Eastern puma declared extinct

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  • IndyDave1776

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    https://www.wthr.com/article/federal-agency-says-eastern-puma-extinct-drops-protections-0

    The Eastern puma has been declared extinct as the last confirmed sighting of a wild Eastern puma was in 1938. The importance of changing their status from "endangered" is that it opens the door for introducing Western pumas out this way to help control the deer population. Any thoughts from the hunters?

    If this is the case, then I guess I am going to have to get proficient at shooting the SOBs. I am sure they would find my alpacas easier targets than deer.
     

    Thor

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    If this is the case, then I guess I am going to have to get proficient at shooting the SOBs. I am sure they would find my alpacas easier targets than deer.

    And people, the big cats are lazy ambush hunters and find morning joggers easy prey. Any number reintroduced large enough for them to help control the deer population is going to keep everyone's eyes on the trees. They should also help keep the outdoor pet population in control.
     

    two70

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    The article mentioned that many of the ones spotted are escaped pets or something and not actually native, wild pumas.

    They also had this little gem buried at the the bottom:

    [FONT=&amp]Although historically classified as a distinct sub-species, recent evidence suggests the Eastern puma may have been the genetic equal of other U.S. puma or cougar populations, said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, an advocacy group. The Fish and Wildlife Service said further analysis is needed to determine whether that's true.

    [/FONT]
    Apparently they are both sure enough to determine that all recent cougar encounters in the east are from pets or western cougars and not sure enough to say for sure there is a difference between eastern and western cougars. :rolleyes: That sure sounds like Feds for you.
     

    HoughMade

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    Wildlife biologists have discovered a link between the demise of the puma and uncontrolled rabbit population growth:

    [video=youtube;UKyhTX9LQEA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKyhTX9LQEA[/video]
     

    T.Lex

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    In other news, evidence of widespread cougar proliferation has been found in Applebees' and hotel bars throughout the east.
     

    phylodog

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    Had friends with a pet cougar when I was a teenager, they lived on East Lake at Princess Lakes. Caesar was very cool to play with and was little different than your typical domesticated cat in his behavior. He loved to stalk and sneak up on people, used a bathtub as a litter box and you could feel him purring across the room. His size and strength did offer some challenges however:

    He liked to jump up on top of the refrigerator and jump on top of whoever walked around the corner which, at 160lbs posed a bit of a challenge at times.

    He had all of his claws as well as his teeth from his K9's back pulled so he couldn't break the skin (easily) but he loved to put my head in his mouth and bite down like a dog on a tennis ball which was less than comfortable lol.

    We took him swimming a few times and his owner would hold the leash and float on an inner tube because he wasn't a strong swimmer. All was well until Caesar saw something across the lake he wanted to investigate (like kids swimming), turning him around was quite a chore as he would get his paws on my shoulders and push me under very easily.

    He could open the fridge and would do so as soon as he thought no one was paying attention. He loved to get celery out of there and would hold the base with a paw, bite down just above it and pull back shredding the celery into a huge mess. I guess the fibrous texture felt good on his teeth or something.

    They are pretty magnificent animals. I'm in favor of the reintroduction of any native species to Indiana as long as property owners are given appropriate abilities to protect their interests.

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    Leadeye

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    I just hope nothing like that shows up on my cameras, it would take packing a machine gun to get the wife back in the woods.
     

    phylodog

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    Another one with me in it that my brother had. If you can get past that sweet, sweet mullet there is a cougar in the picture.

    UxdNOD7h.jpg
     

    Leadeye

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    It's always good to see people interact with animals in a friendly way, it's just something that my agricultural background keeps me from. Even the horses I rode were more vehicles than anything else, part of the reason we've never had pets.
     

    Thor

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    Hey, Tigers make great pets too until they eat you. Snub nosed dogs make great pets too until they kill the neighbor kid. Everything makes a great pet until it all goes wrong. Choose wisely.
     

    Thor

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    I'm in favor of the reintroduction of any native species to Indiana as long as property owners are given appropriate abilities to protect their interests.

    I agree with you but herein lies the problem. If the kings foresters won't let me protect my land from pervasive herbivores why would I expect them to allow me to protect it from carnivores? While bear hunting in CO I have had far less comfortable associations with large cats that had all their teeth and claws.
     

    phylodog

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    Hey, Tigers make great pets too until they eat you. Snub nosed dogs make great pets too until they kill the neighbor kid. Everything makes a great pet until it all goes wrong. Choose wisely.

    Hey, women make great wives until they divorce you and take all your ****. Airplanes makes great modes of transportation until they crash and kill everyone aboard. Milk tastes great until it spoils and you puke all over the kitchen floor. Guns make for a great hobby until a bad reload blows one up and takes off a few fingers.
     
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