Mountain Lion Trouble!!!

So this is a REALLY old thread but I couldn't help the reaction that led me to post a reply.

1. Why get a dog to "keep the lion at bay" until you can shoot at it when the dog would likely be hurt or killed? Why put a pet in such danger?

2. If the lion is eating your animals, why have animals in that area? If you can afford to buy guns and a house in a place where there are lions, then you can afford to buy food and don't need to raise your own livestock...

3. Don't you realize that the lion is eating your animals because that's an instinctual behavior? The lion doesn't have to be punished for doing what nature tells it to do. People who own livestock in areas where mountain lions live are the ones breaking the rules and who should RESPECT nature and an animal like that. It's like sitting in the middle of a highway and getting mad when cars hit you.

The lion's doing nothing wrong and killing it just seems violent, cruel, and inhumane. :yell: :( Makes me so sad and sick.

If I've misunderstood something let me know. Sorry for the rant over a very old post but the cruelty and suffering is no doubt continuing.

Again, such an old post but had to reply.

No shi*t they are dangerous- they are huge predatory cats that are untamed. That doens't mean they are bad and should be "taken care of." That won't solve the problem, which isn't a problem at all- it's their NATURE.

If you're worried about a lion carrying off your kids or yourself, DON'T LIVE NEAR THEM. Duh. If you don't like your house being swept away by a hurricane, don't live in Louisiana and just sit there and complain about the storms. :|

even after the lion has been killed, some dogs would be a good idea to protect them. There are alot of breeds of dogs out there that can tak on a mountain lion. especially if you had a couple of dogs instead of just 1.

click this link

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/caucasianowtcharka.htm


this is a good site with lots of dog info www.dogbreedinfo.com

DUH - realized this was 4 years old after I replied. lol

As for Pinkie's comments, I'd guess he/she's one of those who also doesn't believe in shooting a deer. Tell you what, lets ban deer hunting in the U.S. for 5 years and see what happens....

1. Deer-Car collisions would increase by at least 500%
2. Diseases would flourish and spread rapidly as the increased population would mean more competition for food and the need for deer to travel further to find food.
3. The states DOW and DNR would loose a substantial amount of income that was generated solely through hunters. License fees, sales taxes on hunting equipment, sales taxes on hotels, gas, food, etc. from hunters that travel to the state to hunt, etc. Are you aware that more money is spent on hunting related equipment annually than golf, baseball, football and basketball combined? The states will need to make up that lost tax revenue somewhere, so guess who's pocket it will come out of? YOURS!

Here in Ohio the deer herd is estimated at around 600,000. The annual average (over the past 5 years) has a harvest rage of about 200,000 deer per year (roughly 1/3 the herd). That might sound like a lot, but in actuality it's not enough as the herd is growing by about 50,000 head per year on average. Without proper population control deer would literally overrun the place until Mother Nature stepps in and disease and famine thin them out. Then we (humans) would have to worry about those diseases becoming our problem (CWD, Lime Disease, etc.)

All in all, hunting IS a necessary tool used to help maintain a healthy and thriving herd size. Nussiance animals such as predators and varmints generally have open seasons (no closed dates) simply because a) the population is so great that there's no fear of their being wiped out in the area, or b) so few people hunt them that there's no need to limit hunting to a specific season or time of day.

And if you don't think mountain lions are a threat to humans just as they are to livestock, think again. I'm sure you'd be singing a different song if your son/daughter came running into your living room yelling there's a tiger on the back patio.

Pinko said:

If I've misunderstood something let me know.

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You have misunderstood something……………..

Since you seem to want to place humans and animals on the same plane, then I have a question for you. Why do you deny the human the "rights" that you have given to the animals? Those being, the right to defend its territory and the right to protect its young or members of its “herd”. Also, why to you automatically assume that a human encroached upon this cat’s territory? Could it be the other way around?

Obviously you have not spent much time outdoors or you would understand that conflict happens every minute and at every level in nature. Nature has a way of being beautiful and ugly all at the same time.

In California, Governor Reagan issued a moratorium on sport hunting of mountain lions in 1971. Proposition 117 was passed by the voters in 1990, permanently banning the sport hunting of lions. However, any lion that threatens humans or domestic animals can still be hunted. If livestock are threatened, the owner can get a depradation permit.

At the time of the Reagan ban, the mountain lion population in the state was estimated at 600 animals, or 10% of the amount estimated before state-hood. The current population is now estimated to have returned to 6,000 or so. And we have a lot more people.

FWIW, there are examples of mountain lions wiping out pens of sheep in a single night, either for sport for to train their kittens.

Pinkie said:

Makes me so sad and sick.

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I'm sure you would feel better if you got a GREAT BIG hug from your closest tree :nener:

Now THOSE are cool pics!

We had fresh cougar tracks that circled the cabin in McCall last winter. Gives you the willies for sure.

Pinkie, couple questions, are you a vegatarian and an Athiest?
The reason I ask, is if you are a vegatarian, then you support farming yet must be against ranchers. Ranchers raise animal to eat and kill predators that try and eat them.
However, interestingly farmers however destroy thousands of acres in order to raise crops, they divert rivers to provide water for said crops, and then burn millions of gallons of fuel to plant and harvest said crops while spraying for insecticides. So as an vegatarian you most be ok with elimination of natural territory for the benefit of rasing crops and destroying the habitat the Lion used to live in?
Regardless if you agree or disagree, 2% of the population are farmers and ranchers who make a living raising crops or slaughtering animals in order to feed the people who live in a city safe and in no harm from a Cougar.

Also, if perchance you are an Athiest, which statistics say is a very low chance, but lets say you are, then you have no moral code and would considere yourself just an "evovled" animal. Therefore this is not about the cougar, but as DBD said about the protection and proliferation of your family.

Some deep thoughts to ponder ;)

nice kitty.

First let me say that I would have no problem in this particular cat being shot , but I see the little red ridinghood myth being perpetuated here.

I hunt big game at least 4-6 weeks a year total and that
would include cats and bear if I get a chance that I would consider sporting (that does not include shooting one out of a tree ).

For every cat you have seen in the wild (which are probably few ) 10 have seen you and either ignored you as you walked below them or ran away when they scented you. Your chance of being attacked is very slim! Our chances of being injured on our bike is 1000000000000000000000x greater, but we
feel it is worth the risk.

As for the dogs, the cat has no interest in fighting them.
The dogs will be a deterent. They are eating the sheep
because there is no danger of being injured.(sitting duck)

There is a lot of whining over woves and cougars out here
these days, they kill cattle for fun, they will eat my children,
they will eat my pets, they will eat all the wild game..........

BULL.....

If you beleive all of this , 1). don't go into the woods .
2). dont build a house in the mtns, 3). get out of your truck
when you hunt or get better at hunting. 4). stick with the
zoo for an out door experience 5). ranchers get reimbursed
for each animal they lose (without having to go thru the effort
of taking them to auction)

Sorry for the rant ,but the fact is we all participate in dangerous activities. We do it because we like the thrill.
That is why I like the notion of having predetors around
when I am experiencing the outdoors. If one eats me,
thats my tough luck. I bet my bike that never happens!!

mbaird said:

Sorry for the rant ,but the fact is we all participate in dangerous activities. We do it because we like the thrill.
That is why I like the notion of having predetors around
when I am experiencing the outdoors. If one eats me,
thats my tough luck. I bet my bike that never happens!!

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and just in case one wants to eat me, I buy a cougar tag so I can at least have a legal chance at him first.

and I've seen them see me. It'll raise the hair on the back of your neck.

but you love to see em , don't you??

sportsman pkg 125.00 most every tag

mbaird said:

That is why I like the notion of having predetors around
when I am experiencing the outdoors. If one eats me,
thats my tough luck. I bet my bike that never happens!!

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You might feel differently if the most vicious predators had not largely been exterminated generations ago, and the chance of you or your kids getting eaten was much higher.

Grizzly bears were very common in places such as Calfornia 150 years ago. They were all killed off within 70 years of the Gold Rush.

Why do you suppose our ancestors killed them off? Do you think just maybe it is because they were mean and liked to eat people and domestic animals? Sure, killing them off was bad for the bear and the 'environment', but good for the economy and safety of the human population. Sometimes you do what you got to do.

BTW, there are plenty of brown bears left - I've seen them myself from the back of my dirt bike. But brown bears play nice compared to Grizzlies.

Oh the poor animals.......

pred wrestles cougars for fun.

in all honesty, if i found there was a cougar in my back yard i'd probably faint. no question about it. it's like the time i woke up at 4 AM and seen a wolf walking down my street. the days i really hated is when you couldn't go down the street without seeing bear traps every where, those are the days i stay inside. :yikes:

thank goodness i live in a city now. . :)

mbaird said:

but you love to see em , don't you??

sportsman pkg 125.00 most every tag

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damn right. It adds up quick when you get your hunt & fish, then deer, elk, and turkey. Might as well pop for the sportsman's

Ditto on the "Sportsman Package" as a hunter you just never know when an opportunity might present itself with a broadside opportunity........

"Hunt to kill, kill to hunt."
The great white hunter......

Bowhunting is fun, If I saw a mountain lion on my porch he would have an arrow in him quick, regardless if I have tags or not or whatever. Nope I dont shoot compound bows, I shoot a traditional longbow. Bowhunting is real hunting. Not cruising along in your truck with a rifle in one hand a beer in the other and shooting deer 100 yards away, that see you but dont move because you are too far away to be considered a threat. Unless they are heavily hunted. 20-30 yards is an ideal bowhunting range.

Would you believe that here in SoCal... it is against the law to kill a Skunk or an Opossum that goes onto your own property?

I mean... I can understand if it were a protected species whose populations are threatened because of urban sprawl. But on the contrary... it just provides more food for the pickin' for these scavengers.

HubertGarfunkleIII said:

Bowhunting is fun, If I saw a mountain lion on my porch he would have an arrow in him quick, regardless if I have tags or not or whatever. Nope I dont shoot compound bows, I shoot a traditional longbow. Bowhunting is real hunting. Not cruising along in your truck with a rifle in one hand a beer in the other and shooting deer 100 yards away, that see you but dont move because you are too far away to be considered a threat. Unless they are heavily hunted. 20-30 yards is an ideal bowhunting range.

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I must agree. Predator hunting with a bow is real fun. Call them in with a rabbit call and you become the hunted. Never seen a mountain lion, had a bead on a bobcat once, but I think he caught wind that something was a miss and bolted before I could draw. Called in a few foxes but would not shoot them and killed many a coyotes with the bow back in the day. I do however cheat and use a compound bow. I have seen videos of Teddy Taylor taking down a bear with a long bow though, pretty impressive.