Cattleman Kills Mountain Lion In Ray County

[Terry Beeson]

Right now, debate on whether or not it was a legal kill is as useless as listening to Glenn Beck and Kieth Olbermann discuss politics.

Amen... Well said. Let's just agree to disagree and go fishing...

[flytyer57]

the most influential government officials aren't elected

Some are appointed and can be gotten rid of by voting out the governor.

[Wheatenheimer]

Guilty by association should be good enough to qualify the landowner in protection of his property.

I have a buddy that his wifes Yorkie was snagged off their property by a Redtailed Hawk. The hawk dropped it from about 30 feet and killed it.

I say we start shooting those lap-dog killing scoundrels too!

[fly2fish]

I have a buddy that his wifes Yorkie was snagged off their property by a Redtailed Hawk. The hawk dropped it from about 30 feet and killed it.

I say we start shooting those lap-dog killing scoundrels too!

I tend to agree but for a different reasons and that is I blame the declining quail population on the hawk overpopulation. I live and hunt in Northeastern Oklahoma and 15 -20 years ago we used to maintain 6 to 7 covey of quail on my uncles farm of about 400 acres. Now we are lucky to have 1. We have even implimented habitat restoration and food plots but one day during deer season a couple years ago we took a break and while sitting and eating lunch we counted 9 hawks sitting in trees around just one 80 acre field. Once while quail hunting I got up a single and hawk swooped down and took it out of the air about 50 yards in front me.

Bobcats are another reason for the decline.

So the game officials need to decide what is most beneficial, more huntable wildlife (that bring in $$$)or protected wildlife (which cost $$$).

f2F

[Justin Spencer]

Don't tell anyone but one day I caught my wife walking around the campground with a shotgun. When I asked her what she was doing she said a hawk had just taken a swipe at one of her chickens, I guess she was hoping it would try again.

As humans we always tend to think the predators are overpopulated while the game is not plentiful enough, nature has a way of balancing things out and that usually happens through disease. The hayday of quail hunting came during the DDT years when hawks were scarce and habitat was much better with smaller agriculture practices. Unfortunately we like to hunt the same things as the predators and often blame them for our lack of game. They are just one more predator much like ourselves.

It is my understanding that most CO's don't really go around worrying about hawk shooters, just don't go around wearing their talons around your neck. I know of an area in North Central Arkansas where they enjoy running coyotes and trapping and shooting all varmits (including hawks) and they seem to think it has helped the quail population quite a bit. Most of this (other than the hawk shooting) is done legally, and while I still think habitat plays a bigger role predator reduction has seemed to help. This once again puts more value on a game animal over others, but if done legally that is their choice.

[jdmidwest]

If you have a problem with "any" animal bothering your livestock, you are to contact your local Agent and figure out what to do.

Birds of Prey and Migratory Birds have limited control measures as do Endangered Species. One of the reasons that the Mountain Lion had been removed from endangered to extirpated. If a lion starts targeting livestock, it has to be killed, and the powers that be realize that. I have a friend in a northern state that has a problem with Bald Eagles taking the fawns out of his tame deer herd in the spring. He has been authorized to do what is needed to protect his herd.

[Al Agnew]

I can see the farmer's point, although I'd much rather that he hadn't killed the cat. I don't know that county, but I suspect it's pretty much agricultural land without any extensive wild areas. Mountain lions probably don't "belong" in that kind of landscape. It isn't like good mountain lion habitat out West. I have zero empathy with Western ranchers who graze their cattle on public land and then insist on predator control. If you graze cattle on public land, predation on your cattle should just be part of the cost of doing business. You don't own the land and you shouldn't be able to kill the wild animals that live on it solely for your own economic purposes. But a Missouri farmer on land that he owns in an area surrounded by other agricultural lands is a little different story.

If mountain lions ever do become well established in Missouri, however, there needs to be some things done to help livestock growers without having to kill a cat every time somebody's cow gets scratched or a coonhound trees one within a mile of a cow.

And by the way, forget about that cat coming down out of the tree and killing a hound. Mountain lions just don't do that. I know guys out west that run lions with dogs, and they have never had a dog hurt except when somebody shot the cat out of the tree without killing it. Old time cat hunters have written of hunting lions with hounds all the time, and then making the mistake of taking their hounds down into Mexico to hunt jaguars. The hounds were used to lions, which never came out of where they were treed or cornered to attack the hounds. Jaguars would just as soon kill a hound as look at it, and they'd come back home minus most of their hounds.

[Trout Stalker]

I don't know that county, but I suspect it's pretty much agricultural land without any extensive wild areas. Mountain lions probably don't "belong" in that kind of landscape.

Northern Ray County is rocky, wooded, and hills. Along the Missouri River bottoms (southern) is crop land. In the middle can either be crop or livestock. It is about 30 minutes east of North Kansas City.

Ray County is full of turkey & deer. Plenty of ducks & geeses during season. Quail population is about gone. Get into the northern part and you might find a rattle snake.

[Chief Grey Bear]

My not be great cat country but, when you a looking to establish your own, you may have to walk through some not so prime ground.

I think it would be great if the western agencies could find the den's and chip the kittens. Then we could track them. I think it would be very interesting to view their travels.

[Outside Bend]

My not be great cat country but, when you a looking to establish your own, you may have to walk through some not so prime ground.

I think it would be great if the western agencies could find the den's and chip the kittens. Then we could track them. I think it would be very interesting to view their travels.

They may be able to tell where the animals come by looking at the chemistry of the animal's teeth, bones, hair, etc. They frequently do it with poached animals, and with critters they find on the black market.