Theres no guarantee that cougars trekking from South Dakota will stick around, or that the female in Tennessee will have kittens. Native to most counties in Virginia, the bobcat is a . There haven't been any cougars in Tennessee since the early 1900s. And while common throughout the state . There have been sightings of mountain lions in Virginia since the late 1800s, and its tough to imagine that every single one of them is misidentifying or lying about their experience, but it doesnt help that there hasnt been any physical evidence of mountain lions found either. Victim of animal attack treated for rabies. We searched for bones, but we had waited too long and could not find anything. The populations are doing well enough in the west that when young males get old enough, they dont have anywhere to go, she said. I have chickens, belgian mules (not worried about them) and a herd of miniature donkeys but Im far more concerned about marauding bears than a mountain lion. In grad school I worked with a lot of the wildlife and natural resources folks at VT. Mountain Lions at the West Virginia Wildlife Center. It was about the size of a friends dog, which is about 15 tall and 2 1/2 feet long. Yet within the last decade, bull sharks have been known to swim all the way to the Potomac River. Look how long it took scientists to find the okapi. Speculation over what kind of animal attacked a hiker near Humpback Rocks on Friday namely, a bear or mountain lion was resolved Monday, thanks to the victim's mother. If it hadnt been the last day of our trip, I would have gone back to look for tracks to possibly photograph! My grandparents lived most of their lives near Summersville, WV, in Nicholas County. Lystrosaurus was one of the few terrestial species that survived the permian extinction. It was a brownish tan in color and was at least as large as my yellow lab. When very quietly without any noise I saw movement coming out of a clearing. Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service, Eastern Cougar Recovery Plan, morphological differences identified from museum specimens was used to classify over 30 subspecies of the Eastern Cougar, before DNA analysis was available If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it! Copyright 2022 WHSV. Sadly, these animals were killed because they were viewed as a threat to humans and livestock. Others, including the park ranger she met that day and wildlife experts shes reached out to since the sighting, are skeptical. We were really focused on the males, because obviously they cant ensure populations with just males, LaRue said. Im not 100% sure but thats what i feel it was a COUGAR. The U.S. I had the windows open because it was a cool night. Human expansion and economic progress have driven natural predators out of Virginia, giving the deer free rein. The cougar has the largest geographic range of any native terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. The animal looks to be a mountain lion I havent contacted the Animal control people yet unless it takes up residence here. Reason being: If mountain lions are show to exist east of the Mississippi River, the states game departments may be liable for livestock damages. Something ran across the road in front of my car at a high rate of speed. Email me. Losingand RegainingBalance in our Deer Population. This particular animal was chasing a dog across the road when hit. Though they are pushing steadily eastward from the Rockies. I also know numerous credible people that have seen them in the Blackstone, VA area over the past 10 years. It's nearly impossible to imagine, but elk once roamed freely here in Virginia. During one of our walks last weekend my sister spotted a very !large! The cat was black with a tail nearly as long as its body. I bearly got a glimpse, thought at first it was a deer. You could check with the Dept. It was extremely cold out, maybe -20F and we had just come out of the portal against the strong winds of the ventilation fans. It was less than a year before that my daughter said she came across a litter of cute puppies while riding her mule in the park. She has really bad gashes on her front leg, shes lame. Whether its via Appalachian Trail or some random place in the woods near my home, I almost always encounter some sort of larger mammal. My e-mail address is gardrserv@yahoo.com & would be more than willing to give anyone any info as to what & where I saw. Never have seen the cat again. I, on more than one occassion heard the screams of what sounded like a woman who needed help. I came out of the pasture and one was less than 20 feet. I remember seeing very large cat tracks(not a normal bobcat track) while hunting the GWNF sw of harrisonburg,va in the mid to late 1980s. Police say man who pointed gun at officers in area of Route 250 Bypass is dead, ACSO looking for suspicious man in the Weyers Cave area, Wreck cleared after crash shut down Woodrow Wilson Pkwy near Staunton, Waynesboro man arrested after eluding police, WPD says, Autopsy shows man in Jefferson Co., Ala was attacked by pack of dogs, Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction resigns, Bond denied for owner of dogs accused of dogs deaths, Pilot identified in fatal plane crash near Hillsville, Charlie Obaugh RV & Outdoor Student Athlete of the Week. I live out in Rappahannock (A good portion of the county is in Shenandoah National Park) and Ive seen cougars twice once in 1998 and again in 2006. I was looking out our 2nd story window yesterday evening when a very large cat looking animal came out of a thicket behind the house to get a drink in the pond. ANY REPLY IS WELCOME, Dont know if you have any cougar there, but it sure sounds like a good place for wolves. (We use a copy of the original picture in lectures across Virginia). Im of the opinion that there really never was a big difference between the eastern cats and whats in existence now, she said. Could it have been one of those? 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. It was one of the scariest sounds I have ever heard. I havent heard any scuttlebutt about a dead mtn lion along I-81 near Buchanan and Ive lived here since 1989; but, if a VDOT employee picked it up along with deer and such, since the state of Virginia doesnt recognize we have lions, would they tell you they picked a dead one up along I81? The Midwest can offer two of the three, but the males dont have much luck repopulating the area on their own. July 25, 2019 edition, Do you have some interesting wildlife news? I was backpacking on the tuscarours trail and set up camp right after the overall run connector. He charged at the Fish and Game guy in the process. To improve the genetics of the Florida Panther, eight Texas females were brought to South Florida. They deny mt lions are here still. But the majesty and strength of the Mountain Lion was still apparent! 1:00. My uncle always swore he saw a mtn lion on the family farm in Montvale in the early 1990s sitting at the treeline across a field watching him as he worked with his pigs. A few minutes later another hunter came down from his stand on the same mountain and said, hey youll never guess what I saw this morning. Those eyes I will never forget as the cars lights stunned it for a moment.. Last night i was driving back to college from home. Theres just too few of them. Admission is $6 for ages 16 and over, $2 for kids 6 to 15 years old, and free for . Today I found large cat hair ball with grass and guts and hair in the area of the cat scratchins. In that area the roads have never been paved. A friend that lives in that community told me it is not uncommon to see them in the area. I work with someone who says that on his familys farm in Virginia (not sure exactly where, but can find out) he said there are wolves. I thought it was a bear at first, until I saw its long thick tail. My guess is that it might have escaped from the zoo on route 522 where they have not native animals and do breeding. I stress that this is not a joke so please write it anyone knows how to reduce the distortion of the photos. An elderly man there once told me a story about a black Mountain Lion living in the area back in his younger days. The U.S. Love Virginia? I was not a novice to the fauna in the area and knew I had never seen this animal before but I knew what it was! The Locavore Hunter. Im just waiting for ANY government agency to admit there are mountain lions in the state before someone shoots one and says Ooops I didnt know they were endagered. The web site has emails for officers and members to communicate with along with membership applications and links to a whole world of information on cougars. Their conclusion: "Sir, you don't have a mountain lion.". The left rare flank was eaten and the entrails were gone. The DWR is open to reviewing evidence of mountain lions in our area, and Michael told me to always keep an open mind. The cougar (Puma concolor), also known as mountain lion, panther, painter, puma, and catamount, is the largest feline animal in North America.. Our daughters were in a 4H group across the park on Bull Run Post Office Road and each week theyd ride their horses across the battlefield to a farn where they practiced Vaulting (circus riding) with their 4H group. Im not sure if they really believed us but a few years ago the lady and her friend rode their horses off into the battlefield trails which begin in a field directly across from our front door. oct, 20-07 amherst va near big mount pleasent. In 1994 a friend and I were driving up the Blue Ridge Parkway on our way to Panther Hollow. It was tan and had short ears. Two ponies still missing. There has been speculation of the cougars being in Rockingham county so I am very excited to hear from the commmunity on any other possible sightings. My dog is small but the one my neighboor has is a german shepard and I think thats the one I heard yelp. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Mountain lions are definitely coming to Virginia. One of her biggest concerns about the recent declaration of extinction is that any cats in the area (whether western migrants or otherwise) and their habitats wouldnt be protected. It was shocking to see something so unexpected! Here in southern Utah, lions have been known to occupy home ranges as large as 513 square miles. Red wolves have been reintroduced into the state. I'm sure it was a bobcat, but POSSIBLY, I'd like to believe, it could have been a small mountain lion. 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