are there mountain lions in south carolina

In South Carolina, as in much of the east, what largely remains of the cougar is its name, which is linked to many of our landscape features. It was big and muscular. Most of their fur is a shade of beige, although some develop a darker . But Lucas says if there are big cats lurking in Upstate areas, he feels sure there would be more encounters, given the volume of deer hunting in the Carolinas. Subscribe today! When you live and learn in community with others, you develop deeper bonds, build better support systems and form stronger friendships. Although an occasional large cat being kept as a pet may escape from captivity, there has been no evidence of a reproducing population of cougars in the state. But they aren't true . More:What's it like standing all day dressed up like the Statue of Liberty and waving at people? However, that does not mean that cougars may not end up in the state at all. Most people in the eastern U.S. havent ever seen a wild mountain lion or jaguar or leopard, said Butfiloski. But they arent true Eastern cougars. You're probably more likely to get into the Hardrock 100-and win it-than to see a mountain lion east of the Mississippi River.There are no mountain lions in Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Newfoundland and . While were on the subject of panthers which are also called cougars or pumas: Im sorry to have to dispel the myth that black panthers once roamed the Carolinas. However, these are far-off occasions and are a rare sight in the more rural areas of New York state. Bobcats are known for taking down predators larger than themselves, but the mountain lion is just too much larger and stronger. Learn more. Mountain lions were once native to South Carolina. Im telling neighbors to be more aware of their surroundings when theyre walking their dogs around here.. The last confirmed sighting of the subspecies, "once the most widely roaming mammal in the New World" according to the federal government, was in 1938. You may try donating it to a zoo, but not many zoos are looking for cougars. Only 14 red wolves remain in the wild half the number that were out there a year ago. How Should I Introduce My Puppy to a Dominant Dog? July 21, 2017. Whether alumni of Furman, the parent of a Furman alumni or a friend of Furman, we consider everyone who supports this institution a member of the Furman family. Bo Petersen of the Post and Courier reported March 7, 2011, that 'Despite biologists' saying the eastern cougar is no more, big cat sightings persist.' Height: 3,068. Whether you're interested in becoming a Lion or Leo, or requesting service from a club, this is the place to do it. He lives in the Old Village of Mount Pleasant. Someone will ask why I didn't take a picture to confirm my sighting and the answer is that it all happened so fast -- thirty seconds and the cat vamoosed. Driving on, I reflected that many of the Upstate servicemen called up for the Army in 1918 were placed in the 81 st Wildcat Division. From Mauldin to McClellanville, folks are coming forward to report their own sightings of the phantom panther. Koehler, for one, remains convinced at least one mountain lion inhabits these parts. This species is also known to hunt and potentially kill domesticated felines. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. Many biologists, myself included,would beexcited about the thoughtof finding a population of wild cougars in South Carolina.. Males are considerably larger than females, which can be as small as 10 pounds. There's no question there are some. Most sightings are not likely established populations. Read moreTeacher to Parent: Idea of voting for principals raises many questions, Theres alwa Read moreGuess the mystery plant: A South Carolina native pine, I like board Read moreColumn: A walk in winter woods. General questions and FAM tours: [email protected]. This cat can be found throughout much of South and North America. "There are no known cougars in North Carolina," Jodie Owens of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission told the Observer. Like the Carolina parakeet, the predator cat couldn't cope with spreading civilization encroaching upon its feeding fields. They are shy and do not like people, though they will live near populated areas. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: Holly and Hazel, welcome to the Bay Area. The West Virginia Wildlife Center . Therefore, it is more than possible to live near them and never see them. But who knows in a generation or so what might happen, he said. More recently, a Piedmont resident captured a trail camera photo of what many believed to be a black panther. "Since 1890 there have been 19 fatal Mountain Lion attacks in Canada and the United States," Mattson said. Many wildlife experts and authorities are hoping that mountain lions will eventually migrate east from the Rocky Mountain states and repopulate the region. Take adventure to new heights in the majestic mountain region of the Palmetto State. 5 Reasons for This Behavior. "We get lots of reports every year from folks who think they've seen a cougar. Instead, Lucas said the majority of sightings are likely misidentification of other animals like bears, coyotes or large dogs. Butfiloski said SCDNR would likely be eligible for federal money to study mountain lions and protect and manage lands for the presence of them if they actually appeared. But Chastain believes theyre only different from the Western cougars in that theyre smaller, which is a natural phenomenon among animal species in warmer climates. Many counties, including Spartanburg and Anderson, ban exotic pets. The responding officers later spotted the animal near Earle and Daniel halls, according to reports. It was a little too big to be a bobcat.. The fight would probably play out with one of the creatures stalking the other. At the time of European settlement it occupied a wide range of habitats from Canada well into parts of South America, and was found throughout the continental United States. . Cougars were eliminated from our state, as they were throughout much of the eastern US, for a combination of reasons including: a) loss of much of the forest and deer herd during the heavy agricultural activity of the late 1800's and b) the cougar's habit of substituting livestock for wild prey items (in the latter cases, stock owners typically took direct and terminal action against the cougars). Mountain lions cover a huge range - all the way from Alaska to Argentina and southern Chile. South Carolina Wildlife Federation, 455 St. Andrews Road, Suite B1, Columbia, SC 29210, United States 803-256-0670 [email protected] We Inform. Foolishly, they threw a dried piece of beef to the hungry carnivores. They are found in many different habitats including swamps, mountainous regions, and forests. The one potential South Carolina mountain lion, the eastern cougar, was declared extinct in 2011. The big cats once roamed the entire Southeast but were decimated by hunting. In the interest of gathering credible mountain lion sightings when mountain lions actually arrive in the east the research team here at eMammal has put together a guide to identifying mountain lions. LaRue, for instance, said people are probably seeing a house cat or black lab. I came face to face with the famed Carolina panther, and I don't mean the blue and black NFL variety. Florida spent more than $1 million to protect these cougars which also are called panthers, he said. I'll tell you, these things are so fast I don't see any domestication at all.' I do not believe that South Carolina has a free-ranging wild cougar population, said Butfiloski. However, without females in the area, males are unlikely to stay for long. Where Mountain Lions Live. If you are not and would like to read this and all the other great . A wild mountain lion hasnt been verified in South Carolina in about 100 years, said Perry, whos studied mountain lions for more than a decade. As for the black panthers the US, the majority of people are skeptical. However, its unclear how many there arebecause no one tracks it. How to Keep Cats Out of Flower Beds (11 Easy Methods), Why Do Cats Move Their Kittens? There are approximately 20 recognized geographic races of the cougar throughout its range. There are some sightings of cougars in the area as well. Since there is no melanistic, or black, phase to the cougar, Florida or Western, that is actually not genetically possible, he said. The Mauldin Police Department tried to capture the cat using a metal cage baited with a slab of beef donated by a local grocery store but quit after trying for several days. I was just sitting here, and all of a sudden I looked and there it was on my front porch. Last year, Ben Claes, owner of Jireh Property Services in Taylors, was cleaning a lawn down the street from Koehlers house after a snowstorm and noticed large tracks on the ground. The last three eastern cougars were killed in 1930 in Tennessee, New Brunswick in 1932, and Maine in 1938. They were once major factors in the ecosystems of our South Carolina forests and coastal swamps where adults killed deer and other large prey items (wild hogs, raccoons, woodland buffalo, etc). Ask anyone who spends time in the South Carolina wilderness and theyll have a number of stories of their own sightings, camera/video footage and sightings by reputable people in the community. They are most commonly found in areas with plentiful prey and adequate cover. The big cats once roamed the entire Southeast but were decimated by hunting. One is located in the mountains and the other is found in the coastal plains. They are most active around dawn and dusk, though they will technically come out at any time. Make noise, make yourself appear larger by waving your arms. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2011. The primary food source for a mountain lion would be deer and there is no doubt we have lots of them but so does Georgia and South Carolina. Yes, it would be technically illegal to shoot an Eastern cougar that was on the Endangered Species List, said Greg Lucas, a spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. There are countless game and trail cameras out in the woods ofSouth Carolina at any given time, and nobody has photographed a large cat, yet these animals do show up on game camerasin states that have cougars, said Butfiloski, who believes the trail camera footage from Ladys Island shows a house cat. Nothing there, however, is meaner than the redbugs which inhabit the pine straw. Mountain lions have a long tail that is usually darker colored at the tip. Because of their immense range, cougars can be seen in a number of habitats. Driving along U.S. 341 an hour before sunset near the intersection of Winterhaven Road, one mile east of Kershaw, I saw what appeared to be a very large Tom cat crossing the road. 6. According to wildlife expert Ken Burton on the enature website, there are mountain lions in Western NC along the Smoky Mountains. Input your search keywords and press Enter. Jaguars and leopards, on the other hand, have a gene that occurs in six percent of the population that causes black cats. Well-known naturalist Dennis Chastain of Pickens says theres no doubt that there are cougars (pumas/mountain lions) in the woods and wild places of South Carolina. Contributed by John Garton, SCWF Board Member Emeritus. Eastern Cougar does inhabit South Carolina. While we provide information resources and canine education, the content here is not a substitute for veterinary guidance. In 2009, Jenkins responded to a call after several residents at Jasmine Cove apartment complex reported seeing a large cat in the surrounding woods. Stay on top of cat food recalls here >, Have a dog? Therefore, your odds of seeing a mountain lion are extremely low. Greenville County, which requires residents to obtain a permit and undergo inspections, has issued 17 permits for exotic animals, including two tigers, since 2012, according to spokesman Bob Mihalic. However, they have not been able to confirm any of these sightings. Big Cat Confusion Part of the confusion about the mysterious panther in South Carolina is that scientists now believe it is the same animal as the mountain lion that still thrives in the western area of the country and Rocky Mountains. The last known living Eastern Cougar was sighted and suspected to have been killed in 1938. . The DNR maintains mountain lion sightings using a system to receive, record and review mountain lion reports. The only recognized population of mountain lions in the South is in South Florida in the Everglades, said Travis Perry, an associate biology professor at Furman University. However, they're becoming more and more of an issue in the Piedmont. All rights reserved. Andrew Moore of the Greenville Journal pens a story about alleged mountain lion sightings in South Carolina. Tina Underwood, Contributing Writer, Last updated The only established population of wild cats in South Carolina is the bobcat, which is not very large in the least. But if so, are there mountain lions in North Carolina? Those thoughts contented me for a few miles until some reflection revealed what should have been obvious when I first set eyes on the beast -- a Bobcat can't have a long, thick tail. But the population decreased in the 1900s as wild lands were cleared for agriculture and game hunting increased. In 2003, eight residents from a Mauldin subdivision called police saying theyd seen a large black cat prowling around the woods behind their homes. Most tracks and pictures could possibly have been a different animal, which means that they cannot officially count as a cougar sighting. The last three eastern cougars were killed in 1930 in Tennessee, New Brunswick in 1932, and Maine in 1938. However, bobcats are extremely small, ranging between 1025 pounds. If the sighting could have possibly been something else, then the state cannot confirm it as a mountain lion. Robin Jarvis is a travel writer and editor for OnlyInYourState.com with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. The Service acknowledges the broad acceptance within the scientific community of a single North American subspecies, identified as Puma concolor couguar (applying the scientific nomenclature that has been used to refer to the Eastern puma subspecies to all North American pumas), based on genetic analysis, the agency said in a release announcing the new rule. According to Perry, western mountain lions have established breeding populations in South Dakota, Nebraska, and North Dakota in the last 25 years. When there is a suspicion that some type of big cat has been spotted, he said the likeliest culprit is a western cougar that has escaped captivity as someones pet. bottomland forests Published February 18, 2023 at 8:01 AM EST. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. With spectacular hiking trails, scenic waterfalls and sweeping views, the magnificent Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina are an outdoor enthusiast's dream. Mountain lions can bound up to 40 feet while running, leap 15 feet up a tree, climb over a 12-foot fence, travel many miles at 10 mph, and reach speeds of 50 mph in a sprint. They do have a tail, but it is only about 6 to 8 inches long. I said in the forum "black panthers in the hunting woods," that there are black panthers in SC, and I know its hard to believe. "In South Carolina and in the wildlife community, there is no debate" about the presence of cougars in the east, Lucas said. Posts: 1,441. The few precious seconds that we locked eyes thirty feet from each other will remain one of my cherished memories. The DNR stays on top of managing it for us, and for that were grateful. Its a chick magnet, its a cool thing, Chastain said. Jaguars, which are primarily found in South America, have established a small population in Mexico and occasionally cross over into Arizona or New Mexico, according to Perry. Over the span of my career in the Charleston County School Districts Human Resources Division, I have been a part of numerous di Read moreOpEd: Increased educator compensation key to teacher retention, What do you think of the current political issue of electing school principals? The story cites lack of hard evidence for the . Many residents insist theyre either seeing or hearing mountain lions despite the lack of evidence. A Florida panther in South Carolina? At full size, males are an unmissable 6-to-8-feet long and can weigh 150 pounds, say state officials. Location: down in a hole. I can tell you they werent from your everyday dog or house cat.. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Well probably see younger males pop up here and there in the remote areas of the mountains. There may be a hint of nail indentations, which cats wouldnt have,he said. The report said it appeared to be a female lion with two kittens, or two . That cat was gone in a flash. Two clicks on Google search brought up pictures exactly like what I had seen - an Eastern cougar cub. He believes people who reported seeing black panthers were seeing animals either at early dawn or late dusk, when colors are hard to disginguish. Genetic data gathered from a number of samples shows a distinct lack of the genes required for that coloration. As a result, they are known to thrive in a wide range of ecosystems, so long as there is enough shelter and prey for the animals to live on. A history of mistaken identity and conspiracies. (You know, like the mascot of the NFL team based in Charlotte). Bobcats are an elusive species. What is difference between bobcat and mountain lion? #1 The tail. They typically target a sick deer or other individual animal not in prime condition. Sightings are sometimes reported to the state, and in 2019 multiple people took to Facebook claiming to have seen one, but no confirmations have been made. A sampling of panther blog entries includes 'Seen [sic] a show on TV about black panthers in the Carolinas. They arent much bigger than a domestic house cat in many cases. They are active hunters and may cover as much as 20 miles in a night. There has never been a record or credible account of a black cougar in Eastern North America, Chastain said. Sign up for our e-newsletters or subscribe to get our print publications. Some sightings are likely animals that ended up in our state through the exotic animal trade. Most, if not all, wildlife experts and authorities believe black panther sightings are a result of misidentification. The eastern cougar or eastern puma (Puma concolor couguar) is a subspecies designation proposed in 1946 for cougar populations in eastern North America. Featured Image Credit: Warren Metcalf, Shutterstock, Are Maine Coon Cats Hypoallergenic? Here in southern Utah, lions have been known to occupy home ranges as large as 513 square miles. The head was round and large, the color was mottled brown, the height exceeded that of a house cat - that tail - well, it was as long as the cat and very thick. Their fur is short and rather uniform reddish to light brown in color. When I stood up, it ran, shetold Fox News. They did at one point, but the last one was spotted in the early 1900s. There was one outside of my son's school once and all the kids saw it. While there is some doubt the cougar still exists south of the Canadian Maritime provinces, significant sightings occur in Tennessee and North and South Carolina. My fears were that folks would say that dusk had played tricks on my eyes, that somebody's big Tom was on the prowl. In others, the encounters are more direct, like the report from a U.S. Forest Service employee who said a big cat had chased him into the Chattooga River. I just assumed they were common around the Carolinas. The eastern cougar historically lived from Maine to South Carolina and from Michigan to Tennessee, the wildlife service said. Furman University does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, pregnancy, disability, age, religion, veteran status, or any other characteristic or status protected by applicable local, state, or federal law in admission, treatment, or access to, or employment in, its programs and activities. Some of them have migrated as far north as Jasper County in the southern tip of South Carolina, Chastain said. Answered by Dr. Joanna Woodnutt, MRCVS (Vet), Beagle Pain Syndrome: Causes, Signs, and Care Guide, Rabies in Dogs: Causes, Signs & Care Guide, Have a cat? Some sightings were later verified as a different animal, such as a coyote or bobcat. But then I found some female mountain lion sounds, and it was dead on. For the past hundred years, many Southerners have believed a version of this story about the fate of the pantherotherwise known as the cougar, puma, or mountain lionin the Great Smoky Mountains. Except for a very small population in Florida, there are no known groups in the Southeast, or east of the Mississippi in all truthfulness.. All Rights Reserved. In South Carolina it is thought that the cougars occurring here were of both the eastern race (Felis concolor cougar) and the Florida race (Felis concolor coryi). The majestic cat only lives in a small portion of the United States. South Carolina can probably expect to see one in the next decade given the rate at which these lions are showing up east and north of their established ranges, said Perry. Black Bears. Last year, Ben Claes, owner of Jireh Property Services in Taylors, was cleaning a lawn down the street from Koehlers house after a snowstorm and noticed large tracks on the ground. In a national forest there that had been slated for logging, somebody said they saw a cougar. Environmentalist groups weighed in, and the logging was halted. South Carolina Wildlife Federation, 455 St. Andrews Road, Suite B1, Columbia, SC 29210, United States. Thus, these cats inhabit rugged terrains with steep slopes and little vegetation. We Connect. Some actually believe mountain lion sightings in South Carolina can be attributed to the Florida panther, the only surviving subspecies of eastern cougar. What IS Out There? CHARLESTON Four endangered red wolves have returned to the birthplace of South Carolina, going on display in a zoo where their species freely roamed more than 300 years ago. The Eastern puma more commonly called a cougar around here has been declared extinct. Federal Fish and Wildlife experts studied the matter of the Eastern cougar and declared it to be extinct -- at least in this region it is gone, they say. There are many reports made to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources each year about mountain lions. Have you spotted any of the above in an out-of-place spot in the Palmetto State! The main reason people believe that there is a mountain lion population is that there have been some reported sightings. Yesterday around 5 p.m., my husband, a realtor and myself had a Mountain Lion jump the road in front of us about 30 yards ahead of us while walking a 19 acre property in Murphy NC mountains!

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