Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

I have had two separate near death experiences with cougars in NW Iowa.  No they did not attack me, I almost had a stroke both times.  One cannon balled out of a cedar thicket trying to take turkeys out of air, man can those big kitties go for some serious air time. The other, it simply trotted past me about 100 yards.  The second one was shot by the game warden a couple of weeks later, about a mile from where I saw it.

[Trenton G.]

My cousin out it Washington was deer hunting when he sensed something behind him. When he turned around there was a cougar crouched on the ground ten yards behind him. When he turned, it took a few more steps towards him and he shot it through the head from his hip. That definitely would have had my heart in my throat in a hurry. He had to take it to the DNR and they did an examination to make sure that it was self defense and not poaching. It ended up weighing 186 pounds.

[KyRidgeRunner]

I've always heard nothing in the woods in my area to fear... idk, lots of tales of black bear and mountain lions.  You ask if We feel vulnerable with only stick and string.  For the most part I would say no... But I'm a huge advocate of concealed carry so chances are if you ever run into me in public, the woods, church, or anywhere else for that matter, it's safe to say I have a Glock within inches of my right hand.  Don't leave home without it.  Lots of my friends are "bow only" and make fun of me for It, but it doesn't make me feel a less bit of a bow hunter I would never use it to harvest or aid me in taking an animal.

[JimB]

 

[newhouse114]

Maybe I suffer from "familiarity breeds contempt" syndrome. I always was armed while in the bush in Alaska but do not feel the need to be here in Oregon. Two legged critters give me more pause than any four legged variety. I've also had 100 lb kitties on the end of a catch pole (solo operation) trying to make them go to sleep so I could remove one of my traps from its foot. Cats don't like being challenged, if you run, run towards the cat!

[YosemiteSam]

I never really worry about it all that much.  Plenty of cats around here.  Our bears are mostly black bears so unless I'm strapped with meat (hauling a carcass out), they're nothing to worry about.  I'll shout, "HEY BEAR!" every hundred yards or so for a few miles if I'm hauling meat out in bear country.

Last fall, I spent 4 days in a remote coastal canyon.  On the last night, I heard the most god-awful screaming probably not much more than a hundred yards from my camp.  It sounded like a muted Tasmanian devil.  I turned on some music on my phone & got a small fire going as a precaution.  I slept fine that night.  I found out after I got back that it was probably a female cat in heat.

If someday I die at the hands of a wild animal, I figure it's a fitting end.  But I'll sure make him work for it.

If my kids are with me, I'll sometimes carry a firearm into the woods with us.  But keeping them close avoids most potential problems with wildlife.

I also figure that it's the same as sharks while surfing.  If you can see it, it's obviously not hunting you.  If you can't see it, then there's nothing you can really do about it anyway so just relax & have fun.  We all gotta go sometime and I'd rather be eaten by a cat than die in a hospital (though neither one really appeals to me).

Death will catch up with us all eventually.  If my time comes, I'll at least go down fighting (or blissfully unaware -- either will work).  Until then, there's no sense in getting too worried about things outside my control.

[YosemiteSam]

Originally posted by newhouse114:
Two ledded critters give me more pause than any four legged variety.  

I've always felt way more nervous in large cities, crowds or strange border towns (middle eastern variety) than anywhere in the woods -- even in grizzly country.  Animals on their home turf seem way more predictable than humans anywhere.

[nek4me]

VT allowed handgun carry while bowhunting for the first time last fall. I think a cow moose with calf is potentially more dangerous than a black bear. All the bears I've come across didn't hang around. I read somewhere more people are killed by cow moose in Alaska than bears. My son came upon a cow and calf during rifle deer season while walking out on an open logging road right at dark and had to wait about ten minutes until mama stopped growling as he described it and moved on.

[ahab78]

Thanks for all the posts, guys. Those were some great pics of mountain lions. I'm not sure what is or was on our property. My dad heard what head said sounded like a cross between barking and grunting the other night in the field, but he didn't get a look at whatever it was. I've had two game cameras up with bait and nothing but foxes and raccoons have shown up. I figure if it is a mountain lion, it is probably long gone by now with everyone in the woods hunting turkeys.

Last month, I ventured onto a neighbor's property looking for hog damage for him. I've got a pretty brave little dog who roams around with me and he's always 20 or so yards ahead of me checking things out. We walked onto a firebreak cutting between a swamp and a block of pines and I smelled what I can only describe as a den of death. There was scat all over the place with animal hair in it and an intense smell of urine. My brave little dog stayed on my ankle for the next couple hundred yards until we got through the area. Haven't been back there since, but maybe I should go investigate that area and set up a camera there.

Anyone else come across an area like that?

[ksbowman]

lucareau !