Mountain Lion Spotted in NH! Photo Taken with Game Camera

[Bucherm]

...if there are that many "civilized" mountain lions out there then according to other posts, they are de-clawed so they would probably die of starvation.

Not all big cats that are kept as exotic pets/at roadide zoos are declawed.

I don't think that there are thousands of mountain lions released into the public...figures that large would be too easy to uncover but if just 1 male and 1 female of breeding ages meet in the woods, chances are that they will stay close until mating and offspring are born.....maybe not thousands but if 2 cats produce 2 more every 2 years, in their lifetime they may produce enough to occassionally be spotted in the woods by hikers...just say'in.

Yeah, which is kinda the point that's being made here: One-off sightings is not indicative of a large breeding population, escapees from roadside zoos or exotic pets more than cover the random sightings.

....do you believe everything the government releases statements about?

I tend to believe it if there isn't a vested interest on behalf of the government to otherwise confuse the issue. What interest would the Feds have for lying about a breeding population of Eastern Mountain Lions?

[Bezekid609]

i hope and pray that these creatures will once again thrive in the eastern mountains... rightfully so. These lands were there lands

[Pedaling Fool]

How did you come to the conclusion that it is significant? The Conn finding was this July but that Cat was proven to not even be born on the East coast. The info I read was before that. So the forest service still does not have one Wild northeastern born Panther sighting North of South Carolina since the 50s. And only one wild has ever even made it to the East Coast.

We don't know where that cougar was born. I'm not saying it was born on the east coast, but to say, "we know it was born in ..." DNA just can't tell us that. What if you take 100 (50M and 50 F) individuals, say from South America and release them in Maine and do DNA testing on the offspring, they will all have DNA of South American cougars. Also DNA changes over areas of great differences in environmental condition, as well as other factors, such as in Florida. However, when you get to northern U.S. whether it be the east or west the DNA evidence is not really there to even say there's such a thing as an Eastern Cougar, just read the first two paragraphs here http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/sc.../03cougar.html

Aside of that point... look around us. What large wild animals are out in the East that aren't kept there for hunting? They just aren't there anymore and it gets worse every year humans are on this planet.

The Black Bear is increasing in numbers, yes they are hunted, but in many cases it's to control their number, i.e. lessen them. And the deer are definitely overpopulated, we need another predator, because apparently we and the bears can't keep up.

Also, it's not just here in the Eastern U.S. with all these sightings http://www.ottawacitizen.com/cougar+...785/story.html But again, I'm not making a case for a sustainable breeding population, but it does appear they are returning to the east, and it would only make sense with the exploding deer populations.

Fossil records have shown that 75% of large animal species are extinct because of human interference (much because of Native American influence). But we should believe that for some reason, in one of the most populated regions of the world in the most populated time ever in the world, we expect a comeback of a 150 pound carnivorous cat? Thats very hard to believe.

Humans have caused 75% of all large animal species to go extinct? I know we've cause some extinctions, but that's just crazy.

[scissor]

Humans have caused 75% of all large animal species to go extinct? I know we've cause some extinctions, but that's just crazy.

Yes its been theorized that the number is 75% in North America. Its theorized to be 95% in Australia. Europe is much lower, only about a third is believed. This is thought to be because humans had much more interaction with animals over history in Europe and animals evolved better to survive. Australia was isolated from humans for so long they were basically completely decimated after human arrival, similar to the Americas.

But, remember we are talking over a very long time here. We are talking about animals that many of us have never heard of but there were a TON of them. Some evidence of how many... there is an estimated 150 million Mammooths buried in Siberian tundra. Thats just one speices. The world was a very different place before human arrival.

[MattC]

I'm no expert on wildlife, but I believe there are strange things out in the woods. 2 years ago, we me and friends were in harriman state park, doing some winter stealth camping. We decided to walk to a near by lake at night since it was a full moon, and we really had nothing better to do. As we got close to the lake we started to hear some crazy sounds, like nothing i've ever heard before. Then my buddy notices something walking across the frozen lake. It was BIG, lanky, and had a long tail. We got real low and watched this thing walk across the lake, and run off into the woods. We still have no idea what it was, we ruled out bear, deer, coyote, because of the size and body structure. It honestly looked like a malnurished panther or something.

so um, in conclusion.....eh.....hike your own hike?

[goody5534]

Sassy why u posting pics of my Momma, it aint right...

[Bucherm]

I really, really, do not believe that humans have caused "75% of all large animal species to go extinct". Not unless you actually mean "75% of all large animal species since humans evolved", which is a different situation.

[Creepwood]

I'm not sure what would be scarier to see close and personal in the woods, a bear or a cougar.

[Kerosene]

I've seen both. A 200-pound yearling bear from 15 yards (Double Springs Shelter, Oct '11), another from 30 yards in the middle of the night (SNP, Sep '86), a huge 400-pounder watching me when I passed him on an uphill corner from 20 yards (Oct '08), and a medium cougar at about 40 yards (Oct '01). Upon first seeing the bears my heartrate skyrocketed but settled down soon after the encounter. With the cougar I wasn't sure what it was at first until I clapped my hands to scare it away, but my heartrate stayed elevated for the next 2 miles as I had my head on a swivel to make sure it wasn't stalking me!
.
Of course, I've never seen a live rattlesnake in 2000 miles of hiking. That would probably be scarier.

[Bucherm]

.
Of course, I've never seen a live rattlesnake in 2000 miles of hiking. That would probably be scarier.

My dog stopped me from stepping on a Rattlesnake on the Tuscarora Trail. I was on a rock and about to step off onto it when she started to whine. Dang snake was slithering on out from under a rock and when it noticed me it started to rattle.

[Leon Smith]

In early July of this year, at Caledonia PA, I met north bound hiker Baby Ruth. We talked about the trail ahead, water, etcetera. As the conversation turned she showed me her video sequence from Shenandoah National Park. At Lewis Mountain she photographed a cougar on the trail. The tawny brown catamount was moving and Baby Ruth quickly determined it's course. she had the wherewithal to take off her pack and make ready her camera. After a moderate walk the cat reappeared in profile, a mere thirty feet away.

Close and clear the image of the mountain lion is outstanding. The big cat appears in the brightness of June as healthy and formidable, but unconcerned or oblivious to the hiker-photographer. The lighting, view and close-up of the cougar in this video would make a wildlife photographer envious.

[Pedaling Fool]

In early July of this year, at Caledonia PA, I met north bound hiker Baby Ruth. We talked about the trail ahead, water, etcetera. As the conversation turned she showed me her video sequence from Shenandoah National Park. At Lewis Mountain she photographed a cougar on the trail. The tawny brown catamount was moving and Baby Ruth quickly determined it's course. she had the wherewithal to take off her pack and make ready her camera. After a moderate walk the cat reappeared in profile, a mere thirty feet away.

Close and clear the image of the mountain lion is outstanding. The big cat appears in the brightness of June as healthy and formidable, but unconcerned or oblivious to the hiker-photographer. The lighting, view and close-up of the cougar in this video would make a wildlife photographer envious.

I remember that thread, but still waiting....http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...highlight=baby

[trippclark]

Same photo is posted over at Field and Stream's photo contest site
http://www.fieldandstream.com/contes...nid=1001454046