Cougar Killed In Troup County
November 18th, 2008 NewsEngine Posted in Wild Animal News |

FORT VALLEY, Ga. - Hunters around West Point Lake might be led to believe that Georgia has a new predator roaming the woods - the cougar. A Sunday kill of a male cougar on U.S. Army Corps of Engineer land at West Point Lake, south of Hwy. 109 seemed to verify that thought. However, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division, this simply is a one-time experience.
“Though cougar and panther sightings persist in Georgia, there are no known native populations of these animals roaming the woods,” advises Wildlife Resources Division Region Supervisor Kevin Kramer. “There is no reason to believe there are any more cougars out there. This likely is a unique experience and while exciting, is not something for which we should be concerned.”

The cougar, taken near the Abbottsford community west of LaGrange, was a male, 88 inches in length measured from the nose to the tip of the tail and weighed approximately 140 pounds. The hunter who took the animal was legally hunting deer from his tree stand at the time the cougar approached.
Initial external examination by Wildlife Resources Division biologists found no tattoos, tags or collars, and the cougar had not been declawed.
Further examination by The Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens Monday afternoon confirmed the cougar to be healthy and well fed. Researchers determined the cougar had a very low parasite level and that the pads on all four feet were scuffed. According to SCWDS staff, these findings are consistent with a captive reared cougar, not a wild specimen.
Due to the fact that there are no known native populations of cougars in Georgia, no permitted cougars in this area and that the closest Alabama facilities permitted to house cougars (in Elmore and Macon Counties) have accounted for all permitted cougars, the animal taken Sunday likely escaped or was released from a non-permitted individual.
There currently are no leads as to who may have most recently held the animal, but the Division will continue to look into all possibilities.
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Lets hope there is no cougar reintroduction program in the state of Georgia.
In south fla effortswere made to stabilize the endangered florida panther population by introducing Texas cougarsinto the region ,primarilythe Big Cypress National Preserve. Well the programhas been successful ,to the point were the current "panther" population appears to be above carrying capacity for the area. The question of what to do with surplus cats appears to have never been addressed.

The successful introduction of predators into a hunting area will mean the end of hunting as youknow it.
With in a couple of years we lost the hog population completely. This is an area that over 700,000 acres with an additional 500,000 or better adjacent. We went from seeing plenty of hogs ot none in a very short period of time and the same happened to all ground dwelling critters raccoons , armadillos , otters etc.

With the demise of feral hogs in the glades well all knew that it was only a matter of time before the deer herd started showing signs of decreasing numbers and this season we are seeing this first hand.

The decision was made to have panthers in Florida.
"What purpose does having the Panther serve in the Ecosystem as a whole?" Panthers no longer serve as an important part of the ecosystem as hunting thins out the white-tailed deer herd butsomebiologists like the idea of having panthers in the ecosystem.
The fact is that there arevery few true Florida Panthers and in 10 years there would be none as the Texas cougar gene would overtake the Florida Panther gene. At which point the scientific name for the panther now in Florida as Felix concolor stanleyana, which is the scientific name for the Texas Cougar~ The scientific name for the Florida Panther is Felix concalor coryi.

Questions have been asked as to whether they are dangerous to humans.
Generally not to adults, particularly if they are in groups. Panthers attack according to prey size. They would attack children and small adults, especially a small adult bent over. Studies have been done regarding panther behavior towards childrenwith panthers in captivity. When children entered the area where panthers are caged, the panthers would crouch down and go into stalking mode until the children leave the area.

Consequently, the FWC, FWS and NPS.agencies came up with a 3 strike interim contingency plan.

The contingency plan requires the following. If a panther comes within I00 yards of a residence, a campground, a populated area, or an indian Camp, aversive conditioning would take place and count asa strike. After the third strike, the panther would be removed from the area. Early on, the staff from these agencies realized that by doing this, they would be removing these panthers from the area.
Studies have shown that there is a much higher number of panthers than previously thought. Panthers are being sighted everywhere. Studies have show that 97% of the hogs are now gone,95% of the racoons are gone· These two animals are primary prey species of panthers. Utilizing deer counts frominformation gathered trom hunters, the deer herd has apparently dropped by 35% over the past two years. There are much fewer deer tracks,raccoon tracks,fewer road kills of raccoons.
Based on this information, the following was calculated: .

Adult panthers require about 100 lbs. of meat per week, as stated in National Geographic's television series Explorer Episode titled. "Killer Cats". Female panthers with kittens require 200 lbs. per week while caring for the kittens.
Panthers eat wild hogs, raccoons, and deer.One deer equals approximately 100 Ibs. of meat. It takes two small hogs or 15 raccoons to equal one deer or 100 lbs. ofmeat from raccoons, or any combination of the above.
These numbers would increase for a female panther with kittens.

Using the State's figure of 80 panthers in the Preserve ( the number is closer to 220), this means 3,280 deer or 6,360 hogs or 47,800 raccoons. This is just for 'adult panthers, does not include female panthers with kittens .....
There are approximately 4,000 deer, plus or minus 10%, in the Preserve.
Have panthers reachedcarrying capacity or exceeded it?
Many believe they have reached carrying capacity and many are reporting sightings , were 10 years ago a sighting was extremely rare.

What is the solution?
1.The Florida Panther should be delisted ftom Endangeredstatus immediately.
2.The Florida Panther needs to have birth control done so it will not exceed carrying capacity.
3.No future development of parking lots, wildlife trails, or any other human recreation facility that would displacewildlife habitat or increase human/panther interactions.


There realy is no conflict between deer huntingand Florida Panthers in the Preserve. Panthers seem to be adjusted to hunting and generally wont leave their home range due hunting pressure. A major concern we've had for the last couple of yearsis that the deer herd is taking a hit due to panther predation and the dwindelling numbers support that suspicion.

Beware of any agency or wildlife group trying to push any predator introduction in your state because you may not like the long term results.
Your hunting license fees will be nothing more than a permit to legally carry a firearm in the woods during hunting season.

Happy Hunting..

I'll bet they'll be a good population of mt.lions in GA within ten years unless someone does something about it. I saw one in Meriweather county about 8 years ago when I lived there and there's reports every year of people seeing them.

They said there were no native mountain lions in South Dakota when I moved there for years even though they were killing livestock and pets and getting hit by cars. Finally they couldn't deny it anymore and said there were probably about 50 of them living in the hills. By the next year they estimated the numbers at 150, and the year after that they started a limited hunting season for them.

A friend of mine was deer hunting on Eglin AFB near DeFuniak Springs last year and had a large brown cat that appeared to weigh 100 pounds or more trot by. It had an orange tracking collar (antenna) on. I thought it would be illegal to shoot one regardless of where you are hunting, unless there is a designated season.