mountain lions in the midwest
 

Interesting to read....

http://tinyurl.com/92oty

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Kenny Tharp was hunting deer near the Mississippi River last season when he spotted something curled beneath a pine tree that he just couldn't believe: the body of a 98-pound cougar.


[/align]Tharp's discovery was only the second confirmed cougar sighting in more than a century in Illinois, and it came within five years of the first.
Reports of cougars, sometimes called mountain lions, have increased in the Midwest in recent years, and a nationwide effort is scratching for evidence of more in middle America, where the big cats thrived generations ago.

No government agency tracks cougar numbers in this country, so the Cougar Network, based in Concord, Mass., took up the challenge.
Using the discovery of carcasses, verifiable photos, and cougar DNA from scat and hair samples, the network is trying to measure the number of cougars east of the Rocky Mountains.

It isn't easy. Some people confuse cougars with bobcats, which are far more common in the Midwest, said Mark Dowling, who helped found the Cougar Network about three years ago.

"We constantly get pictures of things people think are mountain lions, and they turn out to be domestic cats and retrievers," Dowling said.
Cougars were hunted to near extinction in most of the Midwest by the early 1900s. Populations of the generally reclusive animals managed to survive over the years in remote, mountainous areas out West, but there's nothing verifiable to suggest that populations lived in the Midwest over the years, outside South Dakota's Black Hills, said Dave Hamilton, a Missouri Department of Conservation research biologist.

Cougar Network officials believe that may be changing.

In Illinois, a cougar was killed by a train in 2000 near Chester, about 60 miles southeast of St. Louis. Three have been killed in Iowa since 2000.
A young cougar with no signs of captivity was killed by a vehicle in 2003 near Fulton, Mo. That marked at least the eighth confirmed case in Missouri since 1994 when a hunter shot a small cougar near the sprawling Mark Twain National Forest.

Missouri is taking the cougar issue seriously. It deploys a specially trained 10-member response team of experts and law enforcement to collect evidence following credible sighting, Hamilton said.

Other Midwest sighting have been too close for human comfort.
Earlier this year in North Dakota, two mountain bikers came face to face with a cougar they say followed them for more than a mile and came within 10 feet. The 45-minute ordeal ended when the two chased off the animal by throwing rocks and screaming.

In 2003, an 80-pound mountain lion was captured inside the Omaha, Neb., city limits.

Some biologists suspect that many Midwest cougars are younger males driven out of western states by dominant males or by urban sprawl squeezing their habitats. They may be following natural pathways such as river corridors in search of hunting territory.

Others may be migrating from South Dakota, where an estimated 145 mountain lions are said to roam the state's portion of the Black Hills.
South Dakota's first hunting season targeting mountain lions got under way Oct. 1, and 11 cougars had been killed by Wednesday.
Clay Nielsen, a Southern Illinois University wildlife ecologist who heads the Cougar Network's scientific research, believes southern Illinois and Missouri's 1.5-million-acre Mark Twain forest would be a comfortable habitat for the animals. The regions have dense woods and underbrush for cover and an abundance of deer for prey.

"They'd have all the food they ever wanted, as long as we didn't shoot them," Nielsen said.
___
On the Net:
Cooperative Wildlife Research Lab, http://www.siu.edu/(tilde)wildlife
Cougar Network, http://www.easterncougarnet.org][/url]http://www.easterncougarnet.org

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

someone told me today about a montain lion chasin a deer through a field behind their house, in hancock county, indiana

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

Interesting post. There was a story on our local news today that students were kept inside the school all day today at one of the country schools in our county due to several reports of a lion running loose in the area. Im just glad it isnt anywhere close to where i hunt.

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

The DNR is so full of BS it is unbelievable. Their have been hundreds of sightings in the past 10 years. A bowhunter evn shot one last year, and the DNR said it was someones pet that had escaped. Yeah, sure it was.

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

they just dont want to cause an uproar. no pun intended

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

There have been eaten carcasses of full grown cattle here in NE Kansas that have been DRUG underneath a tree. No prints have been found, but the only thing stong enough to drag cows under a tree to eat it would be a mountain lion <---just my guess.

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

I have seen 2 myself in last few years here in MN

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

supposed to have been sighting/photos of one last week near Sterling, Ill.. that is N.W. Illinois. about an hour from Wisconsin border.

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

According to the sheriffs dept and our local CO, they could not confirm or deny wether or not it was a mountain lion that was spotted in our county on Monday. Apparently a resident saw something that looked like one behind his house in a fence row, both the sheriff deputy and the CO saw the animal and could not determine what it was becuase they said it took off so fast they could not make out what it was. I personally believe it probably was a lion, it was obviously something similar for the CO not to deny it.

We have a few places in neigboring counties who house big cats and they say none are missing. Pretty interesting story, hopefully it shows itself again and we can find out what it is for sure. Im in North Central Indiana by the way.

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

yeah im here in northeast nebraska right on the border by yankton south dakota..i hunt down by the lake and there was a mountain lion shot IN TOWN at yankton..ppl say there arent mountain lions around here in nebraska..there sadly misstaken..its kinda scary when u see large cat tracks down in the crick right next to where i hunt..[:o]

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

Ya'll just keep 'em over there... I'm gonna petition for a BIIIIG fence to run along the Indiana/Illinois border... Man, if we get mtn. lions over here, I'll NEVER walk through the woods alone again. [:-]

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

Here in Missouri...the thing that sticks out seems to be the fact that no females have been discovered.....just males. The thinking being lone young males are pushed off the exisitng dominant males territory...left to travel and fend for themselves....these young cats are oftern forced to eat road kill..(maybe why many have been car struck). Seems they follow river basins and drainage areas..knowing game has to seek water. I saw one in South Texas a few years back...a fleeting image..but definitely a cat...too big to be an ocelot...(another scarce cat in S Texas)..and too long to be a bobcat....they are a majestic animal....

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

Three years ago, I was getting ready to duck hunt at Ft. Cobb lake in SW Oklahoma. My duck hunting partner backed out on me at the last second. I got to the lake around 4am and decided to try a new spot. From where I parked my car, it was about a 300 yard walk down to the lake. I decided to walk down and check it out before setting up. The first half of the walk was through some 8 foot tall weeds with a narrow path leading to the lake. The last half of the walk was through some huge dead trees all the way to the lake. It was about 20 degrees, overcast and dead calm. I figured it would be the perfect day to hunt ducks!

So, I grab my flashlight and leave my 12 guage in the car. I grabbed my .32 Colt pistol and stuck it in my jacket. I had a run in with some weirdo's the last time I hunted so I figured I would carry my pistol. So, I'm walking down to the lake and am walking through the weeds. I call them weeds, they're really like some sort of narrow tree and they're dense. I can see my breath and hear my feet crunching leaves. I start thinking I'm hearing an extra crunch or a snap every once in a while. I stopped several times and turned around shining my light around and didn't see anything. I got to the area where the big dead trees were and it was pitch black. I was walking along and I kept thinking I was hearing something. I figured my mind was starting to play tricks on me. I heard an owl off in the distance. Normally, I'm not afraid of the dark and being alone doesn't bother me, but I was really starting to freak out. I stopped walking suddenly and heard a light crunch behind me. I decided to get out of there and head back to the car. I did a 180 and started walking out. I made it about 10 feet and I heard what sounded like something big climbing a nearby tree and a low growl. Every hair on my body was standing straight up and I could feel my heart pounding. I shined my light around frantically and up in a tree no more than 15 feet away was a mountain lion sitting on a big branch. I could see the fur and the long tail. He was probably close to 100 pounds. As soon as my light hit his face, he let out this terrible sounding scream like roar. I'd never heard anything like it before. There was steam coming out of his mouth. Had I not gone to the bathroom that morning, I surely would have soiled myself. It startled me so bad that I dropped my flashlight. I fumbled around for my gun. I pulled it out and started blasting. I shot 5 rounds off and grabbed my light. I saw him running away towards my car. I only had three rounds left and was hoping that he wasn't waiting in the weeds for me. It seemed like an eternity walking back to the car. It was dead calm and I could hear my heart pounding. I had the gun out and the light shining everywhere. If a mouse had farted, I surely would have blown him away. I made it back to the car just fine and I never saw him again.

I called the wildlife department and was curious if somebody had a lion escape from a private zoo or something. They told me that there had been mtn. lions in Oklahoma for a long time and that we have panthers too. I had absolutely no idea. I thought they were all up in the rockies. I have never been more scared in my life.

Then this year for the 4th of July, my wife and I were going camping with our travel trailer at Thunderbird lake SE of OKC. My dad lives about 15 miles SE of town on 15 acres. I called to ask if I could get some firewood. He wasn't home, but told us where the wood was. I drove up over a hill on the back part of the property and my wife spotted it first. Definately a mountain lion and he was booking it into the woods. We only saw him for a few seconds, but I would say he was 70 or 80 pounds. I was nervous after my last encounter but had no troubles loading wood. I looked around for some tracks but it was all grass.

I really started looking into mountain lions after this. I've read that there are mountain lions in every single state except Hawaii. They are more numerous now than they were before mankind even arrived in N. America. They can travel up to 100 miles in one night! A year or two ago, there was a lion hit by a train in northern Oklahoma in a town called Red Rock. It had a tracking collar on it and the collar had been placed on the lion in S. Dakota 6 months earlier. From there, they tracked it into Wyoming and the collar stopped functioning. They it turned up dead in Oklahoma. Pretty crazy. Matt

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

There has been a lot of sightings in and around Omaha lately. They even caught one earlier this year and put it in our zoo. Another one was hit on the interstate between Omaha and Lincoln. That's two confirmed and many others "sighted." I am sure that they are here, although I have never seen one myself. I believe that they are all males also. From what I understand, the young males get chased out of their home territory when they are old enough and it seems as though they just keep running South.

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

Well, that would make sense (all males) since the population doesn't seem to be growing anywhere... I don't know whether we have had sigtings here in Indiana or not... it may be better if I never know. :eek:

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

"Ya'll just keep 'em over there... I'm gonna petition for a BIIIIG fence to run along the Indiana/Illinois border... Man, if we get mtn. lions over here, I'll NEVER walk through the woods alone again"


You do that, and I'll have one put up on the Indiana/Ohio border...just to keep some psycho ex's over there..

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

deleted by uncle matt

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

Okay, I was never really concerned about this until last weekend. I live about 45 min. north of Carbondale and hunt about 35 miles to the west of where I live. Last weekend I was talking with my uncle (I hunt on his ground) and apparently a guy that hunts about 1/8 of a mile from me claims he has seen a Cougar/Mountain Lion, whatever. I know there's a few bobcats in the area as I've heard of several sightings plus trail cam photos, so I was hoping "this guy" just didn't know his bean and mistakeningly thought a cougar was a bobcat. But then, talking to my dad tonight (he secured quail grounds a little further west of where I hunt), my dad said that the guy we can quail hunt with has trail cam photos of bob cats and has seen a mountain lion too! So now, I'm freaking out a little bit, to say the least! I hope to hell that I don't come in contact with one of these big MFer's while I'm bowhunting! Gonna be a loooooong walk into the stand tomorrow morning! [&o] Wish me luck! haha

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

There have been a few big cats seen in my area. Not a population explosion by any means, but they do exist. Word is they were panthers. It was much too large for a bobcat which is morte abundant around here.

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

They found the body of one over on the west side of Omaha, Nebraska last week. It was lying on the side of the road, they think it was hit by a vehicle. They're not sure if it's the same one that has been sighted at least 4 times over the last month. Here in western Iowa with all the deer we have it wouldn't surprise at all if they are here. Though I haven't heard of any females being found, only young males that the DNR and so called wildlife experts think have been run out of their home range by development or chased off by dominant males.

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

> Mountain lion is real, but dead
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>
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> BY MARION RHODES
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> WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
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>
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>
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> The call came in at the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office at 7:15 a.m. Sunday.
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>
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> A woman claimed she had seen a mountain lion lying on Interstate 80, near
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> the Gretna-Louisville interchange.
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>
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> Deputy Brian Fjelstad didn't get excited. The Sheriff's Office has
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> received at least a half dozen such reports over the past two or three
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> months.
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>
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> The latest had come earlier Sunday, about 1 a.m. A caller reported seeing
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> a live, large cat near Highway 370 and 192nd Street, just east of Gretna.
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> No one went out looking for it, because nighttime sightings are nearly
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> impossible to confirm.
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>
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> "You're not going to find a mountain lion at night," Lt. Steve Grabowski
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> of the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office said late Sunday morning.
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>
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> As Fjelstad was driving along the Interstate to check out the day's second
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> sighting, he thought he'd probably find a deer that was hit by a car.
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> That's what these type of calls usually turn out to be.
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>
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> He arrived at 8:07 a.m.
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>
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> A bundle of light brown fur was lying in the eastbound lane of I-80. "Like
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> a deer," Fjelstad thought.
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>
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> Then he noticed the long tail. The feet, the size of a grown man's
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> spread-out hand. The large cat head, lying in a small pool of blood.
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>
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> That's when he realized this wasn't another unconfirmed mountain lion
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> sighting. This one was for real.
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>
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> His anxiety level rose slightly as he came closer, close enough to touch
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> the more than 6-foot-long animal with the shiny black boot on his right
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> foot. The body was stiff.
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>
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> The mountain lion was dead.
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>
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> Droplets of red blood still stained Fjelstad's boot as he recounted the
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> episode outside the Sheriff's Office.
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>
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> Together with a fellow deputy, Fjelstad had wrapped the cat in a blanket
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> and put it in the trunk of his sheriff's cruiser. It was heavy, at least
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> 100 pounds, he said. With a hand gesture, he showed the cat's size on all
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> fours - just below his waist.
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>
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> Grabowski, who was standing nearby, said it was a lot bigger than the
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> mountain lion caught near 114th and Davenport Streets in October 2003,
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> which is now being kept at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.
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>
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> Fjelstad was astonished by the find.
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>
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> "I never expected it would turn out to be a mountain lion," he said.
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>
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> But not Sarpy County Sheriff Jeff Davis. A couple of years ago, he saw one
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> of the majestic cats himself.
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>
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> "I know they're out there," Davis said. "They're on the move."
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>
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> Although this mountain lion was found in a rural area, there are
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> subdivisions and hundreds of acreages nearby. Davis said he hadn't heard
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> any reports of attacks on livestock or pets, but he warned people to be
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> cautious.
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>
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> "We get enough sightings that I have enough reason to believe that there's
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> more out there," he said. "Maybe not in my lifetime, but down the road,
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> there could be a problem."
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>
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> Sheriff's officials said they assumed the earlier sighting was the same
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> animal, if that report was a mountain lion at all. That sighting was about
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> four miles northeast of where the dead mountain lion was found.
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>
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> The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will do a necropsy on the cat to
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> determine its age and cause of death, and examine its stomach contents.
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>
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> Game and Parks policies will determine what happens with the animal's
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> body, but Davis said he hopes the animal will come back to Sarpy County,
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> possibly for a display in the Cabela's store to be built at the Interstate
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> 80 and 126th Street interchange.
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>
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> Either way, though, he was sure this wouldn't be the last time Sarpy
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> County would see a mountain lion.
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>
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> "I've always believed that they're out there," he said. "Obviously, this
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> shows that at least one was."
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> Contact the Omaha World-Herald newsroomCopyright ©2005 Omaha
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> World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be
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> published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or distributed for any purpose
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> without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
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>
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RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

theve been seen in wisconsin here where i hunt near waushara county

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

I am sure they are around. I think I saw one one day while I was driving but it went by so fast I can't say for sure. I am not worried about walkikng around the woods, the fields or creeks and rivers. I ussually have a gun and I am sure that they will be gone long before you get near them. I don't know about you but if I see one and have a shot. I am taking it. if I miss well fine then if I don't....well I cross that one when I get to it.

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

I saw one next to my house last year walking on a hill about 100 yards away.Went outside to look and it was gone. I didn't call anybody cause I didn't want them to think I was nuts.But earlier this year the had a sighting in lynnwood il which is near me. And yes we are only 30-40 south of chicago. They also found one up by the wisconsin border last year dead. I think they are here there is alot of food for them and they have huge ranges.

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

i live in lena il and about 8 years ago i am alomst certain i seen a cougar twice in about a months time in jo daviess county where i grew up .and for the last few years when checking deer in they do sometimes ask if you have seen any cats or cougars .

RE: mountain lions in the midwest
 

like on a message board???? interesting :eek: