LAST -- Eastern Mountain Lion - University Park, PA - Last of its Kind on Waymarking.com

Extinction recognized

In 2011, the FWS opened an extensive review into the status of the eastern cougar. In 2015, the agency determined the eastern cougar no longer warranted protection under the Endangered Species Act and planned to de-list it. On January 22, 2018 the de-listing became final and they were officially declared extinct. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, "The eastern cougar was extinct well before it was protected under the Endangered Species Act." (from first listed website)

The Brush lion (also known as the Brush panther) was shot in 1856 in Susquehanna County by Samuel Brush. It had been treed on his property by his dogs and was the first sighting of a mountain lion in that area in several decades. They were already on the verge of extinction at the time, so his decision to kill it was an especially unfortunate one, but it also matched hundreds of decisions like his in the decades leading up to the lions' plight in 1856. Simply put, the European people of the woods and mountains of Pennsylvania misunderstood the mountain lion and in that misunderstanding took the course of action that would lead to its disappearance - they exterminated it out of fear. It may have been the half-human, half-animal cry of the lion, its ferocious countenance, or its ability to come and go so silently, but whatever the motivation, the lion went the way of much of the natural wildlife of Pennsylvania. This animal, who killed only for food and avoided man as much as man allowed him to, was last seen in Central Pennsylvania in the early 1890s.

By then the Brush lion had been in the Brush family barn for decades. In 1893 the lion was given to Penn State at the request of the Commonwealth's ornithologist. It traveled to the World Colombian Exposition in Chicago as part of a display of exotic animals. People realized too late the unfortunate mistake they had made in destroying one of Pennsylvania's natural treasures. The display was to be the most popular of all the Pennsylvania exhibits.

Over the years, first in President Atherton's Wildlife Museum in Old Main, and later at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, the Brush lion came to symbolize Pennsylvania settlers' indifference toward the survival of many animals in the 19th century. Early in the 20th century, Penn State baseball player Joe Mason called for the lion to be Penn State's school symbol. The Brush lion was in Old Main at the time and served as the inspiration for his call for the Pennsylvania Nittany Lion.

Now this last known specimen of the original Pennsylvania mountain lion serves more than one purpose for the future. Alive at the founding of Penn State and taken before its time, it reminds us of mistakes humans have made and continue to make toward other species. It reminds us to never make those mistakes again.

We can never bring the lions back, but if the Brush Lion helps us to remember them it serves a purpose. We hope that the museum quality diorama we have created will help those who view it to gain a perspective about wildlife and its habitat that will ultimately save other species from the lions' fate.

Steven Herb Head
Education & Behavioral Sciences Library
Co-Author, The Nittany Lion: an Illustrated Tale.

(sign beside lion in museum)


The lion was mounted by Dr. Lantham Avery Smith Jr, a prominent New Milford doctor. The lion measures 7 feet, 9 inches in length, is 30 inches high at the shoulders, and had weighed 147 pounds when it was shot. (from The Nittany Lion, an Illustrated Tale)

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