Enough about bears, how about cougars?

[ClayInTX]

I live on the edge of the Texas Big Thicket. For those unfamiliar with the Thicket, the Amazon Jungle is like a manicured parkway compared to the Thicket. We have cougars and panthers; which some say are the same thing but just a different color. I hear we have black bears but I’ve seen no sign of them so far.

Over the past year are so the cougars are getting more numerous or either braver. Recently had one try to drag off a dog but a bigger companion dog was able to make the cougar drop the dog and flee. Fortunately the smaller dog survived but had to be patched up by the vet. This happened about five miles down the road.

Some neighbors have had their smaller animals, cats, dogs, goats, disappear and believe the cougars are getting them. My place is fairly good for deer to bed down and I’ve seen cougar tracks in my driveway.

A lady about fifteen miles down the road was squatting down to wash the wheels of her truck and looked around to see a black panther crouched about twenty feet away. She was able to get into the truck and the panther circled it for several minutes before leaving.

They’re obviously getting more aggressive, but no humans have yet been actually attacked.

Has anyone had to shoot one? I’ve been carrying a 357 on my treks through the woods checking on pine borers and a rifle is a bit unhandy. I believe a 357 would take care of one but not yet having had to do this it’s an unproven theory.

Anyone with experience with them?

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

Cats are thin-skinned, and there isnt much in the way of the vital parts. Basically if its good enough for stopping a human, its probably gonna work the same on a cat. That said, cats hunt by being sneaky, and most likely if you are attacked, and you get off a shot, its likely going to be over your shoulder into the cats head which will be firmly affixed to your neck.

 

[Cmdr. Gravez0r]

Same type of story here in upstate SC. Guy I know was walking his dog just outside the suburbs and came up on a cougar/panther camped out by a haystack not but a few feet away. No question on ID because his GSD was right there for size comparison and the cat was bigger than the dawg. Sometimes you hear of a tawny colour like a western cougar, other times black, possibly they are mixed by now. Also hear of a very dark brown which can look black. If TX is like SC the DNR will also deny any knowledge of such critters. I expect this is not because they enjoy lying but are instead afraid if there is an "official" presence Bubba will go out and try to get him one.

If I saw one close to me I would likely shoot in on sight. Not only for taxonomical purposes but they also have quite the reputation.

Don't suppose that helps much but stay frosty. Try and get a picture of one. I don't know of any that have been photographed in the East.

 

[Zoogster]

They are very powerful and good with teeth and claws, but thin skinned and easily dispatched with typical self defense calibers.

Cougars are not normally a major threat because if you see them and act appropriately you are most likely not what they are after and can avoid attack.
I have seen them many times, especially when younger and hiking in the mountains. Even as a tempting child (with a hiking staff normally) I was never attacked.

Cougars unlike bears are ambush predators and extremely fast and stealthy.
If one is stalking you then you are very unlikely to see it.
When you see one it is because it is stalking something else, and hence not as pre occupied with remaining hidden from other things, or it is just casually exploring.
(Or it has rabies and is out of its mind, in which case it may act very odd.)

But to keep it simple, they are ambush predators, so the ones that really pose the most serious risk to you are the ones you won't see before they are latched onto the back of your head or neck.

 

[Sixtigers]

I'm actually a little jealous of the OP. I grew up in the mountains in Northern California (little tiny town no one has ever heard of called Pollock Pines) and in my whole life there, never once saw a big cat. Bear and turkey, sure...but not the big cats.

Every once in a while, we get an attack. A female jogger (very small female adult with headphones on) was attacked and killed several years ago. From what the old timers tell me, you won't know when a cat decides to attack you until you feel it land on your back. They hunt from behind, and they generally fear humans. I'd think being aware of what's going on around you might be a better deterrent than a handgun in this case--at least as far as cats are concerned!

I had the unique experience of clearing the charred remains of a male bobcat who had settled down on a nice warm transformer to eat his rabbit a couple of years ago. The thing that immediately stood out on this fellow was the sheer amount of muscle he sported. Smaller than a mountain lion these kitties be, but I'd not like to go toe to toe with one.

If'n you must carry, I'd think anything that could stop a large human would stop a big cat, but I really don't think you'd get much of a chance to use it. Might be worth it to have one handy in case Fluffy attacks a smaller family member.

I'd count myself lucky just to see one of these critters. All I ever see is scat.

 

[ClayInTX]

Sixtigers,

I’ve not seen a cat either, just their spoor. Paws are about the size of a saucer. I did have a regular, I knew him each time because he (or she) had one claw he couldn’t retract and that pad was splayed to the side. I figure he got it caught in someone’s trap for smaller game.

My neighbor had one run across the road in front of their car. I believe it was him because earlier that day I saw his track in the creek bed. This was before they told me they saw him. Gee, thanks.

We have the bobcats, too. Quite a few of them.

I’ve seen pictures in National Geographic of jungle men in Asia wearing jackets with eyes painted on the back to ward off cats. probably I need to do the same. All that talk about them jumping my neck doesn’t make me feel comfortable at all.

Yes, I have read that they won’t attack an adult human but that one did sneak up on that lady washing her truck. She was squatting and I sometimes squat to more closely examine a pine for the sawdust droppings left by pine borers. I figure the cats are illiterate and haven’t read the books.

GravezOr,

I know what you mean by the game people not acknowledging a presence. Over in the Florida panhandle I saw them and family in south Alabama saw them but the Game & Fish people swore there were none there.

 

[harrygunner]

Cats don't have that indestructible image bears have. So we are less compelled to seek magic ammo for mountain lions.

There really should be a website devoted to guns/ammo for bears. Along with a "sticky" holding all the stale, decade old jokes.

I've seen two mountain lions in California and fresh snow tracks in northern Arizona.

For the first one, I was with a group of people hiking. It was a large one about 100 yards away. It looked at us, we looked at it and all went their own way.

The second was much more interesting. I was hiking alone near dusk when I saw one rise up from dry grass. It was too close. I immediately drew my 10mm, figuring I was still behind the curve even with a drawn gun.

I did that funny walk we learn in training as I continued down the trail, keeping the gun on the cat. It lowered itself back into the grass, colors blending perfectly.

 

[Tamlin]

All you need is Cougar Spray, and while you're at it, wear some Cat Bells, too.

 

[-eaux-]

i have seen a couple of cougars while out on hog hunts in NW TX. to reaffirm previous statements, i saw them because they were stalking something else, and i was downwind. (which is significant in the open parts of TX, when the wind stops, people fall over)
here in LA, the LADWF also denies the existance of any such thing as an indigenous black big-cat. i personally have seen 4. 3 live in the wild, 1 DRT that was not reported by the possesor for fear of media hype / legal problems.
only had a chance to photo one of the four, from a hundred yards or so with a cheap cell phone and the pics were indistinguishable.
my take on the "big black cat of the southeast" is that it is a resurgance of jaguars, once well-populated in this area until overhunted. the tawny-colored mountain lion (cougar, catamount, panther, etc.) hs never been proven by science to demonstrate the hypermelinistic gene that results in 'black' cats.
the little zoo 30 miles up the road has a black jaguar.

 

[zombienerd]

Well... Anything that would stop a bear would stop a cougar Just reference one of the millions of "Good enough for Bear?" Threads and you'll be golden..

I think your .357 is more than adequate for a kitty cat. Just make sure to pop it in the head before you die of blood loss, and you're golden

 

[RS14]

I've personally come close to one once, I'm convinced. Hiking alone in Utah through high scrub, I flushed a deer. Not a second later, I heard three short growling wails nearby, but from beyond line of sight. I never saw anything, nor heard anything more, but continued cautiously, and it sure made me nervous until I was out of that terrain.

I was completely unarmed, too--I'd just flown out there for a couple of days, with carry-on only, and hadn't even packed a pocket-knife. I'll need to plan better in the future.

 

[mete]

Many states deny the existance of mountain lions .All they need is a good supply of deer.They are mostly nocternal loners .One cat was tagged in the Dakotas and was killed by a train 700 miles away ! Yes they can travel.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

We have cougars and panthers; which some say are the same thing but just a different color.

Cougars, panthers, pumas, and mountain lions are all Felis concolor, assuming you are referring to indigenous species. We also have jaguar, Felis onca, but it is spotted, of course and quite rare.

 

[SSN Vet]

hypermelinistic gene

well I learned a new word today, so I guess it was worth getting out of bed

 

[alemonkey]

For the longest time the Nebraska Game & Parks commission denied there were any mountain lions in the state, despite several eyewitness sightings. My dad saw cat tracks as big as his hand (he's a big guy) in our neighbor's yard when I was a kid, and a local truck driver saw one run across a road. The state said everyone was mistaken and they were just seeing coyotes or stray house cats.

A couple of years ago a guy showed me a picture he had taken of an mountain lion sitting in a field about 25 miles west of Omaha. It was obvious what animal was in the picture, but when he emailed it to Game & Parks they told him it was just a housecat or maybe a bobcat. A few weeks later a mountain lion showed up in the middle of Omaha and was shot. I'm sure it was the same cat. It seems they're losing their fear of humans now. One deer hunter in the western part of the state had a cougar attack a deer he had just shot. He was able to chase it away, but when he left briefly and came back he found it had returned. We've had them show up in populated areas, including once outside of a school in a small town.

I don't understand why they denied the existence of big cats for so long, but it sounds like other states do the same thing. The denials just create hysteria and make people worry. Now that they admit we have cougars they're a protected species, so I don't know why they weren't just honest about it right away. A lot of people in Nebraska suspect Game & Parks secretly reintroduced them. They deny it of course, but after years of denying the existence of big cats a lot of people don't believe them.

 

[USMC - Retired]

Georgia DNR swears there are no big cats here. Someone needs to tell that to the one I saw when I was driving out to go deer hunting one morning...

 

[Artiz]

They are a protected species here (eastern Canada), the retarded population hunted them without any limit (over the last 100 years) and they are close to extinction, last time someone saw one and filmed it, it was almost 5 years ago and at some place far from the mall, and the quality of the video was far from crystal clear.
On the other end, in western Canada they do have these cats running around in the woods and they can hunt them, but they are not a common thing to see.
I love these cats, around here what I found (a few km from my house, in the woods) is a lynx, yeah I didn't see it, but from the tracks he left in the ice covered snow last winter, it definately was a lynx, these are really rare to see in nature, but they are no danger to humans.

 

[harmonic]

When I was living in the People's Republic of California I read of a few fatalities re mountain lion attacks. In thoses cases the cat always attacked the pedestrian from behind before anyone knew what was happening.

Seems the cat's favorite tactic is to clamp down on the back of the person's neck and just hang on.

Forget a gun. Buy a kevlar turtleneck.

 

[mbt2001]

Cougars are not a massive concern for adults... Kids and animals YES!

Anything that works on a person will work on a cougar. They are fast, cunning creatures that are brave, despite the folklore. Stealth hunters... I respect the hell out of them. They are the ultimate survivors, every now and again desperation will drive them to attack an animal they would rather not. Rabies is hardly a concern, because cougars prefer fresh meat and are not carrion eaters.

In India, where Tigers hunt, the natives have taken to wearing masks backwards so it looks like a face on the back of their head. Tiger attacks have been cut more than half using this technique. It would work for cougars as well. Hiking with a dog would also cut your chances of attack from a cougar.

 

[hak]

I'm from out east, so when i went out west...

I'm from out east, so when i went out west to visit extended family and go coyote hunting, my hosts were distracted by a cougar/mt. lion running around their town: a mt. lion attack on a local lady and her dog(s), she was in hospital, dogs dead. not first time in that area (Reno, NV). anyways a lot of the coyote time was spent tracking the cat(s). snow every night so we saw plenty of tracks in the AM. but by the time i had to head back east, it was still in on the loose.

well, they got it, treed it with their dogs. thing was bigger than i expected. the hunter pictured is an honest 6'3"...



his rifle in the truck with us that week was a 25-06 i think.

 

[armoredman]

BIG KITTY! He'd need a very, very large saucer of milk...
I love cats, but the household variety. Oddly enough, one was bred to be a miniature black panther. One that size I will empty my sidearms into him on the spot...if I get the chance! Backwards masks, you say? What is the number to that Halloween supply house...maybe the Man in the Iron Mask one would be better!

 

[danprkr]

Forget a gun. Buy a kevlar turtleneck.

We have a winner Nearly fell off my chair.

What the
is that with everyone saying they would empty all their ammo in the cat RIGHT THERE if they ever saw one, just for the heck of it? Seriously... that's retarded.

I just read every post on this thread and only one guy said that, and I think he was joking. Chill please!

we become his prey when we are in HIS habitat,
up HIS habitat, then he will have no other choice but kill the first prey they see.

Um, last I checked humans were the dominate species of the planet. And, we have the EXACT same right to protect ourselves as any other creature.

Another direction. When a child we went to Mexico on a fishing trip. Our guide family also made money by stalking and killing these cats for farmers and ranchers. The man used a black powder cap and ball .36 caliber Navy revolver, called them in close enough to shoot them in the eye to be able to sell the pelt. Talk about nerve if I'd seen one that close first I'd have said it, then I'd have done it. Then I'd have had to change my drawers!

 

[Corporal K]

-eaux-

I'm originally from Louisiana. My father-in-law swears that he saw a black jaguar (he said black panther) near the Amite. Interesting.

I've seen mountain lions here on the Front Range and I've seen fresh tracks in the snow while hiking. I carry a G21 .45, but that's just me.

 

[Corporal K]

http://www.amazon.com/Beast-Garden-...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259970307&sr=1-1

Well worth the time.

 

[eldon519]

If something is going to bite the back of my head, I might consider a large knife as well. I'm not going to be too keen on trying to put a round in its skull in that position, but I certainly would stab away.