Searching for MTN Lions
Found this interesting article.
http://www.dnronline.com/news_detail...D=14689&CHID=2
I hiked that ridge Pop told me not to that morning.
Each time out, I see that same ridge- only different.
Each one is an adventure in itself. Leading to what is beyond the next- HIKER7s
Another study getting underway up this way.
Study includes area of the AT south of Greenville.
Maybe they are on the brink of finally agreeing that they are in fact back in these areas,
I hiked that ridge Pop told me not to that morning.
Each time out, I see that same ridge- only different.
Each one is an adventure in itself. Leading to what is beyond the next- HIKER7s
A fantastic book on the return of MTN lions to the continents forests is called "The Beast in the Garden" by David Baron. The catalyst for the book is the cougar attack on a high school student in Boulder, Colorado a few years back... very well written. The research evidence described in the book suggested it would be a simple matter of time before the lions began appearing again in eastern forests as well. Mostly because their primary food source (deer) is so over populated.
They are incredible to see in the wild. I've only seen a MTN Lion once (in Colorado Springs), and it ran past my dog and I on a trail run... literally within 2 ft of us. It didn't seem scared or even interested, just was on it's way some where.
If a MTN lion ran within 2 ft. of me, I'd have to change my pants. I'm sure it would be cool after the fact.
Hehe, yeah at first I just was kind of moving my dog out of the way, just routine like we were moving to the side of the path to give a biker more room or something... then as I got a better look and saw the round head, small errect ears, and the long fat tail... I realized what was passing us and the implications of it being so near.Originally Posted by Mocs123
Going back the opposite direction (my first instinct) meant retracing our steps deeper into the woods, so I ended up going the same direction as the cat (who was probably long gone anyway) but I picked up two big rocks and banged them together every 10 seconds or so for the remaining two miles to the parking lot... definitly had an elevated heart rate ;-)
Extinct...In the mid-60's we saw one walking across the alfalfa field behind my uncle's farmhouse in the Catskills (Delaware county, NY).
I used to hunt on a huge old plantation down in Burke County, GA. This is about 45 minutes SSE of Augusta. For years people were constantly seeing what they all called a large long tailed black cat. I always thought they were either making it up, or seeing some cats someone had put out and were doing well living off the land. Well in 1991 I saw one for myself. This cat was stealthy, it walked across a dirt road I was standing on, getting ready to go into the woods myself. I was maybe 150 yards away from it. I would venture to say this cat was 24 to 30 inches tall at the shoulders, weighed probably 50 to 70 pounds, and was jet black. It also had a tail that seemed extremely long for it's body size. I'm guessing it was probably 5 1/2 to 6 feet long including it's tail. I guess it is one of them black panthers that are rumored to be in the Florida swamps. I dunno, but I was convinced from then on those other folks that had reported seeing them were right. One thing I do know, I'll never forget seeing that big cat.
John,
I too hunted in Burke county, Near Sardis, and, although I didn't personally see it, a friend saw a "Large feline, black, with a long tubular tail". this guy is an Aeronautical Engineer and I honestly believe him. there were other reports of a large cat seen crossing the highway in that area. I don't know what ever happened to it, though that year was very wet, and there is speculation that it was driven out of the sav River Swamp in search of food.
there is an excellant book entitled "Swamp Screamers" about the Florida Panther and efforts to preserve it.
dough Nut
I would love to see cougars introduced to the eastern woods. Maybe a cross between the Florida panther and the western cougar? The question is, can the wilderness support it? The Daks in NY maybe? Thin strips of range such as in the Shenandoah may not be wide enough. There are plenty of deer, but does the mountain lion need a wildlife corridor as long or wide as the grizzly? Most people would have a fit though.
Reintroduced? I was skeptical about them being here until I saw one.
I'd like to see a reintroduction as the gene pool of what is here must be very, very small.
I also believe they are back, haven't seen one yet. I don't want to see a reintroduction, it would be too controversial, just let them come back slowly and hopefully people will adapt instead of butting heads in mindless attacks of one another.
An effort to reintroduce in the east would be a big mistake, and cruel to the lions themselves. These are solitary hunters, not pack hunters, and as such they have no fear or compunction when it comes to hunting humans smaller than it is, and sometimes those even bigger if it can get surprise. Can you imagine further north along the trail corridor with suburban sprawl? The mother who lets her little girl go in the backyard to play, only to have the child nabbed by a hungry Mtn Lion. I've been followed by coyote before but knew that 1 or 2 of them wasn't likely to make a move...and they didn't, even a singular wolf would be unlikely, but a Mtn Lion??? If they are coming back, then let nature take it's course, but we don't need to put our hands in the pot as well.
Walking Dead Bear
Formerly the Hiker Known as Almost There
This is probably why the authorities won't admit to their pressence. Too many rules would then have to be made protecting them. After a while hikers wouldn't have a chance.
I am another one of those people who has seen the supposedly nonexistent mountain lion in the eastern woods. My sighting was on the Tuscarora trail in Virginia, near the West Virginia line, about seven years ago.
It crossed the trail in broad daylight about 20 feet in front of me.
2 were killed near the Pee Dee river in NC some years back, one was declawed and the other had a number tattooed in its ear. Pets turned loose after the owners tired of them.
I had one cross the road in front of my truck near Brown Mtn., if it was'nt a lion then I don't know what else it could have been.
In reference to the topic of crossing Florida Panthers and Western Mountain Lions: In the book "Swamp Screamers" Lions from out west were introduced and I believe the males were sterilized but not the females.. the issue was 'Do we preserve the Florida Panther or the Panther in Florida" If you cross it, it is no longer protected.
Food for thought
Dough Nut (Food for weight!!)) LOL I just made that up, I crack myself up...
Please describe it for us, I have a friend that saw a big black feline in Tenn. He told the local ranger who stated that there was no cat like that in this area. I believe him and have talked to others who have seen the same thing in that area.
In Oklahoma I walked onto a kill while tracking deer.
Was following tracks of a deer that I had shot at and missed the day before, I went out to track it to appease the other people I hunt with (its pretty obvious when a deers hit, and this one wasn't).
Anyways, about 300yds later I lose the trail and pick up the trail of another buck that was running, so I continue to follow this new bucks trail. I get back to the edge of the woods and I see clotted blood on the leaves (still wet). I walk in a little further and I can see a large depression in the leaves and more blood. I can also see where the deer had been drug through the leaves, so I start to follow that trail, curious to see what kind of deer had been killed. About 100 yds into the woods I see this little fork horn's carcass, well part of it at least. This sucker still had a little bit of wet muscle on it. I then got an eary feeling about this, especially since it was such a clean kill. I figure coyotes would have been sloppier and usually won't drag a kill that far, and it looked to clean for hogs (floor wasn't disturbed much around the kill except for the dragging trail). Just about that time I look up above me and I see parts of deer in the larger trees. I freaked and slowly backed out.
I told one of my friends in the wildlife dept about it and his response was, "Yeah, thats a cat kill. The farmer on the place next to you says he's been seeing one in that area for the last two years, welp...guess he was telling the truth"
Anyways, they're back, its just a matter of what does their range look like. One things for sure, they gotta lot of big rats to feed on...
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