Mountain Lion

[clfergus]

So anyone else feel a little more weirded out as they are walking to their stand in the dark each morning? I hunt in Bloomington and often wonder if that big cat in Bedford might make his way up 37. Now the westfield cat..wonder how many are out there.

I keep thinking of the trail cam pics on field and stream of the big cats a foot behind deer and the deer have no clue..Yikes! I know the chances are as good as hitting the lottery.

Any Bedford guys out there close to where it has been seen?

 

[Bradsknives]

So anyone else feel a little more weirded out as they are walking to their stand in the dark each morning? I hunt in Bloomington and often wonder if that big cat in Bedford might make his way up 37. Now the westfield cat..wonder how many are out there.

I keep thinking of the trail cam pics on field and stream of the big cats a foot behind deer and the deer have no clue..Yikes! I know the chances are as good as hitting the lottery.

Any Bedford guys out there close to where it has been seen?

I have been hunting south west of Bedford for over 20 years. It's very rough country compared to the rest of the state. I have never seen a big cat or sign of a big cat. Over the years I have heard the rumors from the locals about big cats and even had a CO a few years ago tell me that it was a "possibility" that there could be big cats in the area. I have seen plenty of bobcats over the years...but they really don't cause any problems.....it's the packs of yotes that give me the creeps when they start yipping and barking right before sun up or right at sun down....one or two yotes really won't present a problem, but a large pack is another story.

 

[sonovasailor]

A deer hunter friend at my church, showed me his cell phone photo of lion tracks in Jackson County. They were as big as a man's open hand. He took them while bow hunting last week. I have always carried a small handgun while bowhunting. Methinks I'll supersize that item!

 

[ATOMonkey]

List of fatal cougar attacks in North America - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don't sweat it. Cougars don't like people and typically don't identify them as prey. I doubt you'll ever even see a sign of one in your lifetime outside of a cage.

 

[patton487]

My friends think I'm nuts, but I know what I saw and it was a mountin lion, cougar, whatever. About 1 year ago I was driving on a gravel road in rural Owen county about dusk and it ran across the road about 20 yards in front of me.
I reported it to DNR. They yawned and said thanks. End of story.

 

[christman]

Would love to see more of them around here. Bunch of softies.

 

[NDhunter]

What type of print is this?

I'm by no means a master woodsman. I've seen plenty of dog/coyote prints though, and this doesn't look like them. That is 5" fletch on the arrow--this print is big. There was about a 27" span between prints. There are no claw marks on the front of the toes, which is probably the weirdest part about it, at least to me. If this was a dog, it would have to be a monster. I've got a Great Pyrenees with bear paws and they aren't this big. This was on soft mud on the edge of a pond, so it made a pretty good, soft print.

What do you all think?

 

[eldirector]

I'm by no means a master woodsman. I've seen plenty of dog/coyote prints though, and this doesn't look like them. That is 5" fletch on the arrow--this print is big. There was about a 27" span between prints. There are no claw marks on the front of the toes, which is probably the weirdest part about it, at least to me. If this was a dog, it would have to be a monster. I've got a Great Pyrenees with bear paws and they aren't this big. This was on soft mud on the edge of a pond, so it made a pretty good, soft print.

What do you all think?

Dogs would have claw marks (theirs don't retract like a cat). Too big to be a Bobcat or large house cat.

Looks like a cougar to me!

How to tell a cougar print

 

[yotewacker]

I was told they usually have about a 25 mile territory. Been seeing one in our area also.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Any Bedford guys out there close to where it has been seen?

I live about 1/2 mile from the place that it was spotted. It was supposedly feeding on a deer carcass (or one person said it was dragging it off the road??). I drove past that deer for a week on my way home from work, so I know exactly where it was.

 

[tyrajam]

A couger is the absolute last thing I worry about. I grew up hunting in Oregon and Northern California where cougars were fairly common, and I saw a grand total of one, while driving up an old logging road. Most people in cougar country never see one, they stay away from people.

I'm a lot more worried about feral dogs and meth heads when I'm walking to my stand.

 

[kludge]

What do you all think?

With that pic, there is little doubt.

 

[NDhunter]

This is in Fulton County. Would you all go to the hassle of even telling the DNR? I doubt that much would come of it? They may not even want to see the picture?

I usually carry my PPP handgun on the inside of my hunting bibs, it may be on the outside now incase I need a little faster access!

 

[woodsie57]

There's a lotta wierd stuff in the woods around bloomington- dont worry 'bout the cat!

 

[Titanium Man]

There's a lotta wierd stuff in the woods around bloomington- dont worry 'bout the cat!

Not just centered in Bloomington. When I lived in KY, you had to worry about stumbling across places where satanic rituals were held, not to mention peoples little pot farms on the land you'd be hunting on.

Next to those two, a cougar is a breath of fresh air.

 

[kludge]

This is in Fulton County. Would you all go to the hassle of even telling the DNR? I doubt that much would come of it? They may not even want to see the picture?

Yes, I think they would be interested in the picture.

 

[DragonGunner]

I'm not worried about cougar attacks....but then again I was never worried about my house burning down, that only happens to other people....thats when I was 9...an then our house burned....At about the same age I read in Outdoor Life a story called.."Expect the Unexpected." Somewhere, someplace, sometime an old hungry injured cougar is going to jump a hunter(an not at the bars guys). Cougars, rabid dogs(my mom an brother were once attacked), tresspassers like the nut up in Wisconsin...I carry the 1911...always expect the unexpected.

 

[Titanium Man]

I'm not worried about cougar attacks....but then again I was never worried about my house burning down, that only happens to other people....thats when I was 9...an then our house burned....At about the same age I read in Outdoor Life a story called.."Expect the Unexpected." Somewhere, someplace, sometime an old hungry injured cougar is going to jump a hunter(an not at the bars guys). Cougars, rabid dogs(my mom an brother were once attacked), tresspassers like the nut up in Wisconsin...I carry the 1911...always expect the unexpected.

Wow! Have you been struck by lightening too?? Whatever you do, don't think about it!

 

[DragonGunner]

Wow! Have you been struck by lightening too?? Whatever you do, don't think about it!

HA!! Sounds like good advice!

I just remembered this though...12 yrs. ago I made my 4th trip to Rocky Mt. National Park in CO. with my 10 yr. old son. I had seen bears there years before an they had cougars, but were very rare to see. We got back on the trails alot where we wouldn't see any other people, I made sure I could keep eye contact on my son always. An told him to never to loose contact or be very far from me...he learn this lesson long ago, so no problems. We had a great time for that week, lots of video an pictures. I read a couple months later that a 11 yr. old boy had been killed by a cougar in the Park. It was the first ever fatality ever there. He was hiking with his parents an had got to far an out of sight of his parents an the cougar jumped him.....this happened 11 days after we had left.

 

[bigdawgtrucks]

I'm by no means a master woodsman. I've seen plenty of dog/coyote prints though, and this doesn't look like them. That is 5" fletch on the arrow--this print is big. There was about a 27" span between prints. There are no claw marks on the front of the toes, which is probably the weirdest part about it, at least to me. If this was a dog, it would have to be a monster. I've got a Great Pyrenees with bear paws and they aren't this big. This was on soft mud on the edge of a pond, so it made a pretty good, soft print.

What do you all think?

Canine vs. Feline Tracks - How to tell the difference between them.
Looks more canine to me.