Puma in my area~ west Tennessee

[mangled]

We had a mountain lion about 15 feet off our front deck right after we moved into our home. The dog went NUTS early in the morning hours, and I got up with the spotlight to see what the heck was out there.

Imagine my surprise to step out on the deck and expect to see a couple white tail deer or a coyote and having a full grown mountain lion staring at me. I 'bout had a heart attack.

PA Game Commission denied their existance, but recently has begun re-introducing a single breeding pair into the rural counties to control the coyotes, which were also an introduced animal. I wonder what they'll use to control the mountain lions, elephants?

Anyway, we hear her screaming every few months. They have huge home ranges, and we're pretty sure she only passes through about every 90 days or so. You'll know what it is if you ever hear one scream, it'll raise the hair on the back of your neck.

She came around the coop a few times, but I was never able to get a shot off. As magnificent creatures as they are, I don't want one lurking in my woods.

When we lived in Arizona, an 85 pound mountain lion had taken down a 250 pound man while he was hiking in the hills. Humans are slow, easy prey. If she makes a habit of coming around, we'll be like Panner and SSS.

Good luck-
Em

 

[d.k]

Golfers have golf clubs, and they like to think they are invincible while wielding them. . . . If they have a courageous enough foursome, they may be. . . .

 

[Linda in San Diego]

d.k :

Golfers have golf clubs, and they like to think they are invincible while wielding them. . . . If they have a courageous enough foursome, they may be. . . .

 

[Linda in San Diego]

PA Game Commission denied their existance, but recently has begun re-introducing a single breeding pair into the rural counties to control the coyotes, which were also an introduced animal. I wonder what they'll use to control the mountain lions, elephants?

Read about or watch video about what the intoduction of rabbits did to Australia - they did stop short of elephants, but just barely!

When we lived in Arizona, an 85 pound mountain lion had taken down a 250 pound man while he was hiking in the hills. Humans are slow, easy prey. If she makes a habit of coming around, we'll be like Panner and SSS.

Heck, we had a woman riding a mountain bike taken down! She was not moving that slow. They show a "dramatization" on one of the reality shows. Makes me think since it happened so close to here. Where I live it would not be a problem, but where I visit, camp, and hike - definitely a possibility.​

 

[ChickaD]

You may be interested to know that "the experts" in Vermont are very sure that there are no mountain lions here (called catamount in our area)...but that didn't stop my mom from getting a good look at a catamount just across the road from her house, 3 mi. from us. She lived in a mountainous area at the edge of a national forest. About 10 years ago, at midnight in winter, she looked out and saw under the street light, a huge, long cat (longer than a bobcat) walking along with fluid movements, not at all like a dog. It was sniffing the tracks made by a young visiting relative. The next morning we saw its huge tracks in the snow, as well as the wide track from its tail dragging in the snow. The game warden my mom called was quite uninterested, because after all, we don't have any mountain lions here, despite numerous sitings over the years...by non-experts, of course.

 

[hcammack]

there are mountain lions all over the usa. I feel that big cats are the most dangerous of the predators because they are very smart and designed for killing. I know what you mean about the screams they just send an unexplainable chill of primal fear up the back of you neck. Its the fact that Primates have been hunted by big cats for a long time.

Henry

 

[d.k]

* Anybody know why that is the one animal we call by, like, half a dozen different names? Just wondering. . .

 

[ChickaD]

Good question! I don't know the answer, but am curious.......

 

[d.k]

* Yeah- I can't think of a single other critter which is called so many things just from one region to another. What's up with that? Here, they are panthers; in Cali, they were mountain lions, (no mountains in FL, so I kind of get that) but then, you have cougar, puma, and so forth. How come?

 

[ChickaD]

I'll bet it's been called a few other names as well, if it leaps out at someone..........