Lions in Norm and Pattie's back yard!

[Jim_Wahl]

I just heard on the news that the Iowa DNR just confirmed that a dead deer found near Bangor
was killed by a mountain lion. They didn't want to admit there were any in Iowa, even after they
started showing up as road kills. I wonder what changed their tune so drastically.

[Norm]

Jim it's funny you posted about this. A buddy of mine was telling me about scouting some pasture land near our place to see if the fences would be good enough to hold in some bulls. While doing so he came upon a deer that had tried to jump the fence and had caught a leg in it. It was still alive but apparently had been stuck there for some time as it was in very rough shape. Wanting to put the poor thing out of it's misery but not having anything but fencing tools with him he commenced to whack it in the head with a hammer. He looked up and there in the cemetary that borders the pasture where several people watching in shock not knowing the details. I'm guessing they called the DNR and the college educated city boys from the department came out and concluded it was a cougars work. :D

[Norm]

Jim I didn't mean to make light of your post, it just brought to mind my buddies predicament. We have a neighbor that lives a couple of miles south of us that put up a trail camera for deer scouting. They caught a picture of a cougar on it. When we would mention this most people would act much like the dnr.

[Raphael]

  Our mailman pulled over to get this tawny colored house cat out of the road and see how badly it was injured.  Just as he opened his car door mama mountain loin appeared to retrieve her kitten.  Would have been a really bad thing if he'd arrived just a minute sooner.
  Most people would say there aren't any mountain lions in CT and probably half don't even know about the bobcats and bear.

[Paschale]

The DNR here in Michigan is saying the same thing:  mountain lions/cougars don't exist.  My girlfriend and I saw one crossing the highway this winter--too low for a deer, too big for a dog or coyote...low to the ground, moving fast.  It was one of those, "did you see that?" moments. 

[Tom]

Many of us have had that experience.  I posted about mine, here in Florida, on a previous thread like this.  It was a Panther, I know it was.  I don't care if the Florida Game and Fish Commision don't agree, I know.

The whole thread (from 2000) is a good read.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=21.msg156#msg156

[beenthere]

I had a similar experience here in Wisconsin, when I found a dead badger along the road. I was told by the DNR that it absolutely could not have been a Badger. I wished then I had picked it up to prove it to them, but it had been dead too long and the family (this was on a trip back to Iowa) would not have enjoyed it as travel companion.  :
When the DNR denied it, I went back a week later, but the carcass had been either dragged off or someone else picked it up. 

[Mooseherder]

This Lynx was hanging out because there are plenty of rabbits around.
We found a few unlucky rabbit's feet.

The pictures are stills taken from a video so quality isn't that great.
But, nothing like pics to show the non believers.  This one was right out in front of the cabin.

[Part_Timer]

The DNR keeps telling us there are no poisinous snakes in Indiana.  The scout troop was at camp last year when one of the dads caught one in a bucket.  They had the nerve to tell him it wasn't a timber ratteler.  I guess that is just costume jewlery on it's tail. :D

[Don_Papenburg]

My cousin in s.Ill . said that his neighbor had the DNR Restock Wildlife around his pond.  Well while out fishing one day he heard a sound he didn't care for  .  A rattler .  so he did some questioning of the DNR officer .  Who told him he didn't have to tell him what was restocked acorrding to the contract he signed,  But just to be a good guy he told him they had set out rattle snake  eggs. 
So after getting so much greif over reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone  they don't want you to know what they are up to.

[9shooter]

Friend of mine in the U.P. saw a mountain lion cross his back field. He called the DNR and they told him it was a feral cat. He said "good, I'll shoot that S O B next time it comes around" DNR guy got real nervous and hemmed and hawed, and mumbled something about maybe not shooting the cat.  Another neighbor up there had the DNR stop by and ask him what they would have to pay if the 'coyotes' pulled down some of his sheep. He said "they don't bother my sheep for long and if I get a shot at the mountain lion hanging around the nearby swamp, I'll shoot that varmit as well. As if the DNR is worried about someones sheep. SHeeesh.

[UNCLEBUCK]

I have a field full of Badger , seen 3 of them in the daytime last fall as they were all scrambling for the same hole in the ground . I set a bag of grandmas homemade donuts by the hole and the next day all the donuts vanished so in my research I found that Badger like donuts 

Got a few bobcat here , a few otter, a bear and moose once in awhile but never heard any reports of the big cats yet .

When I mowed lawn today I seen a big mud turtle laying eggs in the yard , nature sure is interesting  :P

[Bill]

The news folks got a little carried away with themselves last night. Seems like across the river in NJ ( Gloucester County as I recall ) they got reports of a cougar sighting. Well they wanted to dismiss it but it happened next to an elementary school and day care center. Oh - and a couple of the people reporting it were policemen/deer hunters. So they put it on the news !  DanG - NJ is one of those states that makes it next to impossible to carry - oh well they said the police would take it out .

[Faron]

Part_Timer,  Funny, the DNR had a BIG timber rattler on display at the Indiana State Fair a couple years ago.  It came from the Brown County State Park, and they intended to release it back there after the fair.

[Kansas]

Its the same thing here in Kansas. The official line is that there are no mountain lions in kansas. There was one killed crossing I 29 just north of the kansas city airport about a year ago, just on the missouri side. There was also one killed just south of the border in oklahoma. I got to watch one a few years ago on the back part of my farm. Two things I remember about it: it was incredibly fast, and when it ran by the calves, they never bothered lifting their heads from grazing. All i can figure is they were used to it.

[twoodward15]

I live in Gloucester county.  it happened in Greenwich township.  Can't be too far from here.  guess I'll have to google it.

[Don_Papenburg]

See there Kansas  , all them big puddys are over the state line . They would not dare cross that dotted line into
kansas     Just ask your
dnr.

[OneWithWood]

PT and Faron,
We have seen 6' timber rattlers and copperheads on our property in northern Monroe county.  They definately exist!  There is a small swampy area south of here that is a cottonmouth habitat. 
As for big cats, the local paper has reported numerous sightings of a large black cat during the past year.  I have a tree that was clearly clawed by a large cat, probably a bob cat.

[Kansas]

I guess i need to post some maps on the back 40 so the big puddys will know they arent in compliance with the dnc. Speaking of things that arent supposed to be there, I saw an armadillo by the side of the road yesterday. This is north of I-70, north of the kansas river. I have a cookbook around here somewhere with a recipe for armadillo chili. Maybe I need to find it.........

[Max sawdust]

It is my understanding that the Wisconsin DNR is admitting too the "probability" of Mountain Lions in the state.  I have seen the reported sighting maps and we live near one of the more frequent sighting areas'.  Wife and Sister-in-law both think they saw one.  Showed pictures of bobcats and mountain lions both still think they saw a mountain loin in Northern Wisconsin.


I have to admit Norm's deer caught in the fence story is a good one ;)  Sounds like a situation I would end up in, just trying to do the compassionate thing by dispatching the animal, and having a bunch of Yahoos being horrified by my action.

max

[Norm]

The latest news report said that the deer was not killed by a cougar. The dnr sent pictures to folks that actually know what the marks look like and they confirmed it was done by a dog or coyote. I kept waiting for them to announce hammer marks on it. :D