Tedd Thompson

About once a year a mountain lion shows up for a day or two, mostly at night and raises hell with the dogs and cats in the area. Well he or she thinks the picking are good around here this year and has stayed around for about three weeks now. I've only actually seen it once and that was about 12:00 at night on the road in front of my house with the car headlights. It's getting to be a bitch keeping the dogs locked in all night but when I let them out before I go to bed the lion can be heard snarling not more than a hundred yards away. Contrary to popular belief a single dog has little chance against a mature lion, Lions kill for a living and have the technique down to a science.We have two neighbors who have had large dogs mauled or missing from the lions in the past and my dogs are like my kids, we are very protective.

The Fish and Game have their hands tied with the laws now days (another California negative) and can't do much as in a proactive way. It's OK to shoot a lion if it is attacking your animals but to shoot one before it is harming anything is a strict NO NO. Though I feel they would probably look the other way if no one made a big deal out of it..... Not naked and afraid.... Tedd

lshlsh2

Do not have that problem here in MD. Mountain Lions are definitely at the top of the food chain. Not much you can do but maybe take a shotgun out when you walk your dogs. Remember to look up as they are ambush predators.

pogo69

If the LIONS can go 8-8 I will be amazed

m371961

They are going to be more and more of a problem with the laws in Cali. Saw a show about the ones living within city limits in L.A. Keep the feral cat problem down though. There are reasons certain predators were pushed away from people.

tru-blue 442

Sounds like a nice fireplace rug in the making, take it out Tedd.

lshlsh2

Saw an article that wants to reintroduce the mountain lion into northern New Jersey and New York to help solve the deer problem. Also dog problem, cat problem, jogger problem, bicyclist problem, small kid problem......

Fun71

Luckily we don't have any predators that large here. Coyotes roam at night munching up the free range kitties and there's a bobcat or two, but nothing as large a a mountain lion to worry about. Get some bear spray for when you can't carry the shotgun as suggested above.

Tedd Thompson

There is never a shortage of ordnance around my place.... Just saying.... Tedd

Koda

Shoot it, cape it down to the skull, cut the head off, ball that up and freeze it.

Ditch all the rest some place.

Let it sit for a while, then make some discreet inquiries about taxidermy out of state, then ship it out in dry ice, then comes back a nice rug.

Nothing says I won better than propping your feet up on the skull of the enemy by the fireside.

Tedd Thompson

All kinds of dead stuff on the walls already, I'd be happy if it just disappeared and wasn't heard of again.... Just saying.... Tedd.

MDchanic

Not much comparison, but we've got a similar problem with what's called a fisher cat around here.

The bulldozers have been working all summer clearing forest about half a mile away for a new hundred-something unit development (in our 2,600 person town), and disrupted the crap out of the habitat, so everything's wandering around looking for food.

A fisher cat is a member of the weasel family, weighing about 20 pounds, which puts it right between a weasel and a wolverine. They're nasty critters and will kill things up to ten times their own weight. They are lightning fast on the ground, but also climb and live in trees. In fact, if they kill more than they can eat, they'll bury their prey or hang it in a tree for another day. They're also the only predator that can kill and eat a porcupine. They roam through a 20-40 square mile area, passing by each point about once every two weeks, and kill everything that moves in an area before moving on. A few weeks ago, we realized that the cats my wife was feeding were no longer eating their food. Also, we didn't see any squirrels, and there were no birds singing.
So now, same thing: The cat and the dog have to stay in when it gets dark, and we're always watching for that little bastid. Living in town, shooting them is out of the question (not safe, and also illegal to shoot in town, probably because it's not safe).

PIA.

- Eric

m371961

Eventually the lions will spread, like all wildlife. For years the authorities said they were not in Tenn. , despite what the locals said. Then they had pics on official cameras. Same thing on jaguars in the southwest.
I believe there are some lions here, and certainly in south WV.
Importing lions for deer control, wolves are next. What will control them? They are talking import of Elk here. The deer are too much of a problem. WV is highest in road kill deer. I do not want to hit an elk.
MD-Trap them and take them where you can shoot them.
Wild animals have a place, where it is wild.

MDchanic

Apparently they are very hard to trap because they're so sneaky and fast-moving.

And, as with the mountain lions, the local authorities can do nothing because they are protected.

- Eric

pogo69

Take a look at the teeth them, they are no joke

MDchanic

Yep, they can get to bitin' pretty good, but they do most of their work with their claws:










- Eric

Koda

Invest in a suppressor.

MDchanic

Which are completely legal in Maine.

But that presumes actually being able to find the ****...

- Eric

2blu442

I've worked in Forestry since 1978 and have seen a number of critters in Oregon and Washington state. Although when it comes to big predators I'd rather see them through the windshield of my truck! We used to allow hunting cougar and bear with dogs in Oregon. Since that's been outlawed as people thought it inhumane the populations have grown significantly. Sadly it will probably take a few children being eaten before that law will change. I do know a guy who has a license to kill problem cougars and he's honed his skills to the point I believe he's killed over 30 in the last decade or so. Typically these are cats that have taken too much livestock and he gets permission from fish and wildlife. But he's the exception, its very hard to hunt cougars without dogs.

Oregon now has wolves again and I saw one of those in the woods last month. Man that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I fear some nut case will also want to re-introduce grizzly bears in the future. I believe they used to be in all 50 states. But if I have to choose between the life of a human or a bear we'll be getting a new rug!

Eric, the fishers here in Oregon are being monitored closely and we're looking at what we can do to protect their habitat. I'd never want to make one feel cornered, but they're pretty shy animals and the only one I've ever seen was road kill. But yes, there are people who seem to think these animals are more important than humans. In early 2009 we got a new wilderness area. Then one of the proponents of it was quoted in the news as saying "if we could just put a fence around it and keep the humans out". He clearly has a world view that I can't relate to.

John

tecar442

Use
the 3S System... Shoot, shovel, and shutup.

Tedd Thompson

The Fish and Game transplanted a few martins a critter much like a fisher but a little bigger with the same attitude as the weasel but so far I have only heard rumors of them being sighted.

We also have a bear problem, there again the Fish and Game would trap and tag the problem bears and release them in the Sierras not far from my house. The damn bears would almost beat the truck home. Though destructive I would take the bears any day over the lions..... Tedd

MDchanic

Darned bear stole a new shrub in a 5gal bucket from my father's place and left it in the woods.

Couldn't figure out what had happened until he saw the claw marks in the plastic.

They're a PIA.

- Eric

Koda

I'm not above blasting a bear in the *** with a rock salt shotshell (then chambering slugs if he decides he wants more).

MDchanic

I've tried to frighten one of with multiple rounds from .44 mag, in his general direction, and it didn't seem to faze him. I think it was walking toward him waving my arms and yelling that did it, and even then he just turned and slowly walked away.

Annoying animals.

- Eric