Mountain lion tales

[fishinwrench]

9 minutes ago, Amery said:

My criteria is not being followed very well. Haha. I personally do not find it probable that there are black "panthers". 

I didn't either.  And I'm not sure what constitutes a "panther" but I guarantee you that there is/was at least one big black cat in Morgan co., so I sure can't dismiss the other sightings. 

[Smalliebigs]

23 hours ago, mic said:

How rude, they should get to know you like we do before treating you like an idiot

Wait... did you say you live trapped a mountain lion in Missouri?  PICs please. 

 

http://www.thesalemnewsonline.com/news/local_news/article_08c3d498-38b0-11e1-b227-001a4bcf6878.html

 

 

I ran into two cougars at one time once floating on the West fork of the Black river  and it didn't end well as I ended up moving in with one of them in Brentwood forest condos......here is a helpful video to help you if you encounter a cougar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VshBT5Ua4uo 

[Greasy B]

1 hour ago, fishinwrench said:

I didn't either.  And I'm not sure what constitutes a "panther" but I guarantee you that there is/was at least one big black cat in Morgan co., so I sure can't dismiss the other sightings. 

I recall fishing a cove on LOZ that had a mansion with a big black cat pacing back and forth in the yard. If your stupid enough to think its cool to keep a wild cat as a pet your probably not smart enough to keep it contained. 

[fishinwrench]

Yeah that was at the 22 mile marker on the Osage side, the dude actually had 2 big cats and fed them crappie.  His dock was loaded with brush too.  

[Amery]

I am not saying I don't believe anyone. I think the guard cats provide an explanation. 

[fishinwrench]

8 minutes ago, Amery said:

I am not saying I don't believe anyone. I think the guard cats provide an explanation. 

Yeah I don't think the black panther cats migrate here on their own, and I doubt they find others to breed with.   Obviously escapees from some nimrods somewhere.

[Old plug]

wrench i remember clearly when all those kept cats got out of e containment area up on hwy P. That was a bit of excitement for a few days. Was lions and tigers both if I recall. 

[Amery]

On November 11, 2015 at 1:31:52 PM, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I'm telling you after they did that it put a new spin on trout fishing alone down there.

Hard to fend off a big cat with a 4 weight.

That's why I use a 5 weight now.

Pete

 

this whole conversation started with myself and Jtram and  onthefly night fishing and discussing the horrors of fishing below the dam at night. Pretty much goes in this order;  mountain lions

           Dam rupture 

           Meth head

          Drowning

          Man eating brown trout

 

[Al Agnew]

I don't have an Ozark mountain lion story, my only encounter with (two) in the wild was in Colorado.  But I find the black panther tales fascinating.  There are probably hundreds of people in Missouri who say they've seen one.  Yet, biologically, there is simply no way.  There aren't that many black leopards or jaguars in captivity in the state, let alone that many that could have escaped or been turned loose.  Jaguars were never a part of Missouri fauna, closest they ever were was probably southern Louisiana.  Melanistic (black) mountain lions are not unheard of, but exceedingly rare.

By the way, Fish24/7...none of the big cats hold their tails vertically.  Only house cats do that.

So what's the story on the black cats?  No biologist will EVER believe you when you tell them about a big black cat, because it just doesn't make any sense.  Yet, so many people have supposedly seen them.  Some sightings (maybe like Fish24/7) was probably seeing a black house cat at some distance in a place where you didn't expect to see one, and misjudging the size...your mind can convince you of a lot of stuff that's not true.  I once saw a big black animal that I just didn't know what it was, silhouetted against the sky early one morning.  It looked to me to be the size of a large dog.  But when it ambled a little closer, I suddenly realized it was a...skunk!  It just looked so much bigger than a skunk when I first saw it.  

Other sightings could have been a mountain lion in poor light.  They can look very dark under the right light conditions, though not "coal black"...they always have lighter underbellies and light markings on their heads and throats.  A few might have been escaped black leopards or jaguars.

Or maybe they are just popping in and out of this dimension from "somewhere else".

[Amery]

The black panther thing is crazy. I am from nw Arkansas and there are lots of stories here too. Is it possible that regular mountain lions have a dark appearance in a certain light? Certain angle? Could they be mistaking a bear for a cat?