Smithsonian scientists also ran a camera trapping project along the Appalachian Trail (AT) in Virginia that was similar to eMammal. How many mountain lions did they find? None. One of our eMammal scientists was also involved in a large project testing different methods of mammal surveys that placed cameras, bait stations, track plates, and hair snares throughout New York state (Gompper et al. Volunteers have placed cameras in over 2,100 locations and we have not collected a single mountain lion picture. The eMammal project has placed cameras in 30 parks larger than 10 km2 from Tennessee and South Carolina North to Maryland. He was the only confirmed mountain lion in all of Connecticut but was seen several times right after he arrived in the state before being accidentally killed. In all of these places people collected hair, scat, or pictures of the mountain lion and the origin of the animal in South Dakota was confirmed through DNA analysis. A good example of how hard it is for a mountain lion to sneak across the east is the young male (CORRECTION the mountain lion had no collar) from South Dakota that wandered through Minnesota, Wisconsin, and likely the Upper Peninsula of Michigan before finally being hit by a car in Connecticut. All this is true, but despite all the sneaking around mountain lions always leave some kind of sign, especially the young males that are typically moving into new areas. How can we be so sure? Mountain lions are very stealthy animals and survive by sneaking up on deer and killing them, so it is not unreasonable to think that some might go undetected in large forests. Is there actual evidence of mountain lions living in the eastern US?Īs it turns out, there is no good evidence that there are mountain lion populations east of the Mississippi (except for Florida of course). We are also interested in mountain lions so we asked ourselves: Interest in mountain lions is so high that one of the most frequently asked questions to the eMammal research team is whether we have captured a photo of a mountain lion. Unconfirmed sightings are rare but routine, and speculation is often fueled by photos from other parts of the country passed off as local proof of mountain lions.
Mountain lions ( Puma concolor) have taken on a near mythic status in the eastern US.
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