mountain lions in virginia
I grew up in Lynchburg, VA. Overall about 3 1/2 inches wide by about 3 inches front to back. My first thought was it was a panther that escaped from a nearby zoo. It was a shame no one was with me because no one believed what a I saw, but I know that is was a black cougar or panther. At a second glance, we knew that it couldnt be deer. WVa Sanctuary provides safe home for mountain lions and bobcat. The young cougars stay with mom for 1-2 years and slows down all migration to the east. He circled and hissed right up against the tent. I was like baby look at that big ole cat! Has anyone else seen a large cat in the Campbell County area? In recent years, sighting reports are becoming more and more common. In 2018, the Federal agency removed the Eastern Cougar from that list, though the Florida panther remained on it. Copyright 2022 WHSV. Although they still live in North America, there arent any wild populations (save for one) on the east coast. It was tan and had short ears. Could a mountain lion or cougar be in my area? Yep, The big cats have been in Virginia for a good while. I have neighbors that say they have seen them. 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. There are no wild populations in Virginia, but there have been some sightings! Hmmm, but then we have pictures of bear in the local paper sometimes. Or try to cover it up.Afraid it will cause panic. Bears on the other hand, are a dime a dozen and we see them every year. https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Mountain-lion-attack-reported-near-Humpback-Rock-385246261.html. Its been about ten years since then and Smith Mountain Lake has become a vacation spot for every northern virginian there is so the mountain lion probably found a more secluded area, there is a ton of it out there, to hunt and live. These are truly beautiful creatures, so powerful but graceful. Last time I heard it it sounded like it was 30 50 yards away and then I heard a dog bark then yelp and one last scream from the animal and then quiet. I live in Spotsylvania va in a development but we all live on 5 to 10 acres. Calling All Skiers and Snowboarders Home to Massanutten, An Insiders Guide to Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain, the Highest Peaks in Virginia. Thank you! lions do not inhabit the Virginia mountains. Cougars, also known as mountain lions, were once common here and they have left a legacy of place names throughout the state indeed, the entire Southeast. The cougars wandering far from their original homes in the West are, naturally, searching for three things: habitat, food and mates. It was about 11:30 PM and I was driving an Austin Healy Bugeyed Sprite. Perhaps some of thes animals came from the private sector and they were simply let loose by their owners. Is it safe to go out there and will it come back. SHE WAS OLD LIVED BY HERSELF AND IN A SECLUDED AREA.AND THE KITTY AS SHE CALLED IT WOULD NOT TRY TO GET IN THE HOUSE AND SHE NEVER TRIED TO PET IT IT WOULD RUN IF SHE OPENED THE DOOR BUT SHE COULD SEE IT THROUGH A WINDOW(SCREENED IN BACK PORCH. The species epithet "concolor" is Latin for "of one color," because adults are a solid version of some sort of tan. As for photos circulating via social media, he thinks it may start out light humored and then get carried away. When rounding the corner in the driveway, my headlights illuminated a light reddish brown cat in a sitting position looking toward my house. And then my second thought was No, maybe not.. A large, darkish animal approximately the height of a retriever/setter, long tail that curved at the very end, large cat-like head, and very close, prominent shoulders, that I still can see moving up and down when I think about it crossing Meetze Road. Is a mountain lion like a bear? Whether its via Appalachian Trail or some random place in the woods near my home, I almost always encounter some sort of larger mammal. So will a new population of cougars render the U.S. They were last seen in 1882 and have since been killed off. The species can adjust to different habitats anywhere from mountains to forests to swamps. Thanks. The West Virginia Wildlife Center is open to the public seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Finetune Your Skills in Patrick County, Va. While mountain lions are native to Virginia, they have been expatriated from the state since 1882. Authorities say there have been reports of . Unless of course you already know this and are relieved to know that it is not that of the great puma . It was a large cougar that had an eight point buck by the neck. Kentucky and N. Carolina. I can definetely say that there are mountain lions in Shenandoah National Park. I put on the speed and got within about 30 years before it jumped off into the brush. I felt bad because I told them what had happened before I could see them and didnt knwo they were so young. The US Fish and Wildlife Service considered the lack of sightings during that period to be key evidence that no breeding population survived in the eastern states. Today, we are going to be learning about where they live. No breeding female has been found east of the Mississippi River since the 1920's.3. "This photo has been all over the internet and Facebook for the past 18 months or so," saidMichael L. Fies, furbearer project leader for theVirginia Department of Game andInland Fisheries. From a Biologists point of view, of COURSE cougars inhabit the Eastern United States..with all the sightings over the last 20 years, thats a given. At the beginning of September there was an article in the Caroline Progress about a large cat in Caroline county with a picture from a game camera. More info if you want itG. My dog is small but the one my neighboor has is a german shepard and I think thats the one I heard yelp. 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. We were standing near the barn about 10 AM when we observed a disturbance about 400-600 yards off in a field near the tree line. 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. http://www.easterncougar.org/ Ben Shrader Bedford, Virginia. Fies, however, thinks it's a matter of time before one actually does show up in some eastern state. I think the nuts are attracting game, and a lion is preying. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the eastern subspecies extinct. He then went to our pond & disappeared into the woods. But I got into the woods, kept my arms high in the air, and kept making loud noises until I came upon a group of kids hiking with two adults at about 2 am. They are also known as . I know they are on the endangered species list, but I cant help cut be concerned about the horse. I now live on the Tennessee end of South Holston Lake and while driving near Friendship Boatdock near Rte. Diana Marchibroda and her miniature schnauzer froze in their tracks when the mountain lion stepped out of the woods last May. My son and I definitely saw a mountain lion today while I was taking him back to college this morning on I-81 near Buckhannon in Virginia near the Blue Ridge Parkway exit; unfortunately, it had been killed by a car before we saw it. Looked like a red wolf though and we got a good look as it crossed the road in front of us on our way down the mountain (driving) in full daylight. We still hear these screams from time to time but most recently (Dec 26, 2006) our grand daughter spotted a coyote digging in our manure pile for varmits! As I inched my way down the road I saw the tall grass to my left move as if something was approaching the road. I went outside to feed my cat and in the silence of the night, early morning I heard the eerie sounds of coyotes across the hill. This Saturday I saw what looked like a mountain lion running up the fence line of my neighbors property towards my woods. In the case where two mountain lions had been found locally, it didn't take long for them to stir up trouble. So I've heard stories about mountain lions living in Virginia for years and I'm bored so I wanted to see if I could find a clustered area of sightings somewhere in the state. He got up and armed with only a flashlight he ventured outside to see why the horses were so restless and upset. 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. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. That federal distinction hasn't stopped the sightings. OUR DEER POPULATION IS SO RIDICULOUS THAT A COUGARE WOULD HAVE PLENTY TO FEED ON-JUST WONDERING WITH THE LAKE AND HIGH POPULATION OF DEER, IS THIS POSSIBLE. He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." 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. Just wondering if anyone has spotted any coyotes near us in Thaxton? In another leap, the cat was up the bank on the right hand side of the road and off into the woods. My dogs heard it and came running. They are very ellusive cats. Others have confused the Eastern mountain lion with coyotes, bobcats, or even deer. Terrified, I took a step toward it, held up my vest yelled and everything and it dissapeared quickly. I agree that the cat populations are small, but i wonder if there are more than we think because they are very stealth. I'll take any sighting you got, just make a note of location, size and color of the animal, some context on what you where doing when you saw them (hiking a trail, hunting, chilling in your yard, ect), and any behaviors you noticed from the animal. . Though, they grew large quickly, and set themselves apart from the domesticated cat with ease They eventually returned back to the woods. 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. Other interests include hiking, songwriting, and spending time in the mountains. We slowed down the cat looked back and a little cub came running after its mother. FYI: for those who dont know HOW A COUGAR CRY AND BOB CAT CRY DIFFER: Even thou the cougar is a much bigger ,more powerful fearsom cat than the bobcat , the cries differ this way: COUGAR: the scream is more of a stronger from the bottom pit of the stomach frantic yell(like a 14 yr old thats been tramatized) and it repeats itself over and over and moves rather quickly from one place to the next. Which is the only large native cat that we have.. I live in Chilesburg, Caroline county. 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. . The U.S. We know theres at least one there, and if we get reports of a cougar causing damage then theres a possibility well need to investigate that. My farm helper saw one at approximately the same location yesterday. He saw the cougar on March 10, 2015 while working in the field near Vida, Oregon.". I have seen big bobcats but never a cougar. We have no intentions, but if they show up, they show up.. Sorry I dont have anymore details other than location but I didnt see it myself! My first thought was, I gotta chase this thing, Marchibroda said. We were too busy looking at each other asking, Did you see that? We should have ben focusing on details. Mountain Lions are back, maybe. All we get are hearsay stories and misidentified wildlife. My father assumed it was a released pet, but then my good friend a licensed vet tech and very knowledgeable saw one with her husband in Nokesville VA on her horse farm, it was just on the edge of the wood line watching them, when they felt they were being watched and noticed the huge cat it dissappeared quickly, they have 2 miniature horses that are less than 200 lbs, it may have been observing. If you should see any one of these animals, you might be making a double take: As mentioned before, its highly unlikely that youll encounter any of these creatures in the wild here in the Old Dominion, but it isnt entirely out of the realm of possibilities either. It's nearly impossible to imagine, but elk once roamed freely here in Virginia. When Dr. Michelle LaRue began her graduate studies in 2005, the state of Nebraska had virtually no mountain lions. Both went into the woods without any fuss. Ive seen a few cougars in the wild, I dont believe the black phase has ever been confirmed in any mountain lion/cougar/catamount/puma. I went on line and llistened to mountain lions and cougar screams and it sounded exactly like that. It finally took off on the other side of the road into the woods, and I made a U-turn to the nearest farmhouse! I sometimes doubt local farmers reports. I sat, played my guitar for an hour. Since my reported sighting of a perhaps cougar several local farmers have told me of similiar beasts they have seen. According to LaRue and her research, lions recolonize by stepping stone dispersal, which essentially means they start traveling, find a nice habitat to set up shop for a little while, then move on to the next area with a suitable habitatand theyll do this for hundreds, even up to thousands of miles. It is the timeline that is in dispute. I am wondering if there is anyone who is tracking these sightings and wants to know moreIt was clearly a cougar. He always said it sat there for just a moment and then slipped into the woods and was gone. It moved with grace and without sound. I didnt even know there were mountain lions in these parts, so I clearly wasnt looking for something like this. There have been sightings here, & in Nottaway county. One on a Farm just a bit out of Town. 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 other ignored us. And yet there are numerous reports of hikers and residents spotting these creatures, especially in the mountains. I didnt know if my eyes were playing tricks on me until it decided not to cross the road, and head back to the woods. Something ran across the road in front of my car at a high rate of speed. The U.S. I just want to confirm that, yes, theyre back and I hope they stay around! or the puma to make official statements confirming its presence in the Eastern US and in fact might prove harmful to the cougar spur public fear if such a confirmation were made. I stopped by a local gas station and 10 minutes later and I was told I was not the first to report seeing the cats. I have seen fully grown Bobcats up close, and those animals are way bigger than I had previously expected. In fact, they are the fourth-largest cat species in the world, behind tigers, lions, and jaguars. Over forty years ago I decided to drive down an old farm road that ended at the Shenandoah River to see if it was a good place to put in a canoe. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries district wildlife biologist David Kocka is of the same mindset. Broad daylight, it crossed the road approx. 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 think we have coywolves. The cougar has the largest geographic range of any native terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. Most of the cougars around Los Angeles live in the Santa Monica Mountains northwest of the city. The cat was totally black with a long tail. Source: Wikipedia, Cougar. Others, including the park ranger she met that day and wildlife experts shes reached out to since the sighting, are skeptical. This picture seemed to have been at night. Some states, like Arizona and South Dakota, have an open season all year round. Are there mountain lions in the Shenandoah Valley? Bill Shaeffer and Frank Womack helped with the capture. The numerous Panther Knobs and Panther Runs found across the state provide evidence of this animal's wide presence and its influence on the minds of early Mountaineers. Me and my wife were on Leesville Rd in Evington just at the Otter River when we saw a large black cat the size of a mountain lion running up the grassyhill by the road. It was probably a year later that those people sold their house to another couple with horses. A huge buck jumo out in front of us right then so we assumed it had smelled cat or that the cubs mother was hunting. Cougar, Mountain Lion, Catamount, Panther, and Puma, (Some of the names for this great cat) and is found principally in the mountains. 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