Big Cats in your neck of the woods?

We have always had one of the largest populations (animals to acres) of big cats in the country. And until a few years ago, we never saw them, because there is literally millions of acres of undeveloped land for them to hang out on. Nobody lost livestock because there was plenty of game. But then, the do gooders who live in urban areas, but get to vote in statewide initiatives that don't concern them, voted to disallow the use of hunting dogs with cats/bears. In the old days (prior to this law) many people around here kept a few coonhounds, and they would run cats. When you run a cat, you simply let the dogs tree it, and then you leave it alone. The cats learn to stay far away from populated areas because of the dogs. Now there's no threat, and the cats come and go as they please. Because they usually take their strolls through the yard or pasture at 2 AM, it's unlikely that you'll get a good shot. We've lost 3 horses, a GP livestock dog, and the mate to the GP's use because of her broken hip and blown knee. We've seen cougar tracks in the snow on our deck. We've driven up at night and seen bobcats sitting in the yard. Our livestock is well locked up at night now, so we don't worry about them, but during the day they're fair game I guess. A friend with dogs illegally ran the cougar killing our stock and shot it, it weighed 170 lbs and had paws bigger than my hands spread out as wide as I could make them. I don't think there are more animals, they're just bolder due to decreased hunting pressure.

Bobcats but that's it.

Oh there have been reports of "panthers" forever but it's bunk. Some drunk heading home from the bar sees a Labrador Retriever walking across a cornfield and it suddenly becomes a "panther". That or someone sees a housecat out wandering around on a hillside and people start wetting themselves about a mountain lion which is inevitably followed by the story that they've "heard" that the state released 500 of them in the county as an experiment or some such nonsense. Oh there is never any actual evidence like a corpse or scat or tracks it is always just the same old story. No one ever shoots it or runs one over with a car. Just stories.

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Respect The Cactus!

Scarce bobcats and cougars around here in NE OK. I was awakened about 3am by one of my ducks throwing a fit. I peeked out the window (their pen was right outside my bedroom window) and it looked as if it had somehow got stuck in the fence. so I skittered outside, apparently too quietly because I went to reach down and free the duck and realized something had ahold of it through the fence. I stomped and hissed and it took off. it was so dark I could only tell it was a largeish cat but I'm pretty sure it was a bobcat. it was just too thick bodied to be a housecat.
An aquaintence of mine near here kept losing chickens despite their coop being locked up at night. she stayed up to see what it was and it turned out to be cougar. It may have changed now but fish and game would always say we don't have them here whenever there was a sighting.
I think precautions need to be taken and to be aware but the advice of "stay inside" is a little over the top and kind of sad.

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A mystery is not an explanation..... on the contrary....no sooner is a myth forged than, in order to stand it needs another myth to support it.

Where we live backs up to a national park called Tenorio - which is the name of the extinct (we hope) volcano. The top of Tenorio has never been visited so they say - it would take a week at least and be very dangerous. Not from cats (though there are enough) but snakes, tapirs, pecarries, etc.

Anyway, I have seen the foot prints of a Jaguar - 10 inches across. But, they don't mess with people nor much of anything else. One person I know did loose a calf to one but it was the first time I have ever heard of that.

A Jaguar needs 5 square kilometers of jungle to live down here they estimate - I don't know about up there.

I don't worry much about them, I just make sure whoever is with me is slower than I am.

Ours is not a situation of restocking - they are still here in the very large parks.

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Growing trees and food in Costa Rica.

The cabin that I had (about 15 back road minutes from me) abuts 2000 acres of undeveloped land. While driving there one evening at dusk, on a two lane road, I saw a feline form come out of the woods touch down in the center of the road, then back into the woods on the other side. The body was the size of a Labrador and had a tail - as long as it’s body. After speaking to a few other cabin owners and getting the usual how much did you drink jokes I did find a couple of people that also had sightings of a large cat, cubs or have heard the squall(?) of a mountain lion.

My neighbor saw one a few times this summer on his farm. He's the kind of guy who knows and talks to everyone, and according to what he's heard, the DEC is releasing them into areas to control the white tail deer population but on the quiet so landowners don't get excited over it. We've got deer coming out of our ears here, but I still don't want cougars around, thank-you-very-much. It's enough of a PITA dealing with predators that will take chickens and turkeys, I don't want to deal with the ones that can take calves and cows!

And HEY! Will you folks put in a location when you're talking about this kind of thing? If you don't your post is meaningless.

Jennifer

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-Northern NYS

Last year our large male dog survived his tangle with our local Big cat.
Ive found tracks withing 500ft of the house where its crossed the field.
According to DNR we dont have them of course we dont have bears either even though three have been shot within 30 miles.

My location is noted in my user - but, Northern Zone, Costa Rica.

A funny story I once heard, I have no idea if it is true. Seems an older woman called into to a Ranger to report seeing a cougar. The young officer sort of condecendingly told her that there were no cougars in the area so she must have been mistaken.

She responded, "Sorry sir, I am sure you know a lot more than I do. Well, I guess I would like to report a 7 foot long housecat..."

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Growing trees and food in Costa Rica.

On these black cats, what are they? Puma? The experts insist there is no such thing as a black mountain lion. If its a jaguar, its black but has a visible spot pattern. I saw one at the zoo once. Its like a bulldog with a long tail. Short, stout, LARGE and incredible head. Flat and large across the skull like a pitbull. That animal was easiliy 250 lbs...I'd hate to run up against that at night feeding in my jammies!

That is a good description of a Jaguar - yes, they are big. They come in black and spotted.

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Growing trees and food in Costa Rica.

Here in MO bobcats are common and not a threat to your family so I don't consider them large cats. We have had several neighbors see cougars in the area. We have a mother and two cubs that came through our area in the fall. She got a yearling buck each night until we locked them up. We have woven wire fences with a hot wire around but she carried him in her mouth to the wooden corner post and over it she went with the carcus. We found a few parts of one and never found any of some of the others. The ones we did find were way up in the woods. Until now, we have never had that sort of problem and have had goats for years. They seem to come in, kill, and then move on to a new area before anyone can catch them. I don't know if they are protected here or not but she's costing me too much money. Given the chance, she's history.

Cougar coats can turn dark brown as cold weather approaches. These cougars may appear black in dim light and wet conditions.
http://www.pibburns.com/cryptost/ecougar.htm

And a pic here of a black bobcat:
http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/ec-catfights/

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Here in Ms. there is always some one seeing a black panther. The thing is no one has ever killed one or got one on film. One outdoor show put up a $10,000 reward for proof there is a large black cat anywhere in Ms. A taxidermy business put up and additional $2,000 reward. To this date no one has collected the rewards. There have been several photos of large black animals used to try to collect. One was a angus cow, another a black lab, and many house cats photoshopped to look larger.
The rewards are still waiting for anyone who can show proof.

The one black cat they did profile last night - it was filmed skirting a pond - turned out to be digitally measured and it was 2x the size of a housecat. It was not a bobcat. It definetaly was heavy bodied and looked like a jaguar. That was I believe in the Missouri area.

Well the mountain lions out here are brown in color. I have had them on the property and screaming outside my window at 3 am.. It is enough to scare the you know what out of you. I got it to leave by firing a blank .30-06 ceremonial round out the window, I see tracks on the lower property. That has been an increase of mountain lion sightings further down the hill inside the city limits. The Park Ranger shot one in a back yard earlier this year..

http://www.eurekareporter.com/Articl...rticleID=22720

http://www.eurekareporter.com/Articl...rticleID=25034

http://www.times-standard.com//ci_72...s-standard.com carve up a mountain lion for research, down at Humboldt State University!!! (where I have 2 of my degrees from)

So for all you folks that think that mountain lions are imaginary or they wouldn't harm you or your critters, think twice!!!!! And folks wonder why I do not go out my door without being armed, due to the mountain lions and bears up here on the hilltop....

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Smarter than the average bear, sitting here on my hilltop 80 acres in the fog above the ocean...

"Life is tough, but it is tougher when you are stupid." - John Wayne

They made it where you can kill all the Cougars,Jaguars,and Panthers you want in Missouri.MDC don't want them here.

Now Bears is a different matter,can't kill them.

big rockpile

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I love being married.Its so great to find that one person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.



If I need a Shelter
If I need a Friend
I go to the Rock!

Here in Northern Idaho the lions are everywhere, but seldom seen as they are so stealthy. Many of my co workers at the wilderness camp have seen them on the trails into camp. Last winter, lion with her cubs disrupted highway traffic working a road kill deer. The guys who run hounds say there are 22 lion over on their side of the mountain where they work their hound pack. Our deer herds are astronomical. Nevertheless, two adult geldings were lion attacked over the ridge from me last winter. They survived from dedicated vet work. I sell a lot of Fila puppies to families to guard their children from the lion and bear, which are a real hazard in my area.

Here in the mountains we have a big cat .. my DH saw him the other day and we heard him squall my DH said keep the cats in and the hunters up the mountain on National Forest came down and told my DH about the big cat they have seen.

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Gayla

A jaguar is a lot more than 2x the size of a house cat. Even some housecats are 2x the size of a normal housecat. Even a young jaguar would not fit the size, color, or build. It was probably just a large house cat.

Cougar don't exist here in Vermont. According to the officials at the Department of Wildlife. But my wife and I have seen them, seen their tracks, run into them in the woods at night and one killed some of our sheep and carried off one over a 4' high electric fence. They're here. The local cougar passes buy about once per month or three.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org

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