) or https:// means youve safely connected to the official website. 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 . PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. This gave Nebraska lions some protection under Commission ruling until 2014 when, in a controversial decision, hunting permits were issued . This program continued in Arizona until roughly fifty years ago. 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. The first one in recent history was in 2008 . From DS:I also spotted a mountain lion on Almonesson Rd Deptford NJ about 1 am. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The friend showed the photograph to a Baltimore County animal control officer and asked him to identify the animal. Mountain lions have a long tail that is usually darker colored at the tip. In Maryland, what inquiring minds want to know is whether big cats are prowling suburbia. All rights reserved (About Us). I have seen these magnificent creatures in Wyoming and Montana many times on different trips to friends' large and remote ranches. I was on my deck at around 10 in the morning. I'm completely convinced fish and game are well aware they are still here and said they are extinct to calm the public outcries. Another woman said she was walking her dog in McLean Gardens at the edge of Glover Park when she spotted the large cat last week. The main habitat requirement for mountain lions is stalking cover to successfully hunt prey. Then he realized from the length of its tail and the shape of its body that it was a mountain lion. 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. 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. The youngest was less than 1-year-old. February 12. I knew it wasn't a dog - and it wasn't a bobcat. 60-108 inches. 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. From EW:Lions in NJmy son and myself were on a hunt in a ground blind on a friend's farm in Liberty Corner, NJ Somerset CoFebruary 19, 1996.roughly around 4:00 pm in the afternoon I thought a deer had entered the pine forest we were adjacent to.we were actually hunting bushy tails with flintlock smoothbores as deer season was closed. This offer only applies to OutdoorNews.com and not for any Outdoor News print subscriptions. I didnt believe her until the security department showed me the security camera footage and there it was about a 30 or 40-pound mountain lion walking passed the security lights. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The MLRT has investigates hundreds of mountain lion reports, but most reported sightings and tracks turn out to be bobcats or large dogs. It was at least four feet long and had a tail just as long. Since May 21, three other lion sightings were reported in the Chubbuck and Pocatello areas and one in Inkom. When the deer in those days were shot into near oblivion by market hunters, the cougar apparently looked for greener pastures elsewhere. We both stopped. The same spot, just trying to get to my donkeys late at night. The hikers did not see the prey animal, but the mountain lion was focused and had zeroed in on something in the bushes. .it walked right out downwind of us and broadside to both of us at 25 yards or so. 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. There are occasional reports of people who think they saw one, maybe they even took a blurry picture, but those are most likely bobcats. A lock icon ( Luckily it looked healthy and well-fed. From RV:In the summer of 2002, I was biking south on the D&R canal path near Millstone NJ. Truly terrifying encounter even compared to a bear. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Confirmed Mountain Lion Reports - Missouri Department of Conservation From SS:Some years ago we were on our way home from my sister-in-laws house burning. I went home to look it up to ensure I was correct - Mountain Lion. This occurred in the spring of 2017. Suspected cougar sighting reported in Abingdon early Wednesday - 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. Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information. One can easily imagine that they might decide to not report the loss. 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. The young adult male was killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford, Connecticut on June 11, 2011. It was about 4 feet tall and just walked slowly crossing the highway. Reported Mountain Lion In Maryland Park Actually A Coyote After the male mountain lion was removed from Red Hill Trail on May 11, additional sightings in that area were reported: one on May 16, and two over the weekend of May 19 and 20. Diana Marchibroda and her miniature schnauzer froze in their tracks when the mountain lion stepped out of the woods last May. Nebraska - Mountain Lion Foundation 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. 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. The mountain lion is also known as cougar, panther, or puma. Because you will never go out of your house at night. 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. (Or a lot of people who are very good at creative writing and fooling me.). 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. MassWildlife receives dozens of reportsa year, most are simplyreportsor sightings with no evidence. 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. At the time I think my daughter was about five. Lefleche told the Telegram and Gazette that Ford's sighting seems credible. A 140-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car and killed in 2011 in Milford, Connecticut. The coloring was that of a deer but it was too strangely shaped to be a deer conclusion definitely a mountain lion. 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. Big Tech minions could compromise Americas Intelligence community. (I don't know if it's right, but for me the two terms are interchangeable. Now man is encroaching into more remote parts of the state, forcing the cougars out of their hiding places, Mr. Lutz says. An adult male mountain lion can have a home range greater than 100 square miles. Saw them all at dusk. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. Are there mountain lions in WV? DNR says no, locals say yes - WVNS The most recent sighting of a mountain lion in a Randallstown field Tuesday has revived claims that cougars aren't extinct in Maryland. California: 4,000 - 6,000. Females are typically smaller. A resident called police about 8:30 p.m. to report what they believed was a mountain lion seen by multiple people along the Gedern Trail, which runs through the Gedern Estates subdivision and connects to the GM&O Heritage Trail along the former railroad right-of-way in Columbia. I have seen a lion twice in Sussex County. Purported mountain lion sighting causes stir FALLING WATERS Fliers and a plywood sign warning of purported sightings of a mountain lion near the area where two miniature horses and a donkey were killed in recent animal attacks caused a stir for local residents Tuesday, but authorities say there's no definitive indication such an animal is in the area. Last year he recorded 11 cougar sightings in Maryland, 38 in Pennsylvania and six in Virginia. Thina Vanosnabrugge, a 41-year-old Hunt Valley woman, thinks they are. If mountain lions returned to Massachusetts, there is no need to update current forest management practices. Please do not include personal or contact information. Several mountain lion sightings reported throughout Pocatello 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. None of the rumors are true. Sixty-nine percent of mountain lion kills involved the use of dogs, and the majority of animals were killed in the period between January and March. Mountain Lions - Home | US Forest Service From RE:Hi Joe, no one believed me but back in about 1986 I was. Then in late August, a woman reported seeing a mountain lion on her drive between Millville and Avalon. Residents, especially those in the Rio Vista and Mather Road areas, are reminded to keep pets inside at night, use motion sensor lights to help discourage mountain lions from using their yards, and to let Fish and Game know if they observe a mountain lion. I was driving on a dark and stormy night about 9 years ago on Rt-515 just off of Rt-23. Mountain Lion - NPS.gov Homepage (U.S. National Park Service) 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. It was early morning so it was pretty quiet. Big cats suffered the same fate all over the East Coast except in Florida, where a small, endangered group of panthers still roams the Everglades. California has one of the largest mountain lion populations in the country. This mountain lion was documented by DNA samples from Minnesota and Wisconsin between December 2009 and early 2010. I called it in and was told there are no mountain lions in NJ. Greenbelt Park is managed by the National Park Service. It was ENORMOUS! Since 1890 in the U.S. and Canada, there have been 100 attacks on humans at all, according to the research organization The Cougar Network. From EG:About 10 years ago I used to frequent west Milford NJ. All rights reserved. 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. I KNOW WHAT I SAW and to this day every time I bring up this in conversation nobody believes me. It turned and saw us. A .mass.gov website belongs to an official government organization in Massachusetts. 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. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. I told some people but Im not sure anyone believed me. MassWildlife cannot investigate or confirm mountain lion reports without any evidence. Turned its head and looked right at me for several seconds. It scowled and flipped its long just before it leaped down the bank towards the fawns. "It ran right in front of my truck a few weeks ago," said Kenneth Basler, a town official who said he saw the large cat around Stevens Pond . Local mountain lion sighting goes viral | Local News Stories Mistaken reports of Mountain Lions in Massachusetts are most commonly bobcats, the state said. 0:11. It was heading northeast toward Peapack, NJ. adroll_version = "2.0"; In certain situations, the similarities in the silhouette are remarkable. 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. Mountain Lion Sighting - News Releases - CSU Channel Islands From ED:Im a believer. Hikers saw a mountain lion walking along a hiking trail as it was hunting a deer in Big Bend National Park, Texas. There is no proof. Mountain Lion Population (In Each U.S. State) - Wildlife Informer 15: January 22, 2011: Macon: Subadult male mountain lion shot by coyote hunters. Idaho Fish and Game officers and personnel responded to . 13507065_10205364039255335_8657515368052999240_n.jpg. I lived on a street with houses spaced widely - and a soccer field across the street which was next to a wooded space, a creek, and a pond. var year = today.getFullYear() Suggestions are presented as an open option list only when they are available. The most recent sighting of a mountain lion in a Randallstown field Tuesday has revived claims that cougars aren't extinct in Maryland. This is especially true of western Maryland. Another sighting was on Storms Ave in Haskell NJ. Mountain lion sighting reported in Worcester County - masslive Are the mountain lion sightings in Monterey for real? Well, that latest story has exploded, going viral and being shared all across the state. Then it continued crossing the road and into the woods. Receive the digital, interactive PDF of the newspaper in your inbox. r/maryland - Looking for people who have seen a mountain lion anywhere A valid hunting license is required except in the case of depredation (killing of livestock). We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. We see dead deer all of the time, but deer do not have big paws as this thing did. It WAS a mountain lion. Reported Mountain Lion In Maryland Park Actually A Coyote , Mountain Lion Population (In Each U.S. State) Wildlife , Whiting Ranch remains closed with near-daily mountain lion , Video Evidence of a Cougar or Mountain Lion in Fallston , Confirmed Mountain Lion Reports | Missouri Department of , Mountain lions in little old Maryland? 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. He caught the animal in his headlights and, at first, thought it was a large Labrador retriever. Very interesting piece. 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). DNR: Fish & Wildlife: Mountain Lion "It's a mountain lion," the officer said. Suddenly my son stopped on the trail due to a large cat on the trail. GREENBELT, Md. See Alex Hunter's Sigma Delta Chi award-winning editorial cartoons. Pittstown resident scared to death last summer outside my house when I went to go feed my donkeys. ), I have no agenda in this. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. There have been only two caseswhere evidence supports the presence of a mountain lion in Massachusetts. (WJZ) --A reported mountain lion sightingin a Prince George's County park turned out to be a coyote. 3600 New York Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20002. I had people bash us for telling our story - but we've never wavered. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. I was sitting on my front porch and I saw a very large animal at first I thought big fox. Mountain lion sighting in Mission Viejo | City of Mission Viejo "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. When evidence is submitted, MassWildlife carefully reviews the evidence in its entirety and attempts to verify the report. Create a password that only you will remember. Many people do not realize how large a grown Bobcat is. Sightings are certainly nothing new in Maryland. Youd think that with the distinctive white head and tail of adult eagles no one could foul up on it, but Therres says, We receive reports of bald eagles that turn out to be ospreys, hawks, black-backed gulls and even pigeons.. They all agree it looks like a mountain lion. Possible Mountain Lion Sighting in D.C. - NBC4 Washington "I knew a lot of people wouldn't believe I'd seen it," he says. And was almost as long as its body! I was amazed I told everyone I knew and it was like I was crazy or a liar. 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.