Mountain lion in my neighborhood

[deputydawg]

The other day a neighbor reported seeing a large cougar in her back yard. Checking there were definate tracks in the yard.<br />The crazy thing is for some reason Nebraska game and parks will not confirm sightings in Nebraska. A couple of years ago a man I know saw an adult cat with 3 cubs on a sandy creek bed about 1 mile from town. Tracks were all over the place there, and other people had reported seeing the female. The local game warden says no, it was something else. 12 miles east a friend of mine a year or so later had her horse attacked. Something left deep jagged cuts on each hind hip looking like a cat attack. She also found cougar tracks around her stock tank by her barn. Game warden said the attack could have been tangling in a fence, or maybe a bobcat??? On seeing the tracks he said definately a cougar made the tracks and attacked the horse, but he could not confirm the cat was in the area. Was probably passing through??? Last year another officer saw one 1/2 mile from town. The doghnut cook at Caseys saw one in the parking lot last summer, a P.D. officer saw one in town 3 blocks west of my house a few years ago. Where I do most of my hunting I have seen many many tracks and even saw what I am certain was a cougar in a tree. But game and parks still denies they are here?<br />In the last 3 or 4 years there have been several shot by farmers or by police around the state, but they are claimed to be "passing through". <br /><br />Conspiracy theorists say the state is stocking them. I think they just don't want to start a panic and have everyone with a gun out looking for them. <br /><br />I have a few "rumors" of the s s s (shoot shovel shuttup) approach. <br /><br />Now they are forced to admit another confirmed one. cougar <br /><br /> sitings map <br /><br />This year they have them listed as a "no take" animal on the fur bearers guide. <br /><br />Just a rant here...why don't they just admit they have migrated back to the area and be done with it? In a few years when they start killing cattle and horses then issue a few permits to keep them thinned out.

 

[ebbtide176]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

yeah, maybe they know but don't want to make it to the local papers, and are afraid people will start actively hunting/shooting them. maybe once they reach a level where the 'higherups' think they can sustain their offspring, there'll be more public info sent out. and then it will be a fight to keep people from hunting them and wiping them off the map again. just a guess.

 

[Link]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

Sounds like its time to relocate some pretty cats! And not to where they came from because they will just come back.<br />But first you have to admit that they are there

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

Our wildlife officials have introduced cyotes (sp) to this area a few years ago. Of couse they are breeding and becoming a nuisence with farmers. Rumors also has it that they are going to introduce wolves next. They say this will thin out our ever enlarging deer population. Yeah, feed the preditors all the deer and then what are the preditors going to eat once the deer is gone?<br /><br />Of course the PETA people think this is great idea. Hmmmmm doesn't make sense to me. Sudden death by a bullet vs being maulled to death. How wonderful and humane. Probably they will introduce more bear and cats to thin out the cyotes and wolves next.<br /><br />I agree that widlife officials should be held accountable for anything that is introduced back into the wild. UH OH,,is an urban developement the wild? Guess that depends on what area and how many gangs there are.

 

[Fishin' Jeff]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

I totally believe you, Deputy. I grew up in North-central Kansas and heard reports/rumors of cougars all my life. It wasn't untill Labor Day weekend of this year while camping at Milford Lake with my wife and two girls, that I saw a cougar in the wild. My 8 year old (7 at time) saw it first, right as we pulled in to break camp It was about 60-75 yards away lounging on a branch about 15 feet off the ground. Before I could grab the binoculars, the magnicient beast nonchalantly pounced to the ground and jogged to the woods, not to be see by us again.

 

[rwise]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

WOW, a mountain lion was also spotted near me! Schools looked down and the hunt is on. What they have shown in the news looks like a big dog paw print, not a cat. We'll see what turns up. Out where my farm is there are black panthers, seen them first hand. Ranger said they are there but will not officially admit them as they will become protected. Right now you can shoot them if they bother you. Last time I seen her she had 4 cubs.

 

[Serentiy]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

yeah just last week we were bike riding on the creek turnpike trail. We do have them around here.in collinsville this summer.<br /> my sister and I went out into her backyard at night we saw what we thought was a bobcat drinking from her pool then it spun around and it had a tail. my friend said there is siteings at 106 St north. I asked a game warden and the zoo keepers if they knew any thing about mountian lions in Ok and if they might be someones pet they both said we have wild ones out there. and at my uncle kirby's bow shoot a woman said they did release 10 pairs in her "backyard" in talalla because the ranchers were complaing the deer were eating the cow feed<br />go figure. by the way the game warden said that the gov will not admit the lions in Ok due to the cost to " manage " them . I will now keep Grizzly spray on me when I bike ride.<br />Serenity

 

[EZLoader]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

Here is a link to a site monitoring Midwest cougar activity:<br /><br /> http://www.naturealmanac.com/cougars/midwest.html <br /><br />This a a quote from that site:<br /><br />"Recent reports of cougars in eastern Nebraska, western and central Iowa, Wisconsin and eastern Kansas and Oklahoma bear this out - dispersing cougars seem to be following the river valleys. So long as they're traveling they're vulnerable both to accidents and to being sighted. But once they find a pleasant and peaceful corner of the world they can call their own they vanish from sight."

 

[heycods]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

I have seen 1 in my lifetime here in central tx. I talked to the govt. traper in our area about them . He said they move in a never rnding 90 mile overlaping loup ,always moving north in summer ,then moving south in winter. never stopping except to sleep and have thier young. lwr

 

[Richard Petersen]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

People taste good to them. No bull.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

So .....Your against....A.E.T.P.?.... ....JK

 

[AzMeadMan]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

Heres is an artical from todays paper.<br /><br /> http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1118emumassacre.html

 

[QC]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

Believe it or not we have them here too. Check out this report. Absolutely true. Big deal here in 2004. Sorry about the length, but the story is worth it!!<br /><br />8 January. (Attacks #12 and 13; death #6) 35-year-old Mark Jeffrey Reynolds, an amateur mountain bike racer, was killed by a mountain lion sometime after 1:25 p.m. at Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in southern Orange County. His bicycle was later found with the chain unbroken, but off the sprockets. Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, speculated that Mark was attacked as he was fixing his bike (but see below). <br /><br />Later the same day, Anne Hjelle, 30, of Santa Ana, a former Marine who works as a fitness instructor, was jumped by the same mountain lion. Anne was attacked a short distance down the trail from Mark's body, which was not visible to her, while she was riding her mountain bicycle. The lion jumped her from a slight rise (~4 feet) on the right hand side of the trail, from under some high brush. The lion quickly had Anne's face in its mouth, despite the presence of Anne's helmet. Her riding companion, Debi Nicholls, was about 30 feet behind Anne and witnessed the attack. Debi threw her bike at the mountain lion, to no avail, then grabbed Anne's legs and screamed as the lion dragged both of them 30 feet down the slope into the brush. The lion kept attacking Anne, alternating between her helmet, face and neck. The screams brought Nils Magnuson, 33, of Long Beach, and Mike Castellano to the scene, who called 911 and scared off the mountain lion by throwing rocks at it. <br /><br />Anne was airlifted to Mission Hospital. Her condition was initially critical, was upgraded from serious as of early 9 January, and to fair as of 10 January. <br /><br />Nils was nearby since he had just found Mark's bicycle, and was about to look for Mark. (Mountain bikers crash fairly frequently, so finding a crashed bicycle is not an unusual occurrence. It is customary to stop and render aid to crashees.) After this attack, Mark's body was found dead higher on the trail than where Anne was attacked. Mark had apparently been dead for some hours, and his body had been half-eaten and partially buried, typical of a mountain lion kill. <br /><br />Later that night, Sheriff's deputies shot and killed a healthy 3- to 4-year-old, 110-122 pound male lion, which was spotted 50 yards from the man's body. Initial tests found human skin tissue, and portions of a human lung and liver in the lion's stomach, which were confirmed later to match Mark's DNA. No fibers from Anne's clothing, nor any slivers from her helmet, were found in the initial examination, but later DNA tests matched Anne to the blood on one of the lion's claws. Curiously, no deer hairball was found in the lion.

 

[Ron G]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

I know one got loose here about 7 years ago,might have been a panther,but it was never seen again.i know coyotes will wipe your rabbit and quail population out before they go after deer.

 

[QC]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

Originally posted by Ron G:<br /> i know coyotes will wipe your rabbit and quail population out before they go after deer.

We have had all three at my back fence. The biggest threat to the rabbits was me Past tense intended. Our coyotes prefer fresh kitty cat . . . The quail are thriving

 

[Ron G]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

I've only seen 2 or 3 rabbits this year on the farm,i seen a few quail in the spring but nothing lately,the coyotes are everwere i guess its time to start thinning Also ive seen more hawks around in the past few years that may explain the decline in the quai too.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

We have seen and photographed tracks in the woods next to our house. As far as we can tell they are Mtn. lion tracks. Bob cats are quite common in this area also. A few years back met a guy whose dog (huge Black Lab) got into it with a Mtn. Lion on a hike. The guy ended up shooting the cat and hauling it to a ranger’s station. He said the rangers told him "If the local folks knew how many Cougars lived in these mountains they would never hike the trails." Course around here they complain more about the coyotes than any thing.

 

[KilroyJC]

Re: Mountain lion in my neighborhood

About 6 years ago we had tigers loose in the Pine Barrens:<br /><br /> http://www.susanorlean.com/articles/lady_and_tigers.html <br /><br /> I was out bowhunting in that area the day one got loose . Didn't see any, but was not too happy with that news...So I can imagine what it's like having to deal with that on a daily basis!