Four very distinct toes and a large pad. In his more than 30 years working for DGIF, he's only been called out for one mountain lion sighting in the area. Is a mountain lion like a bear? Wolves once thrived in Virginia, but due to the harm they inflicted on farms and livestock, they were hunted by the settlers of Jamestown and eventually became extinct. Hellol. There is wide open space there, high cliffs, and an abundance of deer. We know what we saw. Get more stories delivered right to your email. Also 16-20 at the shoulder seems short for 120lbs. ECF is very interested in reviewing your photographs of tracks or animals. I kept hiking and went all the way to HWY 19E where I slept in a shelter half a mile from the road. We have spotted a mother black bear and cub over by the damn while hiking, scary sight but very awsome. I must have terrified them. I saw them 11 times within 3 weeks. Mountain Lions in Virginia: How Theyre Here and Why Its Denied. I am sorry, but some of the comments are incredible, and border on the hilarious. Here in southern Utah, lions have been known to occupy home ranges as large as 513 square miles. It turned out the claim was based on selective use of daytime telemetry data only, and the panther is most active at night. People have been reporting sightings of mountain lions in our area for years, but the Virginia DWR says they haven't been in our area since 1882. Just wondering if anyone has spotted any coyotes near us in Thaxton? "On average, DGIF has received approximately three to foursightings of large cats a month in recent years," the blog post stated. Still, many sightings arent clear or even true, so being skeptical is still the best bet when it comes to sightings in Virginia. 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. Remember Ligertown? They're nocturnal and notoriously sneaky, so seeing one in the wild is a truly unique experience. Our family moved to the Manassas National Battlefield area in 1983. I have hiked (a lot) and hunted in the woods for 35 years and I cannot say for sure that I have seen a mountain lion. Could it be? I doubt it. Diana Marchibroda and her miniature schnauzer froze in their tracks when the mountain lion stepped out of the woods last May. Many of which are kept illegally. For years everybody in every state wildlife agency has gotten reports of sightings, but we had never had anything in Tennessee that we could really verify as a cougar, Peterson said. Well, then dont dress them up like sheep, he said with a chuckle. . The other ignored us. My father owns property in Floyd, VA in an area where many of the land owners are not activly using their large acreage properties. We guessed it could have been but have no proof. The good news is that because it was right beside the road, others undoubtedly saw it, too, leaving no doubt that it was indeed a mountain lion because it was much too good a view for there to be any doubt of its species. For anyone that has seen a cougar in the East or would like to support or be involved in their return then jointing ECF is only logical. Ive heard stories of forest rangers at Apple Orchard Falls BRPkway and Potts Mountain, Craig Co being relocated for taking pics of mountain lions is there anyway to confirm such? That would be earth shattering for the depts. We live in Oak Hill, Virginia, in a neighborhood. Four of us in Gladstone, VA (central Virginia between Lynchburg and Charlottesville) have seen black mountain lions (cougar, panther, whatever) on 4 seperate occasions. Photos are difficult to confirm, Peterson saidthe process involves sending wildlife experts to the exact spot where the cat was allegedly seen to take another photo in order to compare it to the original and verify the location. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. It was standing next to a large hill in the median and looked at my car as I passed. of Game and Inland Fisheries web site on the eastern cougar. I dont know what you saw, but cougars are never black. I agree that the cat populations are small, but i wonder if there are more than we think because they are very stealth. As a result, multiple sightings across different time ranges could be attributed to the same cat. She ranked top 10 in the MEC in field-goal percentage (third/54.3), free-throw percentage (sixth/78.2), blocks per game (sixth/0.9) and rebounding (eighth/7.9). Red wolves have been reintroduced into the state. Mountain Lions at the West Virginia Wildlife Center. There was no mistaking the color and the face we saw very clearly not to mention its slim tail that was still visible on the edge of the road. July 25, 2019 edition, Do you have some interesting wildlife news? ANY REPLY IS WELCOME, Dont know if you have any cougar there, but it sure sounds like a good place for wolves. Enter your email in the box below to get the most mind-blowing animal stories and videos delivered directly to your inbox every day. I suppose it could have been a super-sized coyote or an interbred coyote. Tracks found near the sighting was confirmed by a retired wildlife biologist with the Smithsonian. June 21, 2008 About two weeks ago I was traveling on Rt 15 from Farmville to Dillwyn in Buckinham county. Someone is trying to instill fear about mountain lions on the loose in Virginia, though the Department of Game & Inland Fisheries says it's fake news. A few months later we saw another where route 740 (Sinkhole Road) intersects route 8 a few miles northwest of Stuart, VA. On both occasions it was mid-afternoon and we had a view (from a car) of the animals as they strolled 70 to 80 feet across open spaces. Despite the widely-held belief in the scientific community that eastern mountain lions have been long gone and any cats seen roaming the region these days must have made the long trek from midwestern states like South Dakota, some Appalachian residents remain convinced that the cats never actually left the area. I raise miniature horses and am quite concerned as we are surrounded by woods in Warrenton. As we were approaching the Mabry Mill area, my daughter said excitedly hey dad, look, a bullmastiff (we bred them in Ct, and still have 2 adult males as pets). It was, without question, a mountain lion. Cougars prowled nearly all of the United States below Canada, and all of Virginia from mountain . "In others frankly (some people) just make up stories to get attention or to support their beliefs, so they'll come up with a photo from somewhere else to justify their beliefs," he continued. Thanks for any help, as plenty claim they are here also. See also Are There Local Taxes In Virginia? Nobody even thinks anything of it because of its regularity. Just reporting back. A little more certain, I took a kodak camera along and started taking pictures. I was glad i was in a car, as Im sure it would have been terrified had we been on foot. I truly look forward to a repeat performance, but highly doubt I will happen upon such a circumstance of chance with the enigmatic creature. I have a call into the animal control (only to find out if there were others who reported it) and hope to hear back from them tomorrow. "They've been found as far east as western Tennessee," Fies said. We disturbed something that ran off into the woods. So the tail of the catamount continues. We have for several years seen small ones around. It was light brown and was definitely a cat, and it had a long tail. News outlets picked up the story and the video went viral, and its easy to understand whyaccording to TWRA regional manager Alan Peterson, that video marked only the second confirmed cougar sighting in Tennessee in more than 100 years. Because they are lone animals that are not breeding. Several times theyd reported seeing strange animals crossing their path in the woods. Sarah, Chronic Wasting Disease positive results in Virginia, 2009-19. Tuesday, April 08, 2008. Virginia Dept. Very fast and gracefull. He circled and hissed right up against the tent. Diana Marchibroda and her miniature schnauzer froze in their tracks when the mountain lion stepped out of the woods last May. Most of the time we can find the original photo on the internet where it was taken out west or wherever. It was moving through the woods twards a water source but not in the open. Today, there are less than 200 Florida panthers remaining. Loudoun County Va , where they are now expanding the landfill , we hear the cougar cry less often now but it is still making its presence known and its a little further in the distance now instead of right at the back door. I live past the end of the road in the Blue Ridge. We didnt know what it was, but later walking in the field we found lots of turkey feathers but no specific sign of coyote or lion. Fish and Wildlife Service has declared the eastern population of cougars extinct, but based on numerous sightings and reports, you can't be too sure. Any info would be greatly appreciated, 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. The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources claims that they havent been in the region since 1882. Now, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission estimates that the population has reached at least a couple dozen. 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. Virginia's mountain lions, known as the Eastern puma, were once on the endangered species list. Except for a remnant population of Florida Panthers in southern Florida, there have been no wild cougars on the eastern side of North America since the last one was trapped in Maine in 1938. me and a budy were spotlitting for deer [no guns i might add we were coming down off cold mountin fields saw two solid black cats run up some rocks both were about 60 to 70 pounds aim sure it was cougars i hut these mountains all of my life bear hunt coon hunt deer and evret thing eles but i thing its a small population and they move around travling from parts of amherst nelson trew shandoua park and west va beleive me or not i also told peple thre were coyotes in these mountain 26 year ago and peple thout i was crazy. The deer have been congregating down there. The last cougar in Virginia was killed in Washington County in 1882. Does anyone realy know??? In 1996-98 I lived in Catharpin, VA near Manassas Battlefield. But the majesty and strength of the Mountain Lion was still apparent! It was a juvenile mountain lion. We are not stupid people with time on our hands, just a couple out for a drive. They were all shiny black with long tails. She believes that North American mountain lionsincluding the Florida panther, which she said is protected because they are considered a distinct population segment via the Endangered Species Actare essentially all the same, without enough genetic distinctions to justify differentiating the western and eastern subspecies. 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 screeched two more times then seemed to move off. Im not suggesting this a farm animal. I was only about 50 feet away. The tail was furry but with short hair like the rest of the body that I saw and was round kind of curving down and out like my house cats tail when he hunts birds. Officials captured the escaped mountain lion and found a second one that had also escapedoutside of Harrisonburg, harassing turkeys on a farm. I havent seen anything like one since back in May. Our sleep was disturbed any more that night. I live in Springfield VA in a subdivision, but there are wooded stream areas close by that are often used by deer and other animals to move through the area. This time is was near 4 A.M. I never had heard anything like it before. The sad thing is people I know who say theyve seen mtn lions in Botetourt and/or Bedford County, especially raccoon hunters who say their dogs treed a lion, would never come out publicly with such a statement. see: http://hstallard.blogspot.com/2008/03/mountain-lion-hoax-in-virginia.html. Bull sharks are one of the few species that can tolerate fresh water, which allows them to flow from ocean to river relatively easily. 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! I sat, played my guitar for an hour. THE BOBCAT: on the other hand actualy has a more shrill high pitched terrified scream that sounds like a woman being murdered much like on a horror film or somethng like the screams at that halloween fright night you may have been to. Today, a new hybrid known as the coywolf is slowly returning to the state. Last night, 9/26/07, at around 7:30 PM, my husband and I were driving home from the store on Page Valley Road in Luray , Va. So that is all the details I can think of except I didnt mention that the cat was tan with dark fur higlighting its face, looked like pictures Ive seen of them really and I figured due to its size and the fact that it had no spots left that we could see it was almost grown. Virginia's mountain lions were once on the endangered species list and in 2011, they were declared extinct. 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 didnt think any more of it until we had our coyote visitor but now shes certain what she saw was a little of coyote pups. Saturday 27 Sept 08 I found a large paw print in the mud from the recent rains. In October, 1987, a cougar & cub was seen by a U.S. Forest Service crew in western Shenadoah County. Overall about 3 1/2 inches wide by about 3 inches front to back. When I told another fellow that lives near there, he said he had seen tracks. Since there are no breeding populations in Virginia, the likelihood of a secretive population that has existed since 1880 is very unlikely. They are very ellusive cats. Virginia is home to a bounty of beautiful wildlife, including some magical animals that any of us would be lucky to spot. They deny mt lions are here still. It seems common knowledge of all the cats that roam the mountains along the Potomac River in West Virginia. He was licking his coat. Hickories and pecans seem sparse this year. As we rounded a curve in the road, we saw the cat jump out of a overhanging tree on the left hand side of the road and landed in the middle of the road. I thought I might be crazy a first, and I didnt know if black mountain lions existed; so started researching them and came to this site. He said, I went out at about dusk and I was looking around my property and at the edge of the woods I saw a mountain lion with a half dead groundhog in its mouth and it was tossing it into the air and catching it.. I think there have been reintroduction programs in some areas. It was about 100 pounds with a tail about 3 feet long. Definitely not a dog, too big for a cat. They prefer habitats where its difficult for people to go, LaRue said. Description of the Mountain Lion. 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. It was as big or bigger than a german sheppard, but most definitely a cat. As a member of the Eastern cougar foundation, I am very interested in your sighting of the black cougar. Well, I knew the difference. She was certain of the species but said it moved very slowly and appeared to be thin and weak. B. McQuary. I was dragging some stuff behind my ATV down a old farm road in Appomattox Virginia, when this fellow bounced out in front of me about 50 yards ahead. For conservationists, this is a huge step in the right direction. Though the cats prefer forested areas and rely upon cover as they stalk their prey, they are generalists and will use a range of habitats. Dont know what it was, but I have always wondered if it was a big cat or not. If they escape, who is to say that they will not do what is natural and find a mate? 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