Cougars

keh · Aug 2, 2013

Article in August Progressive Farmer: Mountain lions extending their habitat. Article shows a line roughly from West TX through NM, CO, WY, and Western MT and West from there as their established range, with isolated pockets in the Dakotas and NE, also South FL. Map shows spottings in some Eastern states, including one roadkill in CT which they DNA traced to the Black Hills. Thick bunch of sightings in MO and other states North nd South of MO. One in W GA at the AL line. None in SC, where I live, BUT, I have seen one a few miles away. Was talking to neighbor yesterday a couple of miles away on the next ridge, she says she still hears one and son has seen big tracks.

KEH

tomtirediron · Aug 2, 2013

I'm about dead center between Fargo, ND and Duluth, MN and 130 miles South of Canadian border. Neighbor called me 2+ weeks ago at 6:00 AM to look at some tracks and scat pile. Tracks were pretty well obliterated by rain, but scat matched internet pics for size and composition from large cat. Uncle and cousin SW of me 3 miles says they have seen on field edge at night. Local bow hunter claims to have lost deer to one left overnight. No matter what the DNR (do nothing right) says, many believe they're in North and Central, Mn in small numbers.

Sam Drucker · Aug 2, 2013

Dang I thought you was going to talk about the kind of cougar that lives next door to me.

johnlobb · Aug 2, 2013

There was a local newspaper report of a cougar in Livingston county near Howell. Confirmed.

calf · Aug 2, 2013

Lots of info on this website. Note that most, if not all the cougars found out of the identified ranges are young males looking for a little 'action'.

KEH[/quote]ttp://www.easterncougarnet.org/[/url]

(quoted from post at 20:32:26 08/02/13)
Article in August Progressive Farmer: Mountain lions extending their habitat. Article shows a line roughly from West TX through NM, CO, WY, and Western MT and West from there as their established range, with isolated pockets in the Dakotas and NE, also South FL. Map shows spottings in some Eastern states, including one roadkill in CT which they DNA traced to the Black Hills. Thick bunch of sightings in MO and other states North nd South of MO. One in W GA at the AL line. None in SC, where I live, BUT, I have seen one a few miles away. Was talking to neighbor yesterday a couple of miles away on the next ridge, she says she still hears one and son has seen big tracks.

johnwayne360 · Aug 2, 2013

Explain to me how a cougar from the black hills got to the east coast..Dnr has claimed there arent any in Iowa for years...but pictures have surfaced on the net of road kill last couple years..They do not exist in iowa..therefore there are no rules as to hunting..so you can shoot them when you see them...then watch the dnr come pick them up when they havent moved in a couple days..

keh · Aug 2, 2013

Johnwayne360, I'm just going by the article quoted. The DNR says they analyzed hair and scat along the way from the Black Hills and matched it to the young male dead in road in CT.

Tomtired iron, If I'm reading the little spots on the map showings sightings right, they have been 16 or 17 sightings in MN from 1990 to present. Spots too thick to count in MO.

KEH

WCS · Aug 2, 2013

A cougar/mountain lion was shot and killed last fall inside the city limits of Des Moines, Iowa. It was spotted by local residents who called police who shot the animal because it was near a school.The animal was stuffed and mounted and will be on display at next week's Iowa State Fair.

Fergienewbee · Aug 2, 2013

I sure would have liked to see a wild cougar when I was younger.

Larry

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Hal/ Eastern WA · Aug 2, 2013

We have some in our area, but I have never seen one myself. I HAVE seen tracks that belonged to some kind of very large cat by the creek within half a mile of my house. I carried a firearm for a long time whenever I was out walking after that.

About 15 or 20 years ago, the adult, full sized son of a friend of mine was out in the woods North of Spokane, scouting for an area to hunt deer later in the year. He was alone, but had a rifle. Suddenly he saw a cougar that was hunting HIM!!! As the cougar closed in my friend"s son shot it...I guess it couldn"t have been closer.

It used to be that cougars were totally afraid of people, partly because cougars were hunted and pursued by dogs. In their "infinite wisdom", the State of Washington made it illegal to hunt cougars using dog packs, which was the only practical way to pursue them. So, according the things I have read, there is now a lot more problem associated with human/cougar contact.

I don"t want the cougar to go extinct. But I also don"t want to have to worry about my grandchildren or animals being outside being in danger. Cougars and all large predators need to be deathly afraid of human contact, so they stay away from populated areas.

Chasing cougars with dogs seemed to make the cougars very fearful of humans and their dogs. Maybe that needs to be legal again.

Will Herring · Aug 2, 2013

DNR admitted they exist in Illinois in limited numbers (some sort of just passing through bs, they claim) because people have caught them on their trail cams lately.

Bret4207 · Aug 2, 2013

They used to tell us we were crazy when we reported seeing moose. They told us we were crazy when we reported seeing Bald Eagles. They told us we were crazy when we reported finding Zebra Mussels, Emerald Ask Borers and Turkeys in the heart of the Adirondacks. I've seen one of the non-existent cougars in NY that aren't here. Must be I'm crazy.

ETA- they also told us we were crazy when we reported coyotes hunting in packs, just like wolves. They told us there was no difference between and Eastern Coyote and Western Coyote. Now they discovered wolf DNA in our coyotes that are 3x the size of Western Coyotes.

Huh. Go figure.

MNGB · Aug 2, 2013

Her's one from last winter in WC MN just east of Alexandria,MN of course the MN DNR claims there are no cougars in MN.

jm. · Aug 2, 2013

As the crow flies I am about a 1-- miles East of Mo in Tenn. Of course they would have to cross that little creek called the Mississippi river.
About ever year or so stories come up about sightings in some of the remote areas here in Northwest Tenn. Got about everything else so why not.

Billy NY · Aug 2, 2013

I have seen moose here, more than once, one morning at the farmers place near me there was one in the yard. I have seen black bear, they killed a 200lb bear a few years back across the road, Bald eagles are around, I have seen a few this year, and I have photos of the one picking over one of my deer carcasses a few years back, I thought it would only be during migration, but when I look up, its not always a turkey vulture that white head and tail is not hard to spot. I have seen large healthy coyotes here for years, I have seen the western ones while in the desert in California, there is a difference for sure !

There are some rumors about mountain lions near the Catskills, maybe north of there, somewhere in that area, I cannot comment on that, only if I seen it myself, but its hard to dispute when the reports are there, DEC still denies it. I had a contractor from that area quoting me on a job one morning who firmly believes one of those was grabbing livestock in that area. I particularly would not want them around, too much cover, deer are a pain around the garden, but if they ever got in here, I can't imagine deer would be so abundant and they would be a competitor for food, be it game or ones livestock. I just could not imagine being wary of walking ones property and having to keep an eye out for one of these, especially if they don't fear people like other animals do.

TomH in PA · Aug 2, 2013

Here in the East we don't need to worry about big cats. The little ones are tougher then the black bears.

Wesley Stephens · Aug 2, 2013

The wildlife officials here in SE NC have denied their existence all my life despite sightings by knowledgeable people. The latest story being floated around is that they are escaped exotic pets from drug dealers. Some armadillo roadkill has been reported and it is now being "investigated." Coyotes have shown up in the last 10-15 years, supposedly by migration but they are not a native species. I hope that someone can figure out how to eradicate them. They are very destructive.

showcrop · Aug 2, 2013

There are a dozen or so sightings in NH annually. They were long thought to be extinct. Fifty years ago there was a bounty on bobcats but mountain lions were very rare. It was widely known in the area where I grew up, that our pet beagle Leroy finally killed off the few that remained.

Chuck (CA) · Aug 2, 2013

Shoot, at my age, Debbie Reynolds is a cougar.

T in NE · Aug 2, 2013

I guess Nebraska is going to have a lottery to allocate tags. They finally admitted that "they are rogue males" just didn't explain it anymore. Especially when one of Game and Parks' own people took a picture of several of them wandering down a logging road ahead of the fires last year.

Not to mention that kid who killed one that was stalking him- from a distance of about 30 feet.

Heyseed · Aug 2, 2013

Same thing here in Virginia, the state people swear that they are not around, but sane people keep seeing them. Two of my neighbors saw one a couple weeks ago. I had tracks in the snow on my road that looked very much like a large cat last winter. It does make you think when walking out to the truck in the dark.

Janicholson · Aug 4, 2013

It was a radio tagged male that went on an extended walkabout. True authenticated visually confirmed trip. Jim

GVSII · Aug 4, 2013

Was down in Coleman Fl. a few years ago visiting an old airforce buddy.He has about 20 acres of land, a mix of open and lightly wooded with a 3 acre pond. Early one morning I was out
wondering around on the far side of the pond and saw some big cat tracks up there.Not real fresh but...Did a quick scan around and continued my walk. Back to the house I asked him if any cougars in the area.He said yes, did you see one.No but some 1 or 2 day old tracks up there. He said I'm missing one of my cats. They are around.Best to be on the alert.

Cougars

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