Cougars and Bobcats (1 Viewer)

The cougar is back but doesn't seem to be a threat this go around. It hasn't come up near the house again so that is good. We have taken better precautions like burning all brush near our home and brush hogging brush in pastures. Still lots of groves where one could hide but all is away from the house and where we travel by foot. The Rangers in our area were notified and this time agreed the cougars are here. Four miles down the road at another location near my husbands work is the female that has been seen by many people for several years and is still living in that wooded area. This last Summer though there was a surprise..a young baby cougar was spotted so the female isn't alone after all. My husband and two friends saw it. The cougar has been seen by others when it crossed the road in front of a car with another car behind it. They all saw it and were surprised.
I'm ok with the cougar here as long as it stays in the back pastures as it has done. If it comes up to near the house again I won't be very happy at all. We do have lots of deer on our place so hopefully it will have enough to eat without bothering us.

On a better note one evening while driving down a road a mile from our house two bobcats ran out in front of my car. No I didn't hit them, in fact I slowed down to watch them cross. They were gorgeous, not as big as I thought they would be, maybe young ones. The first one slowly ran across the road and a few seconds after another crossed the road. They looked as if one was chasing the other but when they had crossed the road in some light brush I could see them circling around in the brush and watching me as I stopped to see them better. I have got to get back into the habit of taking the camera with me everywhere again. The two were darker colored then I thought they would be with spots so guessing young. They did not have tails..well short stubs. I saw them in the late evening just right before dark. They had crossed the road from a rock quarry to wooded land. I don't mind the Bobcats, seldom seen or heard about, and not very big. The cougars I worry about more because they seem to not be as worried about people..I mean more used to people being around. Sitings where my husband works are more often and again we have this one here. Maybe it is the male that lives here and travels to see his girlfriend when it is time and then returns. Don't know.

Do you have a big dog? (Good)
Chickens? (Bad)
Wondering as the Louisiana cat I mentioned in the earlier thread was eating chickens. On a side note, a Florida panther was shot in Troup County, Georgia last year. That's a long walk from SW Florida.

HI, we have a big dog but not that good of one. We have chickens and had more but last time the cat was around we lost a bunch of chickens. One person seen the cougar crossing the road with one in it's mouth..wonder where that came from? Only two of us around here with chickens. Last year the deer population was down so it may had been it getting the chickens that run loose, don't know.

I couldn't find your earlier post about the cats. Would you mind posting a link so I could read it? Sounds interesting.

lashinala said:

On a side note, a Florida panther was shot in Troup County, Georgia last year. That's a long walk from SW Florida.

Click to expand...

?!?!?!?!
Any chance of more details?

shot on November 16,2008 by deer hunter. Natl Cancer Inst.,Lab of Diversity did testing...probably closest to area. animal taken to SE Coop Wildlife Disease study in Athens,Ga. no microchip,good nutrition, no genetic match to captives. 1 found dead in Collier county FL in September also. Another in water in Big Cypress NP in October. Unfortunately, lots are road kill...many off US 41 near Turner River.
bigcatrescue.org is where I got info...encourage all to check them out, they do good work.
OKscissortail--still looking, may be under someone elses cougar post. Sorry...on PDA until next week and thumbs are getting sore.

Had to laugh when I saw the advertisement at the bottom of the page...
www.dateacougar. com
gotta love the internet!

Isurus said:

?!?!?!?!
Any chance of more details?

Click to expand...

http://www.examiner.com/x-13344-Wil...d5-Endangered-Florida-panther-shot-in-Georgia

Got some pics from several weeks ago....bobcat roadkill (WARNING DEAD BOBCAT)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11843214@N03/4057289090/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11843214@N03/4057288938/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11843214@N03/4057288806/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11843214@N03/4056549787/
There are a group of them that skirt a sod farm and cross the highway constantly.

OKscissortail, orig Louisiana cougar reference was in a 'deer cull' thread...I reread and realized it was your husband also posting.
I know there was a reliable sighting/scat/etc. in Sabine parish a few years ago. I remember the chicken reference from a .pdf file from La. sighting.

Hi, so sorry haven't been posting, been away from the computer with Holiday shopping. The bob cat photos were interesting and that you see them all the time near a sod farm is too cool! Wish I saw the ones here more often, of course not in our backyard..though I would trade the cougar for bobcats.

Here populations of both cougar and bobcats must be growing. Years back it was a rare event for anyone to see either, but now days more people are seeing the cougars. The Bobcats a little less seen but more often then in the past for sure.

Your news of the cougars in LA is very interesting. I have read where cougars are migrating more to our area.

How would you estimate the chance of seeing your Cougars (or Bobcats) if one was actually looking for them as opposed to just using the area for everyday purposes?

John

Bobcats don't move near as much as cougars...at least not male cougars...they get around. As far as the odds for cougars, I'd say driving a car is more likely to encounter one than anything else (I think roadkills are most frequent deaths).

Chili and Argentina seems to be the most reliable place in the world for Mountain Lion.

Yellowstone might be quasi reliable; I know some birders watched a staked out mountain lion at a kill with 3 almost grown cubs. Most of the other people I know who have seen mountains lions have only seen them via dumb luck.

Where I live I'm not really out looking ..my husband and two friends saw the younger cougar in August of this year, another guy hunting in same area saw one and here on our place on and around November 24th of this year. We noticed a cougar here last winter after the first of the year and again now in November. At first last winter we was watching regularly due to it being close by our home. After we didn't hear it anymore and no more noise we stopped thinking about it. Rangers had said it had left our farm and was somewhere else so we started to relax. The one here now is far out away from our home so not as worried as last year.

On average by where my husband works 2 times a year..but few people are back there or just looking for one.

So far here on our place in the Winter months. The rangers claim since we have a creek that runs thru our place they follow that up from where the other is usually seen..from reading most likely the male. I do not know how long he stays here..last year he could had left from around the house and hung out in back wooded areas or he could had left to go help make the younger cougar with Mrs Kitty and then return again. I'll have to keep tabs on it..so far I have last winter after the first of this year and then now in November.

Agree with Mysticete, most sitings here are just out of the blue, sudden luck. I haven't see the one here again but honestly I am not out trying to find it..if it stays in the back, leaves my livestock alone and doesn't come close to the house again then we can be friends at a distance.

More bad news on the cougar population (manatees also):
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=motored-down-record-number-of-manat-2010-01-06
OK_Scissortail, do you know if there have been any 'near misses' with cars in your area?

Record number of endangered Florida panthers killed by vehicles in 2009 - http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/new...d Florida panthers killed by vehicles in 2009

lashinala..I'm sorry to reply so late..Holidays took me away from the board. Yes there has been at least one siting of a near miss from a couple of our neighbors driving down the road..one neighbor following the other. A cougar ran out in front of the first car but car missed it..cougar had a chicken in mouth they said. The neighbor following saw it also. This was 1/4 mile from our house with the cougar crossing from off our land into the road and beyond.

Other then that as far as car incidences I haven't heard any other ..just sitings from people that have seen one once in awhile in the area we know their at. It is being the talk lately that our wildlife population is increasing from years back. More people seeing small bears, bobcats, and wild pigs and people have heard about a cougar over here in our area. I like wild life but hope it doesn't get out of control with the dangerous kind.

Hey OK_Scissortail,
How far are you from Atoka?
http://www.cougarnet.org/prairie-desc/Atoka-10.htm
I just hope the 'good ole boys' don't start a posse and overreact. Y'all must have too many lazy does around there.

Hi, I'm about 3 hours north of Atoka. That link is pretty interesting and what surprise for the man when he looked at the the capture on the camera! Looks to be a healthy cat that I would not want to meet. If I was him think I would quit feeding the deer...lol. He may intend to hunt for deer next Fall in the mornings but may turned out he is the one being stalked..ekkkkk.

Just how many documented records of Cougars attacking people are there? How many of those were subsequently found to be less than fully fit?

How many records of encounters in which the Cougar has not attacked?

I guess the boot is on the other foot most of the time, which is why few people ever see them and they are not found in much of their pre-human range.

John