Mysterious ‘large feline’ seen in eastern Pennsylvania ignites talk of ‘ghost cats’
UPDATE: The Pennsylvania Game Commission responded to Lehigh County to investigate the “big feline” and reports the animal was a feral cat, police say. The original story is below.
A mysterious big cat has been documented in eastern Pennsylvania’s Lehigh County, leading some to speculate a species long believed locally extinct has returned.
Pennsylvania State Police say photos of the creature were taken Sunday, Oct. 15, in Lower Macungie Township, about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
“Upon further investigation it was determined that the image captured a large feline, possibly a mountain lion, in the fields behind Hanover Drive,” police said. “If seen, do not approach.”
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has been alerted, police said.
Mountain lions, also known as cougars, panthers and pumas, are considered extinct in Pennsylvania, the Penn State Extension reports.
“The last wild cougar in Pennsylvania was killed in 1871 and the last cougar born on the East Coast was killed in 1938 in Maine,” the extension says.
However, occasional sightings of so-called “ghost cats” have been reported for decades, leading skeptics to equate them with reports of “aliens and supernatural manifestations,” JSTOR Daily says.
“The need to see cougars may stem from the fact that they symbolize the wild like few other animals. Cougars can, after all, eat you, although that contingency is a remote one,” JSTOR Daily reports.
Mountain lions, which can grow to 200 pounds and eight feet in length, are able to “leap as high as 18 feet vertically and cover 40 feet horizontally in one bound,” the National Park Service reports.
News of a possible mountain lion living in Lower Macungie Township quickly led to additional reports of sightings in the region on social media.
However, some commenters argued it was likely just a bobcat, which are reclusive and much smaller than mountain lions (about 30 pounds).
“So they kept saying there are none (mountain lions) and people are crazy if they think they saw one and now they’re reporting that one has been spotted,” Nikki Zepp-Fickus posted on Facebook.
“They call them ghost cats because they are very good at hiding out of sight,” Alley Heist said.
“Bob cat or mountain lion it’s still something to worry about,” Dean Gombert noted. “Since there isn’t a lot of wooded areas and as much food for them in the area ... they will be after pets.”
This story was originally published October 16, 2023 at 8:47 AM with the headline "Mysterious ‘large feline’ seen in eastern Pennsylvania ignites talk of ‘ghost cats’."