i recently moved to Martinsville from Ct. My folks have lived in Stuart for the past 11 years. I stopped thinking I would see a deer cross the old farm road. This animal was a good thirty inches at the shoulder and must have weighted 150 pounds. The DWR is open to reviewing evidence of mountain lions in our area, and Michael told me to always keep an open mind. There have been sightings here, & in Nottaway county. Long enough I was wishing he would be quiet so that I could hear if any deer were coming. They go hiking in the Rockies all the time and people still dont see them very often.. Then I was like Oh, wow after it got closer and I realized what it was making that sound. After passing the long horn pasture over the summit I thought I was clear, hadnt seen eyes at any distance in a while. Wed love to hear about it! Guess we will never know the truth unless there is a fantastic picture with know location shown also. Sadly, these animals were killed because they were viewed as a threat to humans and livestock. It took another 3 minutes or so before all the fogs quieted down. So it could have been a red wolf. They're nocturnal and notoriously sneaky, so seeing one in the wild is a truly unique experience. I havent seen anything like one since back in May. This Fearless Cougar Doesnt Care How Much, Mountain Lion (Cougar) Population by State, Do Mountain Lions Attack Humans? I am concerned since that pond is a source of water for my horse. I looked out the passenger side window just as my mom noticed it out her window. The 1982 Eastern Cougar Recovery Plan defined the establishment of one population containing at least 50 breeding adults as the threshold for moving the Eastern Cougar from "endangered" to just "threatened." Still, many sightings arent clear or even true, so being skeptical is still the best bet when it comes to sightings in Virginia. For those who dont believe in the sightings or tales of the eastern cougar, it is a misjudgment to criticize others for their experiences. It moved with grace and without sound. . I was looking out our 2nd story window yesterday evening when a very large cat looking animal came out of a thicket behind the house to get a drink in the pond. FYI: I have reasearched wild animal sounds to the point now that I could be an expert. Mine me, Im not calling him a lier, but it does happen. "They've been found as far east as western Tennessee," Fies said. My husband saw it too. 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. 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. Our last trip we had a mountain lion stalk us outside our tent. In fact, they found an African Lion skull in the Blue Ridge mts not too long back. As a result, multiple sightings across different time ranges could be attributed to the same cat. Full grown, the bulls can weigh up to 700 pounds, so be sure to keep a respectful distance should you see one of these beautiful creatures! Yet within the last decade, bull sharks have been known to swim all the way to the Potomac River. A French naturalist created the name "cougar" by combining "puma" with "jaguar." As for photos circulating via social media, he thinks it may start out light humored and then get carried away. Not much rain in these parts since early August. His body was very long and had a beautiful face. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries district wildlife biologist David Kocka is of the same mindset. I live in Montgomery Co, and was wondering if you could tell me where exactly you saw the cougar in 2002 in Floyd county. It had a tail just about as large as the body. Get more stories delivered right to your email. Ancestors of the cougar (also known as catamount, mountain lion, bobcat, puma, panther, painter, wildcat, and ghost cat) crossed into North America roughly 8 million years ago, and the species Puma concolor evolved around 400,000 years ago. So many, in fact, that they've been listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the mammal with the most names. Rockingham Co., va Oftentimes, I camp and merely live in the outdoors. At first I thought it was human screams. Forestry rangers say they have spotted several mountain lions in the area. In reply to Sharon if you can give more details on date of kill and on the location of the road kill at Buchannan, Virginia I would look for remains or inquire if VDOT made any report of it as they may have picked it up off the road. I live about five minutes away from the parkway, 30 or so minutes from the Roan and Mount Mitchell, etc. Look forward to talking more. Thursday, April 21, 2005. any sightings in Roanoke Co.? "To date, none of these reports have been substantiated by a photo, carcass or track. Now, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission estimates that the population has reached at least a couple dozen. The Locavore Hunter. All we get are hearsay stories and misidentified wildlife. I, a CPA, saw one 15 years ago. There are no mountain lions in Virginia. Bull sharks are one of the few species that can tolerate fresh water, which allows them to flow from ocean to river relatively easily. They like rugged terrain with forest cover. I saw a friend while out to dinner two weeks ago and he came up and said, You will never believe what I saw last evening at my place. I said, What did you see? I was wrestles camping (alone) and decided to hike over Big Hump Mountain to the next campsite. I initially thought it was a bear, until it ran, jumped a 5 foot pasture fence with ease, and landed about 4 feet from the fence. Fies said the man who had them had all the proper permits and the state does see a small number of those instances where people have safari adventure theme parks or other ventures that include large animals. Last year I was outside with my lab and I heard that scream that sent my dog running frantically away and stopped me in my tracks. Further north, you can find mountain lions in . It was about 8:00 am on Saturday 8/8/09 and I noticed a black animal in a fenced pasture just ahead of me. Near the paw print I found tracks of a small deer moving very fast (tracks far apart and just the point of the hoof.) I really took offense to that.. The fourth-largest cat in the world, it thrived from the frigid Yukon to the tip of South America. A large heel pad larger than the others but blurred. Long may they thrive. We are just amazed to have found one. One of the yotes had her by the mouth over her nose and one had her by the throat while the other 2 watched. The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Association (TWRA) confirmed that the cat, which sniffed around on the ground and in a low-hanging tree branch before looking square into the camera with its mouth wide open, was in fact a mountain lion. The amount of area they need for their home range, the kinds of things they eat, their behaviorsall of that is really important to arm ourselves with so we have that information, LaRue said, adding that with that education comes the dispelling of myths. Admission is $6 for ages 16 and over, $2 for kids 6 to 15 years old, and free for . In fact, bobcats take down prey that weighs as much as 8 times their weight when the situation arises. Bill Shaeffer and Frank Womack helped with the capture. About 6 years ago my husband and I saw a mountain lion cross directly in front of us on Bobbletts Gap Rd, in Bedford County. There are still two other sub . I now live on the Tennessee end of South Holston Lake and while driving near Friendship Boatdock near Rte. Originally, mountain lions lived across the entire continent of North America. The U.S. In grad school I worked with a lot of the wildlife and natural resources folks at VT. It stopped and looked at me for a minute, I didnt move, and then it went on into the woods where I know a rabbit lives. The total length of this species is 5-9 feet (cylindrical tail 2-3 feet) and it weighs from 100-200 pounds. Some of the Forest Service questioned whether or not it was just a wild cat. 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. This is because they are very territorial and mark their territory with scat and claw marks. Native to most counties in Virginia, the bobcat is a . The very sad news: there was a PGC ear tag on it. "I envision someday in the future we would get one wandering into Virginia. The ones I saw sure would have no problem taking down a deer, or person for that matter! They wondered if it was a kind of dog or even a cat. Cant say what it was and hope to never see again. On Monday, the state agency . I see no reason to question them. I was hiking in Western North Carolina this weekend, north from Carvers Gap at Roan Mountain, on the Appalachian Trail. 0. They could be making a similiar mistake about the cougar sightings. It was hit by a log truck in Buckingham Co. near Dillwyn in early spring. Anyone who wants to put this mystery to rest should just spend a few days in those mountainscase would be closed for sure on big black cats. Im not a mammalogist, so Im not going to try to play their role, but I think theyre all the same, Kocka said, adding that differentiating between subspecies may not always be a worthwhile effort. I think there have been reintroduction programs in some areas. Our daughters were in a 4H group across the park on Bull Run Post Office Road and each week theyd ride their horses across the battlefield to a farn where they practiced Vaulting (circus riding) with their 4H group. In 2018, the Federal agency removed the Eastern Cougar from that list, though the Florida panther remained on it. A mountain lion is a wild cat ranging from two to three feet tall, with females weighing up to 120lbs and males up to 200lbs, making it the fourth largest cat in the world. The closest confirmed wild cougars, except for the Florida Panther,appear to bein Michigan, Wisconsin, Arkansas and western Louisiana, according to the blog post. How did they know this isnt an eastern lion? (near Wise, VA) by a car. Any jokes about sexually adventurous older women will not be noted or acknowledged and I will automatically assume you are a 13 year old boy who yells racial slurs on Xbox live. shortly after this, it was reported in the article, a puma was killed by a sheep rancher in an adjoining W.VA county. The "coywolf" is an informal term for a unique hybrid of western coyotes and eastern timber wolves. 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. Then well try to figure out what kind they are and get more evidence.. Bears on the other hand, are a dime a dozen and we see them every year. 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. 211 just north of Warrenton VA. In November of last year, a giant cat with a long tail wandered in front of Tennessee resident Austin Burtons deer camera on his familys farm in Humphreys County. Rabbits everywhere. "Pumas, mountain lions are still in the Appalachians," Larry Messenger posted on Facebook. Finetune Your Skills in Patrick County, Va. I have since seen a picture of a lion spotted in Buckingham co. and realize that was the animal I saw. Does it follow a path through the woods like a deer sometimes does?? They say the last mountain lion in Virginia was killed in 1882. The creek still has running water. My mother lives in Orange, and has seen a mountain lion in the past couple of weeks, as well as several years ago. The subspecies would no longer be considered "threatened" once three populations were found or established, with each containing more than 50 breeding adults. When we reviewed these reports, as many as 25 percentare of a large black cat. A co-worker and I had a run in with a very large black cat in Floyd, VA in 2002. I think its all the same.. Species number one is the bobcat, and species number two is the Mountain lion. Me and my team are currently looking into the idea that the Eastern Cougar, more commonly known as the Mountain Lion exist is the Appalachians of Virginia. So about three blocks from my turn onto our road I spotted Eye shine crossing in front of our car. Were not taking any action to move them or kill them. But we are talking about an actual animal which has a possibility of existing in localized population in some areas of the east. What about the fact no roadkill is ever claimed to be found of a cougar? 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. NEW VIRGINIA, Iowa (KCRG) - Law enforcement have confirmed mountain lion sightings in central Iowa. Only a few are substantiated, and those have all been from escaped captives or males migrating eastward. Upon leaving the woods one morning another hunter in the group said he had seen a cougar on the mountain that morning. The event is sponsored by the Friends of Smith Mountain Lake State Park. who knows? Diana Marchibroda and her miniature schnauzer froze in their tracks when the mountain lion stepped out of the woods last May. The wind chill was absolutely tremendous in the portal and the -20 outside felt balmy in comparison. The road in paved, but long(14 miles+) winding and has very few streets that are off it back here.