Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

[ahab78]

From time to time in Southeast Georgia we get reports of panthers (cougars, mountain lions, whatever you want to call them) and bears roaming the countryside. Recently, we've found several large tracks of an unidentified animal around our goat pen and it's got me concerned (mostly for my goats, but also for my family). I know that in all likelihood I'll never see this animal and it would probably get out of the area if I was even near it, but I do find it a bit unnerving from time to time when I'm sneaking around in the woods. It's mostly psychological I know, but it does get to me a little bit.

What freaks you out in the woods and how do you deal with it? And do you feel vulnerable armed only with a stick and string?

[jbpharmd]

A couple years ago there was multiple sightings of a tiger around the Fort Polk area of Louisiana. Apparently someone let the big cat loose after keeping it as a pet. That would get my blood going.

I've had a black bear come in at 20 yds right at dark hunting at my recurve. He caught my scent and roared/huffed/growled at me. In hindsight he was more scared of me than I was of him, but I had to change my undergarments anyway.

[Orion]

I don't worry about black bear or wolves where I hunt, though there a lot of both.  Cougars would be extremely rare.  I do carry bear spray when I'm in Grizzly bear country out West or in Alaska though. I pay a lot more attention to everything when I'm in Grizzly country.

[Trenton G.]

We have some pretty big black berry patches that we visit in the summer, the bushes are well above my head and it is extremely thick. On more than one occasion I've been picking in the thick of it when suddenly there will be a huge crash and lots of huffing as some bear will go barreling out of the patch. Makes me wonder sometimes how fast I could move through all the briars if need be.

Another would be last year during muzzleloader season. I was walking out after dark when I came on a set of bear tracks that were in my tracks from when I walked in. He was headed the same way I was going, so I was a bit on edge the rest of the walk out.

[Pine]

Well I got very unnerved last summer when I was out back on our property .
We have seen bear sign quite often so we do know they are around .
The neighbor had one on a trail cam .
Well back to last summer , my dog and I bumped up a small black bear cub and I heard some big crashing thrue the brush .
Told my dog " Get to the house "            

[mj seratt]

There have been several confirmed trail cam pictures of mountain lions in Tennessee in recent months.  TWRA finally admitted the pictures were authentic.
ahab78, it might be time to buy a camera.

Murray

[Soonerlongbow]

It seems like every few weeks we have sightings or reports of predation on livestock by lions in Oklahoma. The game wardens just put down a cat a couple weeks ago.

[ahab78]

Thanks for all the responses. I hope to hear some more.

My mom says she saw a dog she thought was a German Shepherd the other night but when she got a better look she thought it was a wolf. A wolf in Georgia would be crazy. My dad thinks it is a dog, but I had a 160 lbs Rottweiler and this thing's tracks make his look tiny. I cannot make sense of the tracks because some have claw marks and others do not, suggesting it is a large cat of some kind. I put out some chicken on a bait pole and set up a camera on it, so maybe I'll have some kind of picture of it in the morning.

We did have some cattle attacked in the county above us by what DNR thought was a mountain lion a few years back. The last guy who killed a mountain lion in Georgia got a pretty hefty fine and probation. If I find out it is a mountain lion I'll call DNR to come and try to trap it. I'd hate for them to have to kill it.

[Trenton G.]

Every now and then we'll get reports around here of mountain lions. Although the DNR hasn't confirmed it, the sources that I've heard about them from are pretty reliable. This summer I heard of a guy who saw one jumping across a pile of hay bales in one of his fields. It wasn't to close to here, but close enough.

Please post some pictures if you get something on camera!

[Roadkill]

We have both here, and the same caution taught you in the Corps is sufficient to keep your edge up.  Fences do not mean a lot to those animals when hungry, so chances are the tracks are from something else.keep your edge up

[Bowwild]

Nothing in my woods except the spiders I hate.

[Sam McMichael]

There have been sightings of cougars reported in Central Georgia, also.

[M60gunner]

Bears would make me cautious if I knew they were in the woods with me. Mountain Lions are not as much a concern. Living in CA. they were around us. Now there is a few times the cats attacked, one was a jogger, fast food, another was a horse rider. Speculation was the cat wanted the horse. Oh, the jogger was killed. Then a few years ago there was the lion who wanted some McDonalds in Escondido, Ca. He was waiting his turn in their parking lot.

[BenBow]

Mountain lions are common here and I'm always looking over my shoulder. I've seen two while out. One made a kill less than 300 yards from where I slept in the back of my open pickup. I watched it carry the fawn under a juniper where it played with it before finishing it off.
I picked up a lion tag and will be going out with my caller soon. I think I'll wear an adult diaper for scent control.

[Soonerlongbow]

The GSD has incredibly huge foot prints! Even a 90-120lb shepherd will have insanely massive tracks.
My only personal encounter with a lion was when I was 17-18, back around '98. We were turkey hunting in the mountains of SE OK near Lake Sardis and came upon a double set of bobcat tracks. We stopped a few hundred yards ahead to talk with a gentleman driving back down the county rd/logging rd. He said he had been seeing bears in the area of our cabin, and he thought there was a female lion with a litter nearby as well.
On his suggestion we turned around and went down an adjacent road. On the way up we'd noticed the bobcat tracks veered off the road into the woods. But on the way back they reappeared right on top of our boot prints and were joined with what looked like the largest cat track over ever seen before. Bigger than my hand is wide and directly on top of our tracks.
Needless to say I began periodically doing a 180 to check my back trail. Never saw anything else, turkey included.

[ahab78]

Adult diapers for scent control! Good call!

Checked my cam this morning. Just a fox that gave up after he couldn't reach the bait. I will keep the camera up a few more nights and see what comes in.

[JimB]

 
 
 
 
That last one has his nose in my print,and back tracked me.Not the first time.There are a few wolves around,as well as big black bears.
 
 
A single wolf completely devoured that mule deer in 2 days,including the head.

[Etter]

Nothing at all to worry about with black bears.

[JimB]

Not usually but South Cox may disagree.

[Michael Arnette]

Chiggers!!!! Sometimes I have nightmares!

...seriously though I'm waiting for one of the guys from Montana, Idaho or Alberta to just post a big laughing face LOL