Saw a Mountain Lion

[Rich/WIS]

Was leaving the range yesterday and as I drove out a mountain lion ran across the road in front of me. Was amazed to say the least as I didn't think of SE KY as a place I would ever see one. Was impressed by its size and beauty, was less than 50 yards away. Could see the muscles flex under its skin as it trotted across the road. Really made my day, have seen trail cam pics of them when I lived in WI but this was the first time I had seen a live one. Looking at its size and obvious strength easy to see why they are apex predators.

[nagantguy]

When you see one there is no doubt about what it is- not a bobcat not a lynx not a large house cat. A mountain lion! They are a sight to see for sure. In 2018 or 19 MI DNR admitted to a
Population in he lower peninsula. After years of people
Seeing them and getting them on trail cams. They were already a problem around the rapid river. As deer population was down and by the amount of skeletons we saw along the river I’d guess as to what the cause was.
About 2007 a buddy killed one that was stalking him, like walking parallel to him and didn’t run away when he yelled and just walked closer when he threw rocks at it. When he told us about it we all said “bobcat” and he said nope never been afraid of a bobcat.when we went to see the thing we saw another one, two nights later we saw a young one cross the trail so close to us that we could see it had porky pine quills in its face.
They are amazing and indeed an apex killer but I think our ancestors were on to something by keepin the population down- I have livestock and small kids- both easy meals for a 150-200 pound cat.

[Prcshooter]

They are really impressive when seen in real life. I've seen two in the wild.

[FISH4BUGS]

I saw one cross in front of me at a range of about 50 yards. There is no mistaking the profile of a mountain lion when you clearly see one.
Unfortunately when I tell people I saw one, they react like I just told them I saw a flying saucer.
New Hampshire is not supposed to have mountain lions here!
But I'm not the only one that has seen it.

[BigAlofPa.]

Same thing here. The Pa game commision. Claims we do not have Mt loins. But yet folks report seeing them.

[Dapaki]

We have some in Minnesota, there are sightings from time to time but you cant shoot them even if they are attacking pets and/or livestock!

It gets confusing since depending on the locality, people call them Pumas, Cougars and Mountain Lions around here, not sure which is the most accurate.

The only one I saw was when I was snowshoeing and stopped for a snack, the Cougar crossed the path with a rabbit in its mouth, didn't even look my way. It had a lot of grey on its face and in its jacket and looked pretty big to me but I was startled so it looked YOUGE!

Beautiful cat, I hope to see another one some day.

[RU shooter]

Same thing here. The Pa game commision. Claims we do not have Mt loins. But yet folks report seeing them.
This has been case for decades now . I'm still up in the air about if there's a population in Pa . Yeah lots of people say they seen them but there's never been one shot or trapped or hit by car ect or any really solid evidence as many trail cameras are in use now there should be some clear undeniable photos but that's not the case .

[trapper9260]

There some that show up around me ,I did not see them but there foot prints. I had talk to some that has seen them. Like I also seen so far 3 wolfs go past my house and seen there footprints also in the yard and on the trap line.

[375supermag]

This has been case for decades now . I'm still up in the air about if there's a population in Pa . Yeah lots of people say they seen them but there's never been one shot or trapped or hit by car ect or any really solid evidence as many trail cameras are in use now there should be some clear undeniable photos but that's not the case .

Hi...
I hunt and hike in the Cameron and Elk County region of northern Pennsylvania. I gave seen bobcats but never a mountain lion.
Having said that, I have found some pretty large cat tracks in the Mosquito Creek area that looked much to large to be bobcat tracks.
People that live in that area swear that there are mountain lions in the area.

The PA. Game Commission swears there are no mountain lions in Pennsylvania. Of course, they also said there were no coyotes in Pennsylvania, even when people were routinely shooting them, so I gave limited confidence in the honesty of what the Game Commission says.

[MT Gianni]

I had one run across the road in front of me with red all down it's face and neck. 45 was in the back and he was gone by the time I could reach it. I have seen 5 that I remember and none were mistakable. When that tail moves you think lion. Also the stench is recognizable in cat country.

[Texas by God]

My paternal grandfather hunted "panthers" with dogs on our land during the early 1900s. I saw one when I was 14 and my sister in law saw one ten years ago here. Texas lets you kill them but the TPWD asks to be notified if you do for their studies.
Never doubt that Anything is in the wilderness.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Bazoo]

I've seen one. Wife and I both saw it. Juvenile ran across the road in front of us at night. We saw it clear as day about 10 yards ahead of us. About the size of a large bobcat but had the long tail.

I know a guy that traps, he's seen one. Biologists say there aren't any around here though. Hogwash.

[quilbilly]

If you have deer, you probably have the big kitties around whether the "experts" say so or not. In our neighborhood, we kind of like them because they eat the coyotes which we all don't like. We have had so many of the kitties around in the last couple years, our deer are getting mighty scarce but that will all change in the next couple years with all the incredible amount of logging that went on nearby before the virus arrived. That logging created a lot of new deer habitat with lots of new food while leaving the big kitties with not much hunting cover. BTW - My local butcher who does my deer has encouraged me to bring one in because he says they make the best sausages EVER. His specialty is all manners of European sausages.

[FISH4BUGS]

I have always been told that the NH Fish and Game cannot say definitively that Mountain Lions are here. They DO say on occasion, when there is irrefutable proof, they are just passing through.
To admit they are living here apparently triggers all kinds of federal regulations they would rather live without.

[knifemaker]

Mountain lions are a problem in CA. since our state banned the killing of the lions. In my area we had a guy camping at a mountain campground at a river that was attacked while sleeping in his sleeping bag. He was able to fight off the lion by punching it in the nose, but he received some severe injuries during the fight. I had a friend that was jumped by a mountain lion while sitting in some brush using a turkey call during the turkey hunting season. Most folks in my area practice the three "S's" if a lion is seen on their property. Shoot, shovel, and shut up.
I have also watched a lion take down a deer doe about 50 yards from me. The lion grabbed the doe by the throat and pulled it down to the ground and killed it by crushing the throat. The lion then straddled the deer and pulled it uphill behind a fallen log and proceeded to have it's dinner.
Our deer herds have suffered alot since the state banned hunting of the lions.

[trebor44]

Seen a few over the years, one was only about three feet away, but I was inside my truck. A couple times a year they are seen in and about town (Boise) both in daylight and at night. They do move fast when they want to. Winter and spring time walks in the foothills need to consider possible encounters with one. Oh yeah, they do eat dog! But they are not fond of packs!

[wv109323]

On two occasions I have seen a mountain lion in Pike Co. Ky.
A mine supply employee that made night deliveries claimed see had seen a black one on multiple occasions in Martin/Johnson Co. Ky.

[nelsonted1]

Old lady from church called the game warden all out of breath. A mountain lion was coming in her yard. Game warden scoffed at her. There are no mountain lions South of minneapolis! She said she'd shoot it and show it to him. You better not! He answered. So, I'm the feeble minded old lady seeing things but I had better not shoot it. Which is it?

[quilbilly]

I have always been told that the NH Fish and Game cannot say definitively that Mountain Lions are here. They DO say on occasion, when there is irrefutable proof, they are just passing through.
To admit they are living here apparently triggers all kinds of federal regulations they would rather live without.
In our neighborhood we don't talk about the spotted owls or marbled murrelets either for exactly the same reason. Bureaucrats wandering around the neighborhood are much more dangerous than mountain lions.

[Boogieman]

I saw one in Huntingdon Co. Pa. about 60 years ago The Game Commission was saying they didn't exist back then too.

[plowboysghost]

I have always been told that the NH Fish and Game cannot say definitively that Mountain Lions are here. They DO say on occasion, when there is irrefutable proof, they are just passing through.
To admit they are living here apparently triggers all kinds of federal regulations they would rather live without.

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".

Horsepoop, says I.

They lie.

[Battis]

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.

[kenton]

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.

[tinsnips]

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.

[Carrier]

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.

[quilbilly]

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.

[Wheelgun]

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.

[Gtrubicon]

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.

[.429&H110]

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...

[megasupermagnum]

We have some in Minnesota, there are sightings from time to time but you cant shoot them even if they are attacking pets and/or livestock!

It gets confusing since depending on the locality, people call them Pumas, Cougars and Mountain Lions around here, not sure which is the most accurate.

The only one I saw was when I was snowshoeing and stopped for a snack, the Cougar crossed the path with a rabbit in its mouth, didn't even look my way. It had a lot of grey on its face and in its jacket and looked pretty big to me but I was startled so it looked YOUGE!

Beautiful cat, I hope to see another one some day.

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.

[Les Staley]

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!

[Win94ae]

How very cool!

[Three44s]

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

[Walks]

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.

[quilbilly]

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.

[Jedman]

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

[fatnhappy]

This has been case for decades now . I'm still up in the air about if there's a population in Pa . Yeah lots of people say they seen them but there's never been one shot or trapped or hit by car ect or any really solid evidence as many trail cameras are in use now there should be some clear undeniable photos but that's not the case .

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-mountainlion-idUSTRE76Q5ZE20110727

[Tracy]

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".

Horsepoop, says I.

They lie.

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.

[Bwana John]

You might really be surprised about how many of the ones you didn't see.

[dragon813gt]

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.

[725]

Maryland DNR says we don't have them, however, a hunting friend and fellow land owner in western Maryland was out one day when he sat admiring the "beautiful deer off in the distance". Then he came to the realization that deer don't have tails that go all the way to the ground.

ps: There used to be a group called the "Eastern Puma Research Network" that collected sightings and stories. FWIW. I think the head guy has passed away and don't know how they are doing now.

[DougGuy]

I didn't see a mountain lion, but I saw a pic on social media of a 100+ lb doe dragged 15' up a smooth straight 8" diameter tree and lodged in the fork of the tree.