Big Cat

[Dave]

I think in our area of the northwest it has little to do with cats from no. Cal. There may be some cats drifting up but not enough to come close to the effect we are having. Dave is 100% right, Oregon and Washington elected to ban using dogs to hunt cougar a few, or many now, years ago and since then the sightings and problems with cats have gone insane. While I have never had a problem with them (knock on wood) in the last ten years or so I have seen two cats and heard one scream...... Late night walking up from the barn without a dog or gun, I'll never forget that, you hear it you'll always remember it.

Alan

In the early 80's the Game Dept in all there wisdom went to a permit system on cougars. But the area west of I-5 and south of Olympia (my area) they issued no permits. That was nearly 30 years ago. Then in the mid 90's they outlawed hound hunting for cats which is the only effective method of hunting them. So there has been no cougar huntin in my area since the early 80's. It use to pretty rare for one to actually be sighted. Now nearly everyone who lives in rural or semi rural areas as seen one or two. And people having scary run ins with them are not uncommon. It is only a matter of time before we have someone ate by one.

One of the other interesting things about them is how far they travel and how quickly they do it. I had some friends caught one for the Game Dept near the Northeast corner of Mt Rainier park. It was tagged and turned loose. Three days later it was road killed down by White Salmon on the Columbia River. That is 150 +/- miles as the crow flys, at least 3 major rivers and some real nasty mountains that the cougar travel through.

 

[Brute 23]

We had a cat scream one night on the river bottom when we were running dogs. There is no doubt when you hear one.

 

[Commercialfarmer]

Well if my email hadn't been cleaned out last year, I could show you pictures a lady took from her kitchen of a lion starring in the house on the back porch. She is about 15 miles from our farm.

Guess I'm one of those crazy guys, cause I've seen 3 of them over the years. Could have shot one as I was deer hunting when I was 17, but the idea of paying the large fine or jail time, just didn't seem to justify the ability to prove I saw one. Saw another one several years later driving about 45 minutes from the farm- he/she was crossing the highway again the following night and my cousin saw it as well. But then never again. Father in law saw one as well about 8 years ago.

It's funny that the wildlife department denies that they exist here until either a picture pops up or someone shoots one. Then they are more than happy to prosecute.

I was in school at OSU when a ranger was there speaking about something. I asked him about a recent event at the time and he said we had no cougars in Oklahoma. I asked him about some killed on the road and seen in Western Oklahoma. He then admitted to one being seen and photographed at Canton, but then said that it was out there almost to New Mexico. Huh?

Last I knew Canton was only 85 miles west of Stillwater (which is on the eatern side of the state) and is about 280 miles from the New Mexico boarder.

Why can't the wildlife department just admit they exist in low numbers, but they are there?

 

[Anonymous]

Missouri conservation denied there were any in the stateas early as 5 years ago. My buddy had a farm that boedered a conservation public hunting area. Before he moved down here i humted there every year. The last 2 years there was a serious decline in the deer and turkey population. Those same 2 years i heard large cats howl every season. Blood curdling hair raising howls.
Finally after reports of cat sightings several wete killed in the county by cars. Comservation finally admitted they were aware there were cats around and scuttlebut was that comservation had introduced them to the area to help control the deer population some 10 or 15 years earlier

 

[cow pollinater]

It's funny that the wildlife department denies that they exist here until either a picture pops up or someone shoots one.

:nod: I used to work pack stations in the high country. I had a BROKE mare and a few mules FLIP out on me in the national park one time and decided to go back and figure out what happened. I found lion tracks... I told the park service about the lion track and recieved a ten minute lecture about my ignorance since "we don't have lions in this basin of the park"...
Three days later a park service employee was walking out from Hockett Meadows, which is twelve miles off the road, with a bum shoulder and he swore up and down that a BIG lion had followed him... and then worked around in front of him... and then followed him some more... and then came around on the other side and up in front of him... :nod:
By the next day there were signs plastered all over every trailhead in the park.

 

[Beefy]

I am not so naive to think there may not be a few cat's in the Big Thicket, they are not abundant with one behind every other tree. The black ones are like those talking M&M's they don't exsist. If there were as many cat's as sightings somebody would kill one or it would get hit by a car. Most of these cat's are seen by scared people that have seen to many scary movies.
Now it would not surprise me one bit to see a Siberian tiger or African Lion that one of these hillbillies bought and it got to big to feed and turned it out.

couldnt they just as easily turn out a black jaguar or black leopard?

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Fellar around here had a bunch of big cats, tigers African lion and black leopard. Most fun we had around here in a long time was a tiger hunting when one of them got loose.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I am not so naive to think there may not be a few cat's in the Big Thicket, they are not abundant with one behind every other tree. The black ones are like those talking M&M's they don't exsist. If there were as many cat's as sightings somebody would kill one or it would get hit by a car. Most of these cat's are seen by scared people that have seen to many scary movies.
Now it would not surprise me one bit to see a Siberian tiger or African Lion that one of these hillbillies bought and it got to big to feed and turned it out.

couldnt they just as easily turn out a black jaguar or black leopard?

No as leopards do not live in North or South America as far Jaguars go there is a population in Mexico . Now you are talking big cat's the jaguar is the number 3 behind the lion and tiger.

http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/pantonca.htm

 

[Deepsouth]

Talking m&m's don't exist?