John Lutz of the EASTERN PUMA RESEARCH NETWORK AND I periodically have a lively debate about whether there are viable breeding populations of Cougars East of the Mississippi River.....John feels that there most certainly are Cougars existing in our Eastern States and Eastern Canada...............Passionate, purposeful and a long time citizen researcher of Cougars, John is convinced that State Wildlife Agencies are purposely misleading the Public on the existance of Cougars.............He claims to have seen black(color phase) cougars, jaguars and pleistocene era American Cheetahs and feels that they exist in North America from the Atlantic to Pacific ..............He is also confident and certain that the so-called "Dakota Cougar" that was killed this past Summer in Connecticut actually was born and wandered South into the USA from Canada.............His EASTERN PUMA RESEARCH NETWORK is at odds with COUGAR REWILDING and the COUGAR NETWORK who (as I do) conclude that there is not a breeding population of Cougars in the Eastern States outside of Florida at this time...........At the very most, esteemed Jaguar and "big cat" biologist Alan Rabinowitz hypothesizes that there might be some "released pets" that have from time to time found each other and mated across the landscape, accounting for periodic sightings of the Cats..............My take on John's position on Eastern Cougar existance is that if there are any Cats out there, they are not a functional population in terms of conducting their trophic function of tapping down the runaway deer herd that are currently denuding our forests.......... A gentlemen named Ben Shrader responded to one of John's articles with this commentary: "To perpetuate a myth of existence of cougars in the east for decades is a disgrace to the magnificent species. Yes, an occasional disperser or an escaped or released captive, but a breeding population, No way! Real cougars leave tracks, scat, and are photographed. Oh, the joy of a sensational story about a mythical shy critter that can exist among us undetected, but after 46 years of bashing game departments the fictional story is ending. For those who want to continue to believe these myths it is time to ask: “Where is the proof for scientific review? What is the truth?” Maybe someday it will come true if cougars are protected and allowed to disperse into the east or we have the ecological fortitude to reintroduce them. The truth is the east is missing an essential apex predator and as a result forests are in collapse from deer browsing while biodiversity of the whole region is suffering. The energy and thirst for mythical sensationalism can be better directed toward a real solution and that is for the protection and restoration of natural predators"

Rick

Sorry to tell you, but the EASTERN PUMA RESEARCH NETWORK is 100% OPPOSED to this idea of a cougar rewildingplan for the reintroduction of the more aggressive western cougars into the forests & woods of the eastern U.S.!!

There is NO need for such action, when adequte numbers of WILD, FREE-ROAMING, NATIVE Cougars/Mounatin Lions continueto travel the traditional routes established by past native big cats over the last 200 years..

The voice of the people, will never allow such programs, for the Eastern Puma Research Network will arouse such a crythat has never been heard previously.

John A. Lutz

Eastern Puma Reserach Network

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Sorry Rick.....but you and I differ greatly on this matter.

Hundreds of confirmations on wild, free-roaming pumas have been logged since the 1960s in stateseast of  Mississippi River, which we consider to be THE habitat of  "Native, wild sub-species Puma concolor couguar".

Neither I nor several friends listed below, ever bought into the idea of ONLY 1 sub-species existing across the U.S.   Our long-standing position has always been: "at least 5 different sub-species continue to survive across North America",as was the position of our close friends/colleagues, Frank Weed of Immokolee, Fla,  Professor Harold Hitchcock of Middlebury College, Vermont, Biologist Dr. Charles Humphreys of North Carolina, Dr. J.D. Barr of Tioga County,Pennsylvania and Anthropoligist-Biologist R. Pennington Smith of Catonsville, MD.

Despite the evidence presented on the CT cougar, we continue to FIRMLY believe the dead CT Cougar originated less than 500 miles from where it was killed.  From data presented to us, our opinion on dead Milford, CT cougar walked SOUTH from NE Canada.

We continue to be in touch with current and past independent sceintists,who have spent decades conductingfield studies on the hundreds of 'mountain lions', which continue to freely roam across eastern Canada, as thelate Bruce S. Wright identified in his 1972 book, "The Eastern Panther".

There is NO way, the Connecticut cougar walked east from the Dakotas over the last 2-4 years.

State Wildlife Officials who are trying to attribute all reported sightings since 2009 to CT's ONE lone dead lion,have done nothing but create an unrealisted bunch of garbage reports, that other actual native lions created.

Yet wildlife officials across the eastern U.S. have continued to "bury their heads in the sand", while denyingany presence of  "free-roaming, native' cougars, mountain lions or pumas.

For the record, I also believe in the existance of BLACK PANTHERS freely roaming the U.S. from the Pacificto the Atlantic Oceans. My knowledge on the presence of BLACK PANTHERS, whether Jaguars, pumas or the long-thought extinct American Cheetah, is based on 3 personnal experiences with such large cats, along with witnesses in Maryland, Pennsylvana, New York and Florida since 1950.

Sincerely,

John A. Lutz

Eastern Puma Research Network

HC 30 Box 2233

Maysville, WV 26833

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To: John Lutz

With all respect and deference for your expertise and opinions John, the research I have seen saids there is all cougars in north america historically and currently are of one genus............that is why texas cats were brought into florida when gene bottlenecking was happening......................

I am for rewilding even in a difficult political and social climate.............How long will it take for Dakota female cougars to join males in a walkabout to Ohio? Do you not feel some "subjectivity" in saying that Cougars living West of the Mississippi are more aggressive............more aggressive than what?..............there basically are not cougars in the Eastern USA at this point...............so I do not understand your point here.

best,

Rick
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John

Good evening to you John.................Respect your professional trackers of course................The prevailing sentiment is that while wanderers from the Dakotas are showing up in various locales including Connecticut(yea)..............there is not proven to be a breeding population East of the Dakotas save Florida.............

............I have never have seen a Cougar..............Seems that the overiding % of Biologists agree with my point above...........Until more of these professionals vote yea, I stick with my premise................I hope in fact that you are right...................an "A" for effort you have from me............

Please enjoy a fun weekend

Rick
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On Thu, Sep 22, 2011 at 10:19 AM, John A. Lutz/Eastern Puma Research Network

Rick:

I am puzzled by 1 sentence in your 1st paragraph,  "....there basically are no cougars in the eastern USA at this point". Within the last 6 days, 5 different sets of tracks have been submitted to the Eastern Puma Research Network from the Delmarva Peninsula, New York State, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. Of the 5 groups of tracks, our professional wildlife trackers/specialists CONFIRMED tracks of 2 pumas.

NOT of a surprise to EPRN, each track pictures were set to us areawide citizens.

Of all track pictures, 4 came from local citizens & 1 from the U.S. Military. In the case of the Military
Tracks, those pictures were found on September 5th by a family on a picnic in George Washington
National Forest.

Overall, when submitting pictures of tracks, deceased prey, or actual pictures of animals to EPRN, 97% of witnesses ask that we do NOT make the pictures public, whether or NOT, they turn out to be the real McCoy.

We have strict rules about such requests.  If the tracks turn out to be of actual pumas or their tracks,
 we contact the photographer or family, asking for exact data on where the evidence was found, time of day,date of discovery, if possible a GPS 10-20, then ask if we can either keep the sent pictures or make copiesof them for EPRN records.

If such requests are apporved, we then make copies and always return the originals to the owner.
 Its up to the individual or family, if they want the evidence made public. If they do, we make contact withthe news media in that area, then go with the witness for the press interview.

As stated earlier, 97% of witnesses do NOT take their evidence any further, for witnesses know the FACTSthat (we) Eastern Puma Research Network have been claiming in our brochures for decades, that most "state/federal wildlife officials bury their heads in the sand", while the witness(s) has been CORRECT all along.

Since 1965, witnesses have come from all types of backgrounds, transients riding empty railroad cars toLEOs and FLEAS, military personnel from Private to Generals, hundreds of scientists, teachers andcollege/university professors, who do NOT want to become publically embroiled in this wildlife issue.  Many witnesses join with EPRN Personnel to quietly pursue this 'greatest wildlife mystery" of the 20th centurywhich has moved into the 21st century. 

Now let's go back to my orignal question: Are you someone who has  NEVER seen a cougar or black panther in the wild, in any state east of the Mississippi River??? Just because you  have ever seen a big cat in the wild in any eastern state,doesn't mean the BIG CATS do NOT exist......what is does mean is that you have not knownwhere to look.

Sincerely,

John A. Lutz
Eastern Puma Research Network
HC 30 Box 2233
Maysville, WV 26833
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Field Researcher: Mountain Lion is Most Adaptable Animal on Earth...........Since 1965, the Eastern Puma Research Network has recorded 11,000 sightings of 'non-existent' cougars.

• ByJohn A. Lutz
•   

To the Editor:

After being an active field researcher since 1965, I can say with authority that state wildlife officials only have one goal: keep denying, denying, denying the presence of wild, free-roaming cougars in their state. Because due to the big cat's natural instincts and abilities, it is almost impossible to rid an area of the American lion unless you kill it.

Since 1965, when first becoming involved with the "phantom cougar" of the Gunpowder River that crisscrossed Harford County in north central Maryland, we handled some 45 calls from citizens who could only get action from the State Police after Maryland's Game Commission refused to respond on citizens calls because the cougar was NOT native to the state.

During that time, I, along with zoologist Ted Roth and naturalist Bob Chance were the unofficial first responders for the MD State Police to the dozens of citizens calls being called into the Benson Barracks in Harford County. All the MD Game Commission did was continue to deny, deny, deny citizens complaints ... even though some tracks had been confirmed as a cougar and identified by Dr. Ted Roth, a certified zoologist, who later became the assistant director of the Baltimore Zoo.

I've heard every possible excuse by state/federal wildlife officials, as to why "there can't be a free-roaming cougar" in the area. But they are the most adaptable land mammal on earth. They do not need large tracts of woods to vanish within. All a wild cougar needs is three things almost ever area has: adequate water (ponds, pools, streams, rivers), prey: deer, rabbits, fish, snakes, etc. and 3) habitat: moderate tracts of woods, abandoned/old foundations, caves and/or large trees.

Since 1965, we have collected more than 11,000 sightings of those "pesky, none-existant wild, free-roaming cougars" who continue to silently roam the eastern United States. If you were closer in miles distance, I'd say come on down to look over our thousands of files and reports.

I am 70 years of age and not really profecient in sending out reports on the internet. Our files were featured on History Channel's MonsterQuest series in 2007, which generated more than 7,500 responses from vindicated witnesses of those other "none-existant cougars" in every eastern state.

John A. Lutz, Eastern Puma Research Network
HC 30 Box 2233 Mayville, WV 26833.