Saw a mountain lion today on the AT

[vamelungeon]

I had to google "Fisher Cat" and no, that looks NOTHING like a mountain lion. The Fisher Cat's domain is nowhere near here anyway. It would less likely be a Fisher Cat than a mountain lion. Jeez.

[mudhead]

Would be tough to confuse the two. He might have you mixed up with the guy that tried to fill a deer tag with a domestic goat a few years back.

If anyone sees a cougar in the East, try to get some hair or scat, taking pics during collection. Call an environmental group not the Feds.

[Majortrauma]

Don't bother talking to the NYSDEC folks about mountain lions; same story up there. "They do not exist."
They're more interested in explaining that they do NOT exist than listening to credible hunters and landowners.

[bronconite]

I had to google "Fisher Cat" and no, that looks NOTHING like a mountain lion. The Fisher Cat's domain is nowhere near here anyway. It would less likely be a Fisher Cat than a mountain lion. Jeez.

While a Fisher aka Fisher Cat does look nothing like a Mountain Lion. It is much more likely that you will see a Fisher in the East. There is a healthy, growing population in Pennsylvania. There is also a population in West Virginia. And they are believed to be in Virginia. http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/outdoor-report/2009/12/09/

[vamelungeon]

Would be tough to confuse the two. He might have you mixed up with the guy that tried to fill a deer tag with a domestic goat a few years back.

If anyone sees a cougar in the East, try to get some hair or scat, taking pics during collection. Call an environmental group not the Feds.

I've been hunting for 45 years or so and I've got a pretty good handle on identifying wildlife. I've practiced judging distances and I've practiced describing what I've seen (in law enforcement). But nonetheless I have zero proof so I'll just have to leave it at that. It was an awesome experience for me though, and I thought I'd share it. I know the fed's attitude about it and wouldn't bother reporting it to them. Evidently some of them are here on WB! LOL

[vamelungeon]

While a Fisher aka Fisher Cat does look nothing like a Mountain Lion. It is much more likely that you will see a Fisher in the East. There is a healthy, growing population in Pennsylvania. There is also a population in West Virginia. And they are believed to be in Virginia. http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/outdoor-report/2009/12/09/

Wow. Google shows their range stopping in northern Maine, which is a LONG way from SWVA. It's not what I saw, though. Not even close.

[bronconite]

Wow. Google shows their range stopping in northern Maine, which is a LONG way from SWVA. It's not what I saw, though. Not even close.

The fisher population has been rebounding very nicely. With the experience you describe yourself as having, I would very much encourage you to look for some physical evidence and read through the link I posted earlier. The Eastern Cougar Foundation would love more than anything for there to be evidence, other than sightings, of cougars in the east.

[vamelungeon]

The fisher population has been rebounding very nicely. With the experience you describe yourself as having, I would very much encourage you to look for some physical evidence and read through the link I posted earlier. The Eastern Cougar Foundation would love more than anything for there to be evidence, other than sightings, of cougars in the east.

I have actually looked at that website before when people told me they saw mountain lions. If I were ever to find any tracks, scat, etc. I would collect it for them. I didn't linger in the area yesterday because I was hurrying to get to the HQ. I don't know that I would have felt comfortable screwing around there with a large predator nearby anyway. I just kept walking.

[bigcranky]

pics or it didn't happen

Oh please, if he did have photos, people would be screaming that it was a Photoshop job.

[Slo-go'en]

Well, I actually hope what you saw wasn't a mountian lion. Don't want to have to worry about being stalked by one while hiking at dusk! Those critters have been known to eat people!

[Kerosene]

Lucky you!!

I know of three others who have seen mountain lions on the AT. One in VT, one in VA, one in PA.

That is the one critter I've not seen in the wild yet.

You know of 4, Stumpy! I saw one on the AT about 40 yards ahead of me on a crisp, clear October day in 2001 about 4 miles south of Harpers Ferry.

[Local]

I'm going to go with vamelungeon on this, and accept that he saw either a mountain lion or something very close to one. In over 60 years of hiking these hills I've run up onto many strange things, including wild boar, moonshiners, meth labs, very large animals that ran away in the night, bobcat, and my latest favorite, a very large bear that tried to hide behind a tree that was at the most four inches wide. Once I went into an abandoned mountain cabin where the ceiling and walls had fallen in, and in the middle of it was an intact and lived-in room with a ticking clock. I didn't stay around.

[Majortrauma]

LOL

Oh please, if he did have photos, people would be screaming that it was a Photoshop job.

Hmmm, I wonder if any of these people that don't think he really saw a mountain lion also are totally OK with Earl Shaffer claiming to be the first thru-hiker.

[emerald]

Earl Shaffer hasn't made a claim to anything since 2002 when he departed this world.

[Pedaling Fool]

...I don't see why people are so quick to accept the theories of the USFW.

Sheeple. You just can't ignore all the reports. I don't know if the eastern cougar is extinct or not, but I can't ignore all the sightings of cougar, some form of cougar is out there in appreciable numbers. And the fact that the USFW wants to just shrug their shoulder and say: "Oh, that's an escaped pet." is typical of a govt bureaucracy.

I can see them now sitting around the office drinking coffee and eating doughnuts making fun of all the people that report a cougar sighting.

[emerald]

I don't know if the eastern cougar is extinct or not ...

Some authorities believe there never was such a cat.

[Pedaling Fool]

Some authorities believe there never was such a cat.

Actually I do remember reading that some where, that some believe there's no genetic difference between an eastern or western cat, meaning there is no subspecies of Eastern Cougar. However, the USFW, through its arrogance, declared the eastern cougar officially extinct back in March of this year. Messy little situation

[emerald]

USFWS is just trying to cover all possible contingencies. All of these reports might otherwise require implimenting and funding a controversial recovery program for an entity that doesn't exist.

If at some point, it's demonstrated such a distinct, genetic entity and a remnant, recoverable population exists, they would likely rescind their ruling and impliment a recovery plan.

I am doubtful that any such recoverable population exists. That doesn't mean there isn't the occasional cougar to be seen.

[Pedaling Fool]

USFWS is just trying to cover all possible contingencies.

I can't see it being a contingency plan. Whether the sightings are from a reviving eastern cougar population or migrating western cougar, or even the Florida panthers, they all need protection. Even if they are escaped pets that are starting to gain numbers of sustainability they need protection.

You maybe right, maybe the numbers aren't enough to sustain a breeding population, but there's numbers out there, so to declare it extinct is just...

To me it's either the USFW sticking their heads in the sand or complete arrogance. Contingency -- NOT!

[kofritz]

it seems mtn. lions pose a greater threat of attack on people given the stories from Calif where runners have been attacked on trails.