Mountain Lions

[Blueridge]

I have bumped into 3 whlle hunting out west. 1 in Wyoming and 2 in Colorado . Spooky but I was really impressed at the sight of them. I was slowly picking my way downhill around Lake City Co. when the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I had that " something's not right feeling" when I saw it crouched about 30 yds away . When the cat realized I had seen it it leaped over a large boulder and was gone. The other 2 were not that exciting and from a greater distance.

[Thumper Dunker]

Had a pair check I and my buddies camp last winter. Talk about some excitement. Out here they have not been hunted in decades and they are not afraid of people.

[stickandstring]

I drove past one in W.Va about 25 years ago. My passenger and I did a double take, stopped and it crossed the road behind the car. Amazing animal.

[Don Stokes]

I've seen three, but only one while hunting, at a distance in Colorado. The other two were in the East, where they're not supposed to be. One was on the MS/AL line and the other was in SC, roadside sightings that were unquestionable.

I'm convinced that most sightings of "black panthers" are house cats. It's really easy to misjudge the size of any animal when there is nothing else to give it size reference. The only black panthers recorded in the past were black-phase jaguars, which originally ranged all the way into the southeastern states along the coast.

A couple of years ago a tradgang regular posted pictures of a "cougar" in AL which was obviously a big yellow male house cat, but the pics were very convincing to many people.

Years back the Doon Iowa newspaper editor was insisting that there was a mountain lion along the Rock River. Some would ride out to where he said he saw it. Some of them saw a farm cat that thought it was the cougar, others saw a farm cat and thought it was a farm cat. A few of times he printed pictures in his newspaper.  Looking at the bad photos some saw a cougar and others saw a farm cat. Then one day he got good photos at a known location, then the response was 'holy cow look at that mountain lion.' The December kill was just a few miles from that spot, although I am fairly certain that it was a completely different cougar, at best an off spring of the original.
Mt. lion killed in Northwest Iowa

Posted: Dec 07, 2013 10:38 PM CST
 

A Department of Natural Resources officer and another man killed a mountain lion in northwest Iowa after determining it was a threat to people.

The DNR says a hunter spotted the mountain lion Thursday while checking a trail camera near Rock Valley. The cat was about 40 yards away and didn't move, so the hunter backed away.

He returned with a neighbor and found the animal, which walked away from a buck it had killed.

The men called DNR conservation officer John Sells, who checked the area Friday afternoon.

While searching, one man nearly stepped on the mountain lion, causing it to move. The DNR officer and another man shot and killed it.

Sells says it was necessary to kill the animal because it was near houses with children.

[hvyhitter]

I solo hunted the Big Bear area of So Cal about 20 yrs ago and cought a quick look a few times whle sneaking and peeking through the back canyons.........usually as they were exiting the far side.............

[Archie]

I've never seen one, but noticed that they are listed in the Illinois DNR hunting and trapping regs this year.  It says that they are not legal to shoot in Illinois.  

Some friends with large farms claim that they saw one on their property a few years ago near Leaf River, Illinois.

[monkeyball]

This was a big thing here in Pa. a few years ago, up in the Sullivan Co. Forksville area in particular.  Lots of reported sightings but not much in the way of photos to back it up. There was actually an individual offering a cash reward for any physical proof of a Pa Mountain Lion. I have not heard much about it lately.

                                                       Good Shooting,
                                                                     Craig

[HugeBull]

I have heard of several reliable folks who claim to have seen them in TN, including one not too far from the MS/AL area mentioned.  We have also had reports on the news, and I kept a newspapre article from 10+ years ago where the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency got a plaster cast of a mtn lion tract from Marion Co, on the AL border.  A few years ago they found a small dead mtn lion in KY, and did DNA on it and determined that it was from South America.  The guess was that it was an illegal "pet" that was released.  Also, I have heard that the black panther sitings may be river otters.  I have seen one running through the woods between two creeks and can understand the confusion.  A wet otter is big and nearly black, especially on his hinds, and he runs with a loping motion and his big round butt is the most prominent feature.  Baby got back, as they say . . .  Hugh

[Bjorn]

Our archery range was re-opened yesterday following the cat incident earlier in the week (post on pg 2). The little boy is out of the hospital and doing fine. DNR shot the cat and it was dna'd to be THE one.
The cat was shot and not tranquilized as it was deemed to be aggressive-it followed the guys carrying the boy to the edge of the parking lot. We have had lions in trees in subdivisions, school yards, hiking trails; and I still have not seen one!

[Keith Zimmerman]

My hunting buddy saw one here in PA a couple years ago in the Allegheny Natl Forest.  It came out of the woods on the left side of the road.  Walked across the road in front of him about 60 ydas away.  And jumped the small bank and walked into some crab apple trees.  He said with the tail it almost took up half the road.

Ive been hunting with this guy for over 30 years.  I believe him.

[Gun]

This one.
 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=000099
One more a few years ago while Moose hunting further north.

[dnovo]

About 15 years ago I was hunting hogs/javelina on a ranch down by Freer, Texas. Still hunting around I went to check on a waterhole I thought they might be using. Came up over a bank next tom it and there was a mountain lion drinking at the water's edge. I remember thinking "I wish I had my camera" while easing toward it. It left the water and went behind a bush. When it came out it was running and I put an arrow just under its chest.  
Yes it was/is legal there. I would just have had to borrow $$$ to pay the trophy fee to the ranch.

[jeff w]

I used to hunt a farm in southern Indiana.  One time I was talking to the farmer about deer and other wildlife.   He told me that one time he was returning to his house after dark, after  harvesting soy beans late into the evening. He stated he saw a mountain lion cross the road  right in front of his combine at fairly close-range.  He said the lion was well lit by the machines' lights, and he got a good long look at it.   He said there was no doubt as to what it was.   He said he never notified or bothered to tell anyone about it because he figured no one would believe him. I believed him and still do.

[jrstegner]

I watched one from my treestand in Ripley County for a couple minutes on10/17/07.  I almost hit another one in Ohio County with my truck 12/24/09.