No big cats in MN? uhm, maybe

[Wind in Her Hair]

we have long suspected (known ) that there are big cats in MN despite the DNR protesting that it isn't so.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/ou...7.html?refer=y


http://brainerddispatch.com/outdoors...-minnesota-yet

This was in the morning's paper. If this cat will try to take down a full grown horse it would most definitely enjoy me as a tasty morsel while out snowshoeing. I will most definitely be armed each and every outing this winter. Yikes.

Large, wild cat attacks horse in Aitkin County | BrainerdDispatch.com | Brainerd, Minnesota

we had 'em in Texas and typically they attacked by chasing and grabbing the rear of the animal and taking it down or dropping down on it from up above as livestock watered.

Sneaky and spooky.

[Possum Belly]

They are here in GA also. The DNR denied it for a while. A deer hunter killed one a few yrs back in Troup Co, GA. He got into lots of trouble. I read a magazine a couple of years ago that asked folks to send in their trail camera pics and there were many form all over GA.

[Ardie/WI]

When we first moved here, there was talk about a large black cat in the area. Of course, the DNR poo-pooed that.

One day, I saw something on the hill which was black and walked just like a cat. I took out the binoculars and guess what!

I didn't contact the DNR because I didn't want them folks on the land!

[paddler]

Im in Northeastern MN and our local DNR Conservation Officer has no problem admitting that their are mtn lions in the area. There are multiple sightings every year. but so far their have been no issues. other than a buddy who had one drag away a deer he had shot. im sure they have gobbled up a few pets here and there but that probably just got blamed on the wolves.

[big rockpile]

Got them here in Missouri so I'm sure you have them up there.

big rockpile

[pancho]

Might be mountain lions in many places. A black one, no chance.

[Pops2]

melanistic mt lions are dark brown like a chocolate lab. if it's black & has a long tail it is a leopard, jaguar or jaguarundi that escaped or someone turned loose because they couldn't handle it anymore.

[mnn2501]

From the article

Do not shoot the animal, even if livestock or pets are threatened. Cougars are a protected species and may only be killed by a licensed peace officer or authorized permit holder.

Yeah, right........ SSS

[RonM]

We have pictures , newspaper articles of a few spotted in Delaware, 35 miles or less South of Phillie.....we had a police officer tracking a cat one winter , near a surburban developement, for several weeks.........He spotted it , but had left his rifle in the patrol car.one evening.......

[vicker]

Originally Posted by Pops2

melanistic mt lions are dark brown like a chocolate lab. if it's black & has a long tail it is a leopard, jaguar or jaguarundi that escaped or someone turned loose because they couldn't handle it anymore.

Pops, I saw one in WV a few years ago. Middle of day, running across a mowed hay field, less than 100 yd away. I was on my way home, driving, and thought, "what is neighbor's choc lab doing way down here. Then I noticed it was not running like a dog, and was about twice as big.
DNR says they aren't in WV also, but there is a $2000 fine if you shoot one

[Cornhusker]

They are getting more common here too
This from the local radio station website today
Also someone caught one on a game cam...I think it was Saturday night about 10 miles from here.
2 years ago, a friend saw one on our place while hunting deer and my daughter saw a dead one on the highway
Makes one want to go armed when going out at night

Cougars spotted in Cheyenne County
Mountain lions have been spotted in Cheyenne County and there is growing concern the big cats are getting closer to Sidney.
Cheyenne County Sheriff John Jenson says a mountain lion was reported by a resident one mile east of Sidney around 10:00 Tuesday morning along a creek bed. Deputies were sent to the area and confirmed seeing mountain lion tracks.
Deputies also checked into reports two-to-three weeks ago of mountain lion sightings south of Lodgepole and Sheriff Jenson is becoming more concerned with how close the animals are getting to Sidney. He’s cautioning residents that see one to stay away and not approach the animal.
Jenson is urging any sightings to be reported to the Sheriff’s Office right away so that Nebraska Game and Parks can be contacted. He says if deputies are able to spot the big cat, they’ll keep it in sight and then work with officials to tranquilize the animal and re-locate it.
This past weekend officials were forced to euthanize a cougar that was in a tree near Gotte Park in Kimball. Kimball Police Chief Mark Simpson says the public was in danger because the animal had encroached city limits.
KSID Radio - Sidney, Nebraska

[vicker]

Yes, I had friends and neighbors tell me they had seen a mountain lion or puma, but I always took it with a grain of salt. I'm a believer now. I know what I saw was, and it was a big one, and a dark chocolate brown.

[Kristinjo]

We are in Northern Minnesota, Babbitt/Embarrass area, and we have had many sightings of mountain lions in our community. A neighbor who lives three miles down the road had a large female in her front yard....motorists on the highway witnessed a cat crossing the highway just up from our house....and also 8 miles into town, one crossed over the local bike and hike trail. I am assuming it is probably the same cat? They have a huge roaming area. I'm surprised that it hasn't been in our yard as we raise pigs, goats and ducks. Easy pickings for a cat.

[DaleK]

There weren't any in Ontario either, until their were

[TedH71]

We have them in Kansas and word is out that we also have bears. Black bears.

[lonelytree]

This may be an indicator of the abilities of Fish and Game. I was visiting my family in NE CO last spring. They had complained about feral turkeys. My BIL explained that there are lots and offered assistance. Now there are thousands..... I even got to see one in town.

[MJsLady]

Hubby and I watched a show on these the other night. Monster Quest.
All the experts declare it is impossible because there have been no bodies recovered.

Then how is it so many folks have seen/experienced what they can do?

I think there are lots of animals especially up north with all those deep forests that know very well how to keep out of sight and scopes.

[Cabin Fever]

Originally Posted by MJsLady

Hubby and I watched a show on these the other night. Monster Quest.
All the experts declare it is impossible because there have been no bodies recovered.....

They've recovered bodies in Minnesota.....

[MJsLady]

CF, the ones on MQ were specifically black cats.
I remember reading prairie stories of them from the 1800s so I have no doubt they may be around and unseen.

[pancho]

Originally Posted by MJsLady

CF, the ones on MQ were specifically black cats.
I remember reading prairie stories of them from the 1800s so I have no doubt they may be around and unseen.

So far there has never been a black mountain lion killed, filmed, or even a single hair found of one. If there are any around they sure do know who has a camera and where all of the game cams are. Don't know how they keep from shedding hair.

[CNCfamily]

Originally Posted by mnn2501

From the article


Yeah, right........ SSS

That must be state-specific, because they sure aren't protected here! LOL!

[Pops2]

There are black cats here & there around the USA, they are leopards, jaguars, jaguarundi or VERY large feral cats. the largest feral cat reported killed by british game keepers is a 40# monster. due to peculiarities of bone & muscle densities & ratios, a 40# cat is about the same height & length of a 60# coonhound or doberman. they are exotic pets that have escaped or been turned loose. the only NATIVE wild feline in the USA that can occassionally come in black is bobcats and the occurance is so extremely rare as to make albinos more common.

[ketthes]

I live in southern MN and saw one strolling off the shoulder of I-90. No way it could have been a deer, I saw it's back half disappearing into the grass and it moved exactly like a cat. I know they have been seen over in the SE corner in the bluff country too.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

after years of occasional sightings then a bunch if sightings about 40 miles east of here close together and almost daily some one hit one with a car

so the dnr gave us a great big song about how it must have wandered in from Missouri

but why wouldn't cats move out from an area of cat concentration to fill in easy hunting lands the area it was hit in had one of the highest deer populations in the state

and why wouldn't there be more than 1

so many kept telling us that only the alpha male and alpha female of a wolf pack mated , but their dnr's wolf number show packs splitting faster than they ever thought , and reproducing faster than thought

lesson to be learned if the food and range are available any species can grow in number faster than average.

[rxkeith]

officials in michigan have had to change their position from there are no cougars in michigan after some were caught on trail cams. real clear pictures. one was caught on a trail cam about a mile from my house on a farm nearby. then the position changed to there are only transient cougars, but no breeding population. oookaaay. we will just see.



keith

[gusty60]

I lived in MN for twenty years and never saw a cougar. Vacation a few years back saw one cross the road in front of me in daylight near the town of Jacobson. They are definitely there!

[Niijii]

Lost my bigger post!

Im in brainerd, mn........ seen a cougar a year ago on Oakridge/ 28th right off thiesse rd. Theres a small natural gas company.. or a place they store tanks or something? it was right by there.

It sauntered right in front of my car, going east.

[braggscowboy]

I am not saying that there are black lions in Okla., but there are lions. I have seen them, my daughter saw one walk across the hwy., walked. a big one about 10 miles from my house. We live in a very rural area with a lot of gov. and state land, (military) and lots, and lots of deer. I saw two cross the highway on old 64 hwy headed towards 1-40, a lot of people in cars saw them. My point is that they were different colors. One was really blond or normal color. The other was dark, not black but dark around the flanks and sides. There was no doubt as to what they were. One was about 200 yard ahead of one and had crossed the hwy and was in an open field, the other came through an area with roping steers where they have steer roping. I saw it comming and watched as it cleared the fence and hit about two or 3 licks and cleared the other fence. Boy, can they run and the tail was doing a big twist as it was running. We also have bear in Okla. A couple have been caught and released close to where I live, and there is a season each year now on so many bear before the season is stopped. I don't know why Wildlife departments want to keep everything a secret instead of educating the people.

[pancho]

One reason they try to keep it secret can be seen by the number of people who have seen black panthers. If they even mention the fact that there are mountain lions in the area every animal that dies will be from lion attacks. It wouldn't matter if a cow is struck by lightening. If the owner knows there are lions around they will become another lion attack on his cows. Every house cat or dog that is missing will be because the lions ate them.

[Nimrod]

The DNR denied the existance of cougars in MN for years. When game cams and roadkill proved their existance the company line became "No breeding population". The DNR doesn't want to admit that cougars are here because then they would have to manage them and spend some of their budget on that.

I have a 357 because we now have wolves, bears, and cougars.

Lions and trigers and bears, OH MY.