Possible big cat sighting

[The Bubba Effect]

https://news.google.com/news/story?...a=X&ei=ATiTVP2wO8q1oQSFpYGQDQ&ved=0CCEQqgIwAA

Anyone else find it kind of funny that someone in KY saw a big cat, called their DNR, the officer showed up and said "yep that looks like a mountain lion" and boom shot it dead.

 

[Hkindiana]

Anyone else find it kind of funny that someone in KY saw a big cat, called their DNR, the officer showed up and said "yep that looks like a mountain lion" and boom shot it dead.

Why are people SO freakin afraid of wildlife?

 

[EvilKidsMeal]

Why are people SO freakin afraid of wildlife?

Same reason people are afraid of a lot of things they don't understand. They don't realize if they just leave crap alone, their fears are unwarranted.

 

[dusty88]

Why are people SO freakin afraid of wildlife?

Sometimes what they are afraid of is that the cat is going to kill their farm animals. A mountain lion was found in northern Illinois stalking a horse farm. The same action was taken: DNR shot it.

These kind of predators aren't compatible with our dense population and modern agricultural practices. I'm not here to debate whether that's right or wrong, but that's pretty much reality.

Foxes and coyotes have multiplied because, although we find them a pain in the butt, they aren't able to kill off the more valuable livestock, they are generally reluctant to attack people, and they also get food by scavenging.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Sometimes what they are afraid of is that the cat is going to kill their farm animals. A mountain lion was found in northern Illinois stalking a horse farm. The same action was taken: DNR shot it.

These kind of predators aren't compatible with our dense population and modern agricultural practices. I'm not here to debate whether that's right or wrong, but that's pretty much reality.

Foxes and coyotes have multiplied because, although we find them a pain in the butt, they aren't able to kill off the more valuable livestock, they are generally reluctant to attack people, and they also get food by scavenging.

It's a predator.........KILL IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I never get tired of people who think that nature needs our intervention, since we rule the earth and stuff. Trees can't live to their fullest unless they're properly pruned and wildlife populations can't keep themselves in any kind of balance unless people properly control them.

 

[dusty88]

It's a predator.........KILL IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I never get tired of people who think that nature needs our intervention, since we rule the earth and stuff. Trees can't live to their fullest unless they're properly pruned and wildlife populations can't keep themselves in any kind of balance unless people properly control them.

Nature and modern agriculture aren't at all the same thing. I don't think all of that is good, but it's not simplistic.

My problem is with people who enjoy the modern lifestyle and then complain about those who handle the trouble for them. I see a lot of people living on a suburban lot in Zionsville who get angry and make social media posts about a farmer killing a coyote, a wolf, or a big cat. But the Zionsville dude wants his cheap, quality chicken and wants to occupy a 1/2 acre of mowed grass put to no practical use. I just think it's one of those things where you can do your part personally if you want, but complaining about the realities while you contribute to the problem is ignorant and hypocritical.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I just think it's one of those things where you can do your part personally if you want, but complaining about the realities while you contribute to the problem is ignorant and hypocritical.

I'm not sure what "doing my part" would consist of. I grew up in a rural area and worked on farms when I was younger. I've baled hay, hauled tons of manure, wrangled hogs, horses, and cows, fixed fences, you name it, all for $2.25 an hour. I remember the one farmer I worked for had a bumper sticker that read "When you complain about farmers, don't talk with your mouth full". There is some truth to that, but it also doesn't mean that farmers can never do wrong either.

 

[smokingman]

Why thank you.

[/IMG]

Here in Northern Minnesota we have them for sure.I think it was 2 years ago now when the wife of the mayor hit and killed one on highway 2.I have seen tracks and know they are around,but wolves and smaller cats are much more common.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

I've seen that pic before - it's a hoax.

BBJ, I know I'm not going to change your mind we've been down this road before. Nature's way - with no humans - is how species go extinct during a bad crash. With humans virtually everywhere, if you want your nature with both predator and prey all the time, then YES they must be managed. Left to their own starvation and disease rules the day. Humans have been hunting animals for food for thousands of years. Only in the last 100+ years have humans realized the positive effect of managing game, stopping market hunting, and keeping both predator and prey around for all to enjoy. I don't intend to change you mind on the positive effect that game management does and the impressive success stories of bringing back species like pronghorn antelope, wild turkeys and whitetail and mule deer. The modern life has humans in the mix, automobiles on roads with people in them, agriculture and livestock are investments that must be protected, there is a balance to be had that maximizes the potential for a harmonious life. But, that can't happen on it's own.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

snopes.com: Hunter Stalked by Mountain Lion

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

BBJ, I know I'm not going to change your mind we've been down this road before. Nature's way - with no humans - is how species go extinct during a bad crash. With humans virtually everywhere, if you want your nature with both predator and prey all the time, then YES they must be managed. Left to their own starvation and disease rules the day. Humans have been hunting animals for food for thousands of years. Only in the last 100+ years have humans realized the positive effect of managing game, stopping market hunting, and keeping both predator and prey around for all to enjoy. I don't intend to change you mind on the positive effect that game management does and the impressive success stories of bringing back species like pronghorn antelope, wild turkeys and whitetail and mule deer. The modern life has humans in the mix, automobiles on roads with people in them, agriculture and livestock are investments that must be protected, there is a balance to be had that maximizes the potential for a harmonious life. But, that can't happen on it's own.

Actually, I do believe the same thing. When I was a kid, hunting, fishing, and trapping in Delaware County, we never saw deer or even deer tracks back in the early 1970's. Good wildlife management brought them back. Also, I remember taking my son out to a local lake when he was a toddler, in the early 1980's and I saw a single Canada Goose and thought that was pretty neat (imagine that). Again, good management brought back the Canada Goose. Back in the 1990's when there was much more crop land in the Set-Aside program and Grasshopper Sparrows were much more common. Now, with fewer fields in Set-Aside, I don't hear as many.

I spent 8 weeks one summer in the New River Gorge in West Virginia baby-sitting 7 young Peregrine Falcons on a hack site on a cliff. Lived in a tent in the woods for 8 weeks, it was a real experience. Me and my partner fed the falcons every day, watched their every move, recorded observations, and wrote a final report. Some time later, I volunteered as a spotter when IDNR had it's first Peregrine project in Indy. Just last week, I saw a Peregrine strafing a flock of pigeons while I was walking to my truck on the roof of a parking garage downtown.

Myself and another partner conducted an age/reproduction study of freshwater mussel species in Indiana back in the mid 1990's for IDNR. That study was part of their basis for suspending the harvest of freshwater mussels for the cultured pearl industry. Too bad almost every species of freshwater mussel is endangered today, mostly from pollution and general habitat degradation. The other thing is that it's harder to get the public to feel warm and cuddly about freshwater mussels, since their not as cute as a Sea Otter.

Wildlife management is a good thing to bring back an extirpated species, maintain a viable harvest-able population, and to promote biodiversity.

What I meant with the first post, and what I was thinking is that If I woke up this morning and saw a coyote in my back yard, shooting it, or calling someone else to shoot it would be the furthest thing from my mind.

 

[Hkindiana]

BBJ; What is a "grasshopper sparrow"?

 

[Hkindiana]

Back to killing the Couger in Kentucy; so the FEAR that it MIGHT do harm to livestock or humans deems its death necessary for good wildlife management? That "logic" reminds me of someone I know who was arrested for "conspiracy to conspire" - he "thought" about breaking the law, so he was arrested. Of course the judge threw it out. If a big cat, ANY predator, OR a human, IS harming livestock, or people, then it/they SHOULD be dealt with.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

BBJ; What is a "grasshopper sparrow"?

It's a little plump sparrow that nests in grassy fields. So-named for it's buzzy grasshopper/cricket-like call. Their easy to differentiate from other field-type sparrows in that the Grasshopper sparrow has a mostly unstriped buffy breast. Also, they don't look like particularly strong fliers when you jump one up.

If you walk in a large field in the spring or summer, stand still and listen for the call and pretty soon you'll see the little bird at the top of a tall weed or maybe a fence.

It seems most people like the more showy and colorful birds, and I do too, but my favorite birds are the ones that are more unassuming but when you see them more closely, you see how pretty they really are. And, like a certain song might remind you of a specific place or time, some birds remind me of the place and time where I first identified one, and the people I was with at the time.

 

[dusty88]

I'm not sure what "doing my part" would consist of.

Have you bought a chunk of land and allowed the wildlife to live and eat there? What about your backyard? If you spend resources maintaining a monoculture (ie cut grass), you are contributing to environmental waste, resource depletion, and destroying more animal habitat. Are you using every bit of land you have for either food production or allowing it to "go natural"? If not, you could do more.

Don't misunderstand. I'm not at all a Greenpeace type and I use plenty of resources myself, including sometimes driving a big SUV.

My point is that modern society contributes to the imbalance. People could do more in their own backyards than they can by blaming someone else.

A mountain lion in Kentucky is almost certainly going to end up eating livestock. It's the most available and accessible prey. If people want that type of population to return, they could contribute to an area where the mountain lions can function. If they want to live in an urban or suburban home and not grow their own food, then they need to understand that modern agriculture and food delivery systems require controlling predatory animals.

As for the coyotes, they are currently way overpopulated in Indiana. They aren't even native here. We are now starting to see them in daylight more all the time. My neighbor, who sells high-quality food including foraging poultry, just lost her whole duck flock to some coyotes that showed up AFTER she had let the ducks out at sunrise. Her small farm is actually more balanced with nature than most of the land in Indiana.

I'm not saying you should be responsible for shooting the coyote. But I hear suburbanites criticize others for shooting them, and I'm simply saying that suburbanite could do more in his own lawn to help wildlife and the environment.

 

[Hkindiana]

dusty88: According to the Indiana DNR website "coyotes are native to Indiana". What makes you think they aren't?

 

[dusty88]

I'm really surprised the DNR website would say that. It's patently wrong based on what I know about the history and ecology of North America. I may be interested in finding out what they base that statement on (but if I ignore you for a few days it's because I'm getting ready to take on family Christmas time).

Coyote range was out west. They have taken the "predator opportunity" here because we have chased out the other predators (wolves, bears, lions). However, we can also improve the balance by serving the predator role. That doesn't mean just hunting or eating meat, though. We need land that involves managed grazing that preserves and doesn't destroy the grassland (that's a story for another day).

Edit to add: I don't think anyone would say they patently didn't exist in Indiana before it was more populated, but that they were very scarce here and it wasn't their natural range.

 

[dusty88]

FWIW, what we have done is let most of our land reforest and will eventually use it for agroforestry (using sustainable permaculture type practices) or just continue to hunt it and grow some perennials. We don't bother the coyotes, raccoons, etc that are out in the woods. When they start to get too comfy up by the house/yard/livestock though we either discourage or dispose of them. We never saw raccoons near the house until the juveniles started trying to live up here this year and got interested in the chickens. We got rid of that handful, and don't have a problem at the moment. Coyotes haven't been a big problem for us but as I said we are really seeing/hearing a lot more of them lately.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I'm not saying you should be responsible for shooting the coyote. But I hear suburbanites criticize others for shooting them, and I'm simply saying that suburbanite could do more in his own lawn to help wildlife and the environment.

What I did was to read your earlier post, pick out one part (the Mountain Lion getting shot) and go on a mini rant before I really got what you were really saying. I've done that a few times around here. Reading more of what you've written, I see that I was off base and kindof wrong. Sorry about that. You seem to really know what you're talking about.

I grew up hunting and trapping. I caught my first fox (a grey) when I was 11 or 12 and I was one proud little kid. I'd like to know how many muskrats my brother and I trapped, and we also caught mink, raccoon, the occasional accidental skunk, and one really big (for a weasel) weasel. I'm not opposed to hunting or trapping for sport and/or for food. But I do think that predators can get a bad rap sometimes. And, though I know I'd feel differently if I was trying to raise free-range chickens, but I hate to see them killed just because there is a perceived threat. There was a guy in my area that ran beagles and he would kill every hawk or owl that he saw on or over his property and the game warden didn't do anything because that's just how it was back then and as a kid, It always left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[DSmith78]

i hear stories all the time of big cat sightings but ironically nobody ever has a picture of it. in todays world with almost everyone having a phone with a camera on them you would think eventually someone would get a legit pic. my personal opinion is that there are not mountain lions here in the wild unless they are a escaped pet of some sorts or alot of people see bobcats and mistake them for a mountain lion.