Had a game warden come by today

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

Originally Posted by Scuba Steve

I'm not sure where in Texas you are, but a coworker who lives near Kerrville came to work a couple of years ago with a picture of a mountain lion looking at him through his back door. I grew up in the hill country and don't remember there being any of those even 10-15 years ago.

in the past 20 years or so the larger farms have been broken up into hobby farms or gentleman farms. No so much range for these fantastic animals to live. They have to go somewhere. Humans have displaced them as we have settled in new areas.

Wow, worried about the cat and not the javelinas! Those javelinas SCARE me!!!! They can hunt in packs and have little fear. Bet the cat is taking them down slowly. Javelinas generally at night so less chance of little ones mixing with them. Most cats move/hunt at night as well I always thought. I wonder if this cat was not an attempt at domestication and then released. If so the cat will be more dangerous than if never introduced to a domestic situation IF I have received correct information.

[recycled sixtie]

Call the Wildlife dept. and they can tranquilize it, remove it to a more remote area. The cougar has not hurt anybody yet so it should get a free pass in another area.Treat it like a bear. Cougars can be deadly and from what news reports say that one unarmed man against a cougar does not do well. Two men against a cougar could probably fight it off. With children around that cougar has got to go!

[recycled sixtie]

This is not going to end well if the Wildlife/Police Depts.
do not remove it. Wife traumatized, children around - not good.

[willtel]

Wow, you guys are freakin' paranoid. Have any of you done any research on the chances of being attacked by a big cat in the US? The dogs in your neighborhood are far more likely to kill someone than a wild cat. While you have the shotgun loaded you may as well take those out too, for the children.

Mountain Lion Attacks On People in the U.S. and Canada

[stomachmonkey]

Yup,

[recycled sixtie]

Nope!

Crows are a protected species in our city. Next thing your city may say the cougar is a protected species. Not the kind of cats I would want in my backyard. Little wonder that people take the law into their own hands. Paranoid? No. Just trying to be sensible!

[Superman]

Originally Posted by willtel

Wow, you guys are freakin' paranoid. Have any of you done any research on the chances of being attacked by a big cat in the US? The dogs in your neighborhood are far more likely to kill someone than a wild cat. While you have the shotgun loaded you may as well take those out too, for the children.

Mountain Lion Attacks On People in the U.S. and Canada

Cougar attacks rarely occur outside cocktail lounges and there is a reason for that. Healthy cougars reject human-populated habitats.

As far as two adult human males being able to thwart a cougar attack.....first of all, healthy cougars don't attack humans. But if one did, two men would need to be VERY determined in order to win that exchange.

A regular sighting of an adult cougar in my neighborhood would be very unsettling. He/she would have to go.

[9dreizig]

Are you a hunter ? If so have you ever hunted dangerous game? As a lot of the guys on this forum will tell you, it's a whole different deal talking about it and actually doing it.. In addition what happens if you just wound it ? We're not talking about wounding a deer.. I would seriously consider getting some pics and getting fish and game involved...
The Ghost and the Darkness moment in the making..

[stomachmonkey]

I don't disagree with getting the animal relocated, but let the game wardens do what they think is the proper thing.

We live in TX, there is no shortage of lethal wildlife here. If you had to worry about it then you'd never leave your house and guess what, ain't safe in there either. The crawley and slithery ones find their way in all the time.

I live next door to Copper Canyon.

Named that for the large population of Copper Heads that live there.

We have water moccasins living in the lake next to one of our community pools.

Yotes that regularly snatch pets from people's yards.

Around here you carry not so much because of bad people but because you never know what you'll run into on your morning jog thru the woods.

In the 4 years I've been here more people have been hit by cars while crossing the road than have been attacked by the wildlife.

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by Superman

I am surprised it is allowing itself to be seen.

+1.

I spend a fair amout of time hiking in the wilderness, and the cat population has rocketed upward in the last few years. I see cat tracks quite often. I don't see cats.

A forest ranger once confirmed my thoughts- "You didn't see her, but she was watching you."

Attacking a full-size human is extremely rare. I get that. But "rare" doesn't mean "Never".

I would keep a very large spoon close by if I were you.....

[futuresoptions]

[ODDJOB UNO]

Originally Posted by 9dreizig

Are you a hunter ? If so have you ever hunted dangerous game? As a lot of the guys on this forum will tell you, it's a whole different deal talking about it and actually doing it.. In addition what happens if you just wound it ? We're not talking about wounding a deer.. I would seriously consider getting some pics and getting fish and game involved...
The Ghost and the Darkness moment in the making..

what a timely story. yesterday wifey outside. sees this blur running, then sees harris hawk go after blur.

blur was a bobcat. harris hawk tried to attack bobcat. this is 30feet from wifey. she was beside herself.


normal bobcats no big deal. rabid bobkat................its a big deal.


anything mtn lion IS A BIG DEAL!


if rabid...................you got a tiger by the tail.


the ONLY way you can remove yerself from this is get game and fish involved.



in the mean time a lever gun .357/.44/.30.30 is good to have at the ready along with always carrying a .357 or .44 pistol. screw a 9mm or .45. thems for zombeez.



trapping it is just plain stoopid.



mtn kittys range around 200-250 miles. they scent everything to keep competition away and to find mates.


more than likely this is a 1-2 year old kicked out of the nest by mommy.


do not mess with big katz. ask me how i know. have found numerous mtn lion elk /deer kills buried and the hair goes up on my neck. they are fast they are sneaky and they WILL KILL YOU if given the chance.


trail cam and give the pics to game and fish. then they will act hopefully with trap and relocate him/her.



or ya MAN UP and BLAST THE SOB and have a FULL SIZE LION DISPLAY with foo foo dawg in mouth in yer living room!

[futuresoptions]

FWIW, I really don't want to shoot the cat, Parks and Wildlife said there was really nothing that they could do. I just wonder if it is possible that this cat is "Brush Locked". I have included a representation of what my community looks like. Everything in white is residential. Everything black is roads. The area of brush that the cat is coming out of is approximately 4 acres in size and very thick.

[ODDJOB UNO]

heres a simple one. get a ghetto blaster and stuff whatever music ya like, and point it at the area. maybe that will keep it away.


but remember the kat is looking for a food/water source. remove that and he will head for greener pastures.


every year i get a mtn kitty tag. but the reality is they are cool as hell to see and yer damn lucky to see one.


if ya shoot it.............well you will be front page news since its in a community and PETA will be protesting in yer yard and all that crap.


on the other hand..............a full size kat mount is damn cool to see also.


another one is get a crappy lil airhorn and blow a few times an hour for days at all hours. noise will usually spook the hell out of them.



firecrackers are another idea.

[Bill Douglas]

Buy the cat a ticket to Vermont. I hear there is a bear problem there.

[aigel]

Cougars are normally so elusive, you will not see them. They sense you before you ever will see them. If the cat just runs around openly with humans present, showing no fear, you have a problem. That is not normal behavior and I would not tolerate that in my backyard. The fact that it preys on squirrels also tells you that it isn't normal. That's desperate behavior - no deer close by probably?. How long until it will try a two legged deer? Sure, cougar attacks are rare, but do you want your wife or your neighbor's kids to be one of those rare victims? It is a bit like surfing - shark attacks are not very common - but the likelihood sure goes up dramatically if you have a big white fin circling your board.

In CA if you can prove damages to your livestock or pets, you can get a depredation permit. Usually the county will send an employee with hounds that will track and kill the cougar. An interesting side effect of prop 117 banning cougar hunting here is that paid government employees now kill hundreds of cougars every year. The cougar has to be destroyed. Before that hunters would pay to be able to pursue this sport, pay a taxidermist to preserve the memory and feed their family with burgers and stir-fry off the beaten path.

G

[slodave]

Originally Posted by aigel

An interesting side effect of prop 117 banning cougar hunting here is that paid government employees now kill hundreds of cougars every year.

In the US or California? If California only, then no, "hundreds" are not killed every year.

42 in 2009
46 in 2008
98 in 2007

The highest number was 148 in 2000.
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/lion/dep-lions-killed.html

[aigel]

Dave,

You are right, not hundreds every year, but >100 in many years. Grand total since prop 117 took effect to 2009: 1846. Total to date is likely >2000.
From 1972 to 1990, only 520 were taken with a depredation permit.

At any rate, as long as everyone understands that this isn't an endangered species I'll rest my ramblings about the local laws ...

G

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/lion/dep-lions-killed.html

1991 73
1992 81
1993 71
1994 121
1995 117
1996 105
1997 90
1998 109
1999 114
2000 148
2001 105
2002 123
2003 107
2004 116
2005 103
2006 77
2007 98
2008 46
2009 42
Total 1846

[slodave]

Originally Posted by aigel

Dave,

You are right, not hundreds every year, but >100 in many years. Grand total since prop 117 took effect to 2009: 1846. Total to date is likely >2000.
From 1972 to 1990, only 520 were taken with a depredation permit.

At any rate, as long as everyone understands that this isn't an endangered species I'll rest my ramblings about the local laws ...

G

1991 73
1992 81
1993 71
1994 121
1995 117
1996 105
1997 90
1998 109
1999 114
2000 148
2001 105
2002 123
2003 107
2004 116
2005 103
2006 77
2007 98
2008 46
2009 42
Total 1846

Hey, I don't want to see them killed, but it's becoming a fact of life. Their population is growing and we are causing there natural habitat to shrink and it shrinking at a greater rate, hence the larger number as time goes by. Not only is their habitat shrinking, but that of the deer and other animals it survives on.

"What constitutes a public safety threat?
Under the DFG’s Public Safety Wildlife Guidelines, an animal is deemed to be a public safety threat if there is “a likelihood of human injury based on the totality of the circumstances.” Factors that are considered include the lion’s behavior and its proximity to schools, playgrounds and other public gathering places. The determination of whether an animal is a public safety threat is made by the DFG or local law enforcement personnel on the scene.

What happens to a mountain lion that is declared a public safety threat?
The DFG or law enforcement personnel on scene will secure the area, then locate and kill the offending animal as soon as possible. The DFG does not relocate mountain lions that are a threat to public safety.

Why can’t the animal be captured and moved to suitable habitat that is more remote?
When an animal is displaying unusually bold or aggressive behavior toward humans, the DFG will not relocate the animal because of the risk it could pose to others. "

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/lion/lion_faq.html

[Buckterrier]

I say we kill every goddamn breathing thing on this planet THEN we can start on each other