Despite reports of sightings of cougars and black panthers, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the only native bobcat species living in the state are (lynx rufus) or bobcats .
the last wild cougar (puma concolor) known to have lived in pennsylvania was killed in 1871. also, usa. uu. The Eastern Cougar, along with the Florida Panther, was declared extinct in 2011 by the Fish and Wildlife Service. However, there is much we don’t know. People still report cougar sightings in Pennsylvania all the time. Could there be a cougar population in Pennsylvania? the possibility is there.
As for the Black Panthers, this idea is a little harder to swallow. In America, a black panther would actually be a melanistic mountain lion or a melanistic jaguar. there are no known cases of melanistic pumas. However, there are melanistic jaguars, but the farthest north jaguars are known to range in the 21st century is southern Arizona and southern New Mexico.
Eastern Pennsylvania Bobcats (Lynx rufus rufus)
The bobcat, also known as the bobcat, bay lynx, or swamp tiger, is a North American wild cat. biologists believe that both the bobcat and the Canadian lynx are descendants of the Eurasian lynx whose ancestors crossed into North America via the land-sea bridge.
where do bobcats live?
Bobcats reside only in North America. Its range begins in southern Canada and then extends south through most of the continental United States and into central Mexico.
Pennsylvania’s bobcat population exceeds 20,000 animals. Officially, bobcats and feral cats are the only feral cats and the only 2 feline predators in the state of Pennsylvania. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, bobcats live in most areas of the state. however, people rarely see them because they are mostly crepuscular animals. your best chances of spotting one are early in the morning and early at night.
Aside from their inability to cope with deep snow, bobcats are quite versatile and tend to use all of the different habitats within their range. You can find bobcats anywhere from forested mountains to swamps, agricultural areas, and wooded suburban areas. they also seem to thrive in wooded areas in the vicinity of clearings. studies show that small mammal populations increase in cleared areas. this is due to the better feeding and cover conditions that a clearing creates.
The sizes of the home ranges of Pennsylvania bobcats differ between males and females. adult males use a larger range than females, around 36 square miles. on the other hand, adult females need about 18 square miles.
Sometimes people in rural or even suburban settings have bobcats in the neighborhood and don’t realize it. It’s a very rare occurrence, but sometimes these animals will end up in someone’s home or garage. If you ever accidentally corner a bobcat, immediately give it some space. back off and leave a door open for him to escape on his own. stay away from a cornered bobcat. These are dangerous wild animals and they will do everything they can to tear you apart if they feel the need to fight back. If you have a trespassing bobcat that won’t go away on its own, call your local fish and game officer to have it removed for you. see also see
what are wildcats like?
An adult bobcat is similar to its close relative, the Canada lynx in appearance with a few differences. an adult bobcat is slightly smaller than an adult Canada lynx.
Compared to the Canada lynx, which thrives in deep snow, bobcats struggle more in snow due to the fact that they can’t walk on it like lynxes can. A lynx’s large paws work like snowshoes keeping it on the surface of the snow. they have developed this feature to hunt hares with snowshoes in winter. On the other hand, compared to the lynx, bobcats have small feet that tend to sink into the snow. if the snow is too deep and powdery, it reduces their mobility along with their ability to catch prey.
A bobcat is 2 to 3 feet long and weighs 15 to 35 pounds. adult male bobcats are slightly larger than females.
These animals have a short, black-tipped tail with black bands on the upper surface. the black tip of its tail is only on the upper surface but not on the back. unlike a lynx’s tail which appears to have been dipped in black paint.
Their fur is usually gray to brown, with dark mottled markings ranging from black to dark brown on the body. they also have black stripes on the inside of their front legs and tail.
From a side view, you’ll notice that a bobcat stands slightly higher at the rump than at the shoulders. bobcats and lynxes have long hind legs in proportion to their front legs.
Bobcats have ears with black tufts. in other words, they have short ear tufts of hair that stick out above the ears and are black at the tips. the backs of their ears, below the black tips, are black. in the center of the black of each ear, they have a single white spot. this gives the impression of a false eye at the back of each ear.
They also have a whiskered face that appears wider due to their long, curly facial hair and whiskers. His eyes are yellow with round black pupils.
in 2020, a rare black bobcat was imaged near danville, vermont. watch. these melanistic wildcats have all the markings that non-melanistic ones have. they manifest as darker black dots on a lighter black or dark gray.
what do bobcats eat?
Despite their comparatively small size, bobcats are tough and aggressive predators. sometimes, particularly during winter, they take larger prey animals that are quite a bit larger than themselves, such as deer. In Pennsylvania, for example, they sometimes prey on white-tailed deer.
however, its usual diet consists mainly of small mammals, reptiles, birds, and carrion. when set up near a residential area, their menu may occasionally include small pets as well.
They even feed on venomous snakes when the opportunity arises despite not being immune to venom. they accomplish this by using their quickness to pin the snake’s head with one paw, after which they dispatch the snake with a quick bite to the spine behind the head.
reproduction and life cycle of eastern bobcats in pennsylvania
Bobcats mate anywhere from late March to early April. during the breeding season, a male bobcat may mate with multiple females. Radio-collared males have been observed traveling up to 20 miles in a single night to reach a female in heat.
If they mate successfully, the gestation period for bobcats is 60 days.
after breeding, the male and female go their separate ways. Other than the exceptions of breeding and rearing young, they are solitary creatures.
The female assumes full responsibility for selecting a den site and rearing the young.
Bobcats often use rock crevices as burrows, but may also burrow in the cavity under an overturned stump or under a felled tree,
In Pennsylvania, the average litter size for bobcats is 3 kittens. however, as few as one and as many as 6 have been observed. see
bobcat kittens are born with their eyes closed, just like domestic cats. however, their eyes will open when they are between a week and 10 days old. by the time they are 2 months old, they will have replaced their spotted baby fur with fur similar to what their parents have.
in mid-July, the kittens begin to hang out with their mothers to hone their survival skills. their training can last until early winter. in mid-winter, the kittens strike out on their own.
female bobcats are sexually mature at 1 year of age, while male bobcats are sexually mature at 2 years.
In the wild, bobcats live 7 to 10 years. see
wild cats in pennsylvania
Feral domestic cats are an invasive species that threatens native wildlife populations. For example, the American Bird Conservancy estimates that free-range cats kill approximately 2.4 billion birds each year in the United States. “Outdoor cats include both wild and domestic.”
The Pennsylvania Game Commission considers feral cats harmful to wildlife and it is illegal to release a domestic cat onto state game lands. look, however, it is also illegal to harm stray cats. pennsylvania spca has a program where they trap feral cats, sterilize them, then release them again. see
pennsylvania spca has a program where they trap feral cats,
are there mountain lions in pennsylvania?
Bobcats are the only known bobcat species remaining in Pennsylvania. however, reports of cougars are not a rarity in the state. thus far, there have been no substantiated reports of puma sightings
historically, pumas inhabited the key state. The mascot of the Pennsylvania State University, the Nittany Lion refers to the cougars that once inhabited the area around Mount Nittany and Pennsylvania State University.
The last known mountain lion in Pennsylvania was killed by Thomas Anson in Berks County in 1871.
however, some people are convinced that a small population of big cats still exists in some of the remote areas of the state.
stacey griffiths, who runs pa’s central mountain lion sightings page on facebook, and david foster, a biology professor at messiah college in mechanicsburg, pa., sometimes team up to investigate reported mountain lion sightings
for example, in 2018, footage from a home surveillance camera at clarks summit south abington township in laccawanna county came to light. one clip showed a big cat with a long body like a puma. the long tail, however, was missing from the picture. even without the long tail, the animal in the painting looked very much like a mountain lion. however, the next chart clearly showed that the animal in question had the telltale markings of a wildcat. see
Another possible mountain lion incident also occurred in 2018. 2 horses sustained injuries from a predator attack. Foster believes that his injuries are more consistent with a cougar attack than with a black bear or coyote attack. see
what are the cougars like?
phenotypically, mountain lions look like giant, oversized house cats with short tan hair. however, one of these animals is much larger than a domestic cat. They are beautiful animals that have lean, muscular bodies, rounded heads, and upright ears that are oval at the tip. they also have a long tail, which is tan with a black tip. its tail represents almost a third of its total length. their long tails help them balance.
Mountain lions have a coat of short, wiry yellowish-orange or light-brown hair that covers most of their body. the area around the nose, the tip of the tail, and the tips of the ears are black. its belly, the area above the upper lip, lower lip, and chin are all white. they also have a hint of dark hair on their backs. their fur color varies somewhat in different geographic locations.
Male and female mountain lions are phenotypically identical in all respects except size. males are 30 to 40% larger than females. Although sizes vary considerably throughout the cat’s geographic range, an adult male or tom generally weighs between 110 and 180 pounds, 50 to (82 kg). a few grow to be over 200 pounds (91 kg). female mountain lionesses or queens weigh on average between 80 and 130 pounds (36 to 59 kg). adult males or toms will reach 6–8 ft (1.8–2.4 m) from snout to tail tip. on the other hand, adult females are 5 to 7 feet long (1.5 to 2.1 m).
Mountain lions are the world’s third-largest bobcats. in the western hemisphere, they are smaller only than the jaguar. worldwide, the African lion and tiger are also larger.
despite their large size, pumas are not taxonomically classified as big cats because they cannot roar. Leopards, for example, are smaller than pumas, but because they can roar and not purr, they are classified as big cats, while pumas are not. Another interesting thing I can mention here is that pumas purr.
since they purr and cannot roar, pumas belong to the genus felis. Meanwhile, big cats like the African lion, tigers, leopards, snow leopards, and jaguars, which cannot purr and can roar, belong to the genus Panthera. “A side note, I listed snow leopards separately from leopards because they are a separate species.”
where are cougars typically found?
Mountain lions live on all three American continents. Its range begins in the Yukon Territory of Canada in the north and extends through parts of North America, Central America, and South America to Argentine Patagonia in the south.
The largest populations in Canada are found in British Columbia and Alberta. On the other hand, in the United States they live mainly in the western states and Florida. Florida people call this elusive cat the Florida Panther.
do mountain lions ever harm humans?
The next section is from another of my blog posts titled “Are Mountain Lions Dangerous?” found here.
Fatal mountain lion attacks on humans are extremely rare. In fact, there are only 20 records of fatal mountain lion attacks on humans in all of North America in the last 100 years. however, don’t let that fact lead you into a complete sense of false security. there have been many more mountain lion attacks over the years that did not result in a death. mountain lions are indeed dangerous.
A mountain lion is a formidably resilient wild predatory animal. They can run 40 to 50 miles per hour in short bursts. in addition, they can jump 18 feet vertically and 40 feet horizontally to catch their prey. these ninja-like predators typically stalk their prey from behind and then leap onto an animal’s back. they then crush your cervical spine or larynx with their powerful jaws. they have a bite force of 750 pounds per square inch.
some factors that cause pumas to attack humans
Most of the time, cougars use their ghostly abilities to avoid human contact. on rare occasions, however, they attack humans. Below are some of the reasons why.
- If the cougar has an injury or some type of impairment that prevents it from killing its normal prey, it is more likely to view a person as potential prey.
- Male mountain lions engage in fights over territory. some of their battles are to the death. a percentage of puma attacks on humans are perpetrated by starving semi-juvenile cats that have been driven from territories with a more abundant food supply.
- Scientific data suggests that pumas orphaned at a young age are more likely to attack humans. this is possible because they missed the part of their training where their mothers taught them to fear humans.
I don’t mean to scare the reader out of the open. puma attacks on humans are extremely rare. the drive it takes to enter cougar country is statistically much more dangerous than being there. however, you shouldn’t be so naive as to think that bad things never happen. here is an event that occurred recently in utah.
