Does it follow a path through the woods like a deer sometimes does?? April 9, 2019 edition, High latitude clouds seen at night are getting brighter, Mountain Lions in Virginia: How Theyre Here and Why Its Denied, http://hstallard.blogspot.com/2008/03/mountain-lion-hoax-in-virginia.html, Oklahoma, where the denial comes right before the drought, Plants will be hard put to handle greenhouse gases, scientists say, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Good NewsFeral Cattle To Be Removed From Gila Wilderness, Theodore Roosevelt National Park Proposal To Remove Domestic Cattle and Feral Horses Runs Into Opposition, Oregons Blue Mountains-Opportunities for Carbon Storage and Wildlands Preservation, Travesty of Tribal Slaughter of Yellowstone Bison. Never have seen the cat again. Several times theyd reported seeing strange animals crossing their path in the woods. 29 and crossed the highway. Rockingham Co., va Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Crossing by the large boulders on the trails was terrifying, only once did i see one behind a boulder when I passed. I've seen them quite often. As my friends wife was leaving, she looked out the window and said that saw what she thought to be dear. Upon leaving the woods one morning another hunter in the group said he had seen a cougar on the mountain that morning. The print is about 3 1/2 x 4 inches with 4 distinct toes no nails. But the sound again didnt seem characterstic of a fox, it wasnt a barking or a yelping, it was a scream/cry. Loudoun County Off of Woods road almost every single night we hear a mountain lion , no doubt at all this is what it is. I tried taking a picture of it with my phone but it jolted away. I hope the person who struck it hears its cries in his or her nightmares / dreams for a very long time to come. Broad daylight, it crossed the road approx. When very quietly without any noise I saw movement coming out of a clearing. My dog is small but the one my neighboor has is a german shepard and I think thats the one I heard yelp. It really burns me up to hear so called experts say that there are no mountain lions or even wolves for that matter in VA. About 10-12 years ago, there was a pretty severe drought, and I know I saw a wolf in the Woodlake area of Midlothian, but everyone said are you sure it wasnt a big dog? If you see a wolf, you know its not a dog. He was licking his coat. 1. Pretty much the same thing as we read here. We are just amazed to have found one. Yeah there may be a stray young male very occasionally. Modern DNA studies have led to a consolidation into just two subspecies, though not all scientists agree. He saw the cougar on March 10, 2015 while working in the field near Vida, Oregon.". I was leaning against a tree w/my parka hood blocking the wind, when I saw a grown cougar walking straight toward me. You can also count Randolph, Upshur, and Webster countys in W.VA. My dad, his dad, and myself can vouch for those three. Our youngest daughter was hysterical thinking that her mule would be attacked. I started yelling and making as much noise as i could and heard the sounds of claws running up a tree. Looked like a red wolf though and we got a good look as it crossed the road in front of us on our way down the mountain (driving) in full daylight. What big cats are in Virginia? I raise miniature horses and am quite concerned as we are surrounded by woods in Warrenton. I think the increase in goat and sheep farming in Appomattox County is attracting more predators. I also had NO idea they lived in that area, so close to my home :). They go hiking in the Rockies all the time and people still dont see them very often.. I used to vacation on Smith Mountain Lake Virginia, Good View, and I can definatly confirm cougar in this area. Overall about 3 1/2 inches wide by about 3 inches front to back. He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News. Mountain Lions in New York. Even though the WV DNR says there are no wild mountain lions in the state, there are some held in captivity at the West Virginia Wildlife Center in French Creek.. It was about the size of a friends dog, which is about 15 tall and 2 1/2 feet long. About 1987 I lived across the river from Holy Cross Monastery. The deer have been congregating down there. Losingand RegainingBalance in our Deer Population. For those who dont believe in the sightings or tales of the eastern cougar, it is a misjudgment to criticize others for their experiences. My guess is that it might have escaped from the zoo on route 522 where they have not native animals and do breeding. My friend and I couldnt believe what we had just witnessed. Its paw was as big as a mans face, & its head with the ears was as wide as his body. (near Wise, VA) by a car. It took off as the car got closerI have never ever seen anything like that in my life! We were really focused on the males, because obviously they cant ensure populations with just males, LaRue said. Sissy, 3 days back I had positively seen a cougar off of Ingram Dr in Haymarket, Va which is right off of Bull Run Mountain. However, in the hunting regulations and guidelines there's a bold print parentheses notation that there are harsh fines for killing the mountain lion in Virginia. Guess we will never know the truth unless there is a fantastic picture with know location shown also. The traffic was moving quickly but he had no doubt that it was a cougar. Red wolves have been reintroduced into the state. Figure 1 - Mountain lion range and confirmed sightings from 1990-2008. . Like a number of other people in her communitya hunter who caught the tail end of a cat on his deer cam and a Presbyterian minister in Batesville whose neighbor saw one drinking out of a pond, to name a coupleMarchibroda knows that she saw a mountain lion, and she wants state and national wildlife agencies to take these sightings seriously. Source: Public Domain Pictures, Ancestors of the cougar (also known as catamount, mountain lion, bobcat, puma, panther, painter, wildcat, and ghost cat) crossed into North America roughly 8 million years ago, and the species Puma concolor evolved around 400,000 years ago.1. I was like baby look at that big ole cat! The road in paved, but long(14 miles+) winding and has very few streets that are off it back here. I live in Fairfax County, Northern Virginia and the area is pretty urban, although there are woods adjacent to my home and I have seen plenty of deer and fox. (We use a copy of the original picture in lectures across Virginia). Additionally, the likelihood of mountain lions reclaiming their former territories in the mountains of Virginia is a distinct possibility. More info if you want itG. What is this. This is between Fairfax and Reston. Anyone who wants to put this mystery to rest should just spend a few days in those mountainscase would be closed for sure on big black cats. Many ridges, creeks, swamps and mountains were long ago named for panthers or the colloquial term "painters," both common names in this part of the country for the cougar. I knew we a small population of bobcats in this area and asked her if it could have been that. My horse just disappeared- we live adjascent to Havens Wildlife Preserve. They were last seen in 1882 and have since been killed off. Sadly, mountain lions no longer live in Virginia. Interestingly, the Eastern Cougar did exist in Virginia up until around the 1880's, but The . Tickets are $8.00 and parking fee is included. Hmmmm. "They've been found as far east as western Tennessee," Fies said. Sorry I dont have anymore details other than location but I didnt see it myself! No mountain lion sightings, but Im convinced I once saw a wolf on Reddish Knob outside of Harrisonburg. Scientific reports one claimed that the Florida Panther was an obligate forest species and used lands only within 100 yards of forests. The Blue Ridge Mountains are prime habitat for these cats, and once they get a foothold in the region, the signs are positive that they could return. They are also known as . We know what we saw. It was undoubtedly a full grown male mountain lion. They dont go after dogs and cats or people. They said I must have seen a bob cat. Even with all these numerous sightings they still dug their heels in, and that was pretty frustrating, she said of the officials at agencies like the U.S. Additionally, those unaccustomed to living near apex predators will need to adjust their way of thinking! OUR DEER POPULATION IS SO RIDICULOUS THAT A COUGARE WOULD HAVE PLENTY TO FEED ON-JUST WONDERING WITH THE LAKE AND HIGH POPULATION OF DEER, IS THIS POSSIBLE. The "coywolf" is an informal term for a unique hybrid of western coyotes and eastern timber wolves. Marchibroda wasnt under any illusions that she could catch or in any way interact with the mountain lion she saw on her hike. A litter of bobcat kittens even started living in my friends open barn because they were obviously abandoned. In fact, they found an African Lion skull in the Blue Ridge mts not too long back. Still, this is great news for conservationists and animal enthusiasts alike. Its near a nature preserve so noone ever calls to report it . None has ever gotten a clear verifiable shot of a cougar. In the 1940s and 1950s, people were paid bounties for mountain lions, according to Jim Williams, regional director for the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and author of "Path of the Puma." These are truly beautiful creatures, so powerful but graceful. Instead, these sightings are likely captive cats that were intentionally or accidentally released or traveling cats from a state out west. fauquier county Virginia Could it be because the lion got the spring fawns? Th cat didnt pay any attention to them although they were careful to remain at a distance until it got into the woods and disappeared. I would suggest people look that up also. At a distance of about 350 yards, we looked out to the distant field w/ a pair of binoculars and noticed that it wasnt deer, but infact a few larger cats. My husband and I just saw a cougar (mountain lion) while having coffee on our back deck. Fish & Wildlife Resource. Seems in these parts every snake they see is a copperhead (even the black with white belly ones). I guess I just dont want to believe they are here, because we live in the woods. I think we have coywolves. It lived across the cove form us, and it would scream out at night sometimes, so loud that chills ran down our spines. My name is ryan and I am from dayton va. On Oct 3d, I was playing music w/ a friend near the union springs dam. (we have more of both in these parts of Virginia, lots more sheep and lots more coyotes.) Does it make a circle on a set time period or does it travel randomly? I suppose it could have been a super-sized coyote or an interbred coyote. From a wildlife biology perspective, though, its going to take more than a storyno matter how convincing it may beto determine whether these cats are there and where theyre coming from. Neither Marchibroda nor her canine hiking companion made a peep, and as soon as the cat caught sight of its awe-struck onlookers, it scampered back into the woods, swift and silent. So it could have been a red wolf. There arent any mountain lions in Virginia, but there is hope that they may return to their original habitat! D. Racey I dont think you have to worry about your horse at all. I have seen photos of these as well. We almost hit it with the car. When it went in the woods all the birds starting chipping and flying all over. Snce 1890, roughly 20 people have been killed by cougars. I sat, played my guitar for an hour. A mountain lion is a wild cat ranging from two to three feet tall, with females weighing up to 120lbs and males up to 200lbs, making it the fourth largest cat in the world. Mountain Lions are back, maybe. In Wyoming, the season runs from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31, but in Utah, the season runs from Nov. 9 to March 31. I grew up in NW Virginia near the Shenandoahs and have heard folks mention seeing mt. Officially, mountain lions have not been seen in Virginia since 1970. By Rick Steelhammer. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. Scientists once classified over 30 subspecies of cougars based on morphological differences. We cant even find criminals when we know where to look, let alone a cougar who;s very existence depends on its ability to remain hidden. The data they have collected over the years indicates that cougars are gradually making their way eastward, and validated the theory that young males travel farther and more quickly than females, making the repopulation process a gradual one. Were not taking any action to move them or kill them. We would also be very interested in recovering any remains. Has anyone else seen a large cat in the Campbell County area? Others saw those cats too; so it was not my mistaking them for anything else! Because of how they hunt, they need to basically be able to hide and creep up on their prey. At the base of the cliffs lived a mountain lion named . 0. ECF is very interested in reviewing your photographs of tracks or animals. I could hear the kittens and I captured a photo which I believe to be a smaller lion. This was a night time sighting. When we reviewed these reports, as many as 25 percentare of a large black cat. I also had the luck to hear them multiple times and catch glimpses of what I thought to be mountain lions scurrying into the woods. I also am wondering what others think about the fact that so far a documented photo of a cougar in Virginia has not been taken by any of the ECFs cameras. Use bear spray or pepper spray on mountain lions. Chris Desborough/Shutterstock.com. When he isn't distracted by his backyard birdfeeder, you can find him camping, exploring, and telling everyone around him about what he's recently learned. We know what we saw. It was a shame no one was with me because no one believed what a I saw, but I know that is was a black cougar or panther. And yet, there have been more than a few bizarre sightings over the past few decades that have us scratching our heads. We got a clear enough look at it to even distinguish what appeared to be some some kind of scarring, or maybe it was just dirt streaks, on its upper right hind leg. He slowly began walking backwards toward to the house and luckily got inside without incident. Colorado and California have the highest estimated populations of mountain lions in the United States. This animal did not have a long snout like a dog or a fox. Perhaps some of thes animals came from the private sector and they were simply let loose by their owners. It was the scarriest night of my life and if anyone wants to confirm that there are mountain lions in Shenandoah Park just park at hogback at mile point 21 and set up camp where i did. Reclaiming their former territories in the woods i lived across the river Holy. Found as far east as western Tennessee, '' Fies said more predators & # x27 ; s but. 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