Mountain Lions have moved into the Midwest, no doubt, and honestly I don't see state Game and Fish agencies denying that fact.
Since 1992 the Missouri Department of Conservation has confirmed 30+ cougars in Missouri. Of the 30+ confirmations, 6 were cats we could actually put our hands on and were all male specimens(2 road kills, 3 shot by humans and 1 cage-trapped). Perhaps females are better at avoiding cars, bullets and traps but I doubt it. Young males are dispersing from saturated western populations to avoid being killed by dominant males whether they like hangin out with girls or not. Will a female show up in the midwest somewhere? It seems likely to me that one will at some point. Nature has a way of making those things happen. It may be from a dispersal from another population or an escaped captive animal. Who knows.
As a member of the MDC's Mountain Lion Response Team I can assure you we look at 100s and 100s of pictures annually of tracks and animals which people claim are of or made by mountain lions. We investigate livestock and deer kills weekly to determine what did it. A lot of man power and hours spent on what has become mountain lion mania in the midwest. I drove all the way to St Joseph once to look at a horse which had been killed by a dog which the horse owner and local animal control folks claimed was killed by a mountain lion. Amongst the blood bath I found a puddle of bloody frothy vomit that contained a handful of scalloped potatoes that apparently had been ingested by the dog before going on the killing spree.
I have looked at the picture at the top of this thread and for sure wouldn't confirm a mountain lion based on what I see. I cant tell what it is.
When I read the posts above it kinda saddens me to see Tradgang members responding in such a "mainstream" way with the undertows of distrust of government, mountain lion mania, and bogus claims of black panthers and deer up in trees. Black panthers are not native to North America and are melanistic phases of either leopards or jaquars. Mountain lions dont pull deer up in trees, flood water and cheetahs do that.
Mountain lions are very predictable in how they kill and how they treat prey.
Kenny, I wish I had gotten a chance to look at your deer when it was fresh. Linn Co. is actually within my region. I know the agents around there well and am anxious to hear what they thought of your pictures. I can tell you that from the pictures you have posted, nothing really screams mountain lion to me. A bobcat could have easily dragged a deer that size for a long distance. A bobcat would also explain the multiple puncture wounds you show. You never mentioned where the animal was found or if it was or wasn't covered when you found it. All important factors in the equation. In the future call me directly at 573-823-5277 if you want the mountain lion response team there.
Game and Fish Agencies are filled with good honest people that go out of their way to assist you whenever they can. They try to analyze and present the facts as best they can. Some refuse to listen and would rather believe what they hear in the coffee shop.
Seems many people want to believe the place they hunt or hike or own is the wooliest, remotest, wildest place remaining East of the Rocky Mountains and Pumas, Black Panthers, Honey bears, and even wolverines have existed there all along. Sorry, in most cases, that's just not true.
Mudd, there are wild hogs in Missouri, but you'll have to take a break from pounding those bags in your back yard long enough to go hike some remote places down in the Ozarks to find them. They arent gonna walk down Main St in Ashland and let you shoot at em.
Sorry couldnt resist Bud.
Trap
Topic: Mountain Lion season in Iowa! (Read 855 times)
