cougar trapped

[Black_Wolf]

A black panther is merely a melanistic cougar or jaguar.

On our side of the world, Yep.

 

[sianbrimons]

Tin foil hats aside, the hub bub is that the DNR is in the sack with the auto insurance companies to knock down the deer pops.

Less deer= less wrecked cars

i don't think there's a remote chance of that, the percentage of wrecked cars that are from deer hits is null, given it will vary greatly from one area to another, on average i'd say i see about 5% at the most of my jobs come in from hitting deer (i'm an auto body tech), i've been in the industry a short 7 years (only 26 years old), however still, i just can't see it, while on one hand big insurance would LOVE to see less collisions, it would take thousands of cats to do anything close to enough to put a dent in deer hits, and i just don't think the DNR would bite....

that's just my opinion from my experience dealing with insurance companies, etc. now if we see a good couple thousand cats being released, i'll head to the kitchen, grab the foil and make myself a hat...

 

[hammer24]

I was referring to black panthers. I should been more specific

AHHHH yes! The BLACK panther......well, every state has those.


Don't believe me start a thread and watch them come out of the wood work!!!

 

[blackoak]

I have a hard time believing any of this story. How could you accidentally trap a cougar? The fur bearing animals that are trapped in Indiana (coons, fox, coyotes...etc.) are trapped with leg hold traps that are no bigger than a #2 and I believe if your trapping beaver with the size trap (leg hold) it takes (#3 & #4) the traps have to be set under water. So, my doubt is based on the size of a cougars paw/foot.....would it even fit in a normal size trap that is normally used for most Indiana fur bearing animals? Secondly, a cougar is a very powerful animal and highly doubt that a normal set that is used for fox, coyotes or anything else that is trapped in Indiana would even hold a cougar. Now, if the person that trapped the cougar was a aware of a cougar in the area and intentionally went after it with the right size equipment and set up...I could believe that.

I guess I would have to see pictures to believe it.

Good post and I completely agree with you. A cougar would completely destroy your typical coyote trap that most trappers use in this state. I highly doubt one would be caught in a beaver set in a foot hold trap set under water. Also I would think by now if it did happen a picture would be on the net by now.

 

[geno2k]

Let's pretend I am from Missouri. Show me.

 

[fullmetaljesus]

Ok, maybe I missed it or what not. (I didnt read the whole thread) So lets say me and my friends are out hiking/camping down there (which we do often). And we encounter a kitty who means to eat us, and we shoot it dead. Do we have to report it? if so to who? Or do we walk away whistling like nothing happened?

 

[JStarr]

I would call DNR Officer and report it to him and say it was presenting a threat to our lives so I shot and killed it. It would be up to him or other officers to determine if you are telling the truth or not or you could go home without reporting it and maybe theyll find ya maybe they wont.

 

[DanO]

NEW RUG.

 

[OWGEM]

The Exotic Feline Rescue Center is about 45 minutes west of Bloomington. I have visited there a couple of times. Really cool to get that close to the big cats.

Why is there a need for a feline rescue center? People buy baby tigers, lions, cougars and such. The cats grow up and low and behold the owners no longer want the responsibility of keeping a full grown cat. The problem is exacerbated in that the rescue center can only care for so many animals. What do the owners do when they can't find a home for their big cats? Shoot them? Or release them when no one is looking?

 

[Yeah]

You are more likely to be stuck by lightning while hiking/camping down there.

 

[TiminMishawaka]

I trapped one in Chicago with a combination of martinis and 80s music. Does that count?

 

[goinggreyfast]

AHHHH yes! The BLACK panther......well, every state has those.


Don't believe me start a thread and watch them come out of the wood work!!!

Que knows where there are some good white tails in IL.

 

[TClem24]

I know

This seems to be a confirmation by the DNR that we do have cougars in Indiana...

INDIANA MOUNTAIN LION SIGHTING | Indianatrails.com

I actually know the land owner that was first to encounter these cougers, yes there were two. He walked up on them while they had a deer buried with twigs and other foliage. He reported it and they told him he had to be mistaken. He then saw them again and reported it again. They finally came out and set up the trail came over the deer that they had buried, thats where the picture came from. He never saw them again after the picture was taken, but the dnr then started to bring dead goats out to find them, this was without the land owners permission. He had to tell them to stop because of finding these dead animals staged around his property.

 

[cain]

I'm 99% positive I saw one last year around Gentryville. It was late at night and a bit tan "cat" slinked across the road. I told my girlfriend it looked like a cougar. She told me I was crazy. Told a co-worker who's inlaws Live out there the story. He said they have one on trail cam.

 

[spearheadersarge]

Pics are definitely needed for this one. You can't tell me that no one had a cell phone who was involved in this? Yeah, right.......

 

[devious169]

Im from southern in. i primarily hunt in Harrison,Crawford,and Perry counties. last opening day of bow season i was stalked by a mountain lion on my way to my stand. scarey stuff let me tell ya armed with only a bow, a knife, and a flash light. i surely didn't have enough light for my sights and couldn't shoot the thing in the dark. it constantly stayed bout thirty yards from me.i was ever so glad to get to my stand and climb after sunrise i didn't see or hear a damn. so... guess who's packin a pistol with him during bow season for here on out.think im gonna do some predator hunting, hopefully have its head on the wall..

 

[Hookeye]

Reportedly one near my northern deer spot. Bow season- walk through standing corn several hundred yards in the dark- no sidearm.

My luck sucks, so I'll never see one

Now yrs ago a guy hopped off his mower on one place I hunted, ran up to my Jeep and begged me NOT to shoot the cougar. It was a defanged and declawed escapee from some small private zoo down the road.

Hunted the whole afternoon, never saw it

 

[roisigns]

I got cornered by a cougar once back in 1992. I maintained serious eye contact & tried not to show fear. They can smell fear, you know.

It was at a country dance joint on the westside of Indy!

 

[snapping turtle]

Donner the ML in Clay county has been caught on camera several times. I work at clay county schools and one of the teachers had cell phone pic of the cat. Taken last year in bow season.

Crane has a pair of cats. I have not seen photos of them but from what i have hear they have been capture on video as a pair. Once again I have this from the TECh that works on the survalance cameras and he was shown the video on a service call.

Other that that in the 1970's the farm area around Pendleton state prison had bobcats and even with them sighted by many they have seemed to turn into cougars over the years as the stories get retold.

Jaguar and black panthers are not the same. In north american they are black panthers.

A Jaguar is a large cat native to South and Central America.

A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat.

 

[ajanes10]

Sounds awesome. I just hope they dont get out of hand and then we all have another problem on our hands. Yeah its great if they help with car wrecks but it would suck if everytime i went deer hunting i had to worry about a cougar attacking me.