THAT seems to be the regular disclaimer/lie they tell in Alabama, too. They claimed there were "no big cats" in north Alabama...til they were caught on game cameras here. They also claimed there were "no bears in north Alabama", until an adult black bear was photographed in my community and put in the local newspaper just a few years ago....then the story changed to "it was just passing through".Originally Posted by FISH4BUGS
Horsepoop, says I.
They lie.
I saw one in northern NH a few years ago, by the Mt Washington Hotel. It ran across the road, right in front of me. And, yep, I was told "they're just passing through," but, from what I read, there's a lot of proof that they live around Mt. Washington. There's no mistaking that animal for anything else.
There was one confirmed around a state park here in east central Illinois. The story on it was that it was a solo animal released when there was a well publicized arrest for possession of big cats. I haven't heard much about cougars lately so it must have passed.
quando omni flunkus moritati
There a quite a few in western ND . I have only seen one in the wild, the state even has a season to hunt the big kitties. My friend had one trying to seek up on him at work he now carries a pistol with him.
They are very common where I live. First time I ever heard a cougar howl at night made every hair on my neck stand up and a sound I will never forget.
We had a pair mate underneath our back bedroom deck at 3 AM a few years back. That was memorable. Howling and rough. Our house cats went nuts. The female eventually had kittens out in a the woods then hung around for a couple months. We had our best veggies and rose garden ever due to the lack of deer then salmon made it up our creek for the first time in decades with the beavers cleaned out. Life in paradise is good.
We have them around here as well, though not officially. People get them on trail cams and a few yrs back a guy had some of his brood mares and colts attacked. Some had about 4-5” wide claw marks down their neck, back and shoulders. Then one was killed on the railroad tracks a few years ago and they had it in the local paper. Apparently it had a tracking collar and the last signal was in upper Wyoming.
We’ve see two up close, both when we where kids, and two from a far more recently. All have been significantly bigger than our Australian Shepard or Border Collies, so no, not bobcats.
One walked across our drive way one night when I was a kid. Mom brought my sister and I home from my grandparents late one night, it walked across about 15ft in front of moms truck, stopped looked at us and then ambled off into the dark. A few months later one came up from the pond while dad was swathing hay in the meadow behind our house (could have been the same one). Just catching mice and rats in the windrows, didn’t care about the tractor or swather at all.
I’ve heard but don’t know if true, that if the state acknowledges that they're here, they have to be protected. Then all kinds of BS is involved and money allotted to preserve them. But again, I don’t know if there’s any truth to that.
“You’ve got to slow down to be fast” - Dad
They are a big problem where I live in northern Ca, I actually have a picture on my game camera with 4 adult lions in one frame.
Away back in 1985 SWMBO was driving to work at dawn and nearly hit one on I-89 in Enfield NH. They both stopped and growled at each other. Scared that cat, I betcha...
I've never seen one, but it seems I've been close. I had been riding up in Huntersville, and the same day a cougar was hit on the road in Nimrod (awesome town, with an great population). They do come through from time to time. I've never heard of a stabile population, but they are spotted every year. Sort of related, I found it funny a few years ago when a moose was hit in Maple Lake. To think a moose, which mainly only live in the extreme north east of the state, made it all that way, and was hit at the lake access about 4 miles from my house.
Speaking of Mountain Lions just "passing through", I'll have some passing thru sometime tomorrow. Having lion steak for dinner this evening....🙄😏.....it's delicious!
How very cool!
Bigger than an Australian Sheppard?
Oh yes, I’ll tell the world! How about a Tom approaching 180+ pounds and stretching out to 7 feet tip to tip?
But rest easy, he was just passing through!
Three44s
Quote Originally Posted by Bret4207
“There is more to this than dumping lead in a hole.”
The only one I've ever since in the wild,
was the one I took back in 1970 near Big Pine, CA. Behind a pack of Dogs. Took 4 shots from My Dad's .357Mag Blackhawk. First 3 hit wood, last one killed the Cat dead.
They are a Problem in the city of los angeles. There is a Population of Cougars literally trapped in LA County, surrounded by freeways and housing. All have been tagged by CA DFG. Show up on the local news, trail cameras get pictures which are televised every time a dog or cat goes missing.
Even had a woman killed a few years back, biking or running in the eastern foothills. It was actually witnessed by 3 or 4 people.
In CA, Cougars can kill people. But people can't kill Cougars.
I HATE auto-correct
Happiness is a Warm GUN & more ammo to shoot in it.
My Experience and My Opinion, are just that, Mine.
SASS #375 Life
Mountain lions can get a lot bigger than 180#. I was familiar with one in the Cascades where I met him on a logging road while mountain biking. He sat in the road watching me holding my bike as a shield pointing my 22Hornet at him from 40 feet. he didn't seem the least concerned. That lion was shot a few years later in the same area when he was starving due to old age and lack of teeth. He still weighed over 230#. When I met that mega kitty in his prime, I estimated his weight at approaching 280#or about the size of a large African leopard. The wildlife biologist for the area told me his favorite food was other, smaller male lions which the state had trapped in populated areas and that he was a very valuable resource for the agency.
Back around 2000-2001 my wife seen one on her way to work. She pulled off the road and called the Highway Patrol and the operator told her to call Ohio Division of Wildlife so she did and they took a little information and told her we don't have lions in OH. She is not dumb, like many of you that has seen one knows when you see one you know it's not a bobcat or big house cat. She was kinda pissed no one believed her that she seen one and there have been other sightings back then but none were ever killed that was reported and I have not heard of any sightings in this area since.
I have seen their tracks in WY when I have been hunting there but never seen a mountain lion that wasn't in a cage.
Jedman
I'm suspect there are animals in NY and PA. A better question might be "how many?" A handful? A couple dozen?
I'm mildly skeptical of anecdotal evidence to their presence, but unlike bigfoot, they have been killed by cars.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-m...76Q5ZE20110727
Yes, they do. They are starting to change their tune though, about both mountain lions and bears. In fact AL DNR now says there is a breeding population of bears in Little River Canyon.
You might really be surprised about how many of the ones you didn't see.
That’s the scary part. I don’t like cats in general. I don’t like being stalked by big or little ones when I’m roaming about the woods. There have been a few times when the hair on the back of my neck has stood up and I got out of the area as quickly as possible.
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