Mountain Lions

Cool video

Beautiful from afar. Would never want to cross paths with one.

They have an enormous range through North, Central and South America.

R3, I didn't know they were non-existent in most of the eastern half of the U.S.

I keep hearing about people who say they have seen them in the eastern states. It sounds like people in the wildlife management business don't want to acknowlege that mountain lions have a much larger range in an effort to keep the lions safe.

[quote]How does DL not have a thread dedicated to these magnificent beasts?

Because we're not the fucking Marty Stouffer and this isn't fucking "Wild America," OP.

Not to mention the pussy involved.

R4, I had a friend who grew up in the back woods of Vermont, who insisted that she would hear their distinctive shrieks from time to time. I've read that the government would have to develop a species protection plan if it were formally acknowledged that mountain lions still live in the East (other than Florida). The same issue is at stake acknowledging that jaguars still live in the SW US.

Awww

Don’t we have more than enough pussies on this site already?

I LOVE Mountain Lions/Cougars/Pumas/Panthers.

There was a cougar spotted off and on throughout my childhood in New Mexico. I did a “report” on them when I was in third grade, then spent time studying them as I got older.

I really like the Columbus Zoo which is in the county I live in now, but there is one thing I liked more about the Minnesota Zoo... they had a Cougar. I always went to see if when I was there. I’ve heard the Columbus Zoo (which, if you aren’t familiar is an excellent zoo) is getting a group of cougars. I’ll be excited to see them.

Apex predators. We have at least one roaming Griffith Park and those Hollywood Hills.

They’ve been spotted within a couple of blocks of my home here in San Francisco.

I don't know about mountain lions, but my city has a lot of cougars!

How do those who hike into the Grand Canyon avoid them?

We’re not cougars we’re mountain lions

This suggests the similar panther was once throughout the Southeast but is now limited to South Florida. The more commi Bobcats can get pretty big., I suppose, and be mistaken for a panther or mountain lion?:

“In the southeastern U.S., panthers formerly ranged throughout Florida, as far west as Arkansas and as far north as South Carolina. Today only about 120-230 adult panthers exist, primarily in southwest Florida.”

Mountain lions. They’re neither mountains nor lions. Discuss.

R16, It's the same species throughout the Americas, divided into separate subspecies, and going by different common names. The Eastern cougar is supposedly extinct, although there have been recent sightings. Bobcats are smaller and more common. There was a recent finding of a dead bobcat near my home in SW Ohio. Their looks are pretty distinct: bobcats have short tails and tufted ears, while mountain lions have rounded ears and long tails, and are much larger. Bobcats have been reclaiming their former range, and I think mountain lions are doing the same, though not as successfully as bobcats.

The map at R1 shows no mountain lions on east coast except for a red dot in Florida. How did they get to Florida but are not in any other states?

The yellow range on the map indicates their former range, where they're now extinct (extirpated). Their range used to be continuous from the West coast to the East coast (including Florida). The Florida subspecies has a Species Protection Plan in place to protect them.

I’d be honored if one ate me

I witnessed a cougar attack once years ago, two of them teaming up, in fact. The poor twink server was utterly bewildered, but we could tell by the gleam in those ladies' eyes that they knew what they were doing.

There was a mountain lion hit by an SUV in Connecticut in 2011. DNA testing traced its origin back to South Dakota. They chalked it up as a male in search for a mate -- apparently the males will travel huge distances. The females won't travel like that, so apart from fluke males it's unlikely that populations of mountain lions will show up very far from current their territory.

Here in rural PA, a lot of people claim to have seen them. Farms often have pits where livestock carcasses end up; farmers have claimed to see them hanging out around those. The state's natural resource department's official position is: "There are no breeding populations of mountain lions in PA." Which does not preclude the possibility of lone males having ended up here.

So many species of big cats. Why are there no big dogs?

DL had a thread on this topic a while back, I believe.

"People vanishing in national parks."

R24, Domesticated them.

Roar roar I wonder if they have them at the zoo

Some years back, a couple in their 60s were hiking in a local state park when the husband was attacked by a mountain lion. The wife successfully fought off the lion with a ball-point pen by stabbing it in the eyes.

r7, you are absolutely correct

They're the largest cats that can purr!

lol

[quote] Don’t we have more than enough pussies on this site already

Yes, and they're known for their incessant hissing. Don't feed or pet them!

[quote]So many species of big cats. Why are there no big dogs?

Dire wolves were pretty damn big. They didn't live that long ago in geological time.

Maybe because dogs hunt in packs and cats tend to hunt alone?

Remember that O'Possum in the bathroom? No longer a problem.

Please call me by my correct name

This asshole

Mountain lions only make new when they maul Colorado housewives on their decks.

Kill them all. They pose a threat to the cute twinks who jog across the greater LA area.

R38, and those are just the oversexed, botoxed older women in the city. What about pumas?

I grew up in Vermont and saw one in the late 1980s when I was in my early 20s and home from college for the summer. They've been declared extinct in Vermont, but there are still mountain lion sightings in Vermont every year. One summer evening, I was in a large field out behind our place walking with our pet domestic cat. Our cat would always follow me if I went on a nightly walk. I always brought a flashlight with me because you never knew what you might see--deer, moose, etc. I heard a noise and turned the flashlight in its direction and then I was frozen with shock. A mountain lion was just about 30-40 yards away. It was spooked by the flashlight. At first it was transfixed, then it turned and moved off toward the forest. I remember picking up my cat and hightailing it (pun intended) back to our home.

It looked like a juvenile. It wasn't huge, but it was still pretty big. I'll never forget its long tail as it turned and just melted into the high grass in the field. All the way back home (which was not at all far) I kept worrying it was going to pounce. The whole experience was so surreal.

A couple people tried to convince me it was either a bobcat or Canadian lynx. It was neither. It looked just like a mountain lion. It stood frozen for a bit so I got a really good look at it. It was that tan color with no spots and the ears were more rounded.

I've seen a few. Most of the time they just mind their own business. They tend to only get aggressive if they are protecting cubs.

A friend who lived up the mountains had one who took up residence in his yard for a couple of weeks. The cat would lounge under a tree in his yard during the day and he assumed she liked the area because deer were plentiful and came through daily. He would put out leftovers for her from time to time but she mostly steered clear of them. She eventually moved on but never caused any issues.

If you give them a ball of yarn, will they play with it?

Meet "Messi".

Beautiful but terrifying

Then you have well-intentioned but dumb folks like this Russian guy who rescued one from a roadside zoo and keeps it in his house for YouTube clicks.

R45 is LITERALLY BORIS

Can you spot the cougar?

I had to magnify the image before I could find it.

I've seen a few in my 45 years in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. All in a suburban environment.

As others have said, they aren't really that aggressive, but I've never been stupid enough to approach one.

Get out the phone and take pictures while slowly walking away (backwards).

This guy in Utah is out for a walk when he spots what he assumes are Bobcats. Nope - they’re cougar cubs! And then mom is instantly nearly upon him. Scary!

I had what might have been a close encounter with a mountain lion in Point Reyes, California. I was hiking and came up to a crowd of hikers gaping at something, and they said "There's a mountain lion RIGHT THERE!!!" I looked and didn't see anything, and then someone pointed up onto the ridge of a nearly hill and shrieked "THERE IT IS!!!".

She was, of course, pointing at a coyote. Well, maybe there was a mountain lion.

R19 They arrived in Florida using "caravans" like illegal immigrants.

There are occasional sightings in the Midwest and the Northeast. There certainly are plenty of bobcats. I was camping in WV a number of years ago and heard coy-wolf and bobcat. Oddly, no wild canines or cats were evident when I camped in the classic Southwestern parks.

Mountain lions ain't scared of no one -- even grizzlies! They are actually much better efficient hunters/killers than bears (who are more opportunistic).

I always heard that you don't see them unless they want you to see them.

[quote]She was, of course, pointing at a coyote.

She was probably pointing at a German Shepherd. They look exactly like mountain lions, apparently.

[quote]"I went outside to go look for my cat who had gotten out earlier and when I went outside I opened the door... I thought it was a German Shepherd at first, I was like 'oh, somebody's dog,'"

[quote] There are occasional sightings in the Midwest and the Northeast.

Yeah, I would think mountain lions would like the northern forests and woodlands of these states. It's odd that they don't have more of a presence there.

They are reclaiming their territory. Here is an oldie but goodie: shot by Chicago police.

But I once saw two cougars at the Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky and that was twenty years ago. The reinvasion of the east by mountain lions has been going on for decades because of the emptying of rural America and the turn to factory farms has opened up the way

Just following the coyotes

Coyote with rabies attacks car in Charlotte, NC. Mountain Lions can't be far behind

Do you even lift bro?

Record number of mountain lion kittens born in LA area this past summer

Man kills mountain lion

Southeast panther habitat. Large cat, different name.

I live in Northern Ca. in the Redwoods. I have a trap cam about 100 yds behind our house where two streams meet. We are visited by mountain lions, California black bear, and a large family of deer. Plus the usual suspects. Racoon, Opossum, Fox, rodents, etc.

When I was a kid my family had a cabin in the Santa Cruz mountains and they would leave tracks and other evidence that they roamed near the house at night. My grandparents were very careful with their pets lest they disappear at night.

We were staying once at Asilomar near Carmel, a forested retreat area on the beach, and there was a cougar kill one night we were there. The half eaten corpse of a deer was found next to a walking trail not far from the dining hall. They warned all the guests not to walk about alone after dark and stuff. We happened to pass by the corpse, it was chilling.

Cougars are all around where I live in Northern CA. I was on a hiking trail with a friend when up ahead we saw the hind end of a creature disappear into the bushes that looked like the back half of a mountain lion, but we couldn't be sure. We had to pass that way to exit the trail and did so after waiting a bit and being extra cautions.

My brother's dog was bitten by a cougar when he was hiking with the dog and a friend. The dog ran off trail, they heard a tussle and loud yelps when the dog reemerged with a large bite on his hip. The vet confirmed it was a cougar bite.

I have a healthy respect for them and will not hike alone. Although cougar killings of humans are rare, it would be a horrible way to die.

[quote]Why are there no big dogs?

Hi!

Trails at the Grand Canyon are generally crowded with people, and mountain lions are shy and reclusive. Even in national parks, sightings of mountain lions are rare.

Several times over over the years I visited a friend's place on Lake Squam in New Hampshire. Almost every cottager I met had stories of mountain lion sightings. I never saw one but in that part of the continent also had lynx and bobcats.

Lots of wild turkeys in the woods near the Canadian border but if the cougars moved in they'd be fighting with coyotes.

My other "encounter" with a mountain lion was about the same as at R50. Hiking, came to a group of people on the trial pointing at something they SWORE was a mountain lion.

It took me about 20 minutes to convince them that the large cat sitting in the middle of a grassy field was a bobcat and not a mountain lion, with nothing near the cat to provide scale and the grass just high enough to cover the tail, and with no internet access to look up pictures of either species, it took a while. Finally, the black-and-white markings on the ears convinced them.

So cute!

South African DL’ers, do you live in an area where African lions, cheetah or leopard prowl? Or do they mostly stay within the boundaries of a park or game reserve?

[quote]They arrived in Florida using "caravans" like illegal immigrants.

It helps to have some bait prepared.

So majestic, so brave!

I think wildlife have been taking advantage of quieter streets during Covid and have been coming into the cities more.

We've had it with wild goats.

Edmonton police kill cougar

Beautiful animal.

[quote]This is Philson. He is a scat sniffing dog with Rogue Detection Teams. He and his human, Jennifer, have been working with the Ca. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife looking for mountain lion scat.#roguedetectionteams. - Cuyamaca Rancho SP

Anyone here living on Vancouver Island? I've read that there are many of them there.

Mountain lions are hardcore.

Everytime I hike the mountain preserve in my neighborhood I get scared about the presence of mountain lions. Hikers get killed by those bad boys and I cant imagine it's an easy death. I also feel bad for the animals because they are in their own habitat and if they happen to kill a human they are hunted down and killed because they're a danger to humanity. Sucks either way

I wonder how many are killed a year?

Omaha police take their turn. These guys look more likely to kill each other than the lion.

The famous mountain lion of Griffith Park, P-22, is still roaming around.

[quote]I didn't know they were non-existent in most of the eastern half of the U.S.

They’re not. R3’s map labels the yellow areas “extinct or severely depleted populations.” No where does it say they’re “non-existent.”

R5’s level of paranoia is amusing.

R82 Jesus! How many bullets did they need?

R82 Jesus! How many bullets did they need?