Mountain lions: are they here?

The age-old debate about the presence of mountain lions in Pennsylvania is being stoked by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study announced last week by the Pa. Game Commission.

Believers sometimes blast the PGC for refusing to acknowledge that the eastern cougar lives among us. However, Game Commission requests for firm evidence to back that claim always seem to go unanswered.

There exists in both camps a gray area that's unsettling, both to those who believe mountain lions are here and to those who place their confidence in the PGC.

According to the Game Commission, the last known Pennsylvania native mountain lion was killed in Berks County in 1874. PGC Executive Director Carl G. Roe said the agency regularly receives reports on alleged mountain lion sightings.

"While some believe mountain lions exist in the wilds of Pennsylvania, we have no conclusive evidence to support such views," Roe said. "The overwhelming majority of cases we investigate are proven to be mistaken identity based on examination of tracks, photos or other physical evidence. Some cases are inconclusive."

"If anyone does see a cougar in Pennsylvania," he added, "the most logical explanation would be that the animal escaped from, or was released by, someone who brought the animal into Pennsylvania."

PGC has prosecuted individuals for illegal possession of mountain lions, including a 2002 case in Dauphin County.

Others have legally possessed the animals in captivity. Terry Freeman, who at the time owned the Coudersport Tastee-Freez, had a cougar ("Tigger") and a black bear in cages behind his business for several years.

The USFWS is conducting its first review on the status of the eastern cougar since 1982. Sighting reports can be sent in writing to Eastern Cougar, Northeast Regional Office, USFWS, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley MA 01035.

Lacking definitive evidence of the species' existence, the service considers the eastern cougar to be extinct.

According to the USFWS, it is improbable that a small cougar population persisted in the eastern states for over a century. The agency said most of the confirmed cougar records since 1950 (animals killed, photos/videos, genetic evidence) are known to be escapes of captive origin.