Cougars, mountain lions, catamounts, pumas. Call them what you want, I've never seen them around here in person nor on camera. In fact, the eastern cougar (which is what would be in Virginia) is extinct. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared them extinct in 2011. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' website still recognizes the animal, but claims that there have been no officially confirmed cases of them in Virginia for many, many years. Pumas live in many other parts of the U.S., and should not be confused with this subspecies of large cat.
Even with them officially extinct in Virginia, some people still swear by their sightings of these feline beasts. I've read a lot on recent unconfirmed sightings around here and enjoy the passion that is in the writing of people's stories. I take them into consideration of course, and will have my camera-traps out in the wild anyway. It would be such an amazing experience to get a cougar on camera in northern Virginia, but for now, I won't expect to ever see one here.
"Extraordinary claims deserve extraordinary evidence"
ReplyDeleteThe far-fetched hope of getting one on camera was part of why I bought a trailcam. But with your army of trailcams, you stand a much better chance if they're out there!
ReplyDeleteYour area would be a much better habitat for them though. Even so, the chances of this situation probably rival that of hitting the jackpot lottery.
DeleteI had several reported sightings in my area a couple of years ago by people I consider very reliable but never got anything on cam. They occurred over several months and then there was no more sightings. It would be awesome to get a couple of good pics.
ReplyDeleteJoe, thanks for the comment! Do you know if you were the only person with cameras in the area of these sightings?
DeleteWould like to talk with anyone who believes they have seen a wild cougar, mountain lion over the last 5 weeks in Shenandoah, Rockingham or Page Counties. Contact this writer at 304-749-7778 or epuma@frontier.com THIS IS NOT A JOKE!! I AM SERIOUS!!!
ReplyDeletethat cat was in leesburg off of evergreen mills rd ( The Woods Rd to be exact ) for the longest time before moving onto Roundhill durring the Expansion Of the Landfill. No one would take it seriously. just ignored calls. hopefully it has moved further and found its was to a more secluded place like west va by now.
ReplyDeleteyou might want to consider looking in Prince William County as i just saw that the last two sightings and other reports of Puma screams were there in August of 2013. maybe she/he moved that way after round hill but it was most definetly off of Woods Rd in Leesburg before round hill.
ReplyDeleteyou might want to consider looking in Prince William County as i just saw that the last two sightings and other reports of Puma screams were there in August of 2013. maybe she/he moved that way after round hill but it was most definetly off of Woods Rd in Leesburg before round hill.
ReplyDeleteand my daughter and i saw one in charleston west va with our own two eyes back in 2006 so if they can be in west va what would make one think that they couldnt find their way to Va
ReplyDeleteHeard a mountain lion scream about an hour ago off of Hoadly road behind the Harris Teeter in the woods. It screamed several times and was not the typical fox or coyotes that we here all the time. This was a mountain lion!!!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in the Manassas Battlefield and there was one in our neighborhood for a few months the like 24 years ago. Several neighborhood cats and chickens were killed in those months. We would hear it's screams & growls all the time. My sister saw it 2 times while riding in the horse trails. I saw it once plain as day while riding my horse in the trails. It was tan with a long tail, muscular, and a long strided sprint. At first glance thought it was a great date but when i startled it and he pounced up and then sprung over a barbed wire fence almost effortlessly into the field next to me I knew it was a mountain lion I watched it run for a good ways thru the field until it his the other tree line and it again leaped effortlessly over the fence. Not a dear, not a dog, not anything but a very large long tailed cat! It was always interesting how the park Rangers would react when my parents talked to park Rangers and they swore that there are no bug cats in our area. Mountain. Lions don't exist here... BULL CRAP! SEEN IT WITH MY OWN EYES when I was about 16 and many neighbors say it too!
So anyway, have there been any sightings or reports of sounds recently in Manassas, Woodbridge, or Dale City? Black Friday 2014 was when we heard it. They have a range of 15 to 200 mile radius that they travel and I'm thinking this could be the one they were searching for in fairfax county not long ago.