Ot cougar sighting in Fla

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foxtrapper
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Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by foxtrapper »

I have a bil that lives in Venice Fla. Now he's not an outdoorsman but he used to hunt back in NY many years ago. So he's not a babe in the woods :D He was leaving his condo complex where the landscapers were mowing the grounds. Looking towards a stand of woods there in plain sight at 11 am no less,was a cougar. It stood for a few minutes when he stopped his car and the two had a staredown! Does anybody know if panthers are common in that part of the state?
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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by Bruce »

The main population of panthers is in the Big Cypress (and surrounding areas), which is just south of Venice. They have been documented to extend their range, especially the young males. The older (dominate) males will kill them. It is very possible that one is in the area your BIL lives in.
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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by Triggernosis »

Haven't there been reports recently of chupacabras being attacked by panthers in northern FL?
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RIHMFIRE
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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by RIHMFIRE »

I saw one in central florida near lake harney while hunting..years ago...
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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by piller »

I have heard reports of Cougars from all over the U.S. and I am of the opinion that they are similar to the coyote in the ability to live wherever they please and be very seldom seen. Since is is a well documented fact that cougars are native to Florida, it is not surprising to me that someone would see one anywhere in the state.
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InTheWoods
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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by InTheWoods »

We have had around eight confirmed sightings in Missouri this year (confirmed by our game department). One was killed by a rancher and one was shot by coon hunters. Several were caught on trail cameras. When DNA evidence was found (dead ones, of course, and hair from fences, etc.) the cougars all seem to come from South Dakota. All also seem to be dispersing young males. No females have been confirmed to date in Missouri.

There was a confirmed dead lion in Connecticut (!!!) this summer. This lion was also from South Dakota and a young male. DNA samples from this same lion were confirmed at two other midwest locations along this lion's route to the east. That is a long ways to walk, friends!
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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by adirondakjack »

In 1983 I saw HUGE cat tracks in the sand trap of a golf course next to an eviscerated oppossum with two fang holes in the top of it;s head. NO other cat coulda took on a Panama City area possum like that. FL authorities pooh-pooed it.....

NY authorities recently pooh pooed several oddities (I myself saw a deer carcass on top of a boulder, neatly eviscerated, and cat tracks in the snow nearby). UNTIL one lady managed to use duct tape to gather hairs from tracks, and they were matched to a cougar (puma, Mt lion, you pick) that had been "sampled" previously in Colorado I think, then killed by a car in New England somewhere, TWO THOUSAND MILES of range for one (dna verified) cat. My dad spent a lifetime in the adirondacks and always maintained we NEVER had lost em all here. He saw tracks where cats stalked deer, etc. Cats hate us and fear us, so easily CAN live their entire lives unseen UNTIL we begin "strip gentrification" along nice roads through our mountains and swamps, making encounters much more likely.

Makes sense to me. Who has ever SEEN a woodchuck IN THE WOODS? Most of em live in woods, happily out of our sight. Who has ever SEEN raccoons in the woods in the day? They are there.....
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InTheWoods
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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by InTheWoods »

I think trail cams have about done away with the supposed mystery creatures that some folks think inhabit our woods. Sooner or latter almost every creature out there will evidentually get its photo on the internet.
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Rube Burrows
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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by Rube Burrows »

We were deep in the bottom on our 500 acre family tract in Alabama a couple weeks ago. We were riding the 4wheeler since the bottom was somewhat dry due to the lack of rain at the time. While way back there we got off to take a break and was looking at all of the critter tracks on the semi wet creek bed mud........one set of tracks stood out which looked like a rather large cat. No claw marks on the toes and I will tell you that it gave me chills.

I myself have never seen one in the area but there have been reports.
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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by gak »

Hangin' out at the 4th hole in Scottsdale last winter.
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foxtrapper
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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by foxtrapper »

Last month while visiting my bil ,we were looking at real estate in Venice in a golf community. While driving through two otters crossed the road ahead of us. So theres otters and cougars roaming that part of Fla. Now I head home to LI N.Y. And in the local paper there is two articles about wildlife sighting in N.Y. One are otters in the Nissaquoge river on L.I. And confirmation from the DEC that cougars do inhabit upstate N.Y! I hope grizzlies are next!!!
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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by Newtmaker »

There was a dead Florida Black Panther (not the NYC variety :D ) found near Geneva, Fl, recently by a friend of mine. It had been beheaded and otherwise messed up badly. They found the individual who had dumped it but he wasn't charged with killing it. He was fined heavily for just having had it and then dumping it alongside a road.
A week ago there was a long article in a newspaper about the sudden upsurge in the panther population and because of the dominant male situation, the young ones are wandering further away from the everglades habitat.
The cats in FL, panther and bobcats, are actually doing quite well lately. There was a news story recently here about a very large bobcat spotted in a very suburban neighborhood where several family cats and dogs had disappeared. I have actually had two bobcats sunning in my backyard, just out of the jungle that my property backs up to. Actually, the only critters I have not seen here in my 22 years is a black bear and a panther. I rteally do not want to see either, thank you very much :o

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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by wolfdog »

I have seen Fl Panthers 6 or 7 times in east central fl , and tracks about 20 times. They were in 2 locations about 30 miles apart so I think it was 2 different cats. Sadly I no longer have access to the properties where I spotted them so I do not know if they are still in the area.
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Rube Burrows
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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by Rube Burrows »

gak wrote:Hangin' out at the 4th hole in Scottsdale last winter.
Image


Not saying it is....but this photo looks photoshopped.


Cougars may like golf......I know cougars usually like country club men who play golf. :mrgreen:
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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by Gabby »

There have been numerous sitings here in south central Indiana. A lot of people dismissed them until the DNR caught them on film. They have been sited a hundred mile apart so it's not just one. I suppose as we continue to build and take there habitat they will spread, just like the deer have.
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Re: Ot cougar sighting in Fla

Post by AmBraCol »

InTheWoods wrote:No females have been confirmed to date in Missouri.
It all depends on who's confirming. In '06 I found the tracks of a large and a small cougar together north east of Mt. Vernon, MO. It was during the antlerless only deer season an the tracks were quite plain and easy to follow in the snow. So five years ago there was a female (can't imagine a male accompanying a cub) in SW MO.
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