All rights reserved. Are there Mountain Lions in South Carolina? The report said it appeared to be a female lion with two kittens, or two . Well, this atleast proves that there are big cats in SC. The Goddard School opens Woodruff Road location in Greenville, City of Greenville to temporarily close a portion of Academy Street on March 6, Simpsonville City Council Notes: Road resurfacing projects delayed until 2024, Greer City Council Notes: Mayfield Road subdivision plans withdrawn, plus new fire station gets early approval, Greenville Chamber highlights community strengths at annual meeting, Greenville-Pickens Speedway listed for sale as an industrial park, Photos: Coca-Cola mural in West End removed, Former Fountain Inn flour mill redevelopment project breaks ground. Big Cat arched his back the way cats do when alarmed, and he bounded into the woods. 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. Most, if not all, wildlife experts and authorities believe black panther sightings are a result of misidentification. Sometimes, they travel quite far to make this happen and they may travel so far that they end up in South Carolina. Then, rather than establish a territory like they would in the West where they are far more numerous, they adopt "a vagabond strategy and roam an area of hundreds of square miles, Chastain said. Although gone from the eastern US (except Florida), the cougar is doing well throughout much of the western US, and is a game animal in many locations. Many biologists, myself included,would beexcited about the thoughtof finding a population of wild cougars in South Carolina.. Well probably see younger males pop up here and there in the remote areas of the mountains. Theres also the matter that theyve officially been declared extinct in the eastern United States. Two mountain lion cubs have been rescued and are now in residence at the Oakland Zoo, where they have been named Holly and Hazel. Using DNA and physical evidence, state environmental officials said they determined that the animal likely trekked more than 1,500 miles from South Dakota, a journey that was captured by trail camera (above). Body coloration can range from tan to gray and cubs are usually covered with blackish brown spots. And earlier this year, South Carolina passed a new law, effective next year, that makes it illegal to own a large wild cat, non-native bear or great ape.. Exceptionally stealth in staying hidden, bobcats are found in South Carolina, especially in the coastal plain. Mountain lions have a long tail that is usually darker colored at the tip. They were extirpated from Indiana by the late 1800s. In 1973, the agency added the eastern cougar to the List of Endangered . In 2015, Michelle LaRue, a research ecologist and speaker at the University of Minnesota and executive director of the Cougar Network, cast doubt on black panther sightings in a blog post, saying there is no compelling evidence that a single wild black panther has ever existed in the United States.. They are most commonly found in areas with plentiful prey and adequate cover. The Portuguese Man O'War is seldom seen in the Palmetto State and has a venomous sting that can kill an animal, and rarely humans although humans have died from complications from the sting. 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? Being nocturnal doesnt help matters, especially since their coat makes them basically impossible to see at night. Sedona is built in prime mountain lion conditions; the cat's main food sources include deer, javelina and small animals, which are in abundance here. This cat can be found throughout much of South and North America. Young males must find their own territory after leaving their mothers. |, Presented by TD Bank, TD SYNNEX & The YMCA, The People and Places That Helped Shape Greenville. But who knows in a generation or so what might happen, he said. The story was soon revealed to be a hoax but it reignited the many rumors of panthers and large wild cats in South Carolina. stands 3,560 feet tall. In olden days it was considered folly for a traveller to venture far without a firearm. The Canadian Wildlife Service has taken no position on the taxonomy. Might have been Monster Quest. There is an estimated 130,000 wild hogs in South Carolina! South Carolina has two populations of black bears. Neither am I Rudy Mancke, Marlin Perkins, or Jim Fowler. South Carolinas collection of exotic pets includes mountain lions, tigers, and other big cat species, according to Butfiloski. Scientists view these large cats as a distinct population (but still the same species) from the mountain lions of the western U.S. According to Perry, the countys lack of pet mountain lions doesnt necessarily discount the sightings, because mountain lions can travel very long distances. He said it was highly unlikely, but possible that some people are actually seeing a western mountain lion or Florida panther thats managed to dodge traffic and travel to South Carolina. Some sightings were later verified as a different animal, such as a coyote or bobcat. With that said, there are some sightings of mountain lions and cougars but none of them have been confirmed. Bobby, Brenda and Zack were doing what every child did- they were playing in the woods. So if there arent any Eastern cougars to be protected, it seems there wont be any need to worry about protecting their habitat anymore. But mountain lions dont get along well with roads, according to Perry. Jaguars and leopards, on the other hand, have a gene that occurs in six percent of the population that causes black cats. 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. 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. Trail cam picture of mountain lion in SC. There are approximately 20 recognized geographic races of the cougar throughout its range. We Connect. They are found at elevations ranging from 5,900 ft to 13,000 ft. Mountain lions, which are also called cougars, pumas, and sometimes panthers, once roamed from coast to coast. My fears were that folks would say that dusk had played tricks on my eyes, that somebody's big Tom was on the prowl. Greenville, SC 29613. Fish and Wildlife Service, actually investigated several hundred big cat reports throughout the Southeast in the late 1970s and 1980s but found no proof of their existence outside of Florida. However, they may also consume fish, birds, and squirrels, and some have even been seen eating insects. But Im not sure well ever see an established breeding population.. What was once called the Eastern Cougar and roamed areas throughout the southeastern United States was declared extinct in 2011 by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Too many sightings, all reporting a big cat with a long tail, big head and paws - can they all be explained away as poor visibility, overfed ferrel cats, or active imaginations? The story cites lack of hard evidence for the . It is estimated that cougars make a kill of a large prey item (deer, etc) about once each week. 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. Panthers are simply another term for mountain lions or cougars, which are actually known by many different names. When I stood up, it ran, shetold Fox News. The city of Simpsonville has also received calls about mountain lions over the years, according to Colleen Jenkins, an animal code enforcement officer for the city. Just as armadillo sightings and occasional crocodile visits are being noted around our coast, it's possible, that the Florida panther has made his way north, too. Greenville Journal. I'm sort of proud to be part of an elite little group that has made eye contact with the illusive Carolina panther. While some South Carolinians are reportedly spotting mountain lions, others are claiming to see something much more menacing: a black panther. The cougar (Puma concolor), also known as mountain lion, panther, painter, puma, and catamount, is the largest feline animal in North America. But for one to make it from the Southwest deserts to the mid-Atlantic mountains, Piedmont, or coastal areas is unlikely. Well-known naturalist Dennis Chastain of Pickens says there's no doubt that there are cougars (pumas/mountain lions) in the woods and wild places of South Carolina. Some people even claim SCDNR is covering up the presence of mountain lions. There isn't any evidence of mountain lions currently living in North Carolina. However, they werent able to provide evidence of the encounter. However, should one be sighted, it is now illegal to kill them. Bobcats are an elusive species. Adult females are smaller, averaging 80-90 pounds. Nearby City: Chestnut Springs. For two hours my mind replayed the details of my encounter with what has to be the Carolina panther. They are active hunters and may cover as much as 20 miles in a night. The dogs barked for several minutes, so I thought they had maybe treed some sort of animal,he said. Usually a shy cat, the cougar prefers to stalk its prey and is rarely ever a threat to people. This feline is a close relative to the Lynx, which roams further up north. They are so prevalent that many people believe there are more mountain lions than there really are. Height: 3,068. Lucas, of DNR, concurs that the black panther is a myth. There are some black cats, such as leopards, but they are not native to North America. Their home ranges vary in size depending on the location. Some even claim to have spotted black panthers in the Lowcountry swamps. The big cats once roamed the entire Southeast but were decimated by hunting. It was a female mountain lion.. South Carolina is no stranger to dangerous wildlife. What You Need to Know! Mountain lions cover a huge range - all the way from Alaska to Argentina and southern Chile. Andrew Moore of theGreenville Journalpens a story about alleged mountain lion sightings in South Carolina. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2011. I can tell you they werent from your everyday dog or house cat.. But then his neighbors dogs started barking. When this species eats poisoned rats, they become poisoned as well and will eventually die. Home range for bears must include den sites, food, water and cover for adults and young. This feline only gets to about . By the 1960s, mountain lions dwindled in the western states but managed to survive into the 21st century. Are There Mountain Lions in South Carolina. Adult males may be more than 8 feet long (from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail), and can weigh between 130 and 150 pounds. Nothing there, however, is meaner than the redbugs which inhabit the pine straw. The mountain lion goes by many names, including cougar, catamount, panther, red tiger, deer tiger, and puma. "Since 1890 there have been 19 fatal Mountain Lion attacks in Canada and the United States," Mattson said. July 21, 2017. We Connect. Now there are less than 100 panthers surviving in the swamps of South Florida. If attacked, fight back. 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. Input your search keywords and press Enter. It was a little too big to be a bobcat.. Despite this, S.C. Department of Natural Resources spokesman Greg Lucas said the department gets at least one call a month from people claiming to have seen one of the big cats. February 12, 2019, the story of a man who claimed to have been attacked by a black panther in Georgetown county spread quickly across news outlets and social media. In May 2018, a mountain lion attacked two mountain bikers 30 miles east of Seattle, Washington, killing one, but it's only the 15th fatal attack in North America since 1970. Few large animals have generated more lore throughout North Carolina than the cougar. Flickr/Ken McMillan. Another panther blog carries a local comment, 'My dad was born and raised in the Cainhoy area and used to tell me stories of the mountain lions that were around. Black Bears. Thus, these cats inhabit rugged terrains with steep slopes and little vegetation. In 2003, eight residents from a Mauldin subdivision called police saying theyd seen a large black cat prowling around the woods behind their homes. Andrew Moore of the Greenville Journal pens a story about alleged mountain lion sightings in South Carolina. Currently living in North Carolina plentiful prey and is rarely ever a threat to people happen and may! 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