Mountain Lion season in Iowa!

[Mudd]

Trap quote: "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."

I am 100% agree with that statement.

Now as far as the hogs are concerned... buddy I've made several trips down south looking for them and even baited an area where there was supposed to be hog activity...nothing.

I made contact with the folks that are in charge of the major lakes.. especially those south and west of me and they deny any hogs in their areas.

I was told by the conservation department that if I saw any I should shoot them on sight but they would not share any information about where the problem hogs might be located because they didn't want hunters going in and possibly causing them to disperse thereby making it more difficult for them to eradicate them.

Having said all that, I guess I could just hunt harder....lol

Trap please don't take my long winded reply as anything negative toward you my friend but if you do please find it in your heart to forgive me....ok?

God bless,Mudd

[TRAP]

You're not gonna say anything to offend me Mudd, we go back way to far for that to happen.  

I'm down with the hunt harder idea.  it's all about the hunting and not the killing anyway, right?

I truly hope if you do find one, it's the last one in the state and we can close the book on them, at least until the next trailer load is dumped illegally on public ground.

Trap

[Mudd]

You betcha!!

[Knawbone]

I respect your view and have no intention of false claims or to add to your sadness, but when someone I trust 100% ( my Grandfather) tells me he saw a Big black cat as in Panther size or whatever the large cat was, then I have to believe him. Too many of these sightings threw the years by reputable people to just be imaginations gone wild.Of course Leopards are not indigenous to the US, but that doesn't mean a few have not escaped captivity and even breed succesfully. Evidently at least one did, or you can bet your bottom dollar Waldo Butler wouldn't have stated it as fact. You wouldn't state it as a bogus claim if you had known the man. I find your statement a little disrespectful in light of this. I'm sure your correct about most of these claims of M Lions being mistakes, but it is also a fact that they have been sighted in several states in the mid west and east of the Mississippi.All areas not normally habitated by M Lions. I respect your knowledge and efforts to this subject, and no I don't trust the federal government at all and with good reason.

[kennym]

Daryl, I'm not sure there was a response team when I found it. I heard all the same stuff tho, bobcat, dog ,etc.

The teeth marks are kind of jumbled in the pic because it looked like it took a 2nd bite. But my large lab and the bobcat skull I have are nowhere close to a 2 3/8" width between top teeth.

I'm sure you get a lot of bogus reports, and I discount most that I hear also.

We have seen tracks a couple other times roughly 4" across, but never reported them to anyone.

As far as trusting the government......  :D  

Take care,
kenny

[kennym]

And sorry for getting off topic!

[RLA]

As far as trusting the government......    :D   who could at this point  

If cats are breeding in the hills of SW MO & AR? There here to stay, it's perfect environment for them.

[TRAP]

A few weeks after the Joplin tornado a young black jaquar  or leopard was killed by a local sherif's deputy when it jumped off of a porch and ran towards the deputy.  It was probably someone's "pet" that was displaced in the storm.

Exotic animals show up in a lot of places.

No disrespect was intended towards anyone. A lot of good men and women have claimed to to have seen black panthers or black mountain lions.  And for all I know, they did. I wasn't with them. How do I know.

I base my comments on the premise that no melanistic mountain lion has never been "documented" in North America.

Kinda like Bigfoot, maybe one will show up someday.

Trap

[Knawbone]

Thanks Trap for the clarification  

[TRAP]

"If cats are breeding in the hills of SW MO & AR? There here to stay, it's perfect environment for them."

Very likely where the first breeding population of mountain lions in modern times will occur.  Couldn't agree more.

Daryl

[JimB]

Some thoughtful posts Trap.

Bear hunting this afternoon,I stumbled on to a lion kill,a doe whitetail and her 2 fawns.It's a tom lion about 130-140 lbs.I've been finding his tracks almost every time out.He is hunting these whitetails hard.Even if he kills a doe and doesn't find the fawns,that's 3 deer dead.

There were a couple mounds where the deer had been covered but all the parts were now uncovered.Most were in one spot but I threw a couple pieces in for the picture.The fawns were several feet to the right of the doe.
 
 
 

[LimBender]

Cool, but gruesome pics.

Cyclic and others, I don't know why the various DNRs deny it - except I'm sure many sightings are bogus.  There are mountain lions/cougars in Texas, and only recently has Louisiana DNR admitted they are there despite years of sightings, trail cam pics, and a scat study by one biologist.  Even then, they state no breeding pairs, but possibly displaced males or pets. Do I think they are common?  No, but I think there are a few out there.

Look at wolves, hogs and black bears expanding their territories, don't see why cougars would not do the same.