Montain Lion

[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/co...9-89e1fef37896

[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

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[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!