A native of Villa Ridge, Door, 41, was accustomed to seeing other animals: Deer, coyotes, bobcats. West Virginias early days also saw a handful of large predators some of which remain. With one hikers still missing the well-known actor Julian Sands expert mountaineers say the usual scarcity of snow in the L.A.-area makes it especially hard to get enough experience to safely venture out in harsh conditions. He has five children and two grandchildren. I thought you might be interested in what I saw. Subscribe with this special offer to keep reading, (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). In the summer of 2007, two friends and I were going fishing above Cheat Bridge in Randolph Co., WV. Multiple individuals took pictures and videos of animal before it stood up and left the scene and could not be found after the incident. They seen this animal coming out of the woods and she thought it was a big dog or fox from the distance, until it got closer to her she stopped her car and this big CAT came out in front of herand she said oh my goodness it's a mountain lion and her dad said it sure is and she said it walked in front ofher car as slow as it could go and just looked at her like it wasn't scared. Mismanagement, Sloppy Hiring Practices, Lack Of Transparency. According to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, which tracks mountain lions in the region, as of December at least 32 mountain lions (collared and uncollared) have been killed by vehicles on roads. Rauch explained that male black bears leave their mothers at age 2 to search for territories of their own. Back to Top Eastern Cougars (#109) Jan 15 2013 Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. They said wild mountain lions had always been there in the Allegheny Mountains Wilderness but in other parts of West Virginia most are thought to have escaped from private compound or been let loose by those keeping them as pets. Also, because it was walking towards us, the closer it came the more clearly we could see its features. "So we just ask that drivers remain aware of that possibility and, at night, drive with your lights on.". For a solid four seconds, Marchibroda watched as a large, sleek cat standing about three feet tall with a long, curled tail crossed Skyline Drive near Gavel Springs Gap less than 100 feet in front of them. Screen grab from Tiffany Mitchell Door's Facebook post. We invite you to share any stories you may have about mountain lions with us on the radio at 7:06 Saturday morning. So if you think you have seen a black cougar, or mountain lion in West Virginia or Tennessee, you are not alone. is an unincorporated community in Tucker County, West Virginia, in the North Area of the State and the zip code for the community is 26290. The cat appeared stunned, unable to move. So I lowered the bow back down jumped to the ground and startedtowards my son, but when I spotted him from a distance I realiized that he was ok (at least I thought!) Hello.. my name is Jennifer and my husband Zach has a field camera posted in our field in Triadelphia WV (A community in Ohio County). Previously reported for The Associated Press in Jackson, Mississippi, and at the Wichita Eagle in Wichita, Kansas. I am guessing (the size of my German shepherd dog). And there is no evidence of a breeding population. Illinois Department of Natural Resources experts believe the animal was this mountain lion . I first thought it was a bobcat but then I saw the long tail and the reddish color of the cat and realized that it was not a bobcat. to find a tree to climb some 100 yrds away. Mountain lions are abundant in all those places, yet I've never seen one. Today, my friend, who lives in Ronceverte, told me that he heard a horrible scream that seemed to have come from a cat. Blaine said it appeared healthy and strong, but he never expected to see a mountain lion in the wild. The rugged and remote location would make it a perfect place for a big cat to hide. A female mountain lion struck on Antonio Parkway left two orphaned female kittens; one was also struck by a car, but not killed. Hunting for shed antlers can be like searching for a needle in a hay stack, but experienced searchers have ways to narrow down the search. The 140-pound mountain lion was hit by a small SUV on a highway in Milton, Connecticut early Saturday morning, and died from its injuries. SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- A mountain lion was killed after being struck by a car in Simi Valley Thursday night. There is absolutely no doubt that it was definitely a Mt. It happened on December 26, 2006. Blogs generally tell two different stories about the two photos of a man holding the lion, including a close-up of the huge paw, according to a Prescott, Arizona newspaper. A photo of the mountain lion, stunned and injured in the roadway was taken by Tiffany Door and shared by MDC. This is only the third confirmed mountain lion sighting in MDCs St. Louis Region since 2011. That animal was traced by DNA to a population in the Black . Routinely, people will call in and say, Ive seen a mountain lion,' Rauch said. What happened An adult male mountain lion was struck around 6:30 p.m Tuesday. The elk went extinct, Rauch said, because of habitat loss and market-level hunting for meat. LOS ANGELES -- The famous Hollywood-roaming mountain lion known as P-22 is drastically underweight and was probably struck and injured by a car, wildlife experts who conducted a health examination on the big cat said Tuesday. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? If you want to see a mountain lion, now is your chance. From that experience we?ve always thought that there were mountain lions in the area. He was coming across Kinnison Mountain, and it was around 4 a.m. in the morning. So I ran in the house told my husband to get his gun that there is a cat out here and it isn't nolittle one either is a big one so he gets his 22 pistol and thinks I'm messing with him he comes outside with me tosee what I was scared off I was shaking.. I was gonna call the DNR but I was afraid that they wouldn't believe me either since they didn't believe my mother.. What Can I do to convince them that this is not a fake call and that we did see and hear it.. Is it gonnatake someone to be killed or hurt by this thing for them to come and check it out and not laugh at u? I saw a mountain lion briefly, from a distance of approx. Is he a taxidermist? (Daylight Cougars), I live in Braxton County on Upper OBrien near Wilsie, Google maps to locate all known points that. I know the sound of them because I do research on the internet of different animals. Most mountain lions live about a decade. Webmaster's Note! According to California Highway Patrol, it happened just after 1 a.m. in the southbound lanes at Getty . I could not find a good tree so I settled on the one close the road pulled my bow up set down and had the worstfeeling of my life. Myself and 3 other close friends travel to the area twice a year to hunt and fish. So when he came running at me I figured there was another neighbor hood cat outside after him so I walked around the corner of the house and soon realized there wasn't another cat. This is an old cat, and old cats get old-cat diseases, Clifford said. (National Park Service) An adult male mountain lion was hit by a vehicle, suffering fatal injuries, just west of Malibu on Tuesday night, according . Or this one from Valentine's Day last: 107. An un-collared mountain lion, like the one pictured, was struck and killed in Malibu Tuesday night. population approx: 800. Invalid password or account does not exist. Proposed changes to hunting and fishing regulations are mild for 2023, Commission finalizes questions for Sportsman's Sectional Meetings in March , which will include the long talked about lowering of the buck limit, MEC Men: #1 West Liberty vs. #5 Notre Dame, The Rush to Green Could Leave Us in the Dark. Franklin. Illinois State Police troopers responding Sunday night to a call about a car that struck a deer on Interstate 88 near Dauberman Road in Kane County were surprised to find a dead mountain lion instead. This is a developing story, stay with Joplin News First on KOAM News Now as we continue to learn more. We found this print while hiking on Wildlife Trail at Dolly Sods. and I have been coming to that area for over 30 years. Founded in 1882 by Frank Schwarz, Schwarz Studio Taxidermy continues to thrive under the current owner Frank Wagner Jr. Wagner has been workin. And, while their western counterparts are heading vaguely this direction, there is no verifiable evidence they are in West Virginia. Their dog survived a coyote attack not too long ago, she said. I was doing a search on the internet and found your sight and was excited to see that a man named Chris Sparkman had sighted one in Paw Paw about 9 months before my sighting. We are all originally from Pineville WV. Only two confirmed sightings have been recorded since 1994: one animal was struck on Interstate 70 in. As the ears looked really strange and small and the face seemed short just didnt dawn on me that it was a cat. Despite the location where we saw it, and the fact that we have never seen it since, my wife and I are 100% certain that the animal we saw was a VERY large cat (at its closest it was only about thirty yards from us) that was bigger than a golden retriever yet had a coat that was similar in color. The U.S. It is clear there are thousands of residents who often mistake the tracks of coyotes and large dogs as Mountain Lions but the track you posted looks to me like a canine print.. A track in soft dirt spread out more and may look bigger from one in regular dirt. Hoo boy! The state has also successfully reintroduced river otters, beavers and fishers. The lion was struck by a vehicle about 8:30 p.m. on Monday near Highway T and Old Highway 100, about 45 miles west of downtown St. Louis along Interstate 44. It was one of just three sightings around St. Louis in the past 12 years. I would have gotten track impressions if I had thought that no one would believe me, but I was frankly pretty scared of it and got out of there asap. Fishing tournament organizers take issue with new DNR rules. A mountain lion sighting was reported at, Showshoe West Virginia, This might be old news now but I know there is, Its tail was dragging the ground and he was bigger than Riley(our 110 lb black lab), Scenic Highway 150 a mountain lion cross the road.>, We do completely rule out the possibility. It was in fact a mountain lion that I saw. You may opt-out anytime by clicking "unsubscribe" from the newsletter or from your account. Although I suspect the tracks in the photograph was dog track or a forefeet of bear, not a mountain lion tract.I'm no expert and I've been wrong before and I know for sure experts have been wrong before.If you find tracks, measure and photograph them carefully, then consult a track field guide for identification. He says that he knows a bobcat from a mountain lion, and this was no bobcat. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. Hide hunting was a way to get out and make some extra besides. Or, perhaps more likely, someone could deliberately (and illegally) release such an animal into the wild here. My stepbrother, and I at the time were teenagers and lived at Horner WV, Lewis County was about a mile from Stonecoal Lake. LOS ANGELES -- The famous Hollywood-roaming mountain lion known as P-22 is drastically underweight and was probably struck and injured by a car, wildlife experts who conducted a health examination on the big cat said Tuesday. This 150-pound male mountain lion was hit by a car Tuesday in Nance County was found dead the next day, about 200 yards from the highway. . When I asked him to calm down he wouldn't I knew something bad was going on this child wasn't scared of much. The cougar appeared injured and stunned, but eventually ran. Handle an encounter with a mountain lion: Mountain Lion sighting in Leon, Mason County? But it's really more for humans. Your tax-deductible financial support keeps our stories free to read, instead of hidden behind paywalls. The camera was in the back seat but I was too stunned to reach for it. Choose wisely! That said, there is always the possibility of a single western mountain lion (or cougar) with an exceptional desire to roam, Rauch noted. Then that fall my dad was looking at deer with his binoculars to see if they were bucks and how many points, he was very shocked as he saw the brownish colored MT Lion. Doors photo of the cat went viral by Tuesday. Warren County, Mo. New regulations limit an event's boat numbers to 75 percent of the parking capacity and requires all cell phone and license numbers be kept at the ready if requested by DNR representatives. It was late in the afternoon and my wife said she thought she saw a large dog like a golden retriever walking in the woods about ten yards above where the tree line begins. I've been trying to find him on Facebook, so we could talk about it.I don't care that all the so called experts say they don't exist. I have heard about Cat sightings all my life growing up around Racine in Boone Co. Eastern Puma Research Network in Grant County of WILD, Wonderful West Virgina, Submitting this "report" of a possible Mt. And it never bared its teeth or roared. The eastern mountain lion and eastern timber wolf are long gone, but Rauch said coyotes and what has pretty much always been a small population of black bears are here. Browsing around, a REALLY big lion can top 200 lbs. In the face of a drier future, that iconic piece of Americana is on its way out in Southern California. They came out and investigated. First, as it walked towards us it became clear that the animal was a cat and not a dog. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter, File). I did see onedead beside the freeway in the Bay Area once. He came on a straight stretch and came upon what he thought was a deer standing in the road, but when he got closer, he said that it jumped off the road, and he saw the tail of the creature, which had to be a mountain lion.Thanks!Submitted by: AaronFri, February 22, 2008 9:56 pm. Conservation agents searched for the animal last night and resumed looking this morning. In August 2008, a friend and I were in Ohio Co., WV on Harvey Rd. Mountain Lion (Cougar) confirmed DNR image. "There was a bloody paw print on the porch.". A mountain lion darts from a hiding are in Brentwood Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022, prompting a precautionary lockdown of a nearby elementary school. Missouri Department of Conservation agents were in the area of Villa Ridge, near Highway 100, Monday night searching for the mountain lion. My name is Clyde Downs I live in Bristol TN. He said they looked at each other for a very long several seconds before the mountain lion darted and ran into the darkness. I wascompletely surprised, not only because I didn't think they existed in West Virginia, but also because I know them to bequite elusive. I think it just wanted to get out of there it was as scared of us as we are of it, Door said. Harpers Ferry, where the Shenandoah River meets the Potomac River, is the site of a famous Civil War-era raid. Photos of mountain lions sent to West Virginia DNR, for example, generally involve a location other than the Mountain State, he said. How 4 Words Upended A University's Journalism Program, And Stirred A Reckoning Over Race, What A Popular Yoga Teacher's Descent Into Conspiracy Theories Says About The 'Wellness To QAnon Pipeline', Ancient Lung Disease Strikes Countertop Cutters In LA, The Groundbreaking Suicide Squad That Tested Early Rockets And Flirted With The Occult. It was the 25th lion killed by a car since the study began in 2002, said Ana . Huge lion hit by car near Grantsville, WV, Re: Huge lion hit by car near Grantsville, WV, Powered by UBB.threads PHP Forum Software 7.7.5. But I know what I saw! I hope this will help someone else who may have the same experience some day.Thanks very much,JeffThu, November 22, 2007 2:07 pm, Enjoying your website, very nicely done. Montgomery. His. The dogs were barking at it but they would not go right to it, which was odd cause they always go to a dog passing by and check it out but they would not get too close, then we rode our bikes a little faster and I could see it was cat, but couldnt believe my eyes, then it finally took off running not real fast but yet way ahead of us and it leaped up the side of the hill maybe a 8 or 10 ft jump. Last chance! Numerous mountain lions in the area are collared, tracked, and studied by the National Park Service, but this particular lion was not, so scientists did not have any additional information about him. Mountain lions aren't supposed to exist within West Virginia, but many hunters and wild life officials know they're here; the controversy is whether the mountain lion are natural to this State or whether the cats that are here have migrated. Hello, My name is Aaron. I agree with you that 90 percent of the "woman screaming" sounds are owls or another woodland species of animal. Tail of the creature, Kinnison Mountain WV. Fish and Wildlife Service also considers the mountain lion extinct in West Virginia. Gormania, West Virginia, is in the Allegheny Mountains range comprising the western part of the Appalachian Mountains and near the borders of Virginia, Maryland and PennsylvaniaGormania WV. Above, a photo of P-81, who was hit and killed by a vehicle last month. The cougar also is suspected of attacking another Chihuahua in the Silver Lake neighborhood this month. The cougar is regularly recorded on security cameras strolling through residential areas near Griffith Park. There are others who have permits to keep them as pets. The Missouri Department of . You need to show some kind of a mountain lion sign (confirmed prints, pictures, and etc.) Then It took off up into the woods and I could hear it going around the side of the mountain and up the hill.Submitted by: Zachary HarrisBoone County,West Virginia. Not to mention a slew of wee things weasels and woodland jumping mice, opossums and muskrats. Later we heard a report of a deer kill close to Cabella's. Lion anonymously because I think many people, especially where I live, would think that I am crazy. Check these mountain loins out, tell me what you think. A trail camera captures the mountain lion during its journey from west to east. This weekend on West Virginia Outdoors well open up the phone lines and have a conversation about the big cats. I am 16 years old and live in Putnam County, WV. The sub-species of the eastern cougar indigenous to the state is extinct. MALIBU, CA A mountain lion was fatally struck by a car in Malibu Tuesday night, according to state authorities. The 4-year-old cougar's body was found Jan The human population is simply too high, he said. A mountain lion died hours after being hit by a vehicle near Malibu on Tuesday night, wildlife officials said. in Buckeye. The dead horse which appears to show deep slash wounds to the head and a powerful bite to the neck. I grew up in Garrett County MD. Thank you, I doubt anyone would want to believe this, but after reading all the comments on "mountain lions" I have to share what happened to me and Larry. So unexpected that it's common for people to initially mistake them for panthers. He worked with major music artists for 20 years, garnering gold and platinum records to his credit. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) A mountain lion, a species that remains incredibly rare in the state, was hit on a Missouri highway north of Villa . They are a beautiful Animal and are very much a part of West Virginia. The mountain lion died of injuries in the crash, but the SUV driver was uninjured. The fact that we havent been able to find it in the vicinity suggests it was able to get up and get away, spokesman Dan Zarlenga said. According to the National Wildlife Federation, the mountain lion has many other names, including "cougar," "panther," "puma," and "catamount." A white Audi hit the mountain lion while traveling westbound on the 118 Freeway. I've had nearly a dozen people tell me about their sightings but they didn't want their sighting published on the web. A second look revealed to me that it was an adult mountain lion, 100-125#. but I haven't heard anything about Mountain Lion sightings in this area, and I haven?t seen them, but that doesn't mean they aren't present. We won't share it with anyone else. Presley Ridge in Laurel Park WV, Harrison County. We got to the bow stand at daylight just off of the Potomac River and I helped him into the tree with a climbing stand then retreated back the grassy rd. He sat there quite a while, Door said. Their conclusion: "Sir, you don't have a mountain lion." A week later the farmer shot the mountain lion. On most sighting their no way to determine if a Mountain Lion was always wild or had been let loose in wild when someone happen across a mountain lion or cougar, FW: pics, From: Lisa CampbellFrom: Kimberly RushHere are some pics of a horse that at least 2 Mountain Lions attacked and killed last Friday in broad daylight right along the road and across from houses.KimFrom: Julia SpelsbergHello,Someone I work with had her horse killed last week (December 26, 2008).