PA Mountain lions?

[troutbert]

spectorfly wrote:
Question is, if they exist, are they of a heritage strain?

If not, their genetics aren't pure and they have no more conservation value than a Siamese puddy tat.

Same with the PA elk. They're from out west. So they have no more conservation value than a Guernsey cow.

 

[greenghost]

Every year a million hunters comb PA terrain. There has never been a confirmed killing of a wild cougar, never a confirmed photograph, never even a confirmed footprint, skat sample, hair sample, etc. They do not exist in PA. They may someday. But until solid proof is found I'd rather believe that the ghost of Isaak Walton is fishing Turtle Creek.

 

[albatross]

http://www.easterncougar.org/ Some good facts here...

There does not appear to be good evidence for a breeding population of cougars in PA.

I do believe that the odd escaped/released animal manages to thrive in the wild for a time and generate legitimate sitings.

 

[Chaz]

Recently on the history channel and the Nat. Geo Channel experts anylized data from photos and kills from all over the country. None of the supposed sightings were Mountain Lions. What they said of the Black Cat Theory was that while possible a black Mountain Lion has never been scientifically confirmed, and that the probablity was 1 in a million that one would exist. They never ruled out hybrrids, and feral cats though. These things have become a kind of designer pet in recent years.
If itwere found that Eastern Mountain Lions do exist, it would potentialy change the way the forests are managed.