Mountain Lion Interstate 70

[Terrierman]

2 hours ago, Old plug said:

You live in Saddlebrook???? 

 

 

Nope.  Outside Ozark.

[snagged in outlet 3]

I saw one off of HWY 100 between 109 and 44 a few years ago.

It crossed the road right in front of me.  The thing was huge in comparison to a bobcat. 

[fishinwrench]

17 hours ago, ozark trout fisher said:

. Researching them here is about impossible, unless one wanders in front of a car or- the crosshairs of some jackwagon with a rifle and a deficient supply of IQ points

I used to think I wanted them here, but then it occurred to me that one of the things I love most about Missouri is that you can wander the woods and streams all your life and the most dangerous thing you have to be concerned about is a bee sting or being attacked by a horsefly.  I believe there are way more cougars around than we think.  I have only seen 2 bobcats in 53 years but a single trapper just north of here has caught 3-4 just recently.  I never see skunks wandering around either but every February the roads are covered in dead ones.  I have a hard time believing in Bigfoot but it IS possible I suppose.

IMO the people who are deficient of IQ are the ones who want all deranged Pit Bulls irradicated..... but say they want cougars left alone to breed.  If you think a mean Pit bull can hurt you worse than even the sweetest cougar then you're high on crack.

[snagged in outlet 3]

When I was in Colorado this past fall they trapped one in the subdivision where my in-laws live.  They hate em!!! 

They were poking it with a stick when it was in the trap and the video of it scared me.  The thing was snarling and it's mouth was watering.  It would swipe at the stick with it's paw and it was so fast you wouldn't believe it.

[Flysmallie]

15 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

They were poking it with a stick when it was in the trap and the video of it scared me.  

I'm pretty sure if you put me in a cage and started poking me with a stick I would scare you too. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

Nah

[Quillback]

Well you have one in a trap and start poking it with a stick, it's gonna get mean. 

I lived in WA state for 20 years, lots of cougars there, especially after PETA got dog hunting for them banned.  You can shoot them during big game season, but can't hunt them with dogs.  I think that there were around 10 or so shot incidentally by hunters every year.  Hunting them with a dog pack is the most efficient way to hunt them, and there were guides who specialized in dog hunting for cougars.  Well once the dog hunting thing ended, the cougar population expanded to a point where the carrying capacity was maxed out, and that meant somewhere around 2,000 cougars living in the state. 

I spent a lot of time bird hunting, hiking, and fishing in pretty remote areas, and in some good cougar habitat.  Never saw one, and I never was worried about them.  There's a long list of things you could worry about when you are out in the woods, and I'd place cougars way down on that list. 

The only cougar that would worry me is one that was domesticated then dumped somewhere. 

[fishinwrench]

7 minutes ago, Flysmallie said:

I'm pretty sure if you put me in a cage and started poking me with a stick I would scare you too. 

I poke you when you are OUT of your cage, and I'm still alive.   Proof that you wuv me ?

[Flysmallie]

5 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

I poke you when you are OUT of your cage, and I'm still alive.   Proof that you wuv me ?

 

Dude that was one time when we were stuck on that mountain. What was the name of that spot? Broke something or other.....

[MOPanfisher]

I believe the official line is that there is no documented evidence of any breeding pairs in MO.  Not quite the same as saying there isn't any.  It will only be a matter of time until a momma and kittens are on a game camera, problem with those pics is they tend to get shared and re-shared and claimed to be from a dozen different places.  but there is food source, and cover enough, there will be some making a permanent home here.