I Wonder What He Saw????
11-28-2006, 05:06 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Southeast, TX
Posts: 818
I Wonder What He Saw????
Well some of you may know I've been having a very slow season with my bow. I didn't see any deer again this past weekend. It sure is hard to stay confident when you don't see ANY deer. However, I had only two chances to hunt by myself during my last trip. I sat Friday eveningin my wife's area, looking for that nice buck that I got a pic of, then Saturday morning I sat one of my stands that I haven't sat in while. Saturday evening, I took my son to his stand to try again at his first deer. About 5:05 pm my wife shot a doe from her stand so we left to go help her before it got too dark. That night my boy said, "Dad, I want to get up early and go hunting again. I want to get there when it's still dark!" I told him I'd wake him up early and we'd go.
We get to his stand just as dawn breaks and sit for a while. Around 7:30am he starts getting restless and bored and wants to go back to camp. I told him that we aren't getting down before 9:00am. He's not happy, but I'm trying to teach him to have patience. I hear a squirrel rustling on he ground behind our ladder stand and I ask him "What is making that noise?" He turns slowly and starts looking. After a few seconds (20-30) he starts trembling!!! I don't know if it was fear, excitement, buck-type fever, or what, but his little heart was racing! Obviously, I start trying to see what in the world is down there but the pine tree that we're tied off to, is blocking my view. I quietly ask him, "What is it?!" With eyes WIDE open, trembling uncontrollably, he turns and whispers, "IT'S A BLACK COUGAR!" Now fellas, I immediately "puckered up"! Whatever it was was less than 10 yards from the tree we were tied to. I leaned further to try and see this creature and only caught a glimpse of dark fur. I did not see enough of the animal to dismiss nor confirmwhat he says it was. I know it was NOT a deer and it d@mn sure wasn't a squirrel. Well it never walked out in a clearing after that so I still don't KNOW what it was. I do know that my boy has seen quite a bit of wildlife in his nearly 7 years. He knows the difference between deer, dogs, coyotes, hogs, squirrels, coons, possums, skunks, and a few other various animals, so I really don't have much choice but to believe him.I picked with him saying"You were looking at a bobcat." He replied, "Bobcats have short tails and this thing had a LOONNGG tail." It might not have been a cougar, but I have to believe that he saw a LARGE black cat. That was the best hunt I've been on in a long time!
Oh yeah, I asked him why he was trembling & shaking so badand he said it was because he was SO EXCITED!
TXMM
We get to his stand just as dawn breaks and sit for a while. Around 7:30am he starts getting restless and bored and wants to go back to camp. I told him that we aren't getting down before 9:00am. He's not happy, but I'm trying to teach him to have patience. I hear a squirrel rustling on he ground behind our ladder stand and I ask him "What is making that noise?" He turns slowly and starts looking. After a few seconds (20-30) he starts trembling!!! I don't know if it was fear, excitement, buck-type fever, or what, but his little heart was racing! Obviously, I start trying to see what in the world is down there but the pine tree that we're tied off to, is blocking my view. I quietly ask him, "What is it?!" With eyes WIDE open, trembling uncontrollably, he turns and whispers, "IT'S A BLACK COUGAR!" Now fellas, I immediately "puckered up"! Whatever it was was less than 10 yards from the tree we were tied to. I leaned further to try and see this creature and only caught a glimpse of dark fur. I did not see enough of the animal to dismiss nor confirmwhat he says it was. I know it was NOT a deer and it d@mn sure wasn't a squirrel. Well it never walked out in a clearing after that so I still don't KNOW what it was. I do know that my boy has seen quite a bit of wildlife in his nearly 7 years. He knows the difference between deer, dogs, coyotes, hogs, squirrels, coons, possums, skunks, and a few other various animals, so I really don't have much choice but to believe him.I picked with him saying"You were looking at a bobcat." He replied, "Bobcats have short tails and this thing had a LOONNGG tail." It might not have been a cougar, but I have to believe that he saw a LARGE black cat. That was the best hunt I've been on in a long time!
Oh yeah, I asked him why he was trembling & shaking so badand he said it was because he was SO EXCITED!
TXMM
11-28-2006, 05:23 PM
#3
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Southeast, TX
Posts: 818
RE: I Wonder What He Saw????
Actually Rob, just recentlya woman hunting on my lease saw two large yellow cats cross the road near her stand. She didn't get a shot, but a few of us went to look at the tracks in the sand, and they definetly appeared to be cat tracks about 3-4 inches wide.
There have been some sighting of Mt. Lions in E. TX.
There have been some sighting of Mt. Lions in E. TX.
11-28-2006, 05:29 PM
#4
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 26
RE: I Wonder What He Saw????
Many years ago, like 20 years ago, I was driving along I-20 in northern Louisiana towards Shreveport in the middle of the night. Up ahead, just out of the headlights range, I saw what I thought was a big black dog. And then it started walking. It was a cat of some kind, no doubt about it. Spooked me. I don't doubt your son's story for a minute. Maybe you can find your son a cheap digital camera to take into the woods with ya'll. It'll keep him busy, it's silent (the beeps can be turned off), and maybe he'll get another chance to take a pick of it.
Terri S.
Terri S.
11-29-2006, 03:20 PM
#7
Spike
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana
Posts: 15
RE: I Wonder What He Saw????
TXMM, I have seen large, dark Bobcats in my area of central Louisiana. Also, see this post about Eastern Cougars (from http://www.pibburns.com/cryptost/ecougar.htm):
A small but persistent fraction of sightings in the Eastern United States are of black cats. While black panthers are encountered very rarely in Central and South America, none has ever been reliably reported from the United States or Canada. Cougar coats can turn dark brown as cold weather approaches. These cougars may appear black in dim light and wet conditions. Other reports of black cougars may reflect observations of jaguars. Black jaguars (Panthera onca) do exist. A few jaguars -- themselves highly endangered -- still appear in the United States in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and possibly California and Louisiana. These may all be Mexican immigrants rather than representatives of a native U. S. breeding population. The jaguar is larger and far more heavily built than the cougar and is consequently quite different in appearance. Many people are not familiar enough with either cat to know the difference. Black jaguars which have escaped from captivity could account for some reports of black cougars. Escaped black leopards (Panthera pardus) offer another candidate for black cougar reports.
Sure has me thinking!
LDG
A small but persistent fraction of sightings in the Eastern United States are of black cats. While black panthers are encountered very rarely in Central and South America, none has ever been reliably reported from the United States or Canada. Cougar coats can turn dark brown as cold weather approaches. These cougars may appear black in dim light and wet conditions. Other reports of black cougars may reflect observations of jaguars. Black jaguars (Panthera onca) do exist. A few jaguars -- themselves highly endangered -- still appear in the United States in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and possibly California and Louisiana. These may all be Mexican immigrants rather than representatives of a native U. S. breeding population. The jaguar is larger and far more heavily built than the cougar and is consequently quite different in appearance. Many people are not familiar enough with either cat to know the difference. Black jaguars which have escaped from captivity could account for some reports of black cougars. Escaped black leopards (Panthera pardus) offer another candidate for black cougar reports.
Sure has me thinking!
LDG
