Mountain Lion Shot In Arkansas

[ness]

Well, hasn't this thread gotten stoopid.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Well, hasn't this thread gotten stoopid.

Don't you start!

[fishinwrench]

Have we spoken of calamari yet ?

[Chief Grey Bear]

We're getting there. Just hang on a bit.

[ness]

Don't you start!

Oh no--I've changed my evil ways. you boys have at it.

Have we spoken of calamari yet ?

the Kentucky coach or the delicious batter-fried squid?

[HeWhoFishesSolo]

If you don't want to interact with wildlife (possibly dangerous depending on the species) then you should stay at home and watch national Geographic or possibly get your hunting fix from watching outdoor videos. If that cat was stalking the guy he'd have had no idea it was there , it was passing through and he saw a once in a lifetime chance to do something that might impress his buddies. As far as the comment that this guys life is worth much more than a mountain lions , judging from a large percenatge of people I meet on a daily basis , I wouldn't jump to any conclusions.....

EXACTLY

[BilletHead]

Lets talk about Orion the Wrench puppy. I bet he would protect that dog from a big cat. I know that is all I've been hearing from Mrs. BilletHead is about that dog since she got to meet him yesterday.

[Al Agnew]

Apparent fact: it was walking toward him while he was in his tree stand.

Common sense conclusion: it didn't have a clue he was there. If it had, it would have never been walking toward his tree stand, or if you want to be paranoid, it would have been sneaking up on him and he wouldn't have known it.

Second common sense conclusion: he wasn't directly threatened by it, but MAYBE he felt scared to even be in the same forest as the cat.

Real fact: The number of authenticated cougar attacks on humans is exceedingly low. It also consists mostly of cats attacking people like joggers (running away from the cat, and you know what cats do when something is running away from them), in areas with a large cougar population in areas near rapidly expanding suburbs where there is little or no hunting (think California). As far as I know, there hasn't been a wild cougar attack on a human east of the rockies in more than a century, if ever.

I spend a LOT of time out in the woods in areas of the West where cougars are plentiful, and I've never even given it a second thought that I might be in danger from one. I've seen them while bowhunting, close enough to shoot. I've had one roam around the tent where I was camped out while bowhunting. It was hoping to get a meal alright...the place where we were camped was a hunting camp area where a little later, during rifle season, the cat would expect to find some remains of dressed elk or deer, so it came in to check to see if there was anything there for it to eat.

Fact: In the West where they are plentiful, they seldom eat domestic animals other than pets. They don't like little yappy dogs much, but Western ranchers don't sweat cougars like they do wolves because they very seldom lose a cow or even a sheep to cats. The chances of one eating a cow, let alone a human, in the Ozarks is pretty close to zero.

I think the guy, to be charitable, way overreacted.

By the way...I DO worry about grizzlies when I'm in the wilds in Montana.

[laker67]

Its a good thing that lion was shot in arkansas. Ifn he had crossed over into the missouri you tree huggers would have loved and squeezed him to death. He probably would prefer shot.

[Al Agnew]

Also, while I'm on the subject of shooting things that threaten you...in Montana, if you shoot a grizzly, you better be prepared to prove beyond a doubt that it was charging you when you shot it. If there's much question, you lose your hunting privileges. And even if there isn't any question, you're on probation. If you happen to shoot another griz, even if it's chewing your leg as you shoot it, you lose your hunting privileges. There's usually a half dozen or so grizzlies shot each year during hunting season, most of which are legitimate shootings.