Montain Lion

[white eagle]

My neighbor in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. sent me a picture of a mountain lion that they got on their trail camera
If I could post the pic I would
however I lack the technical abilities to do so that being said we have no mountain lions in Wis. supposedly
last winter I got a pic on my cameras of a Bobcat which again we are not supposed to have in southern Wis.

[bakerjw]

We had one cross the range a year or so ago at my gun club. There are more out there than one would expect.

[Shanghai Jack]

Yeah, they (texas parks and wildlife) told me there aren't any mountain lions in the Dallas area either until I snapped an identifiable picture of one stalking my neighbors yorkshire terrier. He wouldn't have believed me if I hadn't managed to snap the picture with the house address in the background.

[firefly1957]

Mountain lions range all over I have yet to see one here in Michigan but have seen tracks .
My father and step mother along with a lot of people in cars was one just west of Midland Michigan chasing a deer during daylight DNR laughed at all those that reported it. I have seen Lynx, wolves, and Pine Martin none of them supposed to be in area.

[sav300]

What is this DNR? Dont know respect for people?

[Three44s]

What is this DNR? Dont know respect for people?

Department of Natural Resources

I like yours though: Don’t ‘no respect

Best regards

Three44s

[Three44s]

Mountain Lions make their living by being stealthy, very stealthy!

Three44s

[Bwana John]

The most widely distributed large mammal in the western hemisphere.

Northern Canada to Terra de Fuego.

[megasupermagnum]

For whatever reason, they seem like an animal that often just takes off on a long walk for no good reason. Of course there is is no breeding population in WI, or anywhere even close, but I've heard of mountain lions wandering off hundreds of miles for seemingly no reason. There are no populations in MN either, yet every so often one turns up. If they aren't hit on the highway, they can make it a long ways.

Bobcat though, I'm pretty sure you will find bobcat through most of your state. There's probably more up north, but they are around in low numbers through most of the country. It's hard to pinpoint exactly, as they are very nomadic animals.

[badguybuster]

The DNR used to claim we didnt have them here in WV either but I shot one in the @$$ with a pellet gun when it was sneaking around my barn. I had 2 mares that were due to foal and it just kept lurking. Then some oil workers got several photos of another one. They are about, make no mistake

[hoodat]

Out west here, the lions are thick, and the deer live in town.:roll: The Department of F n W won't allow hound hunting for cougar or bear anymore, and they've both got pretty thick. We get the big cats right in town now sometimes too. jd

[lksmith]

Yeah, they (texas parks and wildlife) told me there aren't any mountain lions in the Dallas area either until I snapped an identifiable picture of one stalking my neighbors yorkshire terrier. He wouldn't have believed me if I hadn't managed to snap the picture with the house address in the background.

Game and Fish says they've not been in Arkansas for 100years, in spite of a friend losing several livestock to them as well as game cam photos and a newspaper article (abt 50 years ago) where one attacked a man and his dog in a saltworks mill. Not to mention numerous eyewitness accounts. They finally said "there may be some stragglers passing through or released from zoos but no breeding population" which is funny since several of the gamecam photos showed cubs.

[Battis]

A mountain lion ran across the road right in front of my car in NH a few years ago, up near Mt Washington. There's no mistaking that head, that body and especially that tail at a close distance, in daylight. I reported it but was told, basically, that what I saw was probably a bobcat.
Naw...not a bobcat.
Apparently, if the authorities admit that there's mountain lions in NH, they have to come up with a management plan, and I guess it gets pretty complicated and involved. So, basically, they say that the big cats are "just passing through."
In 2011, a mountain lion was struck and killed by a car in CT. Genetic testing showed that the cat came from SD.

[Texas by God]

There's been two seen on our farm in the last 50 years. I saw one about a quarter mile from where my house is now when I was 14 years old. My friend and I were dove hunting and one just came down the fence line about 200 yards away. When we yelled " That's a cougar"! at each other, it shot out of sight like a rocket. About ten years ago a sister in law had one cross the road at night in her headlights on the oil well road. Freaked her out a little bit....
I wonder how many we have not seen?

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[jim147]

I put the car sideways to miss one many years ago. But we don't have any in Kansas or Missouri.

I had one in the driveway last year. It's tail was as long as the body.

[perotter]

I seen one in Eau Claire county WI about 15 years ago. It was on a Christmas when I was at my folks house.

Since I was a kid in the late '50s people in Jackson county WI would report seeing them year after year. Around 1980 the DNR there finally was able to find tracks there. Given the frequent reports for decades, hard not to believe there isn't a breeding population in WI.

[cwtebay]

I put the car sideways to miss one many years ago. But we don't have any in Kansas or Missouri.

I had one in the driveway last year. It's tail was as long as the body.I got a chance to see one of the "non-existant" lions while going to school in Manhattan. He was dead - so no denying that one.

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[richhodg66]

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Park's stance was that none lived in Kansas for a long time, but there have been enough of them found and sighted now that they acknowlege it. A big female was found dead maybe 100 miles from here killed with a shotgun a year or two ago. They are out there. I'd love to see one someday, hopefully while I'm out deer hunting or something where I'm armed and not just see it crossing a road while I'm driving or something.

[Taylor]

Growing up in Harlan Kentucky, me and dad where stacking hay by the barn. I was about 10-12 years old, he got killed when I was 13 (1970), so it was before that. Anyway....I looked over in the horse pasture and there he was..just sittting and watching the horses. Dad went to the house for a rifle, but he turned and went back into the mountains. Never saw him again. No horses, cows or hogs were ever lost.

Everything I have ever read since stated their are/where no panthers,cougars or mountain lions in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky. I know better.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

We have reports of big cats every few years the one that was killed in Chicago maybe 10 years ago from the DNA they think that it was from South Dakota

[bakerjw]

To put things into perspective of the rarity of cougar sightings.

In 2018, my son, myself and a coworker were close to finishing up an 80 mile day on trails and dusty roads up in Canada. As we reached the top of Cabin Pass, we were pretty quiet as it was hot, dusty and we had pushed hard. We were riding into a moderate headwind right at the peak when all of the sudden a mountain lion jumped up out of the grass about 15' away and took off down the mountainside. Friends of mine from that area have been riding for decades up there and have never seen one.

But in 2017, my friend Bonnie was coming over Galton Pass and had one stare her down on the trail for a few minutes.

[richhodg66]

About 22 years ago, I knew I was going to miss deer season from having to go do some time in Kuwait, so I went out to west Texas to hunt javelinas on this ranch out there, pretty cool experience, mainly just getting to know this old cowboy riding around for a couple of days with him. Anyway, day one, I had to fill out the various legal paper work, contracts, etc. Don't remember the exact verbiage, but basically "don't shoot a game animal without the guide's OK, you can shoot coyotes if you want to, if we see a mountain lion and you don't stop whatever you're doing and make an earnest effort to kill it, you'll be asked to leave and not come back". That guy hated them and they are apparently a real serious problem out there for anybody raising live stock. He was telling me an adult one will kill a deer, calf, etc., every day if the opportunity presents itself.

I carried a rifle, obviously, but he didn't. I was kind of curious how that would go down if we did see one, but it didn't happen.

[dale2242]

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has a cougar management plan.
Cougar tags are $16.50 each with a limit of 2 per year.
I spent my career operating heavy equipment building logging road.
We traveled 1000s of miles in the woods.
If my memory serves me correctly, I saw 20+ cougars in my years in the woods.
I buy a cougar tag every year but have never killed one.
Of all the cougar I have seen, I may have been able to get a shot at 2-3 if I had the rifle in my hand ready to shoot.
You typically only get fleeting glances at them in full stride.
An adult cougar will kill a deer a week with a female with cubs taking more if she can.

[MrWolf]

The DNR used to claim we didnt have them here in WV either but I shot one in the @$$ with a pellet gun when it was sneaking around my barn. I had 2 mares that were due to foal and it just kept lurking. Then some oil workers got several photos of another one. They are about, make no mistake

When I first moved here, the property was bank owned and vacant for about two years. I have 81 acres. Got some pics of a cat print bigger than my pocket knife closed. Told the neighbors with the ranch and said we definitely have them up here. Swear I saw one stalking my gf's dog while in our yard. I have a 6' chain link fence and it was in the bushes just watching.

[gbrown]

I've posted this before. Back a few years ago, National Geographic had an article on big cats in urban areas. All over the world. 2 in the United States, both mountain lions--1 female was tagged and had a tracking device put on in Idaho. They tracked her, a couple of years later to Los Angeles. She spent some time there, hiding out in a wooded triangle isolated by freeways. Would come out at night and cross and recross freeways, foraging for food. Stayed a month or 2 and went back to her home range. The 2nd was from the Everglades. Went to Atlanta area and spent a month or so. Then returned to home range. No. one, other than the researchers, ever reported seeing them. Ghosts in the night.

[Rich/WIS]

Last Spring had one cross the road in front of me here in Eastern KY.

[Graybeard96]

A few Winters back I was hauling Nitrogen to Rainbow Lake in northern Alberta. Just before High Level there on the left hand side on top of a very big frozen Beaver house was sitting a really big Cougar. I thought I must be mistaken there could not be any Cats that far north but I was doing 60 Mph and now way I would hit the Brakes on this Icy Road for a better look.
That evening at Camp in Rainbow Lake I shared the Table with a Natural Resources Officer which is also the local Cop. He told me these Cats frequently pull down Wood Buffalo Calves.

Cheers

[quilbilly]

Maybe we are just used to having them around in our neck of the woods but it would seem that if you have deer, you either have or will have the big kitties around. To Graybeard - We used to raise buffalo and it was interesting to watch the reaction of our herd when a cat crossed our pasture. I can't imagine it being very often that a cougar would pick off a buffalo calf or even a newborn calf. That would be dangerous business even for an ice age short faced bear.

[Omega]

Maybe we are just used to having them around in our neck of the woods but it would seem that if you have deer, you either have or will have the big kitties around. To Graybeard - We used to raise buffalo and it was interesting to watch the reaction of our herd when a cat crossed our pasture. I can't imagine it being very often that a cougar would pick off a buffalo calf or even a newborn calf. That would be dangerous business even for an ice age short faced bear.Probably like lions and water buffalos, it can go either way sometimes but eventually a determined cat will get it's meal.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

I was on my motorcycle traveling from San Diego up to Spokane on US 395 and saw a large one bound across the road in Oregon. Had just topped a small mountain. Thought it was a deer at first until I saw that long tail. Only cat I have seen in the wild.

[Winger Ed.]

I read some where that they can claim a territory going as far as a hundred miles in one or more directions.

In Texas, they aren't protected, or a game animal; but the wild life dept. asks that if you kill one, see one, or find a dead one,
call them so they can record, count, and track them.

Years ago, we had some wilderness type property in N. East Texas. I called it the poison ivy farm and tick ranch.
I'd often see cats tracks about the size of my hand. I finally called the Possum Cop to ask about them being there.
He said, 'Oh yeah, we think there are nine of them in your neighborhood'.

I told him I'd seen small tracks at the edge of a pond, along with a set of big ones, so he might want to up the count to ten.

[Gator 45/70]

Never seen a brown/tan big cat in the woods, Did see one much much darker running on a river bank, But that belongs in the UFO section as being not real.....

[legend 550]

Few years old but cougar sign seen in NW Ohio (Fayette) 2004 https://www.wtol.com/article/news/cougars-spotted-in-ohio/512-a9440a62-6e02-4eb8-9109-89e1fef37896

[Graybeard96]

Maybe we are just used to having them around in our neck of the woods but it would seem that if you have deer, you either have or will have the big kitties around. To Graybeard - We used to raise buffalo and it was interesting to watch the reaction of our herd when a cat crossed our pasture. I can't imagine it being very often that a cougar would pick off a buffalo calf or even a newborn calf. That would be dangerous business even for an ice age short faced bear.

I have no reason to believe what you say but the same goes for that Natural Resource Officer which I trust had no reason to BS me.

Cheers

[Texas by God]

I remember my grandfather who passed in 1967 at age 86 telling stories of him and relatives hunting "panthers" in the Salt creek and Trinity River bottoms in the 1920s here in the Cross Timbers region of Texas. The same post oak forest is still here that was here then. Like aliens and ghosts, just because you don't see them doesn't mean that they're not around[emoji16]

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[lksmith]

I remember hunting at the back of my parents' place, behind the house when I was in Jr High. I was sitting in the stand and saw one come out. Wasn't sure what it was at first since they supposedly don't live here. It came out about 50yds in front of me along a woodline. Was same color as a deer but WAY more muscular, could see every muscle striation even with naked eye. Put my scope on it and was debating whether to shoot. I got to thinking, I only have 3 shells in my 30-30 and I'm only 7ft off the ground. Wasn't sure that'd do more than make it mad and 7ft ain't nothing for a cat that size

[Winger Ed.]

A buddy talked of a guided hunting trip he made to Colorado awhile back.
He was way up in a tree, and heard a mountain lion scream.
A little later, he heard it scream again, it sounded like it was closer, but the scream came from a different direction.
Not much later, he heard it scream a third time,,,,, and it was real close.

He waited until the guide came back in the truck before he got down. He told the guide about it.
The guide told him, "The first scream was to let you know you were in its territory. The second was was telling you to get out of its territory.
The third scream was telling you that you SHOULD have gotten out of its territory".

On the way back to the lodge, they came across about 2/3 of a freshly killed cow elk.
Apparently, the mountain lion didn't want to share it.

[Omega]

Not unexpectedly, they are all over the mountains in Colorado, sometimes when I'd go fishing or hunting I'd walk back to my vehicle only to find tracks on my tracks leading away from it as if a cat was following earlier. Sure would make for a nervous walk to the lake in the fog, or before daybreak.

[jim147]

If you have ever heard the scream you will never forget it.

[firefly1957]

Sav 300
Here in Michigan the DNR stands for Department of Natural Resources in fact they are just puppets of the left more then glad to do the biding of democrat politicians and are often reigned in by our legislators . I have talked to a few officers I would not trust as dog catchers others are sensible good officers .

There is a very long tradition of calling them "Damn Near Russians" here because of that!

[Mr_Sheesh]

Very like a woman's scream.

Farmer friend one fall called me to come shoot a coyote on his place, in the San Juan islands. At low tide, there is a land bridge from mainland to this island. Asked the usual questions and he said it was open terrain, long sight lines, so I picked out the .243. I forget why but the follower was not in it at the time, oddly.

We get there and the terrain is more doghair, 30 foot visibility or so tops... We sat in his trailer talking for a bit then hear -scream- "There, that's it, the coyote!" he exclaims. -facepalm-

Go outside and could hear it walking in the woods on the other side of the dirt road, crunching dry leaves. It was within 30 feet of us, knew where it was, but no visuals? With a bolt action single shot, scoped long range rifle. Kitty eventually decided they weren't getting his livestock that day & left.

Until then - We respectfully stayed on our side of the road... If we'd had a 12 gauge, or semi auto carbine, would have felt far better armed for that situation!

[MT Gianni]

The smell of them is strong also. When you're in lion territory you know it. Still it is very hard to get a shot on one unless treed or trapped.

[FISH4BUGS]

I positively ID'd a mountain lion here in Southeast central New Hampshire a couple of years ago.
There is no mistaking the profile of a mountain lion.
You would think I had seen a flying saucer the way people treated the sighting.
NH Fish & Game will not admit they are here. They say they are "passing through".
My understanding is that if they officially admit the existence of mountain lions here, federal regs will kick in.
No, it wasn't a bobcat. It was a mountain lion.
I may only have one eye but it works pretty well. :)

[Battis]

Not too long ago, on a farm in Salisbury, MA (MA/NH border), they found a dead calf in a tree, which, apparently, is a sign of a big cat.

[firefly1957]

The smell of them is strong also. When you're in lion territory you know it. Still it is very hard to get a shot on one unless treed or trapped.

What is the smell you refer to ?
I have for years been asking about a smell both me and my father both smelled while we got a strong sense of being watched while bow hunting 00 yard apart . The smell was like skunk and coffee next day we found very large cat tracks in area.

[MUSTANG]

What is the smell you refer to ?
I have for years been asking about a smell both me and my father both smelled while we got a strong sense of being watched while bow hunting 00 yard apart . The smell was like skunk and coffee next day we found very large cat tracks in area.

Smells like exceptionally strong Cat Pee.

[cwtebay]

Smells like exceptionally strong Cat Pee.Fairly certain that out of the last 100 or so lions I've been around - I haven't noticed the odour other than a handful.
Their range is a 65ish mile radius - not like every square foot is their litter box.

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[Idaho45guy]

Saw one dead on the side of the road today on my way to work. We have quite a few out here, but that's the first one I've seen hit by a car. Looked like a young one, so probably out looking for new territory.

When I lived in Iowa, had a friend who lived in the country call me in a panic one night and said he had a Mountain Lion in his tree and his dogs were going nuts circling the tree and barking.

He said he called the Iowa DNR and they refused to come out because they said mountain lions don't exist in Iowa. But then said if he killed it he would be fined heavily. I asked him what he wanted to happen and he said he wanted it to leave. I told him to get his dogs in the house and the lion would leave.

He did, and it did. He showed me the pictures he took and it was indeed a mountain lion.

[gwpercle]

Mountain Lions make their living by being stealthy, very stealthy!

Three44s

A big cat is something I wouldn't want to tangle with .
At the New Orleans Zoo a Jaguar got out for about 45 minutes and killed 5 alpaca , 2 emus , 2 foxes and injured several other animals ... all in under 45 minutes !
The Jaguar is named Valero , his cage repaired and is back on display ... the zoo director said he was just doing what Jaguar's do . Big cats are killing machines and I would not like to be attacked by one .
Gary

[quilbilly]

If you have ever heard the scream you will never forget it.. We had a pair mate right under our bedroom deck at 2 AM one night a few years back. Our indoor house cats were never quite the same after all the screaming and hollering.

[firefly1957]

Mustang Thanks for clearing up what they smell like I am still after quite a few years puzzled at the coffee /skunk type smell back then while bow hunting on my land here in Michigan . Whatever it was it spooked first my father then me and every animal around too even chickadees got still and quiet.

[jim147]

Mustang Thanks for clearing up what they smell like I am still after quite a few years puzzled at the coffee /skunk type smell back then while bow hunting on my land here in Michigan . Whatever it was it spooked first my father then me and every animal around too even chickadees got still and quiet.

That would have been a Bigfoot that spilled his morning coffee down his front side when he saw a funny meme on Facebook.

[gwpercle]

. We had a pair mate right under our bedroom deck at 2 AM one night a few years back. Our indoor house cats were never quite the same after all the screaming and hollering.

I don't think I would be the same after all that screaming and hollering under my house ...
I would consider doing something drastic ....
Gary

[Gator 45/70]

I don't think I would be the same after all that screaming and hollering under my house ...
I would consider doing something drastic ....
Gary

Kinda reminds me of my younger days with the down da bayou women....

[gbrown]

Kinda reminds me of my younger days with the down da bayou women....

Thanks for the humor!! LOL

[Mr_Sheesh]

gwpercle I remember the "Great White hunter" who was contracted by an African Government to kill some killer Lions (IIRC, Man eaters of kumaon?), it got into a killed woman's hut and was roaring etc. in there, GWH was getting all ready to confront it...

Meanwhile one of the military guys attached to him, pulls the pin on a grenade, and tosses that in there, BOOM, dead kitty.

Sometimes the direct way works best :) AKA "Peace through superior firepower" LOL

Should do for Cougars too, tho in the US you might have BATFE issues :p

[firefly1957]

That would have been a Bigfoot that spilled his morning coffee down his front side when he saw a funny meme on Facebook.

It was before there was a facebook I think AL GORE had recently invented the internet then :killingpc

We saw large cat tracks next day and for the next year and a half I never caught that smell again I have had bear near me there is is nothing like the smell of a bear. There are more cougar sightings in this area then bigfoot sightings of coarse our DNR says neither are here but the state did pass a law protecting bigfoot back in the 1970's .....

[Three44s]

Don’t kid yourself, those cats Mark territory with urine that smells but they do not wet themselves as that would be counter productive.

If they were wounded or in some big fight they might spill some but their order of business, their very survival is summed up in one word: Stealth

Three44s

[Mr_Sheesh]

Their ability to jump amazing distances helps, too.

If in cougar country and you feel watched. pay attention, our brains just know sometimes.