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Like it or not, Pennsylvania may one day be home to another predator.

This one is larger than any bobcat, coyote or fisher that currently roams our woods and recent studies indicate it’s heading our way.

Last November, researchers from the University of Minnesota and Southern Illinois University Carbondale released findings from a study that indicates, like it or not, mountain lions are moving eastward.

But it could take a while.

The study found that mountain lions are dispersing from the traditional range in the west and may soon re-colonize areas in the Midwest where suitable habitat exists. The study also states that the process could occur within the next 25 years.

Here’s what we know: Breeding populations of mountain lions are established in the Dakotas and Nebraska, and there have been confirmed sightings in most of the Midwestern states, as far east as Michigan and Illinois. n and Illinois.

Illinois is only two states away from our western border.

Where will they go next? Indiana and Ohio?

Many people believe that mountain lions already inhabit Pennsylvania and sightings are reported in every state east of the Mississippi River. Some are hoaxes, a few are confirmed as domestic mountain lions that escaped or were turned loose, and other reports are inconclusive.

Do I believe we have mountain lions in Pennsylvania? No.

At least not the wild variety.

Granted, there could be a mountain lion or two out there that escaped or was released from captivity, but I don’t believe we have a wild, self-sustaining population. If we did, sooner or later there would be concrete evidence – a track, hair, or a carcass. Certainly one of the big cats would get killed by a car or shot by a hunter if they roamed Penn’s Woods.

But that has yet to happen.

But if the big cats continue moving east and wind up here one day, how will they be received?

I don’t think the welcome mat will be rolled out.

The cat that used to inhabit Pennsylvania – the eastern cougar, was declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, so I assume that means any mountain lion that may show up wouldn’t be native to Pennsylvania.

The return of the mountain lion would impact everyone, and it wouldn’t all be positive. Farmers would be concerned about livestock, hikers would be wary to walk on the trails and campers would lie awake at night in their tents.

If it sounds like an overreaction, it’s not. A mountain lion is a large, aggressive predator that we have not had to deal with for generations. We don’t know how to live with mountain lions in Pennsylvania, not like they do in Arizona, Wyoming and Nevada.

And even they’re not without problems and tragedies.

Perhaps one of the biggest impacts if mountain lions were to return to Pennsylvania would be felt by hunters. Deer would undoubtedly be the primary prey for the big cats, and for a hunting public already pushed to the limit with concerns about predation from bears and coyotes, I can only imagine the fervor that mountain lions would create.

I’m accepting of the predators that we do have here – those that are native to the state, as long as they are properly managed.

But I really don’t know if I can be as understanding about mountain lions. We’re not talking about a predator that survives by eating meadow voles and squirrels.

Managing mountain lions isn’t as easy as holding a few three-day hunts around the state (like we do for coyotes) or allowing trappers a lengthy season to set steel. Hunting mountain lions is a specialized, potentially dangerous affair that I’m not sure we’re ready for in this state simply because we haven’t had to do it for more than 100 years.

And it wouldn’t bother me if we don’t have to worry about mountain lions for another 100 years.

Venesky
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By Tom Venesky

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Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky