But the thing about mountain lions is that females dont travel as far or as often, and when they disperse they dont go very far or very well.. Email me. Currently, there is only one species of wild cat that lives in Virginia. I was looking out my window but couldnt see anything. 211 just north of Warrenton VA. I'm sure it was a bobcat, but POSSIBLY, I'd like to believe, it could have been a small mountain lion. Could a mountain lion or cougar be in my area? Now, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission estimates that the population has reached at least a couple dozen. While I was on vacation last summer, 2007, in Sandbridge Beach, Virginia, outside Virginia Beach, I encountered a big black cat. It was not afraid of the dog at all, it walked back up in the woods and paced back in forth on a log. It certainly is rare to get more than just a glimpse of them. Today, a new hybrid known as the coywolf is slowly returning to the state. When it turned around thats when I saw its long tail almost to the ground. I started to get out and get an even closer look but I decided that probably wasnt a good idea, so I stayed in my car . Then what? Female cougars will raise a litter of kittens up until the age of about 20 months, LaRue explained, and then the young cats are kind of kicked out and left on their own. The males, especially, are forced to disperse away from the family, partly to avoid inbreeding, and partly because male cougars are territorial and wont tolerate any other males in their domain. I never had heard anything like it before. But I never saw one, or tracks, and I spent a lot of time in the woods. 100% sure? Harsh winters can[], Thanks for dropping by! She holds a degree in English Literature and one of her short stories has been featured in the Shenandoah Review. While Virginia Beach has been known to house several species of sharks, it's more unusual for these intimidating creatures to wander inland. It stood about 3 feet tall, and had a rounded face with low-set ears. We are not stupid people with time on our hands, just a couple out for a drive. If an animal approaches, prepare to fight and protect your head and neck from the attack. "I think some people they start out as a joke between friends, then it gets circulated andit just snowballs from there and can't be stopped," he said. I told everyone the next day what I had seen and I was told there no big cats here any more. The West Virginia Wildlife Center is open to the public seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. I believe he sat to hear where that cry was coming frompossibly. It was big enough to clear the two lane road in two leaps. a cougar is not going to risk attacking a horse as they are a somewhat delicate animal which I have seen killed by an elk if they choose the wrong one.. horses are too substaintial unless there are no deer at all around, but in your case I think if there are cats there it is because their food is ther. Whatever it was was big and right under my window. This evening my husband and I were driving up our country lane in western Amherst county when a large, dark brown (black?) But to spot one in Virginia? Similar to Tennessee's wild elk and buffalo, the cougar was extirpated from the state around the early 1900s due to overhunting and habitat loss. The likelihood of seeing one is incredibly rare, let alone interacting with them, she said. My e-mail address is gardrserv@yahoo.com & would be more than willing to give anyone any info as to what & where I saw. Like Mulder, they all wanted to believe, but there is just no good evidence. If some one ask if there are lions in Danville, Va tell them hell yes! I was going to let him walk on by obviously, when suddenly he sat down about 25 yards right in front of me, not facing me, I had a beautiful side view of him. Our family moved to the Manassas National Battlefield area in 1983. The Cougar Network is monitoring all reports of the expansion of cougars to the East. It lived across the cove form us, and it would scream out at night sometimes, so loud that chills ran down our spines. I know another person in Albemarle Co. who sees them sunning regularly there and has for years. Note: this article expired, but a lot of people want to comment on this thread, so I kept it active, and updated it for quite a while. 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. He was licking his coat. At first I thought it was human screams. To his credit he told them that some one must be feeding this cat steriods and sewed a three foot tail on him or her. I too hope to see mountain lions return to Virginia, but I really dont think there are many here yet, if any all. 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. The Mountain Lions compete as members of the Mountain East Conference in all fifteen sports. 3. As I slowed the cat took notice and turned. There are several reasons that government agencies dont want to admit to the presence of pumas in the area. Any info would be greatly appreciated, I suppose it could have been a super-sized coyote or an interbred coyote. The species epithet "concolor" is Latin for "of one color," because adults are a solid version of some sort of tan. In fact, there have been 121 reports that are likely to have been true mountain lion sightings. Broad daylight, it crossed the road approx. A neighbors cat was outside and I could see that she was visibly frightened and crouching under a car. Above post by Rob about a Lion in Wise virginia is a hoax! It seems common knowledge of all the cats that roam the mountains along the Potomac River in West Virginia. My first thought was it was a panther that escaped from a nearby zoo. Its part of mother nature I guess. Some of the Forest Service questioned whether or not it was just a wild cat. It took another 3 minutes or so before all the fogs quieted down. I, on more than one occassion heard the screams of what sounded like a woman who needed help. Theres lots of legends around here, but I have heard from one very reputable source about a recent (within the last year) sighting in the vicinity of the Lovers Leap turnout on Route 58 about 6-7 miles east of Meadows of Dan. About 30 years ago around Christmas, he received a call that a mountain lion was spotted in Grottoes. Wild Cats in Virginia. Wed love to hear about it! I raise miniature horses and am quite concerned as we are surrounded by woods in Warrenton. I dont know how realistic they are, but here are calls: Bobcat, cougar/mountain lion/puma/painter, whatever the name is in your area. The last cougar in Virginia was killed in Washington County in 1882. WATCH: Sharks biting alligators, the most epic lion battles, and MUCH more. Is this thread for real? kind of beige, dark grey at tip of tail, white underbelly. In October, 1987, a cougar & cub was seen by a U.S. Forest Service crew in western Shenadoah County. Blood samples from the arrow revealed that the cat had originated in South Dakotaand that it was a female. This picture seemed to have been 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. I wish I had the moment over. And my car lights revealed a 3-year-old or so male Mountain Lion. Most occur in Shenandoah National Park and in Bedford, Amherst and Nelson counties. I have helped skin and mount wild cats before and definitely know the difference. Use bear spray or pepper spray on mountain lions. Various wolf packs took up residence in the nearly 900-square-mile area over the years, and this pack settled atop a massive, rocky cliffside. As a member of the Eastern cougar foundation, I am very interested in your sighting of the black cougar. But we are talking about an actual animal which has a possibility of existing in localized population in some areas of the east. For information call SML State Park, 540-297-6066. Until you have seen everything, it is naive to assume that your opinion is the correct answer. I saw one questionable critter a few years ago but I cant say 100% it was a lion. It had been sent to him on his cell phone. After speaking with several people who claimed to see one, I made a trip to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) office in Verona. My friend and I couldnt believe what we had just witnessed. For about 15 years there were handfuls of confirmations that showed up in the midwest. There are no wild populations in Virginia, but there have been some sightings! Despite repeated claims on Facebook and other social media outlets, it's highly unlikely wild mountain lions live in Virginia. On another ride our oldest daughter described a cat that was smaller but she said the color was different it had spots. Diana Marchibroda and her miniature schnauzer froze in their tracks when the mountain lion stepped out of the woods last May. I put on the speed and got within about 30 years before it jumped off into the brush. I just saw a photograph of one today that is EASILY 150-200 lbs. The first is that many sightings during certain periods are the same cat. 28-Aug-08. All we get are hearsay stories and misidentified wildlife. I was on another random Parkway journey, like always. Kentucky and N. Carolina. Pretty much the same thing as we read here. My 70lb lab is 24 at the shoulder for comparison. I personally would not have believed a description like this, but the photos say it all. I think the eating is good around here for a mountain lion. Where I hunt in Linden the owners have said to have seen a really big black cat. 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. Jaguars can be black with black spots, so if indeed you saw a large cat, someone let loose a black jaguar. They came out and investigated. I sat there strumming my guitar and didnt really realize what it was for a while. My name is ryan and I am from dayton va. On Oct 3d, I was playing music w/ a friend near the union springs dam. The creek still has running water. "To date, none of these reports have been substantiated by a photo, carcass or track. I would estimate that it must have been at least 60 pounds if not more. . Are Mountain Lions Back in the Blue Ridge? 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. I was wrestles camping (alone) and decided to hike over Big Hump Mountain to the next campsite. I used to just worry about snakes while berry picking. I truly look forward to a repeat performance, but highly doubt I will happen upon such a circumstance of chance with the enigmatic creature. If theyre still around here, during deer season, Im assuming well get more pictures from trail cameras, he said. All these so-called sightings yet no evidence of a breeding population, despite all the research done by biologists and the states? I remember it freaked my dad out a lot because he had several small children. The range of a Mountain Lion may cover 25 to 785 square miles. I failed to mention the eyes looking at us! About 1987 I lived across the river from Holy Cross Monastery. But the sound again didnt seem characterstic of a fox, it wasnt a barking or a yelping, it was a scream/cry. The Locavore Hunter. They are back folks here in North Western Virginia, if they ever totally went away at all. 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. VA. Marchibroda wasnt under any illusions that she could catch or in any way interact with the mountain lion she saw on her hike. We have spotted a mother black bear and cub over by the damn while hiking, scary sight but very awsome. The question is how big is the population. It does not benefit the DNR, Fish and Game Dept, etc. HAS ANYONE ELSE HEARD OF ANYTHING LIKE THIS. This animal did not have a long snout like a dog or a fox. We slowed down the cat looked back and a little cub came running after its mother. I hope that maybe I can find a place I can place a trail camera nearby to search for it. My dog is small but the one my neighboor has is a german shepard and I think thats the one I heard yelp. No one has since today, reported seeing one. Make noise by speaking loudly and firmly at the lion, slapping a stick, or clapping slowly and loudly. It was last June that my husband and brother in law were traveling on rt 66 where it goes into rt 81 (somewhere between Front Royal and Strasburg) and saw a cougar dead on the side of the highway! However, it is pretty well accepted that there are no cougars living in the east currently.. However, once you start talking about black cats the credibility of the reports goes down signigiciantly. Its actually kind of scary if you think about it. The New York Times reported that a cougar killed in Connecticut by car in 2011 was from the Black Hills of South Dakota:6, If a cougar population was e-established in the east, it would pose a risk to backcountry hikers similar to that posed by bears. So yes, there are mountain lions in the Blue Ridge. Each year, deer-car collisions kill approximately 200 people.7, the Eastern Cougar was extirpated by excessive hunting pressure, as well as severe reduction in their prime food source of white-tailed deer At a distance of about 350 yards, we looked out to the distant field w/ a pair of binoculars and noticed that it wasnt deer, but infact a few larger cats. "Usually youngish males.". Fish & Wildlife Resource declared the eastern cougar extinct, LaRue said. It was headed north. I know for a fact that Mountain Lions inhabit my area! It had a tail just about as large as the body. Good Cat food. The West Virginia Wildlife Center . Mountain lions weigh between 90-160 pounds while bobcats weigh between 20-30 pounds according to an article by the Iowa DNR. For a solid four seconds, Marchibroda watched as a large, sleek cat standing about three feet tall with a long, curled tail crossed Skyline Drive near Gavel Springs Gap less than 100 feet in front of them. Theres no guarantee that cougars trekking from South Dakota will stick around, or that the female in Tennessee will have kittens. One night our mules and horses had broken through the fence. The U.S. The very sad news: there was a PGC ear tag on it. It was standing in front of my car. He charged at the Fish and Game guy in the process. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The Bluefield, West Virginia native . The folks living in those areas, at least in WV, mostly keep to themselves and most of those folks do not have computers. 1001 Virginia St. East Charleston, WV 25301 Phone: 304-348-5140 I would love to get a photo of it. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. The population of cougars west of the Mississippi River was large enough that it was not listed. My husband and I just saw a cougar (mountain lion) while having coffee on our back deck. Thursday, April 21, 2005. 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). The DNR maintains mountain lion sightings using a system to receive, record and review mountain lion reports. Purposeful reintroduction, bringing breeding-age females to a suitable area in the Appalachians, could speed the process dramatically.

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