Another One

[65284]

Stopped by the feed store Thursday and the owner said "look at this picture and tell me what you think it is". The pic was of his poultry yard and a large cat with a chicken in its mouth taken about 3:00 in the afternoon.

He said the critter has about wiped out his entire flock and killed his large 3 year old male Pyr. The DOC said it was a bobcat. It wasn't.

I was in the exotic animal business for several years, have seen a lot of them, and know what a bobcat looks like. I've also been up close and know what a cougar looks like, it wasn't a bob.

The fellow also has seen this cat chasing a grown whitetail buck, not typical bobcat behavior, but neither is tackling and killing an adult Pyr when the cat wasn't cornered.

The scary thing about this is his farm is on the outskirts of Columbia, MO probably less than 5 miles from downtown. Even worse for me it's only 20 or miles from our place as the crow flies, or the cougar creeps.

I hope he, or someone else nails this thing, soon.

[Alice In TX/MO]

We are farther south than that, and a few years ago we saw what we are pretty sure was a Lynx. Bigger than a bobcat. Pointy tufts on ears.

Of course, the official word is that they don't live here.

[Pops2]

Alice
TX has always been a big place for the exotic pet trade so you may have a siberian lynx running around. but bobs can get really big. a 42# bob LOOKs bigger than a 60# dog. and no they don't live there. canadian lynx populations are tied directly to snowshoe hare populations & since they don't live in TX you can't have a native lynx population. but the eurasian lynx has a more varied diet so if one were turned loose it could survive fine.

[patty12]

Are you saying it was a cougar?

[elevenpoint]

One was spotted here in April I believe, MDC took the tuft of hair off the fence where it got tangled up to verify it, the guy that saw it said it was a full grown mountain lion.

[stickinthemud]

There was a cougar road killed in Connecticut recently (reported here on HT) that had DNA trail leading back to South Dakota. My SIL was sure she saw on in NW PA about 2 yr ago, I need to find & send her the link. Found it:
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/...0337/-1/SPORTS

[65284]

Originally Posted by patty12

Are you saying it was a cougar?

Yes, it was a cougar.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Not in Texas. In south central Missouri, outside of Alton.

[mary,tx]

There was a report in our local paper this week of a cougar attack on horses only about 4 miles from our farm. The cougar didn't actually kill them, but mauled them badly enough that the vet put them down. They were both mares, and it was thought the cat was actually after their foals.

I've been a little nervous about it, started putting the calves back in the barn at night. I know they have a really wide range, and am hoping it has moved on.

[taylorlambert]

Same problems here but Fish and Game tell ya they dont exist here but its a felony to kill one. Using this logic how do I kill what doesnt exist. I pulled into a driveway with a freind and we took some pics of a mountain lion with one of his Turkeys in its mouth. When the state man that takes reports of MLs came and borroed his memory card it came back erased. Its a matter of time before one takes a child or something.

If I was to come across one and had to take it out it would be discreet.

[sunflower-n-ks]

Kansas Wildlife people now officially say that there are cougars in Kansas. After years of denial, could not continue to say they don't exist anymore.

[mary,tx]

I've heard hear-say reports for years of a cougar in our area, but this was the first official report I've read. Still, it quoted someone from Wildlife as saying that they are indigenous to the area, and there are normally a few sightings a year. Also quoted him as saying that it is, in fact, legal to shoot it if it comes after your stock.

My main concern is for my two young adult sons who still live at home but are out at night. They've both been warned, but are not taking it as seriously as I'd feel better about.

[patty12]

A few years ago I saw a cougar cross the road in front of my car while going to work. everyone made fun of me when i told them so i stopped telling the story. 20 years later in the Branson beacon I read how people were seeing a black panther near ridgedale mo. so a last some one else has seen my panther.
what is called a panther is a black cougar i think any way my cougar was black and had a long tail carryed straight out from his body and doesn't look any thing like a dog which everyone said that was what I saw. i know a cat when I see it even if it is big.

[sunflower-n-ks]

Originally Posted by patty12

A few years ago I saw a cougar cross the road in front of my car while going to work. everyone made fun of me when i told them so i stopped telling the story. 20 years later in the Branson beacon I read how people were seeing a black panther near ridgedale mo. so a last some one else has seen my panther.
what is called a panther is a black cougar i think any way my cougar was black and had a long tail carryed straight out from his body and doesn't look any thing like a dog which everyone said that was what I saw. i know a cat when I see it even if it is big.

There have been sightings of "big black cats" in eastern Kansas for many years. Of course, Wildlife denies their existence, but a man in the next county over was arrested for illegal transport of "black leopards". There are also several "backyard exotic zoos" in the area. Could be anything out there.

[JuliaAnn]

Mary, I've SEEN one with my own eyes, 3 Easter Sundays ago, about 5 p.m., on the San Jacinto River bank in Humble, Tx., which is just north of Houston. Saw it from access road of the freeway, I59, going north. Had plenty of time to see it, saw it from the side. There is NO cat that large, or that color, or with a long, trailing tail that touched the ground,or the rounded head and non-pointy ears, in east Tx. No mistaking what it was. Parks and Wildlife took a message, no one ever called me back...

[Elsbet]

The problem is, they are always going to deny that they are in areas they "shouldn't be." If it is on the protected/endangered list, and is known to be in the area, then there's not a lot you can do about it, and farm lands could be added to their range, putting major restrictions on what you can do to protect your livestock.
I've seen them in Maine, where the official line is "there are no cougars in Maine," my dad has seen them up there, and friends of his have seen them. My dad is a former game warden, he KNOWS what he saw. I found half a sheep up a tree once- not something your average dog does. (Scary thing- I was raising sheep at the time, and freaked out, ran back to do a headcount, mine were all safe. I found that sheep in the tree less than a quarter mile from my barn. No idea whose it was.)

[sunflower-n-ks]

http://media.lawrence.com/img/specia...rsightings.jpg

Here is a map showing the sightings of cougars in Kansas. More than I had thought and one very close to where I live.

[rags57078]

Just don't ship them back here we have more than enouf

[Ed Norman]

Here is their normal historic range, so I would say they are travelers. They can be anywhere. But there are no black mountain lions. Never has been one shot or run over or captured or raised. If you see a big clack cat, it is something else, and probably more of a danger.

[All country]

About 5 years ago, one crossed the road in front of me when oldest daughter & I were heading into town. She had seen it in the same area the week before. Got home and told the family about it. DH went back and talked to an older guy who lived right down from where we had seen it. It came as no surprise to him as he and his son had been spotting their tracks for several years. There is an area where the best we can guess, there's a male spraying. It is horrible driving past there, this is no ordinary house cat. On occasion it can be heard. DNR denies there are any in the area, even when shown the tracks and given a description. No one even bothers calling the DNR to report it anymore.