Mountain Lion Interstate 70

[Hammer time]

Live and let live. All animals have their place on earth. Just be careful and smart!

[fishinwrench]

9 minutes ago, Hammer time said:

Live and let live. All animals have their place on earth. Just be careful and smart!

Right!   And being careful and smart (to me) means....Kill them when you see them.  

Because if one decides to make a meal out of you there's no degree of careful/smart that will likely change its mind.   Even if you had a nice fresh ham to lay down for him he'd probably go ahead and eat you, then have the ham later.

[ozark trout fisher]

1 hour ago, fishinwrench said:

Right!   And being careful and smart (to me) means....Kill them when you see them.  

Because if one decides to make a meal out of you there's no degree of careful/smart that will likely change its mind.   Even if you had a nice fresh ham to lay down for him he'd probably go ahead and eat you, then have the ham later.

I'm gonna assume your trollin' and not take the bait.....

But I will say that I would have a heck of a lot less good stories without bears and moose and other large and potentially dangerous animals. I personally enjoy the extra little edge you get when I am in bear or lion country. I'm more observant, aware of my surroundings, and for that reason I notice more. And on the rare occasions you see a bear running away from you (which is the only way will generally see them) it's usually much more exciting than spooky. 

My only mildly scary experience was when I spooked a black bear whIle in the juniper/oak/pine scrub on top of Mesa Verde. It was impossible to see more than about 20 feet and we basically both scared the crap out of each other at an uncomfortably close range. But as soon as the bear realized what was going on he was out of there. I now know how incredibly  loud a bear is running though an impenetrable thicket, but no harm done.

I have never seen a cougar, despite spending a ton of time where they are common. My loss. Granted I would prefer my first sighting not come at close range. I will admit I am more afraid of lions than bears, but that may just be because I've never encountered them...and I have more than enough anecdotal evidence that your average black bear will just be looking to get out of the situation even more than you do.

 

[gwh]

Lebanon paper has a story from AP that Mo Conservation Dept confirms that female mountain lion killed and ate a portion of a elk in Shannon county. DNA found on elk remains was from lion that originated out west.

http://www.lebanondailyrecord.com/news/state/article_bab5f9e9-aef1-50bb-9243-517c2d18e144.html

[fishinwrench]

52 minutes ago, ozark trout fisher said:

I'm gonna assume your trollin' and not take the bait.....

Maybe a little ?

I do think though that IF they became established here they would be more of a problem here than they are out West.  Here they would be confined to woodlots because we don't have the vast expanses of forests and mountains like there is out West.   At the edges of these woodlots we have sub-divisions and neighborhoods. The deer are in OUR YARDS as much as they are in the woods, so any big cats in this area would be doing their feeding along the edges. That's too close.

Having never lived in cougar country I wouldn't be comfortable knowing that there could be one taking up residence in the 1.5 mile wide X 4 mile long stretch of forest that borders my 10 acre yard. Pretty sure all my neighbors feel the same way, so if one shows up around here, he's toast.    And I'll be more glad than sad to see it eliminated.

[gwh]

Here is a link to the Mo Conservation news release on the Shannon and Warren County mountain line storys.

https://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/mdc-confirms-female-mountain-lion-shannon-county

[fishinwrench]

[ozark trout fisher]

I've spent a lot of time both working and playing in the remote woods where all those purple dots are concentrated. It actually can be more than a little spooky in those hills and hollows (it is also beautiful enough to make it worthwhile, thank goodness)... but that's because there is an entirely  unhealthy amount of meth use and production, and it's in evidence constantly.  I have gotten yelled at by paranoid folks with confederate flags and had them harass me when I was quietly trying to camp on public land. When you are way out in the middle of nowhere and by yourself that is decidedly unenjoyable. Lots of things to think about in the Ozark woods. I don't know that mountain lions were ever on the mind.

If any animal out there freaks me out in a big way it's the feral hogs. 

[MOPanfisher]

Feral or what appear to be half feral humans freak me out way more than any 4 legged critters.

[fishinwrench]

Well if all of those cats came from where they said they did, then they had to pass right through my stomping grounds to get there. 

I'm guessing that they are piling up there like white bass below a dam because they don't wanna swim across the Mississippi.