Looks like cougar stories are cropping up here in Virginia again...I do so hope they find a few..

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ap/20080919/twl-ghost-cats-1be00ca.html

In 2008 I found panther tracks at the south end of the Shenandoah, then to the north I was investigating a scat scratch the cat had abandoned minutes before when the hiker just ahead of me saw the cat. I did not see it myself, but I don't doubt the sighting anymore than I doubt the tracks and scat.

It hasn't been all that long since a female mountain lion with two cubs was seen here in South Carolina. From the reports it sounds as if she as just trying to get out and away from all of the encroaching development around here. A couple of years ago a friend of mine here found two dear carcasses hung up in a very large oak tree on his property....'way up. A very large cat of some variety, I would assume.

the on-going anecdotal reports of sightings indicate they are there.

But, the cognoscenti remain adamant that "no carcass, no cat"!!

I kind of hope there are. And that numbers remain small enough that we don't have california type problems here in the east (Cats attacking humans)

Grinder

Don't know what kind of cat, but I saw fresh cat tracks after a night of rain north of Damascus in mid August. I'd guess Bobcat, from the size.

Stickman

I have actually seen what we here in the east call a mountain lion at approx. 100yds in front of my truck as it quickly bounded the Skyline Drive and the rock wall.

Well, the food source (deer) have exploded, so it's only a matter of time until the predators come back with a vengence.

saw one just outside of Waynesboro on the AT in 1990.

geek

My property borders the George Washington National Forest and although I have never seen one, I have a tree on my property that they like to scratch the bark off of. I have also heard them at night pretty close to my house, they sound like a woman screaming-being murdered actually-everytime I hear it (a couple of times a month) it sends shivers down my spine. The local park ranger suggested that I set up a night vision camera in the tree-too expensive...But until they have proof, the rangers will not confirm their existance in VA. They do admit there is a lot of reports, they just have no documentation.

shivers down my spine. The local park ranger suggested that I set up a night vision camera in the tree-too expensive...But until they have proof, the rangers will not confirm their existance in VA. They do admit there is a lot of reports, they just have no documentation.

I have seen some motion activated game cameras @ $60. Low pixals, but remember when 1.0 was a big deal?

With all the cell phones that take pictures out there...

I'm waiting for UFO pictures, too.

If you could see the FS/PS bulletin board full of push pins marking reported sightings, it would astound you. Nessmuk saw one several years ago in the back office of the Visitors Center at Peaks of Otter.

Frau

I friend of mine has some property on the North Saluda River here in SC and he took me out to a really large oak tree down near rhe river to show me something interesting.....two full-sized deer carcasses hung 'way up in the tree....'way up in the tree! Too far up for a prankster/hunter to have put them there without a helicopter. Coyotes? Bobcats? Black bear? I think not......

There are no cougars or mt lions in Virgina!

I have seen some motion activated game cameras @ $60. Low pixals, but remember when 1.0 was a big deal?

With all the cell phones that take pictures out there...

I'm waiting for UFO pictures, too.


I'll have to check it out...it would be interesting to see what it would capture if anything....

www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=678394#post678394

As of yet there is no hard evidence of an breeding colony of wild cougars extant in the U.S. Appalachians. That does not mean (1) no human has ever set free a cougar in this area, thus resulting in sightings of this animal or (2) there is no such colony. We'll just have to wait for unabiguous evidence.

I am sure as you get into northern Virginia, esp around the
Beltway, there are lots of cougars... (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v22/raincoaster/Animals/cougar.jpg)

There are no cougars or mt lions in Virgina!
I've seen one.

geek

I've seen one.

geekHorse phooey! Maybe in a zoo you have, but there is no way you will convince me that you have seen one roaming the wilds of Virginia.

1990, NOBO on the AT, about 18 miles before Waynesboro. It was about 25 yards in front of me walking up the trail. I stopped walking and it turned, looked at me and leaped out into the brush...gone.
I came into town to stay at the fire station and told all of the firemen on duty about it and they also said that it was impossible.
The next hiker in told the same story and he had a photo.

geek

1990, NOBO on the AT, about 18 miles before Waynesboro. It was about 25 yards in front of me walking up the trail. I stopped walking and it turned, looked at me and leaped out into the brush...gone.
I came into town to stay at the fire station and told all of the firemen on duty about it and they also said that it was impossible.
The next hiker in told the same story and he had a photo.

geek

:eek: That guy had the million dollar picture with you to back him up!

:eek: That guy had the million dollar picture with you to back him up!
Yeah, I am trying to remember his name. He is in Lagunatic's video. I didnt get to see the photos as there was only film back then, no digital but he said that he had 3 photos and I have no reason to doubt him as he brought the subject up as soon as he hit town and I saw the same thing.:-?

geek

I recently found out they have Tigers in Clemson, SC. :)

There are tons of cougars in VA...
http://capitalcitychris.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/cougars.jpg

:D:D;)

There are tons of cougars in VA...
http://capitalcitychris.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/cougars.jpg

:D:D;)

They own a chain of liquor stores.

1990, NOBO on the AT, about 18 miles before Waynesboro. It was about 25 yards in front of me walking up the trail. I stopped walking and it turned, looked at me and leaped out into the brush...gone.
I came into town to stay at the fire station and told all of the firemen on duty about it and they also said that it was impossible.
The next hiker in told the same story and he had a photo.

geekWell I wanna see a pic!

doggiebag has got a picture of a cat on the trail in SNP, its spooky.
while at PATC's John's Rest Cabin the past few days, i heard a spot on NPR about the cougar population in Va. is that what triggered this thread?

> I wanna see a pic!

As I tried to say in my posts, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that someone, somewhere in the Appalachians has released a captive cougar into the wild. A person illegally holding one for "domestic" use, or a "zoo" deciding that feeding a cougar is too expensive; may indeed have just dumped their cat in the middle of nowhere. So, yes, there MAY be cougars living in the Appalachians. Someone may have truly spotted a cougar in the wild, and maybe even have photographed the animal.

That is NOT biologically (or politically) significant, however. The only meaningful question is whether there is an indigenous, breeding colony anywhere in the eastern U.S. north of Florida. At this point, there has been no evidence for such a colony, and I would be incredulous to learn that any pack could survive and breed for decades without detection.

Are there cougars in Virginia? MAYBE. Are sightings of them any more significant than finding an abandoned puppy in your neighborhood? Not really. Are the cougars indigenous, and part of a pack that has survived and bred without detection for decades? I'm VERY skeptical of any such claim at this time.

However, if, like me, you want any intentional and purpose-less destruction of wildlife populations to be undone as much as attainable, take heart. Cougars are incredibly adaptable and opportunistic, and can travel long distances to find new areas to form packs. It is almost certain that wild cougars will return to the eastern U.S. in the next few decades, just like they've gotten into Chicago this year.

Well, the PA game commission says pretty much the same thing. They don't deny there are big cats out there, but are adamant that there is no breeding population. All are released or escaped pets, they say.

I posted this in the bigfoot section too since people think cougars in the south east are mythical creatures.

I was riding my dual sport motorcycle on the dirt roads of the Talledega national forest, and when I came around a corner in the middle of the road stood a cougar. I think we shocked each other. The cougar stood looking at me for a while and finally made one long stride and then leaped (Long leap, If you think your little kitty can jump, wait till you see a big one jump) into the forest beside the road. The creepy thing is that as soon as he leaped into the forest he just dissapeared, immediatley blending in with the surroundings. I think he was still sitting there beside the road in the trees because I did not see any bushes or trees moving indicating it was not running anywhere, or perhaps it was watching me, thats the feeling I got, so after looking around for it I just kept on moving forward.

I am not one to believe things till I see them either, but this was clear as day. It was a cougar and no bob cat. It had a long tail, plus it was only about 30-40 feet away from me so I could clearly see it was a cougar. This was right on the edge of the Georgia / Alabama border. If they are their I believe they could easily be in Georgia and perhaps the rest of the southern appalachians. My brother saw one on the side of the road when he was driving through 129 in north georgia.

When?

Horse phooey! Maybe in a zoo you have, but there is no way you will convince me that you have seen one roaming the wilds of Virginia.

Remember, it not what yo don't know that gets you into trouble, its what you do know, that just isn't so..........

Cougars, mt. lions, ect.. do exist in Virginia as well as in the Smokies. They do not know if it is a breeding population, but they are there. They think most of them are former pet cougars that people didn't want anymore and the owners released them in the mountains. If you want hard proof, speak to a wildlife biologist in your area. The one who works with the Park service in mid TN has pictures, video's, casts of foot prints and a large map showing all the reported and comfirmed sightings in TN, NC, VA.

About Jan 2002, I was driving my daughter up to DC. I was passing an 18-wheeler up about Lexington on I-81 when a large cougar, painter, mt lion whatever, jumped outta the median, and hit the pavement 2-3 times and was gone. It was only 100-150' in front of us so I got a pretty good look. They can definitely jump. It very well might have been stray, but it was a very large cat.
jjj

I have personally seen an eastern mountain lion/cougar/Fl panther/etc. in eastern NC near the Cape Fear River, Brunswick County -1977. Tawny color with darker splotches and a tail about 3 to 4-feet long. As well, my work crew encountered another one at night in the same area and my boss came across a black one about 10 miles further up river - both in 1978. Other workers on the installation had seen them at vaious times. However, the biologist could not find any scat -go figure. But there is no way these were released animals. Enough different colors and sizes to be a local population.
In 1972, a co-worker was mapping the rocks along the Flint River in central GA and had a large tan cat with a long tail jump into the road he was working. It stood there for about a minute according to him. His description was - cougar.
A cougar was killed this week in Scottsbluff, AR and more reports are occurring every few weeks from states in the mid-west.
Seems that big cats are coming back, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the larger remaining forests in the east. Oh yes, I hunt and spend a lot of time in the woods in my work, as a result I can recognize pretty much any North America animal I encounter - just in case you were thinking my eyes deceived me.

During my Thru Hike in 1980, a few days south of Damascus (Elk Park?) area. I was hiking up a fire road when I came around a bend in the road and saw the biggest cat I'd ever seen outside of a zoo. It was appx 5ft. long with a tail almost as long as the body, tawny colored, stood about 18/20 inches high at the shoulder, small triangular ears, and a lighter colored underbelly. I was close enough (about 20/30 yards) to see all of this detail. It's rear was facing me and it was looking over it's left shoulder, turned left and I had a perfect profile as it loped up the sidehill. When I arrived in Damascus and in years since I have been called a liar (which I don't dispute, since I am a professional ghost guide/story teller) but this story is true. I was hiking alone and only had a little 110 camera (remember those?) so did not get a picture but the memory is still clear.

I have also observed cougar/mt. lion tracks along the Kennedy Ridge Fire Rd. above Green Pond in the st. Mary's River Trail area. I have seen an intact track maybe a day or 2 old and no claw marks as they retract the claw while walking. I have seen cougars/mt. lions at the zoo and know what I'm talking about.

Well I wanna see a pic!
Had it not been for my wife pulling on my shirt to keep my as* in the truck maybe this thread would be as elusive as the cougar .

my boss came across a black one about 10 miles further up river

the consensus among biologists is that black mountain lions are a myth. melanism has been documented in both bobcats (sorta) and jaguars, but not mountain lions.

I only pass on what he said for the black cat. It was way to big to be a bobcat, had a long tail, and as far as we know there are no jaguars in NC.

We had a coal black coyote, really shiny coat, a few years ago on our GA farm. Never saw a black one of those before this one. Just saying, weird things happen in nature. Genes change - that's why it is called evolution.

2007 a hiker i trust said he spotted one...so i asked the guy who owns the outfitter in front royal and he said the authorities have quietly released a couple back in to the wild...

My wife had a cougar/mountain lion (what's the difference?) run across the road infront of her on a road bike ride across the Foothills Parkway in TN (bordering the GSMNP) a few years ago. I was there but missed it b/c it was so quick. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye though. Also, my aunt & uncle saw one, black, behind a family cabin in Gatlinburg, TN that also borders the GSMNP about 30 years ago. And, finally, on a hike through Grayson Highlands in VA we met a lady hiking who had just spotted a big cat earlier that day. They seem to be very ellusive.

...seems like that sneaky eastern cougar has eluded everyone except WhiteBlaze posters. the number of sightings here suggest that 'dem 'dar hills should be littered with mutilated dear carcasses.

this isn't an affront to anyone's kitty identifying skills but... i do believe that most don't realize that bobcats aren't little kitties. males can and do get close in size to female cougars. they definitely aren't as sexy!

meow!

...seems like that sneaky eastern cougar has eluded everyone except WhiteBlaze posters. the number of sightings here suggest that 'dem 'dar hills should be littered with mutilated dear carcasses.

I guess that would indicate that the folks on here are in the woods much more than the scientists and biologists.

this isn't an affront to anyone's kitty identifying skills but... i do believe that most don't realize that bobcats aren't little kitties. males can and do get close in size to female cougars. they definitely aren't as sexy!

meow!
I saw a cougar and two cubs walking down a neighborhood street in the middle of Greenville SC in 1976. I saw two deer carscasses hung 'way up in the top of a large oak tree in northern Greenville County two years ago. I saw a very dark large cat (about the size of a small cougar) with a full length tail, house-cat type ears and a dove in it's jaws crossing the road in front of me last year. And yes, I have seen bobcats and do know the difference.

My wife had a cougar/mountain lion (what's the difference?) ...
There is no difference check out this website http://www.desertusa.com/may96/du_mlion.html
They are referred to by other names: Puma, catamount, painter or panther...

This is from the website: "The mountain lion holds the Guinness record for the animals with the highest number of names. In the English language the mountain lion has more than 40 names."


The Florida panther is also just a mountain lion, but of a different race (for lack of a better term). They are essentially a mountain lion, but differ in some detail, most noteably they are smaller, because of their diet and the warmer year-around temps. Just like the florida black bear is the same as other black bears on the east coast, but different, like size, because of the environment down here.

2007 a hiker i trust said he spotted one...so i asked the guy who owns the outfitter in front royal and he said the authorities have quietly released a couple back in to the wild...
Bingo ! The Cougar we saw was on the Skyline Drive just south of Dickey Ridge near the northern entrance to the park ,which if the authorities mentioned here were from Front Royal or points north then this release area not far from Front Royal makes sense.

I saw a cougar and two cubs walking down a neighborhood street in the middle of Greenville SC in 1976. I saw two deer carscasses hung 'way up in the top of a large oak tree in northern Greenville County two years ago. I saw a very dark large cat (about the size of a small cougar) with a full length tail, house-cat type ears and a dove in it's jaws crossing the road in front of me last year. And yes, I have seen bobcats and do know the difference.

i'm just saying: the bobcat's an easy culprit. it seems pretty common for people to say that it was "too big" to be a bobcat. obviously, they assume that a bobcat can't be as big as a cougar.

but, i don't doubt ya, Crow. there were still confirmed sightings going on in the smokies in the late 1970s. but not since then. in more recent times the number of sightings suggest that most are either lying or are just wrong.

OR, as it's been suggested already, there's a government conspiracy to restock the Appalachians with cougars, while denying their existence. i heard it started as a CIA project to kill Castro with kitties. the plan then reverted to rooting out communist infiltration in Appalachia (by which i mean northern transplants with all their "planning commissions" and "setback ordinances" ;))

Trapped and killed a few bobcats over the years on our farm. Here is pic of latest one from game camera in Nov 08. My son spotted another one from his deer stand during Christmas. yep! We know the difference. Long tails, a bobcat do not make.

With all due respect to anyone making a comment. Mt. Lions, Cougars, Panthers, Painters, Puma, or any other local name they are called these animals are out there. I personally feel that they are migrating up from Florida due to the massive building and loss of wildlands. A friend who hiked the A T over the course of 16 years saw a female with 1 or 2 cubs can't remember along a rocky ridge in Maine late 70's? There is no way that a Bobcat can or should be mistaken for a Mt. Lion, that's like comparing a bear to a big dog!

I have heard reports of sightings from Florida to Penn. not to mention out west where several attacks on runners and mt. bikers have taken place in a few cases the animal was later killed by Rangers/Law Enforcement. Most of the western attacks seem to have been against solo females.

These animals are often nocturnal, wary of human presence, and very elusive. They do not hunt/forage like a bear, they eat meat they are carnivore not omnivore and prefer to bring down their own prey.

Yes, the picture above my post is a Bobcat! Easy to tell the difference

There is no difference check out this website http://www.desertusa.com/may96/du_mlion.html
They are referred to by other names: Puma, catamount, painter or panther...

This is from the website: "The mountain lion holds the Guinness record for the animals with the highest number of names. In the English language the mountain lion has more than 40 names."


The Florida panther is also just a mountain lion, but of a different race (for lack of a better term). They are essentially a mountain lion, but differ in some detail, most noteably they are smaller, because of their diet and the warmer year-around temps. Just like the florida black bear is the same as other black bears on the east coast, but different, like size, because of the environment down here.

Thanks..thats interesting! I have always been intrested in canines and not the least bit intrested in felines till now....

We constantly get reports of Mtn Lions in Great Smoky Mtns NP. Never a sign though... scat, prints, nothing. We tell the public they're not there, can't speak for VA.

there was supposed to be a multi-agency program to install trail cams on sections of the trail this past summer in va, md and pa - specifically to try to document cougar presence...maybe laurie p has some neat info about that?

Interesting article about escaping cougar pets breeding in the woods of VA;)


http://rule-303.blogspot.com/2008/04/mountain-lions-in-virginia-how-theyre.html

Heres what I don't understand. Its a fact that at one time mountain lions were in Virginia, its documented. Supposedly the last one was shot in washington county in 1882. Then it was declared extinct. Wouldn't it be easier to prove they still exist, or at the very least, there are very few left, then to say 0 exist? How can you say absoluately no more are left, and say thats a fact? Chance's are the last one wasn't shot in 1882, and a few continued living in the wild. Just my 2 cents.

http://www.unexplainedresearch.com/in_the_news/virginia_mystery_creature.html

heres a picture of a va mountain lion

http://www.unexplainedresearch.com/in_the_news/virginia_mystery_creature.html

heres a picture of a va mountain lion
That's just a bad sourse of information. Stay away from them "unexplained" website -- BTW, pictures are no longer a way to prove anything, too easy to mislead. I find it interesting the number of cougar sighting, many by seemingly credible sources. However, there's no official confirmation yet.

This is an interesting article about the Jaguar http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ASV/is_3_28/ai_105619068 The story of the Jaguar is very similar to the eastern cougar. It was hunted to extinction, but then people started reporting sightings. Well it's now been officially confirmed by the officials that they are probably making a comeback.

So, I don't really put much into the conspiracy theories about gov. officials denying the presence of cougars on the east coast.

def. not enough cougars on the trail. 2007 the ratio was what? 10 to 1... :)

Heres what I don't understand. Its a fact that at one time mountain lions were in Virginia, its documented. Supposedly the last one was shot in washington county in 1882. Then it was declared extinct. Wouldn't it be easier to prove they still exist, or at the very least, there are very few left, then to say 0 exist? How can you say absoluately no more are left, and say thats a fact? Chance's are the last one wasn't shot in 1882, and a few continued living in the wild. Just my 2 cents.

sure, it would be easy. and the evidence isn't there. that's a long time for a population of big cats to hang out in a way populated area of the country without leaving any evidence. evidence of cougars is much easier to spot than a cougar itsself.

I wouldn't say that 0 exist -- that's unlikely. but it's highly unlikely that any permanent population exists. "a few" cougars surviving the original population couldn't have maintained for over a century. that being said... a few cougars --escaped pets, wanderers-- over all of appalachia and yet everyone and their grandmother has seen one? ...the skeptic in me screams that most of these are not cougars. maybe i'm just jealous that i haven't seen one.

the eastern cougar survives, but only in the form of a rumor, sadly.

Dunno about Virginia, but it's pretty definite they're back in Vermont, meaning probably Northern New Hampshire as well.

Only ones I ever saw in Virginia were talking to Bag 'o Trix in Pearisburg, as they were all approximately the same age. :eek:

Dunno about Virginia, but it's pretty definite they're back in Vermont, meaning probably Northern New Hampshire as well.

Only ones I ever saw in Virginia were talking to Bag 'o Trix in Pearisburg, as they were all approximately the same age. :eek:

Jack,

As I recall, the first time that I met you, you said that you had seen a mountain lion on the trail. As I recall, it was somewhere north of Virginia, but I don't remember the details.

Tripp

You recalled incorrectly.

I've never even seen a bobcat or lynx on the A.T., and certainly, never a mountain lion.

There have been 3 cougar/ mountain lions killed in Iowa, and yet they still refuse to believe they are here.

http://www.cougarnet.org/cougarconfim.html

You recalled incorrectly.

I've never even seen a bobcat or lynx on the A.T., and certainly, never a mountain lion.


Okay, thanks. Perhaps you were relaying a second hand account.

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I was out in Shenandoah National Park last weekend and saw a some scat (at three separate locations) that didn't look like anything i've ever seen before. It was in the middle of the trail each time, segmented and very furry. Some brief searching makes me think that it was similar to cougar scat.
I know that bear poop is relatively malleable in regards to diet, but an expert i am not.

So my question to those who know better than I is this; would bear scat ever closely resemble cougar?

wild cougars like this one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2US-lI3_JHY&NR=1

...So my question to those who know better than I is this; would bear scat ever closely resemble cougar?
I don't think so, but this is way outside my area of expertise. However, I've seen a lot of bear scat and it's always been with berry-looking stuff in it. I've often wondered what bear scat would look like after chowing down on a deer.

I saw small cat-like prints in the snow in a more remote are of SNP last winter. We were curious about this as well.

I've seen scat on the trail in NoVA that we later identified as coyote.

I don't see why SNP could possibly have a couple of cats that survived through the years. There are a lot of places to hide and plenty of food.

Not really on topic but not off topic either....

Many years ago back when I lived in WMD not far from the AT I personally observed cougars on two different occasions. I reported them both times to MD DNR folks and both times thay said I was mistaken and saw a bobcat or a large house cat "...there are no cougars, panthers, mountain lions or what not in MD..." I've seen bobcats and they are no where near as large as what I saw and if I ever saw a house cat that large I would be shocked. I nearly crapped myself when I first saw one--it occured to me I may not have been at the top of the food chain that day.

So yeah I would say I'm a believer in what was seen down there.

I understand why they would deny the existance of them--to keep folks from getting scared and killing them if they do see them or some redneck from actively going after them. It's interesting though MD-DNR at one time had them listed as endangered--if they ain't there how can they be endangered--not there is regionally extinct not endangered so why list them if they ain't there? Just sayin'...

I understand that MD-DNR recently admitted to the possibility of a few transient mountain lions that may have originated as escaped pets. So are they protected too being they are the correct species (I think all mountain lions are the same species aren't they?) and they may exist?

If alligators have been found in Mass. -- and they have (escaped pets) -- then I don't see why cougars couldn't be found in Va. Anything is possible, and wildlife officials don't always know everything there is to know.

Looks like cougar stories are cropping up here in Virginia again...I do so hope they find a few..

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ap/20080919/twl-ghost-cats-1be00ca.html

Not going to happen. If there is a big cat out there, which I highly doubt, it was once someone’s caged pet that escaped. Show me documented proof. Too many people say I saw tracks or claw marks or that they heard one scream. Wildlife study groups have cameras all over trails out there unbeknown to may of you and to my knowledge they have yet to snap a picture of one of the big cats in the Eastern Mountains. I believe they were hunted to extinction many years ago.

saw one just outside of Waynesboro on the AT in 1990.

geek
What were you drinking:)

There are no cougars or mt lions in Virgina!

Only Wanderer's:)

Dunno about Virginia, but it's pretty definite they're back in Vermont, meaning probably Northern New Hampshire as well.

Only ones I ever saw in Virginia were talking to Bag 'o Trix in Pearisburg, as they were all approximately the same age. :eek:

Don't know about any mountain lions but I did have a fox lick the salt off my backside (no s_ _t) and steal one of my camp shoes while cowboy camping
in Harpers Ferry. His presence in the area was confrimed by the residence who's yard I was camped in.

You recalled incorrectly.

I've never even seen a bobcat or lynx on the A.T., and certainly, never a mountain lion.

I heard you saw Bobcat plenty of times.

So my question to those who know better than I is this; would bear scat ever closely resemble cougar?

...also not an expert but... since kitties are meat eaters i imagine their leavings wouldn't resemble that of a bear, which eats more "etcetera" than meat. though, i'd bet that cougar and bobcat poop would be pretty similar. just a guess though.

you should google it... see if it looks like what you saw. did you get a picture?

I'm quite confident that I ran across a mountain lion 3-4 miles south of Harpers Ferry in October 2001. I was trucking along the AT on a beautiful day and crested a small hillock to see an animal on the trail about 40 yards away. For some reason I automatically clapped my hands to get its attention, at which point it glanced at me before bounding off into the light woods and over the ridge. At first I thought it was a dog, but the long tail, coloring, and feline grace said anything but canine. I didn't stick around to check for any tags, and kept my eyes peeled until I got well down the mountain!

Did the poo look like this?

http://www.easterncougar.org/Images/scat.jpg

Not going to happen. If there is a big cat out there, which I highly doubt, it was once someone’s caged pet that escaped. Show me documented proof. Too many people say I saw tracks or claw marks or that they heard one scream. Wildlife study groups have cameras all over trails out there unbeknown to may of you and to my knowledge they have yet to snap a picture of one of the big cats in the Eastern Mountains. I believe they were hunted to extinction many years ago.
Geez.... :-? I guess me and Jim can't tell the difference between " Miss Kitty" the house cat and a Mountain Lion.

for a good laugh i like to google-news 'cougar sighting' and read the stories. the best part is the comments where everyone and their grandmother sounds off with their tall tales.

"i saw one in suburban Chicago" (my favorite), "Detroit"!, "i saw a black panther" and the like. i once thought i saw a lephrecan riding a unicorn.

Horse phooey! Maybe in a zoo you have, but there is no way you will convince me that you have seen one roaming the wilds of Virginia.

This one is interesting!

http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/maned-wv/

I have seen some motion activated game cameras @ $60. Low pixals, but remember when 1.0 was a big deal?

With all the cell phones that take pictures out there...

I'm waiting for UFO pictures, too.



HABITS
Cougars are shy and elusive.
They hunt alone except during
breeding season and when the
female is traveling with her cubs.
Lions are nocturnal, preferring
to hunt at night. They stake out
territories that range from 12 to
22 square miles. Dominant males
commonly kill other males,
females and kittens. Cougars are
able to run quickly for short
distances and are agile tree
climbers.

does that $60 camera include a flash & decent infared detection?

There are tons of cougars in VA...
http://capitalcitychris.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/cougars.jpg

:D:D;)

Don't you think it's a little inappropriate to put your wife & freinds on the internet?:eek:

the consensus among biologists is that black mountain lions are a myth. melanism has been documented in both bobcats (sorta) and jaguars, but not mountain lions.



There are more and more reportings of black panthers--the wild cats, not the political group, in San Francisco parks. There are mountain lions in the area, but black panthers are found in Central America. But who knows...
Click here (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/13/SPK31436HD.DTL) for the full story.
Pull Quote:
The sudden rash of "black panther sightings" this fall at Bay Area parks has given new spark to the region's greatest wildlife mystery
by TOM STIENSTRA
Are the sightings cases of mistaken identity, as wildlife scientists believe?
Or is there another explanation?
Scientists say they have no proof of black panthers in the region.
"I really think that most of the black cat sightings are either house cats or occasionally where someone saw a mountain lion in bad lighting," said Steve Bobzian, a wildlife biologist for 14 years with the East Bay Regional Park District, where most of the reported sightings have occurred.

a lot of the confusion here lies in the name. both jaguars and leopards are of the panthera genus and both are even called panthers, by some. melanism is documented in both, but never in mountain lions.

it's possible a melanistic jaguar wandered up from mexico. there have been recent reports of individuals showing up southern Arizona, though chances of a permanent presence will decrease as the border fence continues to be erected.

more likely? somebody's tall tale is being fueled by rumors and the media. or an escaped pet maybe?

There are more and more reportings of black panthers--the wild cats, not the political group, in San Francisco parks. There are mountain lions in the area, but black panthers are found in Central America. But who knows...
Click here (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/13/SPK31436HD.DTL) for the full story.
Pull Quote:
The sudden rash of "black panther sightings" this fall at Bay Area parks has given new spark to the region's greatest wildlife mystery
by TOM STIENSTRA
Are the sightings cases of mistaken identity, as wildlife scientists believe?
Or is there another explanation?
Scientists say they have no proof of black panthers in the region.
"I really think that most of the black cat sightings are either house cats or occasionally where someone saw a mountain lion in bad lighting," said Steve Bobzian, a wildlife biologist for 14 years with the East Bay Regional Park District, where most of the reported sightings have occurred.

Mags, I have seen one. Looked just like the one you reported.

My wife had a cougar/mountain lion (what's the difference?) run across the road infront of her on a road bike ride across the Foothills Parkway in TN (bordering the GSMNP) a few years ago.

We saw a big cat on the same road approaching 129 in October of last year, but we think it was just a bobcat. It's a bit hard to tell traveling as fast as we do there. :p Speaking of that road, you can put your car/motorcycle in neutral at the top and coast all the way to the end if you're headed south. Good times. :)

Back on topic, portions of the smokies would make a good place to move some of the FL cats. Too bad the support is hard to gain.