YIKES......TOO!

[buck460XVR]

This is a two part thread, one to see if Warbirdlover's friend ever gave him an answer to where he got the cougar pic from and the other is to show a pic of a cougar that was taken on a game cam, less than a mile from my house. Yes it was S.W. Wisconsin and I know the landowner personally. It's claimed to be the same one spotted just northwest of here earlier in the month and southeast of here later in the month. DNR claims it is on the move making 20 miles a day........to where, no one knows. Kinda cool havin' 'em around again.

 

[warbirdlover]

I haven't heard anything more about that cougar but even if that wasn't the picture of it we have seen it on our land and one of the guys in the lease owns a farm nearby and he's see two on his land.

There was lot's of sightings and actual prints found in Walworth county and also Racine county in the southeastern corner of the state.

Black bears are also moving down into the central part of the state.

This is all in the Wisconsin DNR website.

 

[big al hunter]

Washington department of fish and wildlife has collared cougars in a study. Some of the cats travel hundreds of miles. Mostly young toms looking for open territory. They tend to travel their territory regularly, IIRC it is several square miles per cat. Can't remember right now how many but when I heard it I was amazed. They are awe inspiring animals, especially in the wild. You will never forget seeing one in person, no cages or fences.

 

[buck460XVR]

I haven't heard anything more about that cougar but even if that wasn't the picture of it we have seen it on our land and one of the guys in the lease owns a farm nearby and he's see two on his land.

There was lot's of sightings and actual prints found in Walworth county and also Racine county in the southeastern corner of the state.

Black bears are also moving down into the central part of the state.

This is all in the Wisconsin DNR website.

So, you've personally seen a cougar on land you own? Cool. I think that would be an awesome experience.

Here's the latest chart of confirmed cougar sightings in the state....as per the end of August. The 4 stars in the SW part of the state is of the cougar I posted about. Don't see any in Racine or Walworth county...maybe they just haven't gotten around to puttin' them on. Latest Cougar Sightings Map


I have lived here in the SW corner of the state for 58 years and there have been bears here my whole life. But like most parts of the state where they have always been, there are more of them.

Good luck deer hunting this season, maybe you'll get lucky and see that cougar again.

 

[FrankenMauser]

So, you've personally seen a cougar on land you own? Cool. I think that would be an awesome experience.

...right up to the point that you're out alone, unarmed, at night, and see the reflection in their eyes 30 yards away.

It's no reason to kill them or even drive them out of the area, but it doesn't exactly give you 'warm fuzzies'.

 

[Eghad]

In some of my reading on the web I remember a cougar that went to the Northeast United States via South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin and was struck by a car in Greenwich Connecticut.

Cougars are on the federal endangered species list. The sole exception for killing one is in defense of human life. Any other situation requires that game officials or police be notified.

I googled and found an article about it.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/27/us-mountainlion-idUSTRE76Q5ZE20110727

 

[Art Eatman]

"Cougars are on the federal endangered species list."

Not factual. No restrictions or controls at all in Texas. The population is expanding. Some other states have seasons and permits.

 

[FrankenMauser]

Cougars are on the federal endangered species list. The sole exception for killing one is in defense of human life. Any other situation requires that game officials or police be notified.

Nah.
They're considered "Small Game" here (since they have paws, not hooves), but they're managed better than any Big Game species. Not many people hunt them, but.... Hunting license + tag = dead kitty.


The "Eastern Cougar" is listed as endangered, but a DNA study has shown that there isn't enough genetic differentiation to separate any of the regional populations in the U.S. from the designation of "North American Cougar". So, it's more of a state/regional restriction, than a true endangered status.

 

[warbirdlover]

So, you've personally seen a cougar on land you own? Cool. I think that would be an awesome experience.

Here's the latest chart of confirmed cougar sightings in the state....as per the end of August. The 4 stars in the SW part of the state is of the cougar I posted about. Don't see any in Racine or Walworth county...maybe they just haven't gotten around to puttin' them on. Latest Cougar Sightings Map


I have lived here in the SW corner of the state for 58 years and there have been bears here my whole life. But like most parts of the state where they have always been, there are more of them.

Good luck deer hunting this season, maybe you'll get lucky and see that cougar again.

Actually it was one of the other guys that saw him. He made the long walk (alone) to his stand and heard growling very close by. He couldn't get in his stand quick enough! When he finally got in he looked and there was the huge cougar, not 20 feet away.

I don't really care to see one since if it's near there also won't be any deer nearby.

I've already had the big black alpha wolf chase a doe right by my stand. That's quite a sight!

...right up to the point that you're out alone, unarmed, at night, and see the reflection in their eyes 30 yards away.

It's no reason to kill them or even drive them out of the area, but it doesn't exactly give you 'warm fuzzies'.

My brother and I carry handguns when we go to work on our stands. I know all the tree lovers say "they'll run away" but I won't be surrounded by a pack of wolves (we ARE in the food chain) without being armed. Same with the cougar.

 

[buck460XVR]

I don't really care to see one since if it's near there also won't be any deer nearby.

....actually, odds are if there's a cougar there, it's because of a high concentration of it's major food source. Venison. Same goes for wolves. No deer in the area, they leave. If they're there, that means there are deer in the area. Also, as the cougar leaves your immediate area in pursuit or search of venison, odds are good that it may drive a good deer past you. Over the years I've seen a ton of deer when on stand or while still hunting. Shooting one just means I have to gut it out, drag it out and then butcher it when I get home. Seein' a cougar, in the wild, in Wisconsin..... would make my day.

My brother and I carry handguns when we go to work on our stands. I know all the tree lovers say "they'll run away" but I won't be surrounded by a pack of wolves (we ARE in the food chain) without being armed. Same with the cougar.

Last I knew, there haven't been many folk in Wisconsin ate by wolves or cougars. Matter of fact, I don't think I've heard of any.......ever. Maybe we're the missing link in that food chain, I dunno. A sidearm makes many of us feel safer, but most of the time it's the two legged predators that we need to fear the most. That and them cougars in the Rockton Bar waitin' for them young bucks to get drunk and horny.

 

[shortwave]

That and them cougars in the Rockton Bar waitin' for them young bucks to get drunk and horny.

The aforementioned domestic cougars, given the chance, will sneak up on ya and put you through a life long amount of excruciating pain and misery. And you'll never see it coming.

At least with the wild cougars , your pain is usually over with quickly.

Guess the wild cougars have a bit more compassion.

 

[buck460XVR]

The aforementioned domestic cougars, given the chance, will sneak up on ya and put you through a life long amount of excruciating pain and misery. And you'll never see it coming.

At least with the wild cougars , your pain is usually over with quickly.

Guess the wild cougars have a bit more compassion.

That and them wild cougars will still be pretty the next morning.........

 

[jimbob86]

Last I knew, there haven't been many folk in Wisconsin ate by wolves or cougars. Matter of fact, I don't think I've heard of any.......ever.

Guess the Wisconsin cats are more fearful of humans than the cats elsewhere.... so far.

http://www.cougarinfo.org/attacks3.htm

There's nothing cool about being attacked by something that wants to eat you...... and to know that my tax dollars and part of my hunting license fees go to "manage" (read protect and expand the population of) the mountain lion ..... that just chaps my behind.

 

[buck460XVR]

Guess the Wisconsin cats are more fearful of humans than the cats elsewhere.... so far.

http://www.cougarinfo.org/attacks3.htm

There's nothing cool about being attacked by something that wants to eat you...... and to know that my tax dollars and part of my hunting license fees go to "manage" (read protect and expand the population of) the mountain lion ..... that just chaps my behind.

Wow....three whole confirmed deaths in the US and Canada over a ten year span. I wonder how that compares to domestic dog attacks. Or even pet Chimpanzees. Or folks killed by domestic livestock(cattle, horses and pigs). So I take it that report is tellin' me I'm probably safer in the woods with Mountain Lions that I am walkin' down the street?

 

[jimbob86]

three whole confirmed deaths in the US and Canada over a ten year span.

Tis not the odds, but the stakes.

Also, "It's not the thing, but the Principal of the the thing."

 

[Art Eatman]

The extreme drouth in this part of the country has had cougars going for drinking water close to people in Big Bend National Park. There has been a notable loss of fear for the cougars here. Given past history of a few attacks through the years, park visitors are being warned to keep a close eye on little children.

 

[scrubcedar]

Those of you on this thread that are minimizing the odds of and severity of cougar vs human attacks simply have not spent enough time around them and you are begging to be DEAD WRONG about this!
I've been around and encountered pretty much every predator that you can encounter out west. Cougars are the only animal that I've seen that will routinely hunt humans.
Cougar attacks are a normal, common, thing in Colorado. General rule of thumb is if you are their size or smaller you are considered prey. They are ambush predators that for all practical purposes are silent. While they are stalking you they know you can't hear them and have no fear of you! I had to explain to a good friend who came from Ohio and bought a ranch that no his dogs wouldn't scare them away, he needed to carry to defend himself and the dogs.

 

[buck460XVR]

Cougar attacks are a normal, common, thing in Colorado.

No they are not....Not according to experts and the Durango Herald....... Here's the link, and here's a small part of the article for those that want to cut to the quick of it....

The Link......Where lions tread


The just of it.....

As the weather warms and hikers and mountain bikers yield to the siren song of our many scenic trails, they might stumble on a surprise encounter with a fierce and stealthy predator.

But probably not.

Despite their nasty reputation, mountain lions are a fairly timid ruler of the animal kingdom when it comes to human encounters, data suggest.

The oversized cats are responsible for only two confirmed deaths and 14 attacks causing injury during the last 20 years in Colorado, according to the state Division of Wildlife.

That pales in comparison to the 4 million people who are attacked by domestic dogs annually across the nation, said Randy Hampton, spokesman for the DOW in Denver.

“It is one of those critters that draw an incredible amount of attention from the public and the media,” Hampton said. “We may deal with two incidents a year.

“That said, they are a top-level predator in the Colorado food chain, OTHER than humans.”

Now, I admit there is a minute possibility of an attack in areas where Cougar numbers are high and natural prey numbers are low. That is not the case here in Wisconsin. The article in the Herald restates my previous post that one has a much greater risk of being attacked and killed by the neighbors dog than we do of being attacked by cougars.....this even in areas of high densities of cougars. More folks die every year from bee stings than have ever been killed by cougars in this country.....and yet I have not seen anyone that insists on carrying a can of wasp spray in a holster every time they go outside. I believe I'm much safer in the woods of Wisconsin than anywhere else in this vast country of ours......even when I'm unarmed.

 

[math teacher]

Cougars are on the federal endangered species list. The sole exception for killing on

Since hunting for cougar and bear with dogs or bait was outlawed here in Washington, management by ballot box, the cougar population has exploded and is over carrying capacity in parts of the state. It had the same effect on the deer population as wolves did to the elk population in Yellowstone. A bear and a cougar tag costs a resident about $10 extra here when you buy a deer and an elk tag combo. We have an abundance of both cougar and bear, hardly endangered.

 

[scrubcedar]

Buck maybe the cougars in your state do react differently, I can't comment on that. I do know from personal experience how they act here.
You may not have had personal face to face encounters with them, I have.
The DOW statistics you cited leave out some very important facts. First, three confirmed dead,two of those were children.
Second they list REPORTED, CONFIRMED, attacks that resulted in documented injury. In other words someone had to notify DOW after being treated for an injury then DOW had to go to the encounter site and confim it normally by finding tracks.
The actual amount of encounters where the cougar was scared off are not kept track of. The numbers of encounters where the the cougar was acting aggresively or was interrupted in a stalk aren't documented. There are a lot of us who know what to do in that situation and cut it off at the pass, these encounters aren't reported anywhere. I was stalked numerous times, and found the tracks, back when I weighed a hundred pounds or so, (we won't discuss how long ago that was) none of that was reported to DOW either. Keep in mind those DOW guys are under enormous pressure not to screw up tourists coming to Colorado so their proof standards are pretty high. The words of one of them I asked.
One more thing, when a cougar tracks were routinely spotted near a ranchers house ,or one was seen repeatedly enough to worry the neighbors,"coyote" hunts including tracking dogs tended to happen, sometimes with the men of two or three households. Not too long afterwards someone would buy a cougar skin rug to celebrate the hunt. Take those things out of the picture and I can assure you the numbers you dealt with would have changed.
Ask yourself a few questions and feel free to do research on them.
1. How many predators in the lower 48 have been documented repeatedly stalking humans as prey?
2. How many predators in the lower 48 have been documented to deliberately stalk, drag off, and attempt to eat children in particular?
3. How many people who have no political agenda, are not involved in tourism, and have extensive experience with cougars feel like they are no big deal?