Mountain lion !

1shotwade · #1 12/16/14, 04:36 PM

Just in on the louisville news,They killed a mountain lion in bourbon county kentucky! That's pretty interesting considering all my life people have reported sightings and the authorities keep saying they are not in these parts. Maybe I missed something since it's been a while since I have heard anything. Just thought it was interesting and some of you might want to know.

Wade

Karenrbw · #2 12/16/14, 05:19 PM

They are going to do like the Department of Conservation does here in Missouri. A lady hit and killed one with her car 20 miles from here. "Missouri doesn't have a breeding population of mountain lions. This individual had been roaming and traveling hundreds of miles outside of his natural range." They basically tell the public they are all visitors and don't really live here.

jwal10 · #3 12/16/14, 05:34 PM

We have had a rash of them coming into town here getting cats, dogs and turkeys. I get the call when the people actually see one and get scared. Last Tuesday I saw it right along the path to the elementary school. 1 less, this was the 3rd this year, all females. One good thing is, I am seeing a lot fewer turkeys in town. There was a big male but he has moved about 6 miles away, headed back to the big timber. Even the county seat has seen a few and it is down in the valley. I see a lot more now than 5 years ago and have taken 14 of them. 10 years ago you never saw them in town, all up in the timber, now they are everywhere....James

MO_cows · #4 12/16/14, 05:37 PM

The one that was hit by the car was in a very developed area. There are still some pockets of hilly woods, and it was only 2, 3 miles from the Missouri River. Oh and a lot of deer get hit in that same vicinity.

My theory is that the rivers are highways for these big cats. Right along the river bank is mostly undeveloped, there is a stretch between the normal water level and the levee. Usually wooded. So that woodsy strip alongside a major river, it would be very easy to pass thru a highly populated area unseen and there is game in there, too.

There was another big cat killed in our county last year, that one was farther from the river but a rural area.

The conservation dept will keep denying it until a momma with cubs turns up.

DLMKA · #5 12/16/14, 06:27 PM

big cats likely travel bluffs and undeveloped ground between the levees and the actual river. There have been sightings around here always along river bluffs. Even going through populated places the bluffs are still mainly wooded.

handymama · #6 12/16/14, 06:39 PM

I've known they were lying for years. I used to hear them scream in the woods at night as a kid. Heck, I've seen two. And I'm in Tennessee.

tamarackreg · #7 12/18/14, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by handymama

I've known they were lying for years. I used to hear them scream in the woods at night as a kid. Heck, I've seen two. And I'm in Tennessee.

That's my experience here in MI too. Heard 'em and seen 'em but they aren't here!

billinwv · #8 12/18/14, 06:20 PM

The exotic auction in Ohio sold hundreds of them as babies over the years. Folks brought them to WV and let them go when they got to be a problem. I have a picture of one sleeping under a neighbors pine tree after it killed his 2 small pigs.

BlueRose · #9 12/18/14, 06:44 PM

Texas County Missouri out by Roby. 2009 Mom and 3 cubs.

TacticalTrout · #10 12/18/14, 06:56 PM

From what I understand, you do not want them to admit that there is a breeding population. They would likely be listed as an endangered species which would bring a whole world of trouble for folks wanting to make any changes to their natural habitat. Cutting shooting lanes on land used primarily for hunting may require biologists with Game & Fish / DNR / Fish & Wildlife (or whatever they call them in your neck of the woods) to do a study and issue a permit.

SueMc · #11 12/18/14, 07:29 PM

Very reliable people have reported sightings in Central IL for years and the DNR has always denied it. Our local librarian reported a sighting in the middle of the day while hiking the river to river trail in Southern IL and was totally blown off by the "officials".
It always made sense to me that the predators that used to be indigenous to this area would follow the game. Whitetails are seen here day and night(on camera) all the time. Lots of food for the hunters, man and animal.

Here is a sighting in IL that the DNR couldn't deny:

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/2...rts/710319636/

1shotwade · #12 12/18/14, 08:11 PM

If you tell the authorities you have seen a mountain lion,you might as well tell them it was a UFO because either way you'll be treated the same!

Wade

#13 12/19/14, 11:32 AM

Anyone have any photos to share? And possible where they were seen?

I know they are here to but are denied all over by DGIF. I've not personally seen one live in front of me other than in captivity. I've also never seen a moose roaming wild but I know they are here. They have signs on the road

Bret · #14 12/19/14, 03:23 PM

One cornered me in the barn!

I had only the hay fork hanging inside the barn doors to defend myself but I couldn't get past it. I felt it before I saw it and heard it. I knew it was over for me right then and there.

(Looking up over my tin coffee cup, raising one eye brow, adjusting my black hat and slowly, very slowly, looking around at every face. Silence filled the air accept for the crackling camp fire and one man coughing on the other side, as flames over red hot coals licked up to the black sky signaling the stars to get ready for a big one. One man cleared his throat and took a loud sip of coffee from his dented cup. It was so quiet I could hear the stiff stubble of his beard racking against his leather glove as he stroked his chin now drilling my eyes with his focus. Crickets stopped chirping. Coyotes miles off in the distance stopped yipping. A lone wolf in another direction ceased howling to a pack some ways off in another direction)

unregistered41671 · #15 12/19/14, 03:30 PM

My wife saw one crossing the highway on the way to work one AM a few years back. We live in GA. One was shot and killed by a hunter 5 yrs a or so in several counties to the south of us.

Flatgrind8 · #16 12/19/14, 08:02 PM

The one in Kentucky was shot not 1000 yards from a field of sheep and more than likely a pet that got out of the cage that some people had by there house not to say that there is none in Kentucky but I know the area like the back of my hand and the chance that it was wild is very unlikely

where I want to · #17 12/19/14, 11:13 PM

Around here the mountain lion travel through deer tunnels. Which makes sense as that is where their dinner mostly is. Because the understory is so thick in the redwoods, that is really the only paths for them. They hang around at the edge of clearings and watch their prey pretty much unseen. Or drop down on them.

MO_cows · #18 12/19/14, 11:35 PM

Wow Bret, that beats the heck outta my "trapped in the chicken house by a skunk" story!

Apparently most of the pet cougars are South American origin. They can do a DNA test and see if it is from North American stock or not. The one hit on I-35 at North Kansas City was North American, and had deer and dog in its gut.

fireweed farm · #19 12/20/14, 12:11 AM

I watched a documentary about cougar/mountain lions in the US a couple years ago. All these "wild" cats found in areas where they weren't supposed to be. They did DNA tests and guess what... they were all dumped or escaped pets, genetics from completely different regions.
I know, the conspiracy theory is more exciting.

Where I live they are fairly common and a complete non issue. I know of a llama that had been taken, and I think I heard of a horse attacked in the area about 10 years back. But that's it, plenty of natural food for them. Wild cougars are rarely seen, smart enough to keep well hidden from us, their only real predator.

Paumon · #20 12/20/14, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fireweed farm

I watched a documentary about cougar/mountain lions in the US a couple years ago. All these "wild" cats found in areas where they weren't supposed to be. They did DNA tests and guess what... they were all dumped or escaped pets, genetics from completely different regions.
I know, the conspiracy theory is more exciting.

Where I live they are fairly common and a complete non issue. I know of a llama that had been taken, and I think I heard of a horse attacked in the area about 10 years back. But that's it, plenty of natural food for them. Wild cougars are rarely seen, smart enough to keep well hidden from us, their only real predator.

Unless they live on Vancouver Island and the southern BC coast. LOL. The island and south coast is so riddled with them they make common nuisances of themselves to people, pets and properties. Like the bears, it's not uncommon for them to wander right into busy downtown areas. This video was taken in urban Victoria on the island, (for those who aren't familiar, Victoria is a good sized city and the capital of BC).