HARRISBURG, Pa., March 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Game
Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe today announced that the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service is beginning a review of scientific and
commercial information to determine the status of the endangered eastern
cougar, the first review the Service has done since publishing a recovery
plan in 1982.
As part of the process, the USFWS has requested that anyone wishing to
submit information regarding the eastern cougar may do so by writing to:
Eastern Cougar, Northeast Regional Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035. Comments also may be submitted
via e-mail to EasternCougar@fws.gov.
Information must be received for the state review by the USFWS by March
30, although the Service will continue to accept new information about
eastern cougars at any time.
The USFWS placed the eastern cougar on the List of Endangered and
Threatened Wildlife in 1973. The last known Pennsylvania native mountain
lion was killed in Berks County in 1874.
"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working to compile and evaluate
scientific evidence to understand the status of the eastern cougar and to
determine what future actions the Service should take," Roe said. "We
receive alleged sighting reports from various places in the state, and we
encourage Pennsylvanians to direct their comments to the USFWS."
As part of the review, the USFWS is seeking information on the status
of the eastern cougar in the 21 states -- from Maine to South Carolina and
westward from Michigan to Tennessee -- where the Endangered Species Act
protects it. Lacking definitive evidence of the species' existence, the
Service has presumed the eastern cougar to be extinct. According to the
USFWS, it is improbable that a small cougar population persisted in the
eastern states for over a century. Most of the confirmed cougar records
since 1950 (animals killed, good quality photos/videos, genetic evidence)
are known to be escapes of captive origin. There may be thousands of
captive cougars in the eastern United States.
"An important part of the Service's review will be to compile the best
available scientific evidence and objectively assess whether the eastern
cougar is truly extinct," said Mark McCollough, endangered species
biologist in the Service's Northeast Region. McCollough and other Service
staff will prepare the status review.
The Service announced the eastern cougar status review in the "Federal
Register" on Jan. 29. To assist with the review, the Service contacted
state fish and wildlife agencies in states and Canadian provinces where the
cougar is thought to have lived and requested information related to cougar
status, protection, threats, laws about captivity, and habitats where
cougars could persist.
The Endangered Species Act requires a review every five years of all
protected species. However, limited resources and higher priorities have
postponed the review for the Eastern cougar until now.
For additional information on the eastern cougar, see
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/ECougar. Information on the USFWS' endangered
species program may be found at http://www.fws.gov/endangered.
To be certain, Roe stressed that this review process is not an effort
to introduce mountain lions into Pennsylvania.
"The Game Commission has long been opposed to any initiative -- public
or private -- to reintroduce mountain lions into the Commonwealth," Roe
said. "Such a reintroduction effort would not be feasible in the state, and
would not be something acceptable to most citizens, given that there are
few areas of the Commonwealth without established communities. Also, such
introductions, given the human population density, would not be in the best
interest of the animals released.
"However, over the years, mountain lion sightings have been reported
throughout the state. The overwhelming majority of cases we investigate are
proven to be mistaken identity based on examination of tracks, photos or
other physical evidence," Roe said. "Some cases are inconclusive.
"And, while some believe mountain lions exist in the wilds of
Pennsylvania, we have no conclusive evidence to support such views.
However, if someone does encounter a mountain lion, the most logical
explanation would be that the animal escaped from or was released by
someone who either legally or illegally brought the animal into
Pennsylvania."
To demonstrate his point, Roe noted that the agency has prosecuted
individuals for illegal possession on mountain lions and other exotic
wildlife in recent years. In 2002, a 24-year-old Dauphin County resident,
was found guilty of illegally possessing a western cougar, and was ordered
to pay a $300 fine.
"At the time the animal was confiscated, the seven-month old female
weighed 40 pounds, and had not been spayed or de-clawed," Roe said.
"According to purchase records obtained as part of the investigation, the
cougar had been purchased on Nov. 1, 2001, from a facility in Virginia.
However, the owner failed to obtain the proper permit from the Game
Commission and did not comply with secure caging requirements stipulated by
the agency.
"While state law permits Pennsylvanians to possess certain exotic
animals, the law also requires that such individuals adhere to specific
permit and caging regulations established by the Game Commission in order
to ensure public health and safety, as well as the animal's health and
welfare." Roe noted that the agency also has received reports of other
exotic animals being found throughout Pennsylvania, such as a binturong
found on a Beaver County family's porch in 2002; an African serval,
resembling a small cheetah, which had been illegally possessed and escaped
from its Pittsburgh owner several times before being confiscated in 2001;
and two wallabies that escaped from their owners in Ambler in 2001.
"There are hundreds of Pennsylvanians who legally possess exotic
wildlife and follow all of the rules and regulations regarding public
health and safety, as well as the health and welfare of the animal," Roe
said. "However, there also are those who bring these types of animals into
the state illegally and fail to follow the regulations. It is this group of
individuals who cause us the greatest concern."
Roe encouraged Pennsylvanians to contact the Game Commission region
office nearest them to report information about exotic wildlife that may be
illegally possessed or improperly caged. All information will be kept
strictly confidential.
Created in 1895 as an independent state agency, the Game Commission is
responsible for conserving and managing all wild birds and mammals in the
Commonwealth, establishing hunting seasons and bag limits, enforcing
hunting and trapping laws, and managing habitat on the 1.4 million acres of
State Game Lands it has purchased over the years with hunting and furtaking
license dollars to safeguard wildlife habitat. The agency also conducts
numerous wildlife conservation programs for schools, civic organizations
and sportsmen's clubs.
The Game Commission does not receive any general state taxpayer dollars
for its annual operating budget. The agency is funded by license sales
revenues; the state's share of the federal Pittman-Robertson program, which
is an excise tax collected through the sale of sporting arms and
ammunition; and monies from the sale of oil, gas, coal, timber and minerals
derived from State Game Lands.
Note to Editors: If you would like to receive Game Commission news
releases via e-mail, please send a note with your name, address, telephone
number and the name of the organization you represent to:
PGCNews@state.pa.us
For information contact: Jerry Feaser, 717-705-6541 or
PGCNews@state.pa.us
SOURCE Pennsylvania Game Commission
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Related links:
http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/
CONTACT:
Jerry Feaser of Pennsylvania Game Commission,
+1-717-705-6541 or PGCNews@state.pa.us
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