What to do about a Mountain Lion? Any advice?

[jhm47]

Actually, lions are very nomadic. It's likely 50 miles away from you by now. We have them come through here every once in a while, and they usually don't stay very long, and pop up many miles away in a very short time. Sometimes they will make a big kill, and stay a few days, but usually they move on rather quickly.

 

[CoopCrazy]

I don't have any hard evidence to back this up but I do remeber reading about people having mules/ donkeys to keep lions away from there goat herds over in africa... The picture they had showed the mule beating the crap out of the lion... Just a thought

 

[espressola]

I got this email from a friend a while back... I'll try to copy it here with pics and all:

A couple from Montana were out riding on the range, he with his rifle and she (fortunately) with her camera. Their dogs always followed them, but on this occasion a Mountain Lion decided that he wanted to stalk the dogs (you'll see the dogs in the background watching). Very, very bad decision.

The hunter got off the mule with his rifle and decided to shoot in the air to scare away the lion, but before he could get off a shot the lion charged in and decided he wanted a piece of those dogs. With that, the mule took off and decided HE wanted a piece of that lion. That's when all hell broke loose for the lion.

As the lion approached the dogs, the mule snatched him up by the tail and started whirling him around. Banging its head on the ground on every pass. Then he dropped it, stomped on it and held it to the ground by the throat. The mule then got down on his knees and bit the thing all over a couple of dozen times to make sure it was dead, then whipped it into the air again, walked back over to the couple (that were stunned in silence) and stood there ready to continue his ride as if nothing had just happened.
Fortunately, even though the hunter didn't get off a shot, his wife got these four pictures.





























Happy Trails to You!











Well, the pics did not come out, if anyone is interested in seeing them or can post them, please PM or email me and I'll be happy to send them!
Patty N. ;-)

 

[amazondoc]

It always pays to check out the stories you receive through spam emails like that. Snopes.com is a good place to check them out.

In this case, the story isn't true. The mule did toss the cougar around, but it had already been shot and killed first.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/mulelion.asp

 

[espressola]

Thank you for clarifying that- it was sent to me a year or so ago and I never thought of checking snopes... at least it's true that the mule was quite aggressive towards the lion, even if it were dead already... Yikes!!!
Patty N.

 

[kees]

I don't think that lions eat each day. I'm thinking that if I was really hungry, I'd want to eat a chicken instead of a tiny quail.

Suzy

 

[babalubird]

I still think the fellow suggesting LGD dogs had the best idea. If two won't cut it then maybe three. The LGD's were bred to protect livestock from wolves. Though a cat is bigger, they generally don't like to take on something that can fight back or that they can't get the element of surprise over. Two-three LGD dogs raised together will work together to fend off anything their own size or even larger. You saw how big the Anatolian is.

Connie

 

[Luvducks]

Quote:
That is what I am told also UNLESS the lion is older or sick and having a hard time getting food. We saw one on our property last year which I actually enjoyed. We have a guy that lives 2 miles down the road and he has an Outfitting Business which hunts Big Cats here and in Utah. He came over with his dogs because that is pretty much the only way you can find these mountain lions. They do not really like to be seen. He had the dogs out tracking and said the cat was long gone. If it comes back he wanted to bring some pups over that he was training. He said if it bothered any of my pets he would shoot it. Like you stated they are just passing thru. But we have had people lose dogs and cats to them around here. He told me they do this because the food supply is low or an older, sick cat. Nature of the beast!

 

[Meloout831]

Shoot it!

 

[Buckguy20]

They found one dead by some railroad tracks here in Oklahoma a few years back. It had a radio collar on and had been tagged and relesed in South Dakota.
It had come almost 700 miles.