The Eastern cougar or eastern puma ( Puma concolor couguar) is the name given to the extirpated cougars that once lived in northeastern North America.
Mountain lions, which once lived in this area, are believed to have been extirpated long ago. and adult males can weigh as much as 35 lbs. Adult bobcat females in NJ generally weigh between 18 and 25 lbs. Though they are larger than a house cat, they are much smaller than a mountain lion. A bobcat is considered a medium sized-cat, about two feet tall. A comment here this month reports another one.īobcat - Photo: Public Domain, via īobcats are known to live in New Jersey and are considered endangered by the NJDEP.
Check the comments on this post below and you'll see that since it was originally posted regular sightings continue. There was a report of one in Ewing Township in 2018. In other words - No Mountain Lions in NJ.Īnd yet, reports keep coming in. Direct persecution, conversion of wildlands to agriculture and human development, roads and highways, and other forms of habitat loss all contributed to the decline and ultimate extirpation of mountain lions in New Jersey." Ideal habitat would have occurred in the forests, hills, and along the timbered streams, but mountain lions could have persisted anywhere there was ample prey. The evidence so far is just a grainy video and a fuzzy photograph taken with a hunter's game camera.Īccording to, "Before European settlement, mountain lions once occurred throughout New Jersey and moved between New Jersey and neighboring states. New Jersey's largest cat is officially the bobcat, but these reports to animal control officers are saying this is not a bobcat but a mountain lion (AKA cougar or puma). The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Fish and Wildlife sometimes receives evidence and investigates and their verdict has always been that these big cats are mountain lions. There have been several articles online about "sightings" of a "large cat." One in Camden County near the Winslow Hammonton border by Route 73 was reported to be a mountain lion. The nationally-famous Florida Panther, by contrast, is the rarest of the group and currently number less than 130 specimens in the wild both big cats have seen dramatic declines in populations due to deforestation, excessive (sometimes illegal) hunting, and other types of human activities.I have received inquiries over the years of writing this blog about sightings in New Jersey of a moose, elk, reindeer, and wolves. Mountain lions, a.k.a "North American cougars," are one of the six subspecies of Puma concolor and boast the largest habitat range of any in the genus.
Even when weaned, mountain lion cubs stay with their mother for at least two years learning how to successfully hunt, shelter themselves, and patrol their territories.
Should he recover, he'll likely stay in captivity for some time. "It's a miracle that he's alive," said Erin Harrison of the Oakland Zoo to CNN, noting that the team treating him is "cautiously optimistic." The biologist who transported the cub is also hopeful that the cub will pull through: "He was alert and feisty, so that gave me hope that he would be okay."Ĭurrently, both staff at the Oakland Zoo and UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital are tending to the cub's burn wounds. Had firefighters not found the cub, now named "Captain Cal," he would've almost certainly died - so "it's a miracle" he was alive in the first place. However, X-rays proved his lungs and bones remained in good health despite his exterior condition. Waugh and company noted that his whiskers were torched off, and he was suffering from eye irritation the soft tissues around his paws, mouth, and nose were also badly burned. Lynette Waugh and on-site staff veterinary technicians began treating the less-than-four-pound cub as soon as he arrived. And soon, the orphaned cub, who's mother and siblings were nowhere in sight upon the rescue, was driven to the Oakland Zoo, courtesy of a staffed biologist. Afterward, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials were contacted - at which time the state agency reached out to the Oakland Zoo for help. We are hopeful that he will continue to improve! /5rKIKvhYPM- Oakland Zoo October 4, 2020Īs reported by multiple news outlets (the Chronicle, KTVU, etc.), firefighters battling the Zogg Fire captured the young male kitten and handed him over to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office. He's drinking formula & getting lots of TLC.
Rescued #ZoggFire mountain lion UPDATE: our vet staff treated "Captain Cal" and removed the dead skin from his wounded feet, then wrapped each foot in bandages to heal.