Cougars in Virginia?
CNN reports on cougar sightings in the town of Blackstone, Virginia, a bit southwest of Richmond. The official line goes that since mountain lions (Felis concolor) were wiped out along the eastern seaboard in the early 1900s, they haven't been found anywhere except for a relict population in the Florida Everglades (where they are called "panthers"). But this one little town in the Virginia Piedmont has had more than the average number of sightings. I think it would be great if mountain lions reestablished themselves in the hills of the Old Dominion. Our deer population is out of control, and while it's unsettling to not be at the top of the food chain, ecosystem coherence takes a higher priority in my mind. Along similar lines, in 2004 it was reported that coyotes had moved back into Rock Creek Park, the large national park that runs through the heart of northwest Washington, DC. Park officials have suggested they wouldn't be surprised if black bears moved back in too.
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About 10 years ago, there began to be rumors of cougars ("catamounts") back in Vermont, as well. There may even have been some hair from scat? There was also talk of cougars in Pennsylvania, although that may have been an escaped captive animal, not a remnant of a wild population.
I live in Crozet Virginia close to the Shenandoah National Park. A cougar was spotted about 1 mile from where I live. About the same time as the pictures (http://www.readthehook.com/Stories/2007/09/27/NEWS-cougardebate-B.rtf.aspx) were taken I heard the cougar as I was taking the trash out at 2:00AM. It made the hair stand up on my neck! I know what they sound like because I used to live in rural Oregon. I also have a friend who has seen the prints on running trails and another who has seen one in her neighborhood outside Charlottesville. The deer population has been dropping on Bucks Elbow Mountain, where I live. I used to see as many as 25 deer in my yard at a time, and now I only see 6-7 at a time. I have heard of many more sightings, but hearing the animal on my property is enough to convince me.
I live in Cumberland, VA and more than one sighting by several individuals have been reported. One stated the cougar stayed around their house for about six weeks in spring 2008.
I live in Powhatan,VA. I was pulling out of my driveway on Oct 19th 2008 when i spotted the cougar. It was about 100yds. away from me walking along the edge of the woodline.Shortly after I noticed the cougar it turned and walked back into the woods. I feel now that this may be the reason for losing my 2 outside dogs this summer.
Way back in 1989, some 20 years ago,my wife and I were driving the Shenandoah National Park northbound within ten miles of Dickey Ridge when a large cat bounded across the road about 200 yards in front of us and quickly disappeared over the rock wall. I reported this promptly to a Park Ranger the next day and was shown a picture of what we saw,in his mind what he said we saw was a bobcat. I politely told him that I knew the difference and that the cat we saw was much bigger and longer than a bobcat. He still was not convinced.
We were vacationing near the Shenandoah River. I was out for a morning run on some back roads (in Page County, north of Luray, just west of Route 340.) It was about 8:00 am on Saturday 8/8/09 and I noticed a large, dark-colored animal in a fenced pasture just ahead of me. I initially thought it was a bear, until it ran, jumped a 5 foot pasture fence with ease, and landed about 4 feet from the fence. It then stopped in the road and turned to look at me. I was only about 50 feet away. I was frozen with fear as I realized it wasn’t a bear, but a mountain lion. It was black or perhaps VERY dark brown, with a very long tail 3-4 feet long. It looked like it could have easily weighed 100-120 pounds ( I have a 100 pound lab, and this cat was larger than my dog). It stood about 3 feet tall, and had a rounded face with low-set ears. I knew not to run, so I just stood there and waited. It finally took off on the other side of the road into the woods, and I made a U-turn to the nearest farmhouse! If it hadn’t been the last day of our trip, I would have gone back to look for tracks to possibly photograph!
Just wanted to report that I talked to my grandparents in Cumberland and my grandma reported a dark colored mountain lion. She stopped her car because it was taking it's time crossing the road. She got a real good look at it, it wasn't a dog and it was much bigger than a bob cat.
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