Comments on: The Eastern Panther Is Extinct, Say Feds! What Are The Politics Behind Their Declaration?

By: John A. Lutz

John A. Lutz — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 03:39:48 +0000

In response to 'wshinhamjr', recent cougar activity has occurred across southern Garrett Co, MD from Jennigs Randolph Lake to Rte 560 & bordered by Rt 135 on north and West Virginia on the South. Parts of this area are within the Potomac State Forest. Another area of concern, is south of U.S. 50 from U.S. Rte 219 to the ghost town of Kempton & NE back to U.S. 50. More popularly known as Table Rock, which is a mixture of forest wilderness, farmland and open fields. If anyone has further information, please contact us through our new website.

By: DWA

DWA — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 02:51:34 +0000

What a joke.

We see more and more and more and more of them…until there are no more.

If there is no way of ever knowing whether sightings are of Eastern cougars until a specimen tests out as one, then no declaration of extinction can be made.

It’s as simple as that.

Lots and lots of money is to be made off land that would otherwise possibly be protected as potential habitat.

It is as simple as THAT.

By: seamonkeychar

seamonkeychar — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 02:13:33 +0000

Coyotes didn’t exist? Psh. I live 15 minutes outside of Atlanta, in a well populated area. I have seen coyotes around here multiple times, once no more than 15 feet away. One of my cousins (also here in Georgia) also witnessed a big cat down in the creek bottom behind her house. She saw it multiple times and finally called fish and wildlife services, who came out and looked at some of the tracks in the mud next to the creek. He confirmed that the tracks belonged to a big cat, and estimated it’s weight at about 60 lbs. But, of course, the report and confirmed tracks went nowhere, because they aren’t really here, right? It’s interesting to note that my cousin also saw kittens with the cat one year, so there must be a breeding population.

By: wshinhamjr

wshinhamjr — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 19:11:21 +0000

Not sure they are accurate on when or even if these are extinct because I personally saw one in Western Maryland in the early 1970′s. It looked exactly like the mounted one only leaner. I was hunting when it jumped up and ran in a mostly open field that many years later is now overgrown like a jungle. I only saw it that one time. Old timers in the area told me when I described it that it was a “catamount.”

By: tropicalwolf

tropicalwolf — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 06:54:44 +0000

Three words: Follow The Money. The comments in regards to allowing for deregulation and gas drilling are likely closest to the mark. I guess I’ll take the plaster cast I made of a mountain lion print here in Ohio and put it in the closet since it doesn’t exist.

By: zigoapex

zigoapex — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 03:02:02 +0000

Well, I totally disagree with agencies or powers that be that say there are “no breeding population in the east” my eyes did not deceive me when I witnessed an adolescent mountain lion (north eastern Pennsylvania) at a distance of 10 yards in front of my vehicle when I nearly ran it over.

I’d say it was around 70 lbs and still had the spots on it. I don’t believe it appeared out of thin air, it had to be part of a litter.

About 2 years later I had a thin, green, wire fence about 4 1/2 feet high that was ran through. About 2/3 up the fence you can see where it hit the fence and did the same where it exited the fence. I found a bear like print in a thin part of the grass.

After looking at the fence in more detail, I found some thin brown hair on the fence.

It’s definitely not deer hair. I kept the hair and still have it. Does anybody know where i can have it analyzed?

By: greywolf

greywolf — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 21:00:03 +0000

I for one would not put much faith in their research or reports.

I don’t think they would know an Eastern Mountain Lion/Panther what ever you want to call it if it bit them on the “BUTT”.

By: somebodyssquatchingme

somebodyssquatchingme — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:54:41 +0000

Well, at least in this case, the feds admit that some sightings were valid, unlike other cryptids, or out-of-place animals, who eyewitness reports (like the grizzly mentioned above) are summarily dismissed.

It has always struck me that we humans will send our own species to life in prison, or the electric chair, based on eyewitness testimony. Yet when witnesses ask what that 8-foot tall creature was that walked in front their car, they are told that it is misidentification or nothing but an hallucination.

I think all reports on cryptids made by government officials should be summarily dismissed as hallucinations.

By: MountDesertIslander

MountDesertIslander — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:43:24 +0000

The major political ramification I can see from this declaration is that the Eastern Mountain Lion cannot be used to forestall rural land development in the Pennsylvania woodlands.

With numerous friends and family living in the rural/ agricultural belt of Pennsylvania, the only reason I can think for this sudden declaration is that the bureaucrats are clearing the way for natural gas drilling. The Marcellus shale and coal seams are supposed to hold billions of cubic feet of gas. This is to be the next natural resource bonanza in the nation.

By: Shelley

Shelley — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 05:46:24 +0000

Last week we heard a talk by the local expert on big cats in this area, the person who receives all reports of big cat sightings in the 4-state area. His remarks then clearly reflected the terms of this press release, so he probably knew of this report coming up soon. He did tell a questioner that there were no resident big cats in the Appalachians, even though the questioner, a former resident of western VA, said that there were numerous sightings, including kittens and mothers with offspring.

One of the things he did say which seemed very odd was that the western cougars, who are supposed to make up the entirety of local sightings in so. IL, so. Indiana, SE Missouri and SW Tenn., are just wandering through, but are believed to return westward at the end of their explorations. Why would a wild cat travel over 1000 miles from the Dakotas, which is the nearest spot that they would admit there was a breeding population, into a new area where there is abundant prey and very little competition, and then turn around and return? Admittedly if they are looking for some hot cougar action, and they don’t meet any lady cougars around here, that’s not too good. But would they really retrace their steps? I can see this is to reassure the local livestock farmers that any big cats preying on their animals will not be staying or breeding little predators, but is it really true?

If I owned any property in a rural area, I would definitely post trail cameras, just to confirm for myself what is actually out there. The coyotes, those mythical creatures when I first moved here nearly 40 years ago, we can hear yipping and howling. It’s the quiet ones we wonder about.