 Descriptions from early explorers and settlers give some idea of what the Pine Creek Gorge was like before it was clearcut . The forest was up to 85 percent hemlock and white pine ; hardwoods made up the rest of the forest . The area was inhabited by a large number of animal species , many of which have vanished by the end of the 20th century . A herd of 12 @,@ 000 American bison migrated along the West Branch Susquehanna River in 1773 . Pine Creek was home to large predators such as wolves , lynx , wolverines , panthers , fishers , bobcats and foxes ; all are locally extinct except for the last three as of 2007 . The area had herds of elk and deer , and large numbers of black bears , river otters , and beavers . In 1794 , two of the earliest white explorers to travel up Pine Creek found so many rattlesnakes on its banks that they had to sleep in their canoe . Further upstream , insects forced them to do the same . 
