mountain lions in the eastern US

While mountain lions (AKA Cougars or Panthers) are prevalent in the western sections of North and South America, they are extinct in the eastern U.S. with the possible exception of extreme southern Florida.
A few years ago one was found in Connecticut (dead) and one was killed in Chicago.
While questionable claims of sightings and downright hoaxes are common, the fact is that in the mid-Atlantic region none have been killed, trapped or found dead in over a hundred years.
People like to talk about them but in the eastern U.S. - mountain lions are not rare, they are Extinct !

 

Saw one in western NC about 7-8 years ago. I was mountain biking in the Dupont state forest. I was in an area where a power line is cut to get to the plant that's on the Southern (?) edge of the forest. I had seen the paw prints, but assumed they were from a big bobcat. I was at the top of a ridge, and looked across the clear cut to the next ridge, and there one was. Just walking from treeline to treeline. I have grown up in the mountains of SC, NC, and GA, and never once seen one or even tracks again.

 

Extinct/severely reduced populations according to wiki. I saw one in Delaware in June of 1998. I am positive what I saw was a cougar. Two have been found dead in CT since 2011. One collared in South Dakota was found dead 700 miles away from the collared location. Males typically will have a 500 mile range when looking for a mate. I'd say they can pop up anywhere.


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I'd say urban legend but nobody claims to see them near subway stops or skyscrapers. But keep trying, maybe you'll convince me. Hint - a dead one or a trapped one would go a long way to persuade me.

 

Yea for you guys in western states, Florida or canada, do you ever see roadkill cougars? Or are they smart enough to not get hit by cars to much.

 

Have never seen a roadkill cougar.

For the most part mountain lions stay unseen by there own choice, they are smart and crafty animals. Mountain lions will not only kill for a meal, they kill for the sport of it.

I lived outside of Lake Tahoe for 3 years and only seen one cougar and it was just a quick glimpse and it was gone. But i did find the aftermath of the elusive animal on my property 5 or six times, they maul and tear there prey apart, eat the good bits and move on.

This is not a animal to mess with, they are fast, mean and smart.

 

Yea ga has bobcats, but I've never saw one alive or roadkill either.

 

I've never seen a road kill carcass of Elvis or Big Foot either, what does that prove?
Kill a mountain lion or trap a mountain lion; show me where you killed it or trapped it and we'll talk.
In the meantime, I have this bridge that connects Manhattan to Brooklyn and I bet I can sell it to you.

 

Never

 

No one needs to prove anything to you. Scientist are saying there are more cougars in the west then ever before because of government protection. Scientist are also saying they are migrating east like coyotes. We just got coyotes in Delaware for the first time in the late 90's. They found a comfortable spot and the numbers are on the rise.

If you do a little research there are cougars that have been verified in many eastern states through DNR trail cameras and some that have been shot. VT, NH, CT, ME, GA to name a few.

Surely the scientists are wrong and you are right. It's likely a UFO dropped off these recent ones found dead in CT. You do believe in aliens don't you?

And it's also likely the multiple sightings that were reported in the paper today in Maryland are just multiple peoples fig mints.

See all those dots? Those are all verified sightings, all of which are in the zone you and others claim they are extinct. If they are verified sightings, then extinct would not be a very accurate term to use now would it?

 

Not buying it.
But campfire stories are fun, aren't they?

 

Vancouver Island , BC has the highest concentration of cougars in the world and I've never seen a road kill and have only seen one once in my life

 

Nobodies forcing you to buy anything. Educations are quite expensive these days.

 

Yep, no dispute that Vancouver Island has a huge cougar population.

Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, N.C., S.C. Georgia.......not so much

 

Point is , there can be a lot of animals that go unseen

 

I'm over in washington state and have seen four in the wild total. Never one hit by a car. They are a little too fast for that I think

 

Some guy says he saw Elvis at his local mall six months ago.
Then some other guy says HE saw Elvis at his local mall last week.

Then some third guy points out that there is strong evidence that Elvis died in August of 1977.

The first guy looks like a lunatic and the second guy looks like a gullible idiot. So the second guy vilifies the third guy in a vain effort to appear less like a moronic lemming.

I'd rather be the third guy being attacked for standing on logic than the second guy attempting to redeem himself, but then I didn't claim to see Elvis in the first place.

 

well arguing here looks like fun but I'm out

 

Probably does not count, but Sylvio Martinat has been introducing big cats to Grandfather Mountain for years now. I know they are "extinct" but is it possible that johns second cousins third oldest brothers second wives husband could have seen one around?