In 2011, the U.S. . Is it lawful to find and retain deer and/or elk antlers on state game lands? Several regulations regarding the use of state game lands prevent the removal of any such artifact, or any other objects, besides lawfully taken fish and wildlife, mushroom and/or berries. Wet hens may leave a more significant scent trail allowing predators to be more successful at finding nests. Plus, you can set alarms on timers to make sure they go off at certain times of the day when youve spotted cougars coming onto your property. We ended up using the 18-inch mark for comparison, as it was pretty much spot-on. Quick movements, such as running or bicycling, which make humans resemble prey, sometimes lead to cougar attacks. Isnt trapping inhumane and indiscriminate? If you ask me, the answer is yes. Wildlife diseases are usually transferred from animal to animal by nose-to-nose contact, saliva, feces and urine. I got my start in education as a teacher, working with students in grades K-12. Youll also receive an excerpt of Kronos Rising: Kraken (Vol.3) straight to your inbox. In an October study, researchers identified several regions along the East Coast that could be suitable habitats, including a section of Pennsylvania north of Du Bois and northeast of Williamsport. The maximum weight for a large male is listed at 40 pounds. This could cause them to approach people looking for more. Delivery: Estimated between Sat, Mar 4 and Wed, Mar 8 to 98837. *Please note: Comments posted on social media sites are always not shared with the commissioners or staff due to the high volume received. *Please note: Our state game wardens are responsible for many things, from protecting wildlife, to enforcing hunting regulations, conducting search and rescues, assisting with biological research, educating the public about wildlife and more. The elk rut is triggered by photoperiod (day length) and generally begins around the middle of September and carries through early- to mid-October. How do I report a banded waterfowl harvest? Anyone, ages 11 and up, can currently register for Pennsylvanias online Hunter-Trapper Education course. You can also call the Game Commission's replacement card fulfillment center at 1-800-830-2268 for assistance in obtaining a replacement certificate. That said, even if it is against the step, if that is a house cat it is ginormous. Cutaneous fibromas, more commonly known as deer warts, are a relatively common skin ailment of deer. It is lawful for individuals to find and retain deer and elk antlers on public land, so long as they were shed through natural causes. I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one. Its distinctly possible. During early exploration and settlement in Pennsylvania and other states, many furbearing species were trapped to the point of extirpation. Several consecutive years of this add up to severely limit the population. How do I deal with shaving weight for carrying my gear? Why do I advocate manual exposure so avidly? Annual migratory game bird seasons are selected by states from frameworks established by the U.S. In Pennsylvania, one of the most important things that trapping provides is data and information used to help assess and make decisions on management of this suite of species. The stride was around 21 inches, and they ambled along at a leisurely pace. Ask your butcher to process your meat individually, without meat from other animals, or process your own meat; 6. In an effort to expand hunting opportunities, in 2021, Sunday hunting is only open on the following dates for the following species. . What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? He's a hunter, a woodsman, and he's seen a lot of game, so I can believe he saw a back-lighted puma. This bill would eliminate the current process, which includes mailing a pink antlerless deer application envelope to a county treasurer. This is only hearsay, however, since I'm only going on their stories. Previous Game Commission research has shown that reducing the fall season by one week allows more hens to survive to spring and reproduce. So, theyll respond swiftly to a dose of pepper spray, meaning theyll almost always beat a hasty retreat. Pennsylvania has embraced these BMPs and put additional regulations in place to ensure trapping follows these principles. We appreciate incidents being reported. It is our mission to manage and protect wildlife and their habitats while promoting hunting and trapping for current and future generations. Certainly it is a romantic notion, but I've always held out the hope that pumas still roamed the east. If bears continually return, remove the bird feeders entirely. During times of the year where natural food sources are low, bears sometimes help themselves to food that is easily accessible, including bird feeders, trash cans and pet food left outside within a bears reach. No wild cougars have been found in Pennsylvania since their extirpation in 1871. Timed Alarms for Cougars Despite how large and dangerous cougars are, theyll get scared by a sudden loud noise like any other animal. Is it lawful to use E-bikes on state game lands in Pennsylvania? I've looked in the PGC game laws booklet and saw nothing on this, which I guess you could conclude means a puma would not be legal to shoot. How do I report my deer or turkey harvest(s)? Click here for full harvest reporting details. Hunters and trappers buying licenses online will continue to be mailed all durable-stock license panels, including harvest tags, and will also be given access to eLicenses. In the wild, they live 8-13 years, but in captivity they can live into their 20s. After enhancing a few frames, however, I was able to deduce that it was, indeed, a large feline of some kind. Recently, I caught an animal on my security cameras infrared setting, moving past my rear egress stairs and across the back. Except for Florida, the eastern mountain lion is believed to have extricated from the east coast by 1900. The other site, The Cougar Network, is still active, and is reporting the cats expanding range from the West, but offers little about the phenomenon of Pennsylvania cats. The same thing applies here. Cougars, on the other hand, typically range from 23-28 inches at the shoulder (with some odd reports listing 35 inches maximum), with a weight ranging from 75-250 pounds . It is also unlawful to dig on state game lands. For example, leopards and jaguars, normally spotted cats, have a melanistic color morph, the 'black panther,' the black leopard or black jaguar. We are one of the leading states when it comes to turkey hunters! The Pennsylvania Game Commission is an independent state agency and receives no General Fund money from the state's annual budget. It would be difficult for a mountain lion to avoid detection. So what? The best time of day to view elk is in the mornings and evenings. This can cause injury to humans and pets as well as lead to more vehicle collisions. Pennsylvanias new hunting and furtaker licensing system, Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead. Exact dates for reporting vary annually, but are generally January through May. No. The agency is represented statewide and has field staff managed out of six region offices: Northwest, Southwest, Northcentral, Southcentral, Northeast and Southeast. If cougar reintroduction were to become a serious consideration, the game commission would first need to conduct a feasibility assessment, a "long and careful process," in Keller's estimation, that ends with a recommendation for or against reintroducing a species. In Pennsylvania, Sunday hunting has been permitted for a long time for foxes, coyotes and crows during open seasons. These color morphs are most common in rain forests and jungles. For the sake of clarity, the lowest portion of the wall supporting the railing to the right is 6.75 inches in height (this is directly beside and in front of the cat in question). Many of the reports I receive are extremely credible. The slate of deer seasons approved by the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners for the 2021-22 license year allows for statewide concurrent hunting for antlered and antlerless deer through the duration of the firearms deer seasons in all Wildlife Management Units (WMUs). . While they dont look pretty, deer warts rarely affect the deers survival and have little impact on wild deer populations. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. "In one sense you would return a missing ecological community member back to the forest system," Keller said. Our agency is passionate about our state's wild birds and wild mammals. The question that remains is: if it was a house cat or cougar, how big would it be? Goggling Eastern Puma brings up other web sites, however, with varying levels of professionalism or credibility. Removal of other items is strictly prohibited. I'm a photographer, yet I've never had a chance to snap a photograph of one of these bears. Although size can be difficult to determine in the field, a puma will be three or four times larger than a bobcat. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Can I shoot a mountain lion in self defense? Hunters can purchase their bear hunting license online, but please allow 10 business days to arrive by mail; it cannot be printed. Migratory game bird hunters are encouraged to report banded ducks, geese, doves and woodcock they harvest online at www.reportband.gov. Each hunting license comes with one fall turkey tag (and one spring tag), so we regulate fall harvest by season length. I believe that the folks that are reporting, in detail, their sightings are faced with a similar situation. For the latest information about COVID-19 in Pennsylvania, please visit the Pennsylvania Department of Healths website at www.health.pa.gov. Am I allowed to remove mushrooms and/or berries on state game lands? Where can I find a local hunting license vendor? The State argues that there is no physical evidence, and no credible photographs. Fish and wildlife service declared the eastern cougar, other than the Florida panther, extinct in 2011. Natural food sources can be low this time of year, so bears are more likely to help themselves to food that is easily accessible. That smacks of mountain lion behavior pun intended. How Can I Contact the Pennsylvania Game Commission? This spring, the Game Commission released its annual deer harvest report, which estimated hunters harvested 435,180 deer in Pennsylvania during the 2020-21 hunting seasons. redo these pages to match the new web site But that's not Read more here. But a mix of bounty hunting . Granted, the image is not great, and I used some Photoshop adjustment layers to enhance the image, making it a bit easier to see. The crew is briefed on the burn plan and forecasted weather conditions. A hunter can retain the antlers and still have the head tested for CWD if the harvest tag is properly attached to the ear. Yet, again, were assuming that our mystery cat is right up against the steps. In Pennsylvania, I receive a few reports of black, big cats, which makes one wonder -- are there melanistic (black) pumas out there, or are those sightings always wrong. What Is Good About Penn State University? The lowered bag limit should allow AP Canada goose populations to rebound. Call the region office that serves the county where the animal is located, directly. Eastern mountain lions lived in central Pennsylvania until the late 1800s, according to Foster. Who should I call with a wildlife-related question in my local area? Big cats still roam parts of Pennsylvania. Mentored hunters, ages 12 and older, may participate in the program for a maximum of three license years. Hunter-Trapper Education course records dating back to 1987 are maintained on a computer database. Right-to-know requests must be submitted in writing to the Open Records Officer. The animal could not be a wild mountain lion, because "there are no wild mountain lions in Pennsylvania." This was the approach of the PGC until a farmer named Roger saw a mountain lion, along with several other people on his remote farm, during a large outdoor party -- a party which included a big roast pig barbeque, near the edge of a forest. Providing contact information for the landowner is the quickest and easiest way for a game warden to verify a landowner has granted permission to a hunter. However, allowing the inline muzzleloader hunters to use their unused buck tag to harvest a doe would have negative implications from a deer management perspective for two reasons. Supplemental feeding causes deer and elk to concentrate, which facilitates the spread of diseases like CWD. I believe them. Click here for more information about the agency. Where can I find 2020-21 deer harvest data? A map of these managed dove fields is available online. With that hope in mind, I have, for years, asked outdoors people if they ever heard of a mountain lion, or puma, in their area -- with my questioning limited to people in my home state of Pennsylvania. First, inline muzzleloaders are far more efficient, compared to a flintlock rifle. Mountain lions are found in mountains, coniferous forests, grasslands, swamps, and dry scrublands. With less deer roaming forests, she said, plant and bird biodiversity might improve, too. Their bodies are mainly covered in tawny-beige fur, except for the whitish-gray belly and chest. Game Commission selections are made after reviewing the previous years hunter harvests, population survey data and public input. At one time mountain lions, or more properly puma (Puma concolor), enjoyed the widest geographic range of any New World mammal, and were found throughout all of the contiguous United States. There are geese everywhere, why does the Atlantic Population (AP) Zone have a one bird daily limit for the 2021-22 season? Additional information can be found on the Hunter-Trapper Education page. Does Penn State Harrisburg Have Greek Life? *Interestingly, that following spring, we had a horrendous stench wafting in from the nearby woods. But please note that it is unlawful to put food out around the camera to attract wildlife to the area. So, this is a fairly accurate comparison, with the caveat that I am, once again, assuming the cat was right near the step. Animals infected with CWD may not show signs of infection for 12 or more months. I usually follow-up on these reports and, via email or phone conversations, I receive more details. Trichinosis occurs throughout the United States, but it usually is . Over the years Ive had whitetail deer visits that number in the hundreds, if not thousands, wild turkeys showing up in groups that often number forty or more individuals, opossum, bobcats, hedgehogs, groups of raccoons, and once, a half-dozen deer that made our resident whitetails look like midgets. But in recent years, the animals have been moving east. There is plenty that we don't know, though. I've worked with students of all ages and backgrounds, and I love helping them unlock their full potential. After that period, they must obtain a license to hunt. How do I report my bear harvest? Who can I call with additional Hunter-Trapper Education and/or mentored hunter questions? How would mountain lions impact black bears? The Pennsylvania Game Commission periodically receives reports and photos of mountain lions. Although mourning doves are considered a migratory game bird species, many of the doves we have in Pennsylvania reside here throughout the winter and provide an excellent opportunity late into the season. Hunters harvesting bears anywhere during the statewide archery bear season, or during any early season should contact the appropriate region office for instructions to have the animals checked. Both deer and turkey harvests must be reported within ten days (five days for turkeys or deer taken by mentored hunters, or persons required to make a homemade tag). Where can I see the Game Commissions CWD surveillance results? The Pennsylvania Game Commission is always open to review evidence, but to date only hoaxes have crossed the PGC. Like mad cow disease in cattle, scrapie in sheep and goats, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, it's caused not by a virus or bacteria, but by abnormal prions, or proteins. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a neurological disease that affects members of the cervid family (e.g., deer, elk, moose and reindeer/caribou). Taking hunting out of the equation, the nature of mature birds in spring (gobbling and displaying) makes them more susceptible to natural predation. Is it lawful to use an inline during the late flintlock season? Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Mid-level vegetation is often left standing, but is often top-killed by the fire, meaning the stem is dead but it will resprout from the roots. Do lots of hens mean fewer gobblers? In the forest, fires typically just consume the leaves, sticks and low growing vegetation. The new process is simpler, since the same distribution rules now apply to all WMUs, and it maintains fair and equitable distribution. To limit the effect of CWD in deer and elk populations, regulations restricting the movement of high-risk parts, banning feeding within Disease Management Areas (DMAs) and prohibiting the use of urine-based attractants in DMAs are in place. Why are prescribed fires good? Learn more about ruffed grouse management here. Will Chris Rock joke about Will Smith's Oscars slap during live Netflix comedy special? I regularly ask hunters and outdoors people if they've ever seen a mountain lion, or know of anyone that has. When an average sized deer is donated, approximately 200 meals can be shared with hungry Pennsylvanians. Additionally, in Pennsylvanias Disease Management Areas, hunters who wish to have their deer tested for Chronic Wasting Disease must place the head of their deer with the harvest tag attached to the head to place it in the head collection bin. Consumption permits are issued from region offices. Interestingly, the US Fish and Wildllife Service has declared the Eastern Puma extinct, except for the Florida population known as the Florida panther. Brown apparently still has beef with Chiefs' JuJu Smith-Schuster. The virus is species-specific and poses no known threat to people or other animals. A dark brown puma, backlighted by a strong sun, could appear all black, or very dark, and he accepted that. Smoke will be visible during the burn and might be seen for many miles. Public health officials are warning hunters to cook their bear and cougar meat well after 10 Idahoans contracted a rare strain of trichinosis from tainted cougar jerky. Follow Kristin & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @kristin_hunt
Interestingly, almost all of the people I've spoken to who claim to have seen a puma have not seen a bobcat, an animal that is common enough in Pennsylvania to support a legal trapping season! Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Check out the tails of the two! I'm wondering, then, if the complete dismissal of sightings of Eastern pumas (other than the acknowledgement of released or escaped pets) isn't motivated by economics. Black bears eat a diet consisting of plants and meats. How old must I be to mentor a mentored hunter? I think it is possible that recognizing the existence of pumas in the East could jeopardize this industry and an entire economy. The cat was far enough away that I couldn't get a size reference, and I believed the cat was further away than it actually was. Disease Management Areas are found in all or parts of Adams, Armstrong, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Cumberland, Fulton, Franklin, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, Somerset, Snyder, Union and Westmoreland counties. Based on the available imagery, its impossible for me to say with confidence whether were looking at a huge bobcat or a small cougar/mountain lion. Pennsylvania has more roads and hunters than just about every other state in America. Who conducts burns on State Game Lands? Pennsylvania Game Commission officials say it's very unlikely it was a mountain lion. They know what they saw, regardless of what the facts say, and they know they saw a puma. More than half of the Game Commissions annual revenue comes from license sales, a relatively fixed income source. (National Park Service). These birds are a tangible product for hunting license buyers. Many species of wildlife are born in the spring and its almost certain Pennsylvanians will encounter young wildlife at one point or another. I've never seen or heard of a verified black puma anywhere, whether wild or captive, so I'd be inclined to dismiss reports of truly black big cats as misidentifications, even when a group of guys all see the same thing. Is it the New Best Pack? What factors are causing turkey populations to decline? Several states have shortened or closed their grouse season after grouse populations crashed. . Commissioners are appointed from various geographical districts of the state to ensure uniform representation for all residents. Are there pumas, or mountain lions, in Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic States? Many of those making the reports generally . There have been no "confirmed" reports of mountain lions, AKA Puma concolor, in Pennsylvania since the late 1800s. 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