121 unconfirmed Puma sightings in Virginia since 1978------Will a first confirmation come from Virginia Dept. of Game & Inland Fisheries once the man who was allegedly attacked on Friday on the Appalachian Trail in Augusta County is fully examined by qualified by qualified wildlife physicians?.................The last wild Puma living in Virginia was killed in Washington County in 1882

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 MAN ATTACKED BY PUMA IN SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA?

AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) — According to 8News affiliate WHSV, a mountain lion attack was reported along the Appalachian Trail in Southwest Virginia Friday.

The attack occurred near Humpback Rock in Augusta County, south of Waynesboro, Friday afternoon, according to Augusta County Emergency Communications.

A 911 operator told WHSV that the Blue Ridge Parkway Police called in the request for help from the picnic area of Humpback Rock. The station said they were still waiting to hear back from the police department about what happened.

View from Humpback Rock, south of Waynesboro, Va., Summer 2014 (By Matt Chaney)

All evidence thus far suggests that Pumas only exist

in Florida east of the Mississippi

The attack occurred along the Appalachian Trail about 30 minutes from Humpback Rock. The man involved in the attack is being treated and is in stable condition.

It is still unclear what exactly attacked him.

According to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “since 1970, 121 sightings have been identified as possible mountain lions but have not been officially confirmed. Most sightings occurred in Shenandoah National Park and in the nearby Bedford, Amherst and Nelson County regions.

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Mountain Lion Reportedly Attacked a Hiker in Virginia

Despite the fact that in 2011, the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service declared the Eastern Cougar to be extinct, recommending that the animal be removed from the nation’s endangered species list, numerous sightings of the large cats have been reported throughout Appalachia for generations – including 121 since 1970 in 29 different Virginia counties alone.

Friday afternoon, that number grew to 122 when local emergency officials in Augusta County, Virginia, responded to what was an apparent mountain lion attack along the Appalachian Trail.

Appalachian Magazine spoke with officials from the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office who stated that the the United States National Park Service was handling the investigation of the case and therefore they could not make any additional comments.

There presently is no update as to the condition of the hiker.

Mountain lion sightings have not been limited to Virginia.  This past September, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency shared a trail camera photo of what clearly appeared to be a passing mountain lion.  The confirmation took place in Obion County, which is in western Tennessee, approximately 80 miles west of Nashville and only a few miles east of the Mississippi River along the border of Kentucky.

According to the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, the total length of this species is 5-9 feet and the cats weighed from 100-200 pounds.

Mountain lions’ preferred meal of choice is hoofed mammals, especially deer.  They will secondarily resort to smaller wild mammals, birds, fish and arthropods.