Another Cougar incident

[Bugsinrugs]

Georgetown isn’t that far from me. I’m feeling fortunate the lion I met wasn’t interested in me.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/animal-news/1-killed-1-injured-mountain-lion-attack-northern-california-rcna144793

[Bugsinrugs]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/animal-news/1-killed-1-injured-mountain-lion-attack-northern-california-rcna144793

[aigel]

This is what happens if you do not allow any hunting. They take off in numbers and lose their fear.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by aigel

This is what happens if you do not allow any hunting. They take off in numbers and lose their fear.

Shhhh....you'll make some here mad.

[RobFrost]

Why some people think large predators can coexist in close proximity with humans, without incident, is beyond me.

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[Captain Ahab Jr]

Tragic, can't imagine anything more traumatic than having a wild predator trying to kill me for food

I'm waiting for the, 'wouldn't have happened if they had been carrying guns'

Mountain lion has 100,000's of years of hunting tactics evolution, so anyone with a gun is already severly out gunned.

When something the size of mountain lion has your neck in their jaws without warning, finding a gun would be the last thing on your mind but the human survival instinct is strong so who knows

[porsche tech]

^^^

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by RobFrost

Why some people think large predators can coexist in close proximity with humans, without incident, is beyond me.

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This happened in a very remote area ... it's tragic, but the humans were "out of bounds" . I've fished a lot down in Florida ... man-eaters just thriving in the waters and only a few feet away on occasion .... unless we kill them all or have a weapon.... humans out in the wild are not at the top of the food chain and never have been. Our brains separate us .... don't go into gator waters or remote areas where there are Cougars imo....

Or bars & lounges wif wimmins on the prowl for fresh meat

That is reality....

[rfuerst911sc]

There's a reason they are called " wild " animals . Proceed with caution .

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

There's a reason they are called " wild " animals . Proceed with caution .

Pretty much.
I keep my eyes open around the creek because we have water moccasins around here in the summer. (and when they're shedding they hang from the trees!)
People in Florida don't swim in alligator infested waters for a reason. Wait, it's Florida. Maybe they do.

We've seen what happens when we upset the balance of nature by killing off predators. As Ahab said, they've had thousands of years to sort things out. We should be careful about resorting things.

[masraum]

If you go into wild areas, exercise caution and even then, bad things can happen. This was a very unfortunate experience for these two kids and their friends and family.

If the population has exploded then sure, maybe population control is partially to blame. But in my mind, that's only an issue if people in neighborhoods or camp grounds are being attacked. If folks in the wilderness are being attacked, then that's not necessarily due to lack of hunting.

[The Synergizer]

I'm always reading about alligators snatching some poor old lady out for a walk. Wonder which is more of a threat?

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by The Synergizer

I'm always reading about alligators snatching some poor old lady out for a walk. Wonder which is more of a threat?

The old lady. Never trust an old lady. They can be vicious.

[rfuerst911sc]

Just based on numbers it's gators . They are everywhere in Florida . They can be in a retention pond or your pool or brackish water like the St. john's to lakes and rivers . And when they grab you they drag you in the water and spin violently until you drown . Then they jamb your carcass in the mud and let you rot for a while before consumption .

When my family moved to Central Florida we quickly learned from the natives ANY water potentially has gators in it . We repected their advice and never had a problem . Had some close encounters but no loss of life or limb .

[Jeff Higgins]

What a horrible, horrible tragedy. A family decimated. A mother and father who have lost a son, a young man who has lost his brother. My prayers go out to this poor family. Such a random incident. All in the blink of an eye. This hits very close to home, as I have two sons, three years apart. This could just as easily been them.

Yes, there are those of us who will inevitably ponder how differently this might of played out had these young men been armed. In my family's case, those two brothers absolutely would have been armed (yes, the 18 year old can carry when "in the company of an adult" (his older brother) or even when just in the wilderness). I have spent a lifetime wandering the wilderness, and I would never even consider doing so unarmed. We feel as though that is as necessary as the boots on our feet, the water in our canteens, the compasses around our necks...

It's just another necessary tool should worse come to worse, and not just as a means of self defense. We can feed ourselves if lost for an extended period, we can signal if we feel we are lost and someone might be looking by now. Or we can defend ourselves.

In my wider circle of hunting, backpacking, and just general wilderness bumming friends and acquaintances, there are plenty of stories of folks who have successfully defended themselves or their companions. Thank God I have never had to (although I did get knocked to the ground by a black bear one time). And yes, maybe it's only a chance, but it is a chance. I'll take that over just standing there blowing on a whistle or something.

Plenty of folks think that's all just he-man ego grandstanding nonsense, which is fine. They likely have little if any real wilderness experience beyond popular weekend hiking trails (if even that). They are free to make their own choices, as am I mine. Choices can and do have consequences sometimes though, don't they? As long as one is informed, and fully understands all of that, I'm fine with everyone making their own. But, boy, I'm here to tell you, a gun on the hip out in the wilderness is absolutely no burden whatsoever. There is no downside that I can see. And, well, in the exceedingly rare instance when we might really need one, nothing else is going to do.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

The Cleveland national forest in SoCal is one big urban interface. Lots of Cat sightings and a couple of bad encounters have happened here too.
The stalking skills of the Cat's is spooky. Launched rocks once at crunching leaves near us on a hike, we suspected a stalking Cat and the thing bounded off and we heard it but never saw it.
The past wet years have created a lot of critters up the food chain.
Building of wildlife corridor bridges over the freeways is underway too.

[pwd72s]

There's a reason that Oregon archery hunters are allowed to carry pistols. Jeff should know if Washington "stick flickers" are allowed the same. I'm not sure..

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Just based on numbers it's gators . They are everywhere in Florida . They can be in a retention pond or your pool or brackish water like the St. john's to lakes and rivers . And when they grab you they drag you in the water and spin violently until you drown . Then they jamb your carcass in the mud and let you rot for a while before consumption .

When my family moved to Central Florida we quickly learned from the natives ANY water potentially has gators in it . We repected their advice and never had a problem . Had some close encounters but no loss of life or limb .

I've seen plenty in the lakes and rivers around the lower St. Johns ... and when I lived in Jax, the apt. retention ponds all had 'em ... no fences, etc. They'd relocate the gators when they reached about 5' long. There were no kids or pets allowed ... sober adults knew better .

And in the Okefenokee Swamp refuge one time, my buddy and I were in a 14' rented John boat in the midst of literally hundreds ... mebbe thousands of lazy gators .... all around our flimsy boat .... we had beer !

[908/930]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Shhhh....you'll make some here mad.

You two make me laugh, more likely to die from snake bite or lightning strike, better not leave the house.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

There's a reason that Oregon archery hunters are allowed to carry pistols. Jeff should know if Washington "stick flickers" are allowed the same. I'm not sure..

Yes, they are allowed to carry a defensive handgun. It hasn't always been that way, but I believe they gained that right over 20 years ago.

To me, it's just about being prepared. No one is "afraid" of anything simply because they choose to be prepared. To me, having a sidearm is as innocuous as the rest of the "ten essentials" that are so well know to backpackers. Just a tool like everything else. One we carry hoping we will never need, like the first aid kit and such.

In what are now 50+ years of actively roaming the wilderness at every opportunity, I have had my fair share of encounters with large predators. All ended peacefully, thank God, but I have to think my demeanor, propped up by the fact I had a large bore revolver pointed at said predator on more than a few occasions, may be what de-escalated the situation.

Animals are very, very good at picking up on that - is this a critter to be f'd with, or is it best that I move along? I have to think my steadfast, hold my ground, don't move an inch, show no fear demeanor in these situations carried the day. Granted, I was doing my best not to wet my pants (that would have been a dead giveaway), but that "not today" attitude comes through loud and clear in their world. Cowering in fear, shaking like a leaf, and other signs of weakness and fear are noticed immediately as well.

My most memorable was one time out deer hunting during a muzzle loading season. Armed with no more than my .50 caliber flintlock, I found myself face to face, at less than ten feet, with the cougar that had been following me all morning. We had a nice chat. Seemed to go on for hours, but I bet it was maybe a minute or two. I kept telling him that neither one of us wanted this... Firm, forceful, unyielding. I don't think I would have had the fortitude to do that had I been unarmed.

Of course, as I discovered later that morning, I actually was "unarmed". I had a good shot at a nice buck. That damn flinter didn't go off. Turned out I had not adequately cleaned out the touch hole. Damn good thing that neither that cougar nor I knew that at the time...