park in Morristown a week or so before that was only a few miles away. If you are not and would like to read this and all the other great . It was heading northeast toward Peapack, NJ. I could not believe my eyes! There are occasional reports of people who think they saw one, maybe they even took a blurry picture, but those are most likely bobcats. The MLRT has investigates hundreds of mountain lion reports, but most reported sightings and tracks turn out to be bobcats or large dogs. As of Sept. 7, 12 animals have been tagged statewide thus far. In this video we discuss why we have reached our conclusion as well as explaining some natural history about this species. Mountain lions also were reportedly sighted in Cape St. Claire in 1969, Kingsville in 1971 and several areas of Prince George's County in 1988. 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. It was at the edge of the woods and it looked like it was just after a kill. I was driving on a dark and stormy night about 9 years ago on Rt-515 just off of Rt-23. The mountain lion was about 50 yards to the left of my house and was walking up the side of the mountain. Use anything at your disposal: a stick, rock, or better yet, bear spray. 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. 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. The mountain lion walked right across the street in front of his car while he was driving through the park. A debate ensued over whether the animal was a rare and incredible sighting of a cougar (either an extinct eastern cougar or western cougar that traveled a great distance outside of their known range) or just a large domestic house cat that appeared larger than it was due to the weather conditions and perspective. But John Lutz, a cougar buff who runs a Baltimore-based group called the Eastern Puma Research Network, says there are at least 100 wild mountain lions roaming Maryland. This mountain lion was documented by DNA samples from Minnesota and Wisconsin between December 2009 and early 2010. This gave Nebraska lions some protection under Commission ruling until 2014 when, in a controversial decision, hunting permits were issued . 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. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. l then got to thinking about a description, the color is rather unique. Iowa DNR prepares for egg-collection netting season, Randy Claramunt vows to turn challenges into opportunities as Michigans new fisheries chief, WI Daily Update: The scoop on ice shanties, MN Daily Update: Permanent ice house dates, All-time great pro bass angler Kevin VanDam to retire following 23 season. "As always, if you leave wildlife alone and respect it, the wildlife will reciprocate," she wrote. All rights reserved. On May 31, 2018 an interesting video of an animal walking across a field was captured in the Fallston area of Harford County, Maryland during a foggy morning by Dan Jones. May 2015: Shannon: Citizen reported mountain lion tracks near the Current River, an investigation confirmed the track photos and other sign at the site. contact the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Suddenly my son stopped on the trail due to a large cat on the trail. In her post, Lefleche told her friends not to panic. Forget Big Foot or the Loch Ness monster. No doubt we were lookin' at a Mt. Saw one in my backyard in Mercer County in 2018. I will say I've received reports from all around the state but several of the reports seem to be in the same area: West Milford in the northern part of the state. Mountain lions have a long tail that is usually darker colored at the tip. Adult males may be more than 8 feet long (from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail), and can weigh between 130 and 150 pounds. And so does the state. Saw one in Warren County in 2007 & 2008 while camping. At first, I wasn't sure what I was seeing since I never expected to see a mountain lion, as we mostly see turkeys and other birds behind our house, or an occasional bear, deer, or fox. From EG:About 10 years ago I used to frequent west Milford NJ. 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. Hunters must also possess a valid hunting license, which is $37 for residents. There have been only two caseswhere evidence supports the presence of a mountain lion in Massachusetts. Among them was a forestry technician who came across a female cougar nursing two cubs in remote part of the Thomas Jefferson National Forest. Thank you for your website feedback! half a mile before you reach the Deptford Mall. (#08) We just wanted to inform you all that during our trip to the Snowshoe ski resort in West Virginia we sighted a mountain lion at a nearby field. I'm completely convinced fish and game are well aware they are still here and said they are extinct to calm the public outcries. The network doesnt believe phone callers, such as the ones the Maryland DNR hears of a large cat the size of a German shepherd or larger dog walking down the trail.Youve got to do better than that, says the Cougar Networks professional big-cat specialists. A mountain lion, seen above, was sighted on Ash Street in Webster Sunday. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. They are here. If you are already an OutdoorNews.com subscriber, you can log in here. In May 2018, a mountain lion attacked two mountain bikers 30 miles east of Seattle, Washington, killing one, but it's only the 15th fatal attack in North America since 1970. The coloring was that of a deer but it was too strangely shaped to be a deer conclusion definitely a mountain lion. I feel vindicated. Mountain lions occur across much of the state and bring about a wide range of complex conservation and management challenges. However, deer in the park are normally about 100 lbs. reads. $1 per month for 6 months (you will be billed $6) and then your subscription will renew at standard subscription rates. There was an animal that ran very quickly across the road and we both said that it looked like a mountain lion. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. From JK:I had a mountain lion bounding across Weldon Road Jefferson Township Morris County about 75 yards in front of me. Washington Times, SCORES & OUTDOORS: Reported sightings of mountain lions on , Mountain Lions in Michigan: 10 Sightings So Far This Year , Search for cougars continues in Pennsylvania Outdoornews. So, thanks to all who reached out, and to all who are as fascinated about this subject as I am. I myself saw one back around 2008 off of Watervale Rd in Fallston, Harford County. Park rangers alerted the historical society to inform members that these big cats have been spotted in the area. (A valid mountain lion pursuit-only permit or a valid, unused mountain lion non-permit tag is required.).