Cougars ( mountain lions)

[Spock]

I used to have a little panther who visited my front porch when I lived in the East Texas woods. He would have armadillos on the half shell and leave the remains under leaves in my flower beds. Like lots of animals in deep woods, he was a darker brown with dusky grey back - unlike the tawny color you usually see. Coyotes in New England are darker than Texas coyotes, as are the deer. Perhaps that's what people are calling "black panthers."

[Jack Tarlin]

Good thread.

Interesting article here:

http://www.patc.net/resources/florafauna/cougar.html

I have friends who live in rural Vermont who are absolutely convinced that the Eastern cougar is back (and by this I do NOT mean pets released into the wild) tho local fish and game people seem reluctant to agree with them.

[Spock]

Jack and other skeptics,
There are always lots of animal sitings before the 'authorities' acknowledge the presense of an animal in an area. I've see that with wild hogs, cougars, black bear and other critters. I have often thought they knew better but didn't want the local yahoos out trying to kill whatever it was.

As to panthers/cougars/pumas, I have spent untold hours/days trying to get a look at one cat whose sign I have found repeatedly and know for absolutely rock solid sure is in a particular area. Panthers are sly, slick and shy. The only way you get to see one is if he makes a mistake or is very young. It's the young males in new territory who account for the attacks on humans. Like all young males of whatever species, they're dumb and impulsive.

[Jack Tarlin]

Spock:

Please re-read my last post. Nowhere in it do I say that I myself am skeptical of this; WHAT I SAID was that I have friends that are convinced that the cougar is back in Vermont, tho state officials are reluctant to acknowledge or admit this.

Personally, I agree with my friends, many of whom have lived in Vermont for decades, are very steady people, and have no reason to exaggerate or embellish their stories and first-hand experience with that they firmly believe is the Eastern Cougar.

[trailale]

Maybe the black panthers people claim to see are black due to genetics. I've seen black squirrels which if I'm not mistaken are the offspring of an albino with a regular gray. Or maybe it was two albinos. More likely, those making the claim don't realize that black isn't the usual color of panthers or cougers. What somewhat intrigues me is that there is a campground in the Everglades called "panther campground" and the old sign had a depiction of a black panther.

[Spock]

Jack,
I was agreeing with you, not commenting on your skepticism, just on that of the authorities. I get what you mean. I really think the authorities like to keep it quiet. I know too many good wildlife folks among their ranks to believe they can't figure out when a cat or some other rare critter is in the area. This is a big deal in Texas. Spot a cat and every inbred Saxon mother's son will be out in the woods with a shotgun or worse trying to kill it. Better to keep it quiet. There's probably a memo somewhere.

[Ramble~On]

I used to live in California....and I've been everywhere Man....opps (Couldn't resist some Johnny Cash) California has a healthy population of Cougar...
Florida...has them but I do not know anything about the numbers in Florida..
In all my time in NC...I have seen one....I had been a skeptic...but I am no longer....I saw that one on the road...not while in the woods.
Where there is one.....I hope their are many, many more.

[HIKER7s]

I HAVE SEEN 12-Twelve of them together in Pa.

They were all on the same shelf in a stuffed animal store in of all places Lancaster.

HOWEVER

I do believe they are also back in Pa. for real (havent seen any o those though)

[MOWGLI]

Funny thing. Someone recently said they saw a Mountain Lion near where I live. Photos were taken (by the police) and it proved to be a Bobcat. STILL, even there photos indicate otherwise and TWRA (TEnn Wildlife Resources Agency) confirms it's a bobcat - some folks insist its a Mountain Lion. This is not an isolated occurrence.

That's not to say that they don't exist in the east. Their population is much greater in people's minds however.

See attached.

[Gray Blazer]

Maybe the black panthers people claim to see are black due to genetics. I've seen black squirrels which if I'm not mistaken are the offspring of an albino with a regular gray. Or maybe it was two albinos. More likely, those making the claim don't realize that black isn't the usual color of panthers or cougers. What somewhat intrigues me is that there is a campground in the Everglades called "panther campground" and the old sign had a depiction of a black panther.

You reminded me, Newberry High School is very close to Wacahoota where I and many locals have seen the black panther and their mascot is the panther and they have it painted black. Several years ago I was questioning my young students about panther sitings and at least 3 had seen a black panther come up in their backyard while they were playing. Someone told me that this particular cat could be an escaped circus animal.

[hopefulhiker]

My uncle used to raise mountain lions in my grandmother's barn.. He later donated all of them to Grandfather Mountain..

[Pacific Tortuga]

My uncle used to raise mountain lions in my grandmother's barn.. He later donated all of them to Grandfather Mountain..

HMMMMMM, human raised, top of the food chain cats

released into the wild. Adults shouldn't worry but keep an eye on the kids

sure hope your joking.

[hopefulhiker]

No I am serious, This was true about forty to twenty years ago... I used to go up and vist his cats. He had them declawed and defanged...He fed them fresh chickens

[Ramble~On]

Funny thing. Someone recently said they saw a Mountain Lion near where I live. Photos were taken (by the police) and it proved to be a Bobcat. STILL, even there photos indicate otherwise and TWRA (TEnn Wildlife Resources Agency) confirms it's a bobcat - some folks insist its a Mountain Lion. This is not an isolated occurrence.

That's not to say that they don't exist in the east. Their population is much greater in people's minds however.

See attached.

Common mistake...and bobcat are pretty common...
The tail is a dead giveaway....Cougar have very obvious tails.

[atraildreamer]

My answer to the mountain cats...it's a Liger (Lion-tiger hybrid).
Should help to keep the shelter mice population down!

[PictureGirlTN]

Has anyone seen an Eastern Cougar in Tennessee (in the past couple of months)? Or has anyone heard any reports lately! I have read anything and everything on the web...but still no luck.

[Tractor]

PictureGirl. I haven't seen or heard anything in about 4 years. Brother-in-law saw a couple in AL a couple of years back. My last first hand was more than 11 years ago here.

[PictureGirlTN]

Thanks Tractor....This is my next mission! I am a photographer and have photographed anything and everything in the GSMNP. I have been all over the park in the past 6 months but still can't get any info from the park rangers. (they say "NO, cougars have been in the park sense the mid 70's") If you ask me I think they are hiding something !

[freefall]

Thanks Tractor....This is my next mission! I am a photographer and have photographed anything and everything in the GSMNP. I have been all over the park in the past 6 months but still can't get any info from the park rangers. (they say "NO, cougars have been in the park sense the mid 70's") If you ask me I think they are hiding something !

They have to look at it a couple of ways. On one hand, it's great that wildlife is making a comeback. On the other hand, a predatory animal might make some people stay home. I know they've made their way back to Shenandoah, seen it (deer attacked) first hand. The ranger I went out with never got back to me about the pics I took. Guess her supervisor had other things for her to do than chase down a good cougar sign sighting.

If they've made it back to Shenandoah, they have cetainly made it to the Smokeys. They probably never left. Just a drop in the numbers and now they are making a comeback.

[aficion]

Saw one at dawn in North Carolina in the"Pink Beds/Cradle of Forestry" area about one and a half miles East of the Davidson River. I was walking along a ridgetop trail and stopped at an outcroppping with a view below me. Their was some loud leaf rustling, I believe from deer which were thick in the area, and as I stood quietly looking, about thirty yards below me a huge tan colored cat came stretching and yawning out onto a ledge where he sat down by a tree looking down to see what was rustling through the leaves. This was in 1973 and I am absolutely certain that this was no bob-cat or wildcat. It was way too big, had shorter fur, and had a long tail. It was the most impressive thing I've ever seen in the woods and I have seen a lot. I got a good long look at it before it spotted me and disappeared literally in the blink of an eye. They are still here and will hopefully make a comeback.