2 Lunger

I don't doubt your friend here. But, when you call the Wildlife officer you better have some proof or your going to be called a liar. You know that and so do I.

We've been told the same story regarding cougars in IL. Now that 4 have been killed in this state since 2003 they are telling us there might be a chance they are here.

I would agree that it's higher, but I don't thinks it that high. But, the attacks have been increasing in recent years.

Same goes with every other animal out there. I like your points. You don't let your 3yr. old child in cougar territory walk around the woods by themselves either. You don't turn and run when you see one either. This sparks their predatory instinct.

We have dogs that are called "Coydogs" where I'm from. They have been wild there whole life. They pack up just like wolves and kill deer like them too. Meanest thing we have around here.

I won't buy that. He was extremely lost and was looking for a way to get out of the "armpit of america". If you watched any of that coverage it was a riot! They were interviewing a cop on the block that the cougar was said to be in. During the interview the cougar walked within feet of the officer and stopped and looked at the camera and walked off. It was classic! Even when they cornered him he was still just looking for a place to jump over the fence and get out.

That pretty dumb of them to say that.

Again. People uneducated on how to deal with animals.

I think it would be dead even. It would be interesting to see those numbers if you it was possible to put together.

Agreed. You should be able to protect yourself, but to erradicate a species is not the answer.

mr.mc54

You better go back to animal biology school. You talk just like our states biologists. Deny everthing because it was not confirmed by one of you YO_YO's. Comparing a couger to a dog is a good one! This opinion falls in under the PITA puppies mentality. May be you can show us some documentation that supports this retarded opinion! If you want to enlighten yourself - check out couger attacks on the internet. I know-I know , your reply will be , They are not confirmed ATTACKS.

THERE IS A PLACE FOR MOUNTAIN LIONS, and that is in a wilderness area!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lanse couche couche

I think an important issue here is the specfic area you are talking about and the implications for having cougars in anyspecific area. Many folks would likely argue that cougars are not a problem as long as they are in wilderness areas and pretty much stay there. My understanding is that incidents of attacks/close encounters with cougars often occur in areas where human expansion and traditional wilderness converge. As one example, I think that there have been a couple cougar attacks on women who were on walking paths on the edge of suburban areas in California. As it pertains to the midwest, I grew up in the same general area as 2-Lunger. My personal perspective is that I wouldnt have much problem with cougars inhabiting portions of the Shawnee National Forest that are pretty isolated and would allow plenty of room for cougars and humans who enter the area to kind of work around each other. On the other hand, I see nothing but problems emerging if you have cougars living further north and inhabiting areas where even many of the most isolated creek bottomare within a quarter mile of homes, farms, etc. Catching a glimpse of a cougar while hiking out in the middle of the Shawnee would be nice. Seeing onecrouched in a tree while I am out with my son, nieces, etc. mushroom hunting across the road from my parents place wouldnt not.

mr.mc54

LCC; You are correct. The big problem is they are wild and they will attack (UNPROVOKED). I have hunted where there are cougers and that is the risk I take, but I don't want one near my grandkids.
I'm not for exterminating them, don't get me wrong, but they need space.

**There have been numerous attacks on hikers and bike riders in california, some fatal by cougers.

cayugad

2 Lunger

"Some of you on here are completely ignorant on your facts and assumptions. If we use your theories then we need to kill off just about every animal on the face of this earth."

Of course, even class A predators like a cougar have a place in this world. Just not near populated areas. And in Wisconsin, I asked someone to point out an area where the range of a mature male lion being 50-300 square miles.. tell me of one area in our State, where there is not the possibility of that lion coming into contact with human populations... well? And how many breeding pairs are you going to fit into that area? How you going to keep them there? What happens when some wander away and come into contact with humans, pets, livestock? Then when some one gets hurt, mauled, even killed, who's to blame?In my book it is the organizations that wanted them in the State in the first place.

Theproblem with the Wisconsin DNR is they have Noah's Ark Syndrome. Somehow they think its their duty to populate theState back to the way it was in the 1800's. We have elk now, an occassional moose, timber wolves, timber rattle snakes. Hey, why not a cougar population too, That would be cool.

Well people this is not the 1800's anymore. Tell me where, in the modern day Wisconsin, where populations are all over the state, that class A predators can co-exist in peaceful serenity with human populations. And that is not going to happen. Maybe one lion might be fine, but what happens when there becomes a breeding population?


" Someone who thinks cougars should be erradicated needs to do some research before they make an uneducated post. The number of people being killed by their own family pet vs. being killed by a cougar is something to ponder. In that case I better load up my shotgun and go blast my dog since he will be around my kids."

Give me a break would you. Uneducated post? If you can stand there and tell people that WILD COUGARS are not dangerous, you've been watching too many Disney Movies.. They are a class A predator. Class A predators hunt to live. And they will hunt people. Maybe not each and every time, but there is that chance. And then yourargument of trying to compare them to the family pet. Well if you're such a terrible dog trainer and only are able to train an over aggressive pet, maybe you should shoot your dog. Furthermore the dog is DOMESTICATED. It is not wild. And to compare attack numbers, another poor argument. What proximity is the family member more likely to encounter. Of course dogs. There for it would only make sense that dogs would be attacking more. But that does not take away the danger a cougar would pose to a person. My old debate coach in college used to tell me, that when you had the other side faltering, they would resort to claiming your argument was uneducated or unresearched.. so thank you.

"Give me a break people! 99% of all cougars are completely afraid of humans and will run at first sight. There is the 1% and that 1% goes for every animal on this planet."

Now who is inventing facts! How do you know 99% of cougars would fear man? Did you interview 100 cougars? Of course not. You are guessing. Would they fear children too? You make a statement without any basis.

"For all that are using the attacks on children waiting for the school bus at the end of the drive needs to find a better arguement. What's stopping the stray dog from mauling your kid to death?"


"I just don't get your guy's arguements."

Of course you don't because it does not fit your picture of wild country Wisconsin. Unfortunately, Wisconsin has changed over the years. And with that, we had to make adjustments. Wiping out class A predators was one way.

2 Lunger

Please take the time to read the entire thread before posting. It eliminates people from having to explain things twice.

If you go to page 4 of this thread I laid it all out for you. 22 confirmed humans killed by cougars in two countries in 119 years. I won't give you the numbers of the confirmed human kills by dogs. It off the charts and you guys know it, so you don't want to compare the two. I realize humans come in contact with dogs a little more often than cougars. Again, if you cayugad would read the entire thread first, country1 and I had already talked about this and thought it would be interesting if you could actually put together some statistics to show how many humans each cougar has encountered and how many humans each dog has encountered to come up with better numbers.

mr.mc54, I never said to bring cougars into the rual areas. I never said I was against hunting them. What my whole point is, you guys dislike cougars because of the mentality that has been bored in your heads since you were little. You guys are probably the same people who kill every snake you see because when you were 4 yrs old your great-grandpa told you snakes were bad.

country1

The general public just can't imagine why the wildlife officals and the local landowners don't get along. How about seeing something with your own two eyes and being told you are a liar? How would you like that? I guess a dead animal that was perfectly healthykilled by a mountain lion is not enough even when it is witnessed.Are you a defense lawyer for criminals and murderers? How about being told that you need your eyes checked because you claim to have spotted a wolf and then told that you are crazy? However,after the officalshear that if it is only a big coyote it can be shot and will be shot next time on sight -the truth comes out that wolves are known to be in the area. How about pictures of an animal that is clearly a mountain lion and being told it is just a big tom cat? How about a large cat track in hard, compacted snow and being told it was a track from a big tom cat? The majority of wildlife are bred, born, raised and fed on private land. You would think the wildlife officals would try to do a much better job of being honest and treating the local landownerswith respect.

So why was it "pretty dumb" for the wildlife officals to say that it is only a matter of time before there isa mountian lion attack? There were several close calls in the area, andthey were just stating a truth. Sounds like youprefer theylie and be untruthful about the situation. I guess you advocate playing with other peoples lives.

I saw the footage of the mountain lion in Roscoe Village whenit first happened, and Iwatched video from several different sources. The reason the mountain lion was shot is that it had no fear of humans, and it was a threat to the people in the area. When a wild animal like thathas no fear of humansit has become very unpredictable and dangerous. Mountain lions attack and kill more than just three year olds out in the wilderness. Many of the people who have been attacked or killed are adults, and some of them were athletic and very strong. It has been verified that a single mountain lion can kill a full grown beef, and you are talking about something that weighs at least 1,200 to 1,400lbs andcould be several hundred pounds more. It is sad that parents in several areas feel they can't have their kids playing outside unless they are right there with them. Kids need to play, anda parent cannot always be there when they want to play.

If there are that many wild dogs in your area, why don't the locals take care of the problem? Have the locals do a wild dog drive/hunt for a few days or weeks, and the problem would most likely be very small if not eliminated.

cayugad

Dislike cougars.. not at all. I find them beautiful. And in the right place, a great addition to the balance of the wildlife food chain. Just not Wisconsin. The point of this thread is, the DNR wants to tag and study a cougar in Wisconsin. That to me indicated that the DNR in their backward views, would not object to a population (even a small one)of cougars in Wisconsin. And my point is.. there is no place in this State where population density is such, that the cougar would live without interactions with humans. And while these cats might run on a chance encounter with humans, we still have to face the fact they are a Class A predator, able to kill a human. You add children into that mix, and your asking for a terrible incident. So why not stop it now. We survived for years with out them among us just fine. Why change something that works. Why risk having a predator of that type among us? But of course should cougars gain a foot hold, and one attack or even kill a human, we would be told, the cat was old, sick, toothless, suffering from PMS, or any other thing they think we'd believe instead of admitting, they goofed up and allowed a breeding population in the state.

It's the same for bear and wolves. Well your dog was attacked because it wasin a wolf rookery area.

When I first attended the wolf meetings, a biologist for the DNR told us we were getting excited over nothing. That the population of wolves was so low that we might live in Northern Wisconsin all our lives and never see one in the wild. Well we all know she was not telling the truth, because her lips were moving. All it was at that time was a smoke and mirror show to calm people while the DNR pressed their agenda. I'd hate to see that happen with cougars.

And I never kill snakes. Bull snakes, milk snakes, etc were welcome on the farm and we were ordered to leave them alone. The old man would not even let us play with them. Besides a snake does not concern me. When I see them, they want to escape. I have no concern of them trying to eat me.

2 Lunger

Good enough and I rest my case. I was speaking for the whole general area and not Wisconsin. Maybe that is where we all disagreed. I can't speak for your state because I've never been there. My mindset is that Wisconsin is a wilderness area and obviously I'm wrong.

The point is cougars are making a comeback whether we like it or not. I've never bought into the theory of states releasing them too much. I really think these recent cats have been ones that have traveled from the Dakota area.

It boils down to that there is a lot of things out there that can potentially harm you. We all know that. I just hope the states like Wisconsin and Illinois use their heads and keep these animal in check and they do not end up like the current wolf problem that you guys are experiencing. For the DNR to tell you guys that you would probably never see a wolf in the wild after their introduction is just mind boggleing. Did she really think you guys where that stupid? We all know how fast wolves breed.

2 Lunger

I was agreeing with you. Not sure how I offended you here. I said I didn't doubt your friend, but with the DNR you and I know you have to have proof.

Not sure how I offended you here again. I was just saying that I found it pretty dumb for a wild life official so stand up and say, " Yep, boys and girls, it's just a matter of time before one of yuns gets eaten by a lion." I find that odd and unprofessional.

That animal could have just as easly been darted and removed from the city. But, the Chicago police department hadn't fired their guns in a while and wanted some target practice. Would it have survived if it had been relocated to where it came from? Who's to say.