What to expect??? Mountain Lion attack

[tahunua001]

cougars are the fastest predators in north america and know it
cougars are the most agile predators in north america and they know it
cougars are the only predators in north america that will ambush their prey.
cougars scare the living crap out of me
the only thing that scares a cougar is a bear. they'll avoid a human if they dont want trouble but at least once a year I hear about cougars wandering around town until they climb a tree for a nap and get tranqed. little trick I heard about but have never used. if you are out hiking and you find bear crap, bag it and spread it around the edge of your campsite.
cougar avoids bear smell and bears smell people and stay away.

I've also seen entire herds of deer wiped out by a single bored cougar. not exactly the actions of an animal that only hunts for food.

[Alaska444]

tahunua001
Member

Join Date: July 21, 2011
Location: Idaho
Posts: 76
cougars are the fastest predators in north america and know it
cougars are the most agile predators in north america and they know it
cougars are the only predators in north america that will ambush their prey.
cougars scare the living crap out of me
the only thing that scares a cougar is a bear. they'll avoid a human if they dont want trouble but at least once a year I hear about cougars wandering around town until they climb a tree for a nap and get tranqed. little trick I heard about but have never used. if you are out hiking and you find bear crap, bag it and spread it around the edge of your campsite.
cougar avoids bear smell and bears smell people and stay away.

I've also seen entire herds of deer wiped out by a single bored cougar. not exactly the actions of an animal that only hunts for food.
__________________
The only difference between the vanquished and victorious is resolve.

Ignorance is correctable. Stupid aint

+1, thank you for telling it like it is. Great advice, but I might pass on the bear poop idea for now. One of my friends here in Idaho grew up ranching and hunting his whole life. He agrees with you, mountain lions are the creepiest critters he has ever dealt with and he has killed dozen black bears over the years.

[JACK308]

well the good thing is their THIN SKINED! so a .22 magnum might work if not I know a .223 will! and a long thick 2 sided KNIFE if jumped.

[tahunua001]

+1, thank you for telling it like it is. Great advice, but I might pass on the bear poop idea for now. One of my friends here in Idaho grew up ranching and hunting his whole life. He agrees with you, mountain lions are the creepiest critters he has ever dealt with and he has killed dozen black bears over the years.

I'm from idaho as well... our cougars must just be meaner than everyone elses

[Art Eatman]

My wife mentioned seeing a cougar not far from Thomasville, GA. She was asked how she had even a clue about what cougar looks like. "Oh, it looked just like the hide we have draped over the couch." Oops.

Jeff Davis and Brewster Counties in Texas are prime cougar country. I can toll one up most anytime I'd want to. They love the smell of bacon grease on a rag. I don't see the cats themselves, all that often, but their tracks are fairly common. I think I posted some photos of tracks, here, a bunch of years back.

[oneounceload]

When I lived out West, many X-country skiers would be attacked in the Sierras by hungry cats coming from above and behind, especially on the last one in a line of skiers. We had one come into town and wander onto thew second floor balcony of a local motel so it could sun itself - no fear of humans - it was captured, but it caused quite a traffic am on the main street.

While sprays and guns might make you feel more comfortable, the dog is the best idea.

When friends would hunt them, dogs were used to tree them and then a 38 did the trick

[Double Naught Spy]

Not sure where everyone is getting their stats that mountain lions only attack small children. We have had several attacks in southern CA all involving adults. Yup, children have been attacked, but so have many, many adults.

Nobody has said only children were attacked. Not sure where you are getting the idea that the claim has been made. However, in going through the attack reports, of those with injuries, it looks like children 17 and younger are attacked at a ratio of 2:1 over those 18 and over. Of course, the population of those 17 and younger is much smaller than the population of those 18 and older, being about 1/4 the size according to census records. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html So 1/4 of the population is accounted for in 2/3 of the attacks. This indicates a strong preference for much smaller individuals than full sized adults.

Of the adults attacked, many were engaged in trying to defend kids or animals. Many were involved in activities that put them into smaller positions such as being bent over, kneeling, or sunbathing. There are those adults who were attacked as a result of hunting mountain lions (go figure) and some who were trying to get closer to the animals for the purposes of observation, photography, or data collection. http://www.cougarinfo.org/

As far as risk, yup, it ain't many but when it happens to you, that is 100%.

Statistically, this is in error. The level of risk to you doesn't change just because you are a data point.

[Alaska444]

If you look at the attacks in CA in the last few years, as I recall, they all involved ambushing adults quite often while mountain biking through wilderness trails.

Sure, are kids at higher risk? Absolutely, but they can and do attack and kill adults quite readily. They easily overpower a healthy young 200 pound man without any problem at all.

Making statistics from anecdotal reports is always fraught with difficulty.

[bullethole1]

Pit Bulls are just as worse!

[JUMP]

I was taught by for grandfather that it is the lion you don't see that will kill you.

wearing several jingle bells will tell any predator you're there and they'll avoid you. You're not on their menu.

I live in AZ and on Monday I am going to my neighbors funeral who was killed by a black bear as she was out walking her dog. I don't care what animal it is you are on their food menu and to think that you are not, is being unrealistic.

I have had many close calls with big cats and on every occasion I have been hiking/camping. I always make plenty of noise. The cats seem to appear out of nowhere. They will suddenly be 30 feet to your right staring at you with those eyes...its enough to make you panic for sure. If you stand your ground and show no fear it will usually leave you alone. If it doesn't leave - shoot it. Never go into the woods without a shotgun/pistol.

My 2 cents.

JUMP

[bamaranger]

Kind of a student of these stories, but my experience is the opposite of Jason G. I have been told by locals for near thirty years that we have "cougars" here in our area, but have as yet to see any viable sign or sighting. My own hunting time, time on the job marking boundary, etc, but not a clue. Seems like I read somewhere that a mtn lion will kill a deer a day or near it for food, as they do not like carrion.

Heck, the guy we bought our house from twenty years ago said he shot one out of a tree out back , but it escaped of course.

What I do have are a handful of reports (2-3 in person) over twenty years of plus similar to Jason's, big cat with big tail, unmistakable etc.......a mountain lion. Right..........? Maybe.

A recent study done in the SE ( I have the book somewhere, "Southern cougar...fact or fiction? something like that) shows "cougars" killed by locals in WV and elsewhere exhibit DNA not pure for mountain lions but crossed with some big cat from south of the border. Conclusion, a big cat that looks like a mountain lion, but crossed with other breeds, likely for the exotic pet trade. Raised locally, but released when the owner could likely not afford to feed it) it was released to become another "cougar" sighting.

The fact that the LA cat caught near Natchidoesis (a major city) does not surprise me. Maybe another wayward exotic??

My locals are seeing something, very rarely, but I wonder if it is a true mountain lion??

[Art Eatman]

From the FWIW department: There have been four reported cougar attacks in Big Bend National Park in the last thirty or so years. Two involved small children in the six-to-ten age group. One was more of an encounter than actual attack. The last was by a very old male in emaciated condition.

[egor20]

Interesting news article about the cats

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) said today that results of genetic tests show that the mountain lion killed in Milford in June made its way to the state from the Black Hills region of South Dakota and is an animal whose movements were actually tracked and recorded as it made its way through Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Genetic tests also show that it is likely that the mountain lion killed when it was hit by a car June 11 on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford was the same one that had been seen earlier that month in Greenwich.

DEEP Commissioner Daniel C. Esty said, “The journey of this mountain lion is a testament to the wonders of nature and the tenacity and adaptability of this species. This mountain lion traveled a distance of more than 1,500 miles from its original home in South Dakota – representing one of the longest movements ever recorded for a land mammal and nearly double the distance ever recorded for a dispersing mountain lion.”

“The confirmation of a wild mountain lion in our state was the first recorded in more than 100 years,” Commissioner Esty said. “This is the first evidence of a mountain lion making its way to Connecticut from western states and there is still no evidence indicating that there is a native population of mountain lions in Connecticut.”

The genetic tests reveal information about the mountain lion’s origin and travels were conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Wildlife Genetics Laboratory in Missoula, Montana. DNA tests show that tissue from the Milford mountain lion matches the genetic structure of the mountain lion population in the Black Hills region of South Dakota.

http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15...th-dakota.html


That's a lot of traveling time.

[Alaska444]

That's a remarkable story, don't usually think of Connecticut as a mountain lion state. I guess forget the 10 mm, just carry the biggest revolver you can comfortably shoot. That for me is the .44 magnum although I can shoot the .454, I don't really enjoy it much with it's heavy recoil. I can load up to .454 stats with Buffalo Bore +P+ loads or have lighter loads for practice that feel like my .357 in recoil. Quite a versatile round. Not sure Connecticut is going to let you carry such a beast in the woods or not with all of the libtards that run that state and the surrounding states.

[egor20]

It is a great story.

I'm lucky around here, no cats that I've ever seen, no hogs, but a friend said he has seen some coyotes on his property but he lives way south on me near the Tennessee border. I see the occasional bear out of my corner eye but have never had to deal with one.

I just have a few foxes (they don't bother me, and I don't do fox hunting) and rattlers, I see one, its a dead snake.

[Jason_G]

Kind of a student of these stories, but my experience is the opposite of Jason G. I have been told by locals for near thirty years that we have "cougars" here in our area, but have as yet to see any viable sign or sighting. My own hunting time, time on the job marking boundary, etc, but not a clue. Seems like I read somewhere that a mtn lion will kill a deer a day or near it for food, as they do not like carrion.

Heck, the guy we bought our house from twenty years ago said he shot one out of a tree out back , but it escaped of course.

What I do have are a handful of reports (2-3 in person) over twenty years of plus similar to Jason's, big cat with big tail, unmistakable etc.......a mountain lion. Right..........? Maybe.

A recent study done in the SE ( I have the book somewhere, "Southern cougar...fact or fiction? something like that) shows "cougars" killed by locals in WV and elsewhere exhibit DNA not pure for mountain lions but crossed with some big cat from south of the border. Conclusion, a big cat that looks like a mountain lion, but crossed with other breeds, likely for the exotic pet trade. Raised locally, but released when the owner could likely not afford to feed it) it was released to become another "cougar" sighting.

The fact that the LA cat caught near Natchidoesis (a major city) does not surprise me. Maybe another wayward exotic??

My locals are seeing something, very rarely, but I wonder if it is a true mountain lion??

That's interesting. I have heard tale of black panthers in the southeast as well, but I've never seen any. So, who's to say for sure what's out there, or whether or not there may be some sorts of mingling/hybridization going on. 15 years ago, if someone told me there were boa constrictors and pythons in FL, I'd have laughed, but with folks smuggling in invasive species and natural immigration of non-native species over time, who knows?

I will say though, that the cat I saw did not bear any semblance to anything other than a mountain lion. That's not to say it might not have been a hybrid of some sort, but the phenotype was all mountain lion.

Jason

[hunter52]

Anybody notice where the majority of mountain lion attacks have occured?

In national or State Parks, or in places where Lion hunting is non existant.

Where I live in S.W.Colorado we have the highest lion hunt quota of the state, there has never been an attack, to my knowledge, by a mountain lion on a human ,perhaps the constant pressure of hunting has made them want to stay clear of humans?

There are still instances of mt. lion snatching an occasional poodle or house cat ,but no attacks on people.

[doofus47]

They love the smell of bacon grease on a rag.

Note to myself: Leave the bacon rags at home when I go hiking....

:-)

[Art Eatman]

Mess around long enough in one of these threads and my memory gets jogged.

Night time during mule deer season. Four guys decide to go call coyotes. Mild night. Windows down in the 4-door pickup; rear window of the cab is open. They park on a crest where the headlights will light up a good area.

Blow on the rabbit squaller. Sound oh, so pathetic. And tasty, to a coyote.

The suspension gives just a bit. A great hairy paw reaches in through the back window.

IT'S LAUNDRY TIME!!!

[JimPage]

Don't keep us in suspense. Was it Big Foot?

[Ksmoker]

I'd predict one big surprise!! If you could predict how & what they are going to do you wouldn't have to worry about them..

[Double Naught Spy]

+1, thank you for telling it like it is

Too bad so much of it was wrong.

cougars are the fastest predators in north america and know it

They may be the fastest predatory mammals over a short distance, but they are not the fastest mammal predators over distance and certainly not the fastest predators in North America. The Peregrine falcon takes that spot, I believe.

cougars are the most agile predators in north america and they know it

This would all depend on what is meant by agile. They are agile, but so too are lots of predators.

cougars are the only predators in north america that will ambush their prey.

Cougars are not even the only mammalian predator in North America that ambushes its prey. Ambush tactics are common to most major predators at least from insects through mammals. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-ambush-predator.htm

cougars scare the living crap out of me

That's probably true.

little trick I heard about but have never used. if you are out hiking and you find bear crap, bag it and spread it around the edge of your campsite.
cougar avoids bear smell and bears smell people and stay away.

Is that like horse hair rope encircling your camp will keep snakes out? Also, Stephen Hererra has documented and discussed the fact that the smell of people certainly cannot be counted on at all to keep bears away. You do know that bear attacks are more common than mountain lion attacks on humans, right?

[ClayInTx]

The comments by game wardens and such that an area has no cougars, no bears, no etc., is probably because for many years it was true.

Look at your old family snap shot pictures from around 1900. Do they look a bit odd?
Probably do. that’s because there are few, if any, trees in the background. This country was stripped of timber through the 1800s and early 1900s, and this left no habitat or cover for large animals. Go into a state or national park in the east and you’ll find the remains of corn rows on a slope you can barely keep from sliding down, even the mountains were stripped.

Today the trees are back and those large animals which did manage to survive have restored their population.

I have personally seen cougars in places I was assured there were none. I’ve found clawless tracks almost the size of a dinner plate along my creek. A couple of years ago a cougar chased a deer through my front yard.

They’re back.
They’re big.
They’re hungry.
They’re mean.

You might read that they won’t attack an adult human. Too bad that cougars can’t read.

[Alaska444]

Let's see, cougars can run up to 45 mph making them the fasting LAND predator in North America.

Cougars have the longest leaping ability of any North America predator, perhaps what he meant by agile. Don't know for certain, but they are indeed very agile animal.

Cougars are ambush predators which is why many experienced woodsmen fear them more than bears even though bears are larger and stronger. Bears can ambush prey, but it is a trademark MO of cougars.

The bear poop issue, not sure I want to try that one, but animals do mark their territories with urine and poop and will avoid confrontations based on these markings.

Not sure I would have made such a nit-pik out of these comments. They are all technically correct statements with some minor qualifications.

[Pilot]

I'm lived in Colorado for several years. I never went into the mountains on foot without my German Shorthaired Pointer. He could smell everything. The other thing I did was do a 360 every few minutes, and not in regular intervals.

The granola eaters get attacked around Boulder, and the desperate cats will come into your house and get your dog, just like the one near Evergreen, Idledale, I think.