More big cat fun

[Iain]

I know Art at least is likely to remember the discussion on big cats on the British Isles that occurred on THR quite a long time ago. I've not really been following the news since, but a story caught my attention on the BBC news website today, and it further linked to several other very recent ones.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4833450.stm

The others are:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/4813822.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4811820.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/4784130.stm

Drunks, domestic kitties, or elaborate hoaxes, it's still an appealing idea.

[Art Eatman]

I guess what jangles my nerves on these "big cat" arguments is the Cleopatra syndrome:  De Queen Of Denial.  "They weren't here 10,000 years ago, so they CAN'T be here now." or some such BS.

In parts of the US, the word of "merely citizens" doesn't have the weight of an Official Person.  Doesn't matter if the citizen is a long-time hunter and outdoorsman, and the OP is some Barney Fife.

My wife has had three sightings in this local area in south Georgia.  High-melanin, dark-skinned lions.  She was talking about it one day in a downtown restaurant, and a local know-it-all started poo-pooing her knowledge.  She smiled in that ever-so-sweetly fashion that only a southern lady can and gently offered, "Except for the color, it looks just like the cougar skin that's draped over the couch at home."

Life is good...

Art

[crt360]

It's hard enough to convince people we have them here in central Texas.  Whenever someone claims to see one around here, they get treated like Art's wife.  You'd have better luck saying you saw a UFO.

I know better.  While I have never actually seen a mountain lion in the wild, I have seen plenty of tracks on our land.  There is one path in particular where they show up around the same time every year.  Some people I've mentioned it to were like, "yeah, whatever."  Others, without seeing the tracks, are sure it was just a big dog or bobcat.  Many just can't seem to grasp the idea of a mountain lion not living on a mountain.  I don't think people would believe me if I killed it and drove into town with it tied across the hood.

[grampster]

Just yesterday there was an article about a guy SW of Grand Rapids that has spotted brer Catamount in his back 40.  He has pics of tracks in the snow and mud.  His description fits to a T.  
I agree, the DNR always takes the NO postion in matters such as this.  We have several Bald Eagles living nearby.  One pair fishes my lake at about 3-4 PM almost daily when the ducks are migrating and often in the summer.  A few years ago swmbo and I were in our boat on Croton Pond nearby and saw an eagle circling.  This was my first experience with one in Michigan, especially in W. Michigan at that time.  Three Connies in a nearby boat were doing a fish survey, so we motored over and asked if the large bird we had seen circling was an eagle.  They got defensive and wanted to know why I wanted to know.  Yeesh.
A lot of those folks seem to think the resources belong to them and not all of us.

[Stand_watie]

Just yesterday there was an article about a guy SW of Grand Rapids that has spotted brer Catamount in his back 40.  He has pics of tracks in the snow and mud.  His description fits to a T.  
I agree, the DNR always takes the NO postion in matters such as this...

We've got a  breeding catamount population in my neck of east Texas too, and it's the same position from the local TPWD officers. In Michigan it's surmisable that they're moving down from the great white north like the black bears. Just a couple years ago I saw an ap news photo of the first wolverine confirmed sighting in Michigan in 200 years ( it was in the thumb).

[grampster]

They now have pics of the wolverine as well as tracks the DNR is still poo pooing it.
I live in southern Newaygo county and we have a fairly decent supply of black bears.
One walked through a neighbors yard on the other side of our lake.  I've seen one run across the road a few miles to the east.  In Plainfield township which is a suburb of Grand Rapids there is a thriving population of blackies living with shouting distance of downtow GR.  A couple of the big cats have also been seen around the thumb area of Michigan.

[Guest]

Don't know how true it is but a patient (in ER) claimed to have cougar which DNR took away and fined him for. He says he went to court and the court found that since there are no cougar's in WV (DNR's claim) that DNR has no jurisdiction. Case dismissed: cougar back to owner, no fine. Also said 4 cougars and a"Black Panther" have visited his mountain homestead, and his pet.

Love a happy ending!

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

I've seen enough evidence- tracks, etc. around Deep East Texas to know they're here. I know roughly where Stand lives, and I wholeheartedly appreciate his evidence. Seen bear tracks near Gladewater. I hit a bobcat on Interstate 20 outside Tyler, TX in the daylight around Thanksgiving a couple of years ago with the wife, kid, and wife's mom in the truck.  Didn't kill it, but knocked it silly with the front left corner of the bumper; it tumbled in the road with following traffic dodging it. I pulled over and backed up to see, but as I got out of the truck and approached it jumped up and ran off into the trees along the shoulder of the highway.  I've seen plenty of bobcats up close and really too personal for comfort, but this one was an easy 40 pounds. It was as big as SWMBO's Australian Shepherd. No reason why we shouldn't have big critters still living here aside from the encroachment into the sticks of city folks.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[Fjolnirsson]

Yep. The authorities here insist we have no wolves in Oregon. Folks in the Eastern part of the state have been reporting them a few years now, but now there's been sightings in my area of the state. I saw one myself, last year. Somehow, people have a hard time figuring out that animals don't pay attention to state lines.

Now, if those cats in England would just start breeding, it might help sway them on the gun thing. Wishful thinking, I know. Still, some big beasties over there couldn't hurt. Might even improve the stock. Natural selection, ya know?
I'm goin' to hell for that one.....

[Stand_watie]

Speaking of critters, I was late for work the night before last. I got stuck behind two (stupid) yearling fawns in the road. They hadn't yet figured out that they were capable of jumping bob wire fences. I spent ten minutes creeping along at 2 mph, swerving back and forth, honking and sticking my head out the window hollering at them trying to get them to go to one side of the road or the other while they scampered nervously along ahead of me. Their moms trotted along following the car in the pasture on the other side of the fence.

[Iain]

Been doing some reading here and there again. Forums for this sort of thing are fun places to read. One guy said that he remembered adverts in 'Exchange and Mart' type magazines for puma/cougar/mtn lion cubs back in the 60's and 70's going for around £300-400 in today's money. Pedigree dog will cost you that much.

Anyone heard recent rumours of jaguars around Texas/Arizona way?

[Art Eatman]

There was a report of a jaguar sighting in southern Arizona some years back.  3?  5?  Disremember.  I guess it would be possible for one to wander north out of the Sierra Madre Oriental...

What people don't seem to realize is that as farming activity declines in an area, there is an increase in wildlife.  I saw this in my local area outside of Austin.  During WW II, the area was farmed for cotton and corn.  The transition into ranching changed things.  By the time I moved back to the old family place in 1968, it was overloaded with deer, and there were wild turkey.  Hardly even saw deer tracks, when I was a kid, and no turkey.

Cougars will move in to any area where they can find a natural smorgasbord.

Art

[Stetson]

I know there is is/was a cougar near Timpson, Texas in 1986.  I saw it, my grandfather saw it, even my dad saw it and he was fishing and not really watching the area.  We didnt believe it at first, both did a double take.  But it was there plain as day, just inside the tree line near the catfish pond on my grandfathers farm.

c):{

[Stand_watie]

..Anyone heard recent rumours of jaguars around Texas/Arizona way?

I've seen habitat maps for Jaguars that showed parts of the Rio grande valley and southern Arizona as being the northern tip of it's range, so those seem believable rumors to me.

..There was a report of a jaguar sighting in southern Arizona some years back.  3?  5?  Disremember.  I guess it would be possible for one to wander north out of the Sierra Madre Oriental...

A quick Jaguar googling pulled up

http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Panthera_onca/more_info.html

In recent years they have been seen and photographed in southern Arizona (6)

So I guess the Arizona portion of the report anyway is confirmed.

Another link

http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?menuselect=none&sourceTemplate=tabular_report.wmt&loadTemplate=species_RptComprehensive.wmt&selectedReport=RptComprehensive.wmt&summaryView=tabular_report.wmt&elKey=103664&paging=home&save=true&startIndex=1&nextStartIndex=1&reset=false&offPageSelectedElKey=115355&offPageSelectedElType=species&offPageYesNo=true&post_processes=&radiobutton=radiobutton&selectedIndexes=115355&selectedIndexes=102409&selectedIndexes=103664&menuselectfooter=none