Land of the Lions you ask well lookie here...

[texaschickmama]

That thing will jump you and kill and eat you in a New York second. I can't believe you got that close to it. We have those here, too. My dad once called one up when he was out squirrel hunting. Luckily, it went the other way. I just saw a show I think it was called I survived. An older man got mauled by one terribly. His wife was trying to beat it off with a stick. He finally got away and they made it down the mountain, all the time knowing it was still stalking them. I think they are protected, I'll have to go look it up now. UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, be careful.

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

Wow!!!!! I would not have been that brave

They keep telling us we dont have any around here. But people were loosing ponies around here a few years back. And one horse that was attacked had CAT claw marks all over it. Def not bear.
They have also told us there is no wild boar population here, yet one was killed on the highway just east of us a bit ago.

 

[Godsgrl]

mountain lions are so gorgeous! Thanks for sharing pics of your visitor

 

[cockadoodlemom]

Thanks for sharing those beautiful pics. I am a big tiger fan too.

 

[rufus]

This is something that is best seen on television. They yowl like a crying woman or a baby. I remember when I was a kid and I first heard one. I thought it was la llorona. My mind was not much relieved when I found out what it really was.

Good luck and get some big dogs.

Rufus

 

[Cetawin]

Quote:
I did use a good lens and zoom. I certainly did not climb up the tree and ask Kitty to smile. LOL

Humans nearly drove them and others to extinction and have made many species extinct. When you live around them you take the time to learn about that and how to co-exist with them.

Only under very rare circumstances and if the opportunity is right do they attack humans. Hikers in the woods alone when one is hungry and prey is scarce are prime targets. Or straying into their hunting ground or close to a den. Most of the attacks are caused by human ignorance and error. Such as running. Yep that is the thing to do when something that can outrun you by a good 100 yds is starring at you and that something is geared from birth and genetics to chase down and kill it's dinner.

Attacks are really rare considering our encroachment into their environement. More people are bitten by rattlesnakes each year than attacked by a cougar.

The current reported attack rate in the U.S. and Canada is 6 attacks per year, with just under 1 death per year. This number has been constant since at least 1991, with no evidence at all that the rate has changed.


Year U.S.A. and Canada California
# of Attacks # of Deaths # of Attacks # of Deaths
1991 4 2 0 0
1992 4 1 1 0
1993 3 0 2 0
1994 9 2 3 2
1995 3 0 1 0
1996 6 1 0 0
1997 7 1 0 0
1998 9 0 0 0
1999 6 1 0 0
2000 8 0 0 0
2001 7 1 0 0
2002 5 0 0 0
2003 2 1 0 0

total 73 10 7 2

Avg.
per yr 5.6 0.8 0.5 0.2

Here is a link to the reported attacks excluding california attacks

http://tchester.org/sgm/lists/lion_attacks_nonca.html


From the Mountain Lion Foundation:

These animals are vital to our ecosystems, and in the long run, much more harm to humans may come from eliminating them than any short-term harm any of these predators has ever done to us.

One possible example: Mountain lions are the main predators of deer. Without mountain lions, the deer population will explode, along with the ticks that feed on them. This would increase the number of people contracting Lyme disease.

We humans do not yet have the wisdom to know what happens in the longer run by eliminating any element of nature. There are multiple scenarios that any decent scientist can envision that might increase the number of human deaths per year manyfold over that currently due to cougars.

It is all summarized in this quote:


"Man should not destroy what man cannot create!"


They are a protected animal and it requires a license or permit to kill one. In Oregon, we can obtain a nuisance/damage permit to kill one that is coming to your house, attacking pets etc and being a threat. I spent my first two years here with a mother and her teenager strolling up on my back deck nightly. She was doing her job of being a mother and teaching him where to travel and to hunt. When young one started starring into the house at me, I requested permission to kill him...I was told to kill both.

As it turned out, teenager was killed and mother still lives on the ridge behind that house and often watched me garden. I saw no reason to kill her (even having permission to do so) when she was posing no threat by simply being a cougar. She never made attempts to get close to me, my pets or my child. She sat on the ridge on her roack in the warm sun and napped. She took occasional glances at us moving around below her but that was it.

I look at life simply...they were here before me and I am in their environment by my own choice. By doing that and making that choice, I also made the choice to educate myself about them, learn to exist with them where we are both safe from each other and not promote their living with me nor hinder it. However, I have no intention of trying to make one a house cat or a petting buddy

This is the link to a very touching story involving a mountain lion and a mother. Very brave woman fought a cougar hand to paw for over an hour so her children could get safely away and to learn they were okay.

http://www.rwalden.com/Misc/Parolin.htm

There is a memorial plaque at the spot now but it is touching and heartbreaking.

{edited because of my horrendous typos}

 

[Jena]

Quote:
Hi Cetawin,

I came back this morning for another look at that amazing beauty, sorry I missed your comment yesterday.

It is the same here, we are just a boring suburb of a town, but some days you can see a small bird in the garden that is just in the right place at the right time and suddenly you realise we are so lucky.

lol... Your kitty, caught in her own natural environment is wonderful.

I would be eaten or damaged for sure, I would be so entranced I would just have to sit and watch. lol....

Apart from a new born baby the most awesome sights can be seen in nature.

If they happened on a regular basis they too might become boring, that is the way our minds work. lol...

Thank you for inspiration for yesterday and now today as well....lol.

Just by the way I like your philosophy.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Holy Cannoli, Batman....that is some cat!!!!!

Beautiful, Cetawin, thanks for posting it. I think you're nuts getting that close to Mr. Kitty, especially after the garage thing, but thanks.

I don't think I'd leave the house after dark...lions and tigers and bears, oh my. I also think I'd be thanking God everyday for indoor plumbing.

 

[Cetawin]

Thank Jena. I will admit that still to this day that when I see one I am in awe and my heart does race...so I at least still have a healthy fear and respect for them. I do not think anything in nature could every become boring to me...I am just in awe of the power and perfection that exists there. Even my chickens amaze me.

 

[Cetawin]

mom'sfolly :

Holy Cannoli, Batman....that is some cat!!!!!

Beautiful, Cetawin, thanks for posting it. I think you're nuts getting that close to Mr. Kitty, especially after the garage thing, but thanks.

I don't think I'd leave the house after dark...lions and tigers and bears, oh my. I also think I'd be thanking God everyday for indoor plumbing.

Yeah the garrage thing was and still remains a very scarey thing. But, that was so different really. It was different all the way around. That case, I knew it was hurt and in pain, I had it cornered and I was a threat to it. It was a bad situation for everyone because there was no place for either of us to go safely.

This one was quite fortunate or unfortunate depending on your perspective. It is still getting dark early here so I was outside taking pictures of the sunset (I have been playing with night photography and flash and such) when I saw all the girls were inside and not in the run. So, I took the shortest route to the coop through the trees rather than the cleared area.

I would have never seen the cat had it not been for that sixth sense that tells you someone or something is watching you. I turned around with the flash light and scanned the area and saw nothing but the feeling persisted so I took the light to the trees. I was thinking it was a raccoon or a possum honestly. When I scanned the trees I saw nothing and then a flash fo eyes. The cat was standing watching me and then it turned its head away and lay down on the branches. So, as I moved towards to coop I was watching it and remembered the camera...so click click click and I went to the coop closed it up and took the long way back to the house.

I told DH what i saw and he said...Yeah you want me to go outside and get cold don't you? I said No I am serious there is a huge cat in the tree by the coop. He laughed so I showed him the pictures on the camera and he about fell out of the chair. LOL

I cannot explain it but that cat in the garage I knew without a doubt that animal would tear me apart real soon. This cat I had no doubt had no intention of bothering me unless I bothered it. I never turned my back to it and I moved slowly away from it. I could have easily done the wrong thing a screamed or ran...the thought did cross my mind but I figure the best thing to do was keep my hands on the gun and the light and give the cat room.

And is it was closer to the coop than the house and I was spending the night with the girls if need be.

Hopefully DH would have come looking for me before bedtime. LOL​