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Panther/Cougar???

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#41 ·
most of the cougars seen in non-cougar country are the result of captive animals being released because the owner can't/doesn't want to care for them any longer or they escaped. Undeniably, however, they're moving east but I doubt they're as far as SC yet...if I had to bet, I'd say formerly captive animal running wild...
 
#42 ·
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#43 ·
TheNewGuy said:
I know several people here in OK that have claimed to have seen one. I am personally not a believer however. We might get the occasional cat wandering through but I don't think we have a breeding population. I have never seen a track or a dead deer carcass covered in leaves which I believe is the way cougars hide their kills not in trees (just to stir the pot). But the state however has lifted their protection of the animals. Saying that if they are a threat to livestock or personal safety they can be killed. So these people that are seeing them better start coming up with some bodies.
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Dude, I don't think the state would bother to lift the protection on something that isn't there. If they lifted the protection on it I think they believe there are some around.

Season still closed on the do-do bird regards.
 
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#44 ·
this is something, as here in NE PA soo many people swear that they see them. The game Commission says,"no way"! I know that they are so many bobcats,but i know many people who have seen the mountain lions. The one road in Pleasant mt.PA. was renamed Mountain lion lane, you see many of the roads are named after the families that live on that road. So someone had a sense of humor...

i don't know if laws protect them, after all, they are not here, maria
 
Discussion starter · #46 ·
Interesting comment Patrick. I told the retired pro I work with about the cat, and he said pretty much the same thing. DNR does not want to hear about it, know about it, or react because they don't want to deal with the issue.
 
#47 ·
Patrick Johndrow said:
That is what wildlife departments say…the cat could be chewing on their leg and they would deny its existence. Modern wildlife officials are nothing more than bureaucrats
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same way here in Nebraska we have them all over..oh wait no we don't..The Nebraska game and parks denies that they are here but some how one ended up in West Omaha a couple of years ago. I guess it just got lost and happened to wander there by accident. By Uncles are cattle ranchers in North Central Nebraska and one has seen one first hand checking calves and the other has came upon paw prints much bigger then any dog could make. But remember they are not in Nebraska!!!
 
#48 ·
My dad and I seen a mountain lion building fence a few years back here in Central Texas. What a sight! It was only about 60 yards out, almost a little scary. It just looked at us for a minute and went about its business. Of course we had no rifle. I hear of more and more people seeing them more often.
 
#50 ·
They been around. One was hit by a car in KC 2 yrs ago. A family of them spotted numerous times near Lawrence. I believe that SD has had a special limited hunt on them 2 yrs running. The thing to remember is that they have about a 100 mile range. Many states deciding not to officially acknowledge them is a good thing-saves you the hunter from being scutinized and licensed and permitted to death. Dedeye asks whats the big deal? Well I prefer to be at the top of the food chain when I am in the woods for one!
 
#51 ·
Anecdotal information regarding large cat / cougar sightings abound in many states, then again so do "sightings" of UFO's. Without other supportive evidence such as predation on other animals (inclusive of humans), scat samples, tracks, sightings observed by wildlife biologists during aerial surveys for other wildlife, and roadkills ( like the kind that impacts every other creature crossing roads), they should remain classified as anecdotal sightings, not scientific fact. The cats mentioned have large home ranges and cross many roads, especially in areas with higher human population densities, which leaves the question, where are the roadkills? These animals are also opportunistic carnivores that will take advantage of easy prey such as domestic stock and pets. I would be much more concerned with the potential for a coyote or family group of coyotes attacking a family pet, as opposed to an attack by large cats. The probability of an animal illegally imported and released into a region with no existing population is a consideration. Often such animals have been captive reared and declawed rendering them unlikely to survive well outside of captive environments.

Hey I gotta go, the National Enquires is hot off the press and there is a real good story about Martians living in the subways of New York City.

Carver
 
#52 ·
Carver said:
Anecdotal information regarding large cat / cougar sightings abound in many states, then again so do "sightings" of UFO's. Without other supportive evidence such as predation on other animals (inclusive of humans), scat samples, tracks, sightings observed by wildlife biologists during aerial surveys for other wildlife, and roadkills ( like the kind that impacts every other creature crossing roads), they should remain classified as anecdotal sightings, not scientific fact. The cats mentioned have large home ranges and cross many roads, especially in areas with higher human population densities, which leaves the question, where are the roadkills? These animals are also opportunistic carnivores that will take advantage of easy prey such as domestic stock and pets. I would be much more concerned with the potential for a coyote or family group of coyotes attacking a family pet, as opposed to an attack by large cats. The probability of an animal illegally imported and released into a region with no existing population is a consideration. Often such animals have been captive reared and declawed rendering them unlikely to survive well outside of captive environments.

Hey I gotta go, the National Enquires is hot offthe press and there is a real good story about Martians living in the subways of New York City.

Carver
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I'm sure there are a lot of sightings that are not supported with evidence and some may be pets.It's pretty hard to argue with DNA or a body that they're not out there though.That cat in Milton,Wi was confirmed with DNA.The two in Illinois were bodies.One killed by a train another by a hunter.I know a Wisconsin tagged Timber Wolf was killed in Indiana.It had to pass through a pretty populated area un-noticed.I don't think it is as hard to believe as UFOs or Bigfoot that it's possible that Mountan Lions and other wild animals wander outside of thier normal range.
http://www.easterncougarnet.org/network.html
 
#53 ·
Carver said:
Anecdotal information regarding large cat / cougar sightings abound in many states, then again so do "sightings" of UFO's. Without other supportive evidence such as predation on other animals (inclusive of humans), scat samples, tracks, sightings observed by wildlife biologists during aerial surveys for other wildlife, and roadkills ( like the kind that impacts every other creature crossing roads), they should remain classified as anecdotal sightings, not scientific fact. The cats mentioned have large home ranges and cross many roads, especially in areas with higher human population densities, which leaves the question, where are the roadkills? These animals are also opportunistic carnivores that will take advantage of easy prey such as domestic stock and pets. I would be much more concerned with the potential for a coyote or family group of coyotes attacking a family pet, as opposed to an attack by large cats. The probability of an animal illegally imported and released into a region with no existing population is a consideration. Often such animals have been captive reared and declawed rendering them unlikely to survive well outside of captive environments.

Hey I gotta go, the National Enquires is hot off the press and there is a real good story about Martians living in the subways of New York City.

Carver
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I've hunted all over Northern CA and have personally seen cats, their scat and their kills. There have been 2 (that I know of) confirmed kills of humans by Mountain Lions. There is absolutely no debate over whether they exist, in pretty large numbers I might add.

That said, I have never seen or heard of a Mountain Lion road kill so that theory, in and of itself, doesn't hold water with me.

Denial is the the first step towards acceptance regards,

Rick
 
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#55 ·
Several years ago I learned to not discount every story you hear.

One of my cooking buddies, whose been known to drink TOO much, rolled in to the CookOff one morning and swore he had just seen an Elephant in Cut-N-Shoot!!!! He took BIG TIME abuse from the rest of us.

Shortly thereafter, the Sheriff's Dept pulled up and warned us that an Elephant was loose and to "Be Careful".

It had escaped from a small circus and was caught shortly but it was REAL!!!!

Jerry
 
#57 ·
I was not implying that mountain lions / cougars do not exist. They are magnificent animals and their range may be expanding into areas with no recent history of populations. If they are, the questions would be how would they be "managed" and would man want to co-exist with them? My guess would be that with like many other apex predators, that there would be strong resistance.

My comments were more specific to the New England States, where there are continual "sightings". I spoke with one woman who claimed to have seen a "mountain lion". When I asked her for a description, she described a bobcat. I told her that she had described a bobcat and her reply was, "what's the difference"?

Certainly there mght be expansion of or overlap of range, though that would need to be supported by telemetry and tagging studies.

There may have been collection of specimens in Wisconsin inclusive of DNA, that does not confirm a reproductive population exists there. I believe there also exists some controversial studies specific to the collection of DNA from cougars, as conducted by some of the more "prominent" researchers within the field of wildlife biology.

As for roadkills being unheard of, I believe that it was impactive to the mortality of the Florida Panther. All other large animals regularly succumb to the automobile, more so in areas of high traffic flow (Eastern Seaboard States). The question remains, where are the roadkills?

Another good point that was brought up within the context of this thread was the abundance of "game cameras" that exist and are used year round by their owners. Photographic "evidence" is less reliable without being able to confirm where it was obtained. None the less, many other mammals are caught on film, where are the cats (that is, in states with no known population)?

I simply ask, show me the evidence.

Carver
 
#58 ·
Beautfiful animals that are hell on deer. If you live in cat country like I do, you should be prepared when out and about. Funny story happened after Christmas. I was waiting for my new tv to be delivered and noticed all these police cars speeding around my small gated community of 80 homes. While a helicopter was circling my backyard, an officer pulled up and said I might want to go back in. I asked why and he said that a mountain lion was running around and near my backyard. I loaded the shotgun and waited for it to jump my wall. I started laughing watching my backyard on the local news. Tv guy calls and says he cannot deliver my tv, since the whole area was sealed off. Anyhow, they darted the lion and my tv came the next day.
 
#60 ·
I knew of sightings in SO. ILL as early as 1976. I lived 10 miles out of town on the edge of a very large bottomland full of deer. Road ended at my house. My neighbor saw one cross the end of his field one evening as he was plowing. Swears it was a cougar. I walked out to put the dogs up one night and one screamed like a woman in the marsh just behind our house. The dogs were backed into the far corner of their cages, hair bristling and barking wildly. Eerie feeling. Now they are confirmed in IL with numerous sightings and some dead ones, one killed by a train in Randolph CO. They are very secretive and can move through an urban area undetected. Biologists studying them west of Salt Lake City have documented radio-collared cats that moved right through SLC into the Wasatch range and were never seen. They're sneaky buggers and I for one don't like being stalked by one. When I go into the mountains round these parts in ID now, I am packin'! Between bears, wolves and cougars I ain't the top of the food chain here!
 
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