Saw a mountain lion today on the AT

[WingedMonkey]

You're a lot more likely to be bit by a snake than attacked by a mountain lion.

I swear I'm gonna send you them damn rattlesnake eggs. But not till I take out some life insurance on ya.

[bronconite]

Well, how about that? Ya' learn something new everyday...Any scientific evidence of how they got here (southeastern U.S.?) Call it what you want, either way--he/she was a BIG Black kitty!! A memorable experience for me!

Jaguars are native to the Western U.S.. There just moving back in. If you google "Jaguars in the Southeast" you'll find lots of reading. Here is an example. http://www.southwestwildlife.org/PDF...r/Spring06.pdf

[bronconite]

Jaguars are native to the Western U.S.. There just moving back in. If you google "Jaguars in the Southeast" you'll find lots of reading. Here is an example. http://www.southwestwildlife.org/PDF...r/Spring06.pdf

Wow, I should really spend some money and get editing privleges. Should be "They're just moving back in" and google "Jaguars in the Southwest"

[jang]

I was hiking the AT this year and I met another hiker who claimed he saw a mtn lion in Virginia. Other hikers poopooed him and said they do not exist in that area.

[Nutbrown]

If a mtn lion went from the Dakotas to Conn, why is it so difficult to believe that they have made it to Va? Do they have to be hit by a car to be called a mtn lion??? I wonder how many of the doubters are religious...

[doritotex]

Why on earth would most people carry their camera in their pack? Really, do "most people" have their camera in their pack? I carry mine in my shorts pocket! And that's not quick enough when I see wildlife! I was reading about mountain lions just the other day, and the article said that they are out there more than people know because they are nocturnal and rarely seen in the day. You got really lucky!

[vamelungeon]

In my case, I use my Blackberry camera and it was in my pocket but turned off to save the battery. I may start carrying a separate camera but of course digital cameras have to be turned on too. Maybe one of those little film cameras where you send in the entire camera would be better.

[Sierra Echo]

You're a lot more likely to be bit by a snake than attacked by a mountain lion.

Did I mention that I almost stepped on a copperhead today? MUH hahhahahahhahahaha!

[dilligas]

http://www.loudountimes.com/index.ph...ntain_lion123/

Round Hill Va is about 3 miles east of the AT on Rt 7, between Bears Den hostel and Blackburn Trail Center.

[Captain Blue]

From the article:

I scrambled to take a photo ... and was able to take a picture of it, but it did not come out too well.... I was looking at one for about 20 minutes this morning and that this was no domestic cat,”

A twenty minute encounter with a mountain lion and one blurry photo? Sounds like a UFO sighting to me.

[Daydream Believer]

Fantastic! I was just up trail riding our horses at Grayson Highlands last weekend. My mare kept "telling" me that there might be "lions" behind every big rock and she might have been right! Just joking a bit but horses are wary by nature. That is really cool!

[Pedaling Fool]

From the article:

A twenty minute encounter with a mountain lion and one blurry photo? Sounds like a UFO sighting to me.

It does raise some questions. Inevitably there are both misidentified sightings out there and complete hoaxes; I have no opinion on that article, just questions. However, I do have my own story of "not getting an incredible pic".

I had a great blue heron come into my yard eating lizards off the fence and bushes. I love taking pics and take many in my yard of birds, including some of turkey vultures that I feed. So when I think back to that time I can't figure out why the hell I didn't go get the camera; I had plenty of time and would of been an outstanding shot of a majestic bird eating lizards.

What was I thinking

[Northern Lights]

I was hiking the AT this year and I met another hiker who claimed he saw a mtn lion in Virginia. Other hikers poopooed him and said they do not exist in that area.

They aren't suppose to exist in the NWT but last year someone found one up here. They will migrate if they need to, like any animal.

[Kerosene]

You're a lot more likely to be bit by a snake than attacked by a mountain lion.

I've beaten the odds...in 2000+ miles of hiking I've seen one mountain lion and no poisonous snakes (at least no live poisonous snakes). The only thing that's "attacked" me was a perturbed grouse hen.

[WILLIAM HAYES]

pretty cool it must have been quite an experience

[ATBuddy]

Its still listed on the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries mammal species list.

[Pedaling Fool]

Its still listed on the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries mammal species list.

I guess the states can do what they want on this issue; I can't imagine the USFW really caring, but as far as they're concerned the Eastern Cougar, if there was ever such an animal, is extinct. (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/sc.../03cougar.html)


But the feds have washed their hands of this issue and the states will get no support on this. http://www.fws.gov/northeast/ecougar...easefinal.html

[Sassafras Lass]

Once I went into an abandoned mountain cabin where the ceiling and walls had fallen in, and in the middle of it was an intact and lived-in room with a ticking clock. I didn't stay around.

Brrrr!! I would have kept my knife out and ran swiftly while watching my back. I have absolutely nothing against mountain folks - heck, I want a cabin in the woods myself - but that is beyond creepy!

[birchy]

I read in the BIRCH RUN SHELTER register on 0/4/11 that someone claims to have seen a Mt. Lion on Shippensburg Rd in southern, PA. The hiker claims it was so close that they were sure it was a Mt. Lion. I know of many large feral cats in the area, but I guess you never know....

[birchy]

I read in the BIRCH RUN SHELTER register on 9/4/11 that someone claims to have seen a Mt. Lion on Shippensburg Rd in southern, PA. The hiker claims it was so close that they were sure it was a Mt. Lion. I know of many large feral cats in the area, but I guess you never know....