OMG cougar in Iowa

[biscuit jake]

And DNR said we can hunt it. Get that sucker quick before he a gets a cyclist. (Big cat in Marshall Co!)

[Lanse couche couche]

I had heard that there was opposition to placing them on a protected or endangered list since people voiced concern about being prosecuted for protecting themselves or their animals from them. But, I didn't know they were going to allow them to be hunted.

[JoeRE]

yep FAIR GAME here...but its not like hes gonna go around killing people, very rairly happens even out west. now dogs and cats on the other hand.....I've always said my biggest wish while bowhunting here in NE iowa was not getting a booner buck but getting a mountain lion. My uncle saw what he believed to be one a year and a half ago and with his experiance he would know....still pretty rare.

[biscuit jake]

There are so many in Minnesota that I am sure we have more going through. They range quite a bit. But this one left a calling card on a 3 legged deer. Chomp chomp. They do get joggers and cyclists in Calif., I guess they would rather have big cats as they are sheltered from hunting. Err, at least until they eat the wrong jogger someday.

[hardcorehunter]

ORIGINAL: JoeRE

yep FAIR GAME here...but its not like hes gonna go around killing people, very rairly happens even out west. now dogs and cats on the other hand.....I've always said my biggest wish while bowhunting here in NE iowa was not getting a booner buck but getting a mountain lion. My uncle saw what he believed to be one a year and a half ago and with his experiance he would know....still pretty rare.

I hear ya buddy..what a rush to send an arrow through a ML while sitting in my treestand..I have often fantasized about that while sitting in my stand...maybe someday

[hardcorehunter]

ORIGINAL: biscuit jake

There are so many in Minnesota that I am sure we have more going through. They range quite a bit. But this one left a calling card on a 3 legged deer. Chomp chomp. They do get joggers and cyclists in Calif., I guess they would rather have big cats as they are sheltered from hunting. Err, at least until they eat the wrong jogger someday.

We have so much food here in IA that they would never attack a human here...when they attack it is because they have no food and have been pushed and starved by urban sprawl like the california concrete jungle that has happened. Plenty of food for them here.

[Rammer]

A month and a half or 2 months ago (somewhere in there) there was an attack of a Mt Lion in the Brookings South Dakota area (Game an Fish have been denying any mt lions in this part of the state for years now, even though we saw 2 on our land last fall). The story of the attack was a 15 year old boy was out with a 22 and his yellow lab, and he saw a big cat go into some trees, so he shot into the trees to scare the cat away, then was walking thru the trees and it came up behind him an swipd him with its claws, then the dog chased it off. It was believed the boy was lying until the GF&P found cat scat that South Dakota State University verified had mt lion hair in it.

[biscuit jake]

DNR just retracted their scoop on the Marshall Co cat. Now they say yotes or dogs got it. However.... still lots of sightings in Iowa. It is a question of time before someone gets a photo, loses their poodle at the right moment....

[Lanse couche couche]

Are most of the signs limited to western and central Iowa. I used to live across the river from Muscatine and frequently drive through the river bottoms from there down to Mount Pleasant. Lot's of habitat down there for 'em.

[biscuit jake]

Well, I think we have both the habitat and game. I was talking to a DNR type in NE Iowa this weekend. She went over about 6 sightings up there. No photos though. Next time I am in SW Iowa I will check down there. Bobcats are the big news right now. So many they are considering a season.