Was at my deer hunting property today and I found a cat track that was as big my fist .
Only found one but it was on a bare spot of dirt in one of the paths that I keep mowed . It was very clear and distinct with no claw marks .
Very disturbing .
Good thing there are no Mountain lions in Michigan .
Aw heck, I thought you were going to say you found an ATV track, Lion tracks are cool!
Good thing there are no lions there. Not so many years ago there were none here either, but four or five must have escaped from some strange person that kept them as pets. That is what we were told, but really, how many people were secretly keeping pet mountain lions around here that no one knew about? They didn't think the one that I saw was someone's pet, they shot it. There must have been someone in your neighborhood that was secretly letting his big kitty out at night, cat people do that.
Jeepers Graps! Where abouts is your property located? I sure hope they don't migrate into my area!
They tried telling us that for years until they kept showing up on trail cams. They still claim there's not a wolf problem in the UP as well.
Yes...I am originally from Michigan....and love "up north" and the UP....I have seen signs in certain parks that remind you that you are not seeing large cats...just like a while back there were no wolves in the UP...
"These are not the droids you are looking for"
(Star Wars quote)
However this is from the MI DNR website:
"In 2004, a hair sample was collected from a vehicle bumper and tested using DNA analysis. That sample was positively identified as cougar.
A recent study based on DNA analysis of scat samples was conducted by Central Michigan University and the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy. That study showed that samples from eight locations tested as positive as cougars.
BUT, it goes on to state:
4. If cougars are here, where did they come from?
Based on documented evidence, cougars observed in Michigan could be escaped or released pets. Or, they could be transient or dispersing cougars from the nearest known breeding populations in North and South Dakota. These populations are over 900 miles from Michigan. During the winter of 2004-2005, the National Park Service conducted road and trail surveys and trail camera surveillance designed to detect cougars in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. No evidence of cougars was found.
5. Did the DNR release cougars into the wild in Michigan?
The DNR has never released cougars in Michigan, and has no plans to do so
Saw a cat in the U.P. a few years ago while baiting bear. It was 300pm in the afternoon and that cat walked out in front of the truck about 10 yards away and stood there for about 10 seconds and then just walked away. No camera in the truck but that won't happen again.
I mentioned it to a Lt from the DNR and his response was no pictures no cat. That is before they confirmed that cats are in Michigan. One guy even told me that someone's pet cougar got away.
I can understand why the DNR would have that reaction. They do not want the public scared and hunters pissed off. I imagine they get hundreds of calls and letters everyday.
The best thing they can do is to educate and inform. Cougars can be potentially in all 50 states. I know they have been here in NY. The DEC said it traveled form some western state like Wyoming..
So if a Cat can travel cross country on whim, why wouldn't they be in your back yard?
Graps, I wouldn't worry, your DNR does more damage to your deer herd than a big Kitty ever will.
Not 3 miles from my home here in the mountains of Western NC 5 different folks saw a cougar in their 600ac subdivision, one with a kitten. This was a few years ago and the deer population is still in good shape and no one nor their pets have been harassed. I love knowing that at least some of out apex predators are still around.
By the was, has anyone heard from Apex Predator?
Fish and game killed one in Paris ky this year!! It was huge!!
It's what our Wildlife department has been telling us for years. No Cougars...then 3 years ago they came out with a statement that there is a stable population in every county... Hmmm.
I don't think they are really that much of a threat to local populations due to their secretive habits and sparse population they are the perfect predator for wilderness deer population control. I will say if I ever see one in range it's SSS
The whole cougar thing really destroyed any trust I had for our wildlife department. They were basically muzzling the departments employees and telling them to lie for years some people just wouldn't do it.
A cougar was road-killed in CT a few years ago.
We have trailcam pics in our area as well as regular camera pics of kittens.
Here's a cool website I stumbled across the other day...I'm not sure when the last time this was updated, but it kind of gives you an idea of their ranges.
http://www.cougarnet.org/sites/original/bigpicture.html
I've read a few articles stating the Great Lakes area states just don't have good enough habitat to sustain a stable population. If there has been confirmed evidence in every state around MI-OH-PA, you'd be ignorant to say they haven't been here. I'm sure they are here regularly - you just don't see them because for the most part they're settling down in the surrounding states. Personally I'd love to see one in the wild..
Almost like bigfoot though, I'll believe it when I see it :bigsmyl:
We saw one some years ago in north west Alabama, the game warden told us they had a range of about 50 square miles.
QuoteOriginally posted by Pat B:
By the was, has anyone heard from Apex Predator?
He's gone fishin'
Some years ago I heard several people mention that the big cats had been seen in central Georgia. I mentioned to a DNR ranger that people had reported sightings, but the state was saying they were not accurate. His response was that if they were officially acknowledged, the state would have to spend money studying the cats. I don't know if that is true but would not be surprised.
With Sam on this one.
My sighting 45 yrs. ago was a black one..Of course
that was like seeing Bigfoot in West Texas.Never could happen!! but it did..on a cold,snowy December day where everything was snow and ice.
Mike
wrong thread :rolleyes:
Missouri has a growing population of the big kittys and the same is true of black bears.
We're even starting to hear rumors of there possibly being a limited season on the bears.
God bless,Mudd
I'm still trying to figure out why it's a "bad track". I suppose you. Ugh the be concerned that a carnivore is eating the same species you do too. Don't worry, the cats have been around for a long time and the deer will do just fine.
Well my nearest neighbor has cows and sheep .
As far as the deer goes , I kinda figure that a cat like that has more rite to them than I do .
More than likely it was a Timber Wolf, but it could be a Cougar too. We have them in Illinois.
Michigan has Mountain Lions in both peninsulas.
The DNR knows it and HAS known it for a long time.
The problem with them in lower Michigan, is there just isn`t the room necessary for them not to cause problems.
In the U.P. there doesn`t need to be ANOTHER predator base killing the few deer they have left.
You know the, critters have four legs and are mobile? Lol
We didn't have coyotes up to 4/5 yrs ago? Now they are everywhere.
Think it would be cool having a lion roam around? Know they take some critters down but just being out there knowing they are there would add to the hunt for me. None around here in eastern nc for sure though. My uncles have deer lease in Texas and they have always had lions roaming.
My wife saw one cross the road in front of her a couple of years ago here in ME. We have the same "released pet" explanations as well. For what it is worth, I don't think the DNR's and IFW's can afford to recognize a small population of cats in any state they had been eliminated in. That would immediately create a new endangered mammal on their list to monitor, and it would give PETA and HSUS all sorts of legal ammunition to stop deer hunts in order to protect the food source of the endangered cats. It would at least give them the basis of lawsuit to stop deer seasons until a hugely expensive impact study was conducted by the state. Much safer and cost effective to ignore and explain away sightings of the big cats that have had a small stable population for decades all across the upper midwest and New England.
We have plenty of them here in NV. Seeing one is rare, but exciting. Seeing fresh tracks in the snow is common, even just above Reno
Why wouldn't it be logical to see a few of them all the way from Florida to Maine? When the Europeans first arrived in America, the big cats roamed all these areas and more. There is still enough remote territory to support a small population in most states. The only problem I see is that there is not all that much wilderness area, which increases the likelihood of human/cat encounters.
My wife also saw one cross the road in front of her car. I said " it was probably a bobcat."
she said "do You know the difference between a bobcat and a mountain lion?"
I said "yes"
She said "Well so do I !"
I guess she saw a mountain lion. :dunno:
There are absolutely large predators running around and the wildlife & fisheries departments do not want to admit it! I am in South Louisiana and I saw a Black Bear last year about 50 miles from the nearest known population. In years past I have seen cat tracks as large as my fist and multiple game wardens have told me that there are no cougars in the state. Well, about 5 years ago one shows up in someone's backyard in the Northern part of the state, and another pair is caught on trail cameras in the Center of the state. I'm sure these were just "isolated incidents" or "someone's escaped pet".
Having apex predators in an area is a good sign. It means there are large enough pieces of bush to allow them to live in. Especially with cats and wolves it means that there was a "corridor" of wilderness that they could follow to get somewhere. Be happy that you still have enough cover for the big cats. We have thousands of them in alberta and they aren't generally much of a problem.
I don't get it cougars are everywhere here what is the big deal? We are getting wolves in Eastern Washington now though. Should be fun when eventually I get to go wolf hunting.
A few years ago there was one killed by a deer hunter within sight from my back porch. I knew nothing of it until a picture and story were put into the next years special deer hunting edition of a small newspaper in our county.
I have heard them but never had the opportunity to see one. I think that it would be a treat to see one in the wild.
I do have a neighbor that runs a wolf rescue operation about a mile and a quarter southeast of our place. He has quite the setup to keep them contained. It reminds me a bit of the pens in the movie Jurassic Park. I have been over there twice now and have several pictures. He gets in the pens with them and says that sometimes they will want to be social and other times they will ignore him. They get to howling every morning just prior to sunrise. Quite easy to hear them over here and I imagine that there is no sleeping in at his place with all that noise every morning.
I wouldn't worry a lot about a track. The animal that made it may be a hundred miles away by now. From what I am told, they may make a circut several hundred miles long.
the reason they say they aren't there is because the Department of Natural Resources or the equivalant in each state is mandated, by law, to hvae a management plan for any large game species in the state.
If they admit the animal is there, they MUST have a management plan. That means money, and manpower. Most state natural resource departments are enduring budget cuts and have no 'extra' people to run that for a new species. Hence- there are no cougars in xxxxxx.
Years ago there was one in the swamps near Milford In Pike county northeast PA. :campfire:
Tons of lions out here. I'm waiting for a wolf to show up while out calling. Lion track is not a bad thing.
saw a cougar yesterday at around sundown where I work in Cambridge Massachusetts, had a young one following it and they disappeared into the tree section near the memorial drive side of the Charles river,,,,,, sorry I didn't have my camera 8^)