OT--Cougar attacks

[getitdone1]

A program on TV got me to looking at wild animal attacks on the internet. Coyote, wolf and cougar. (Get to bears later)

Found very interesting reading about cougar attacks. Been a lot of them and by far the most in British Columbia, Canada. A far distance 2nd and 3rd would be California and then Colorado. Of course a few other western states as well.

Cougars like to go after young kids. Seems they sense they are easier prey than adults. Still, they attack plenty of adults. They go for the head and neck area. Tear off the scalp, sometimes an ear and of course lots of damage to hands and arms of victim trying to protect themselves. Victims are usually mauled but several times--even adults--have been killed by them. Think there's been something like 23 deaths from cougar attacks since about 1890. Maybe more. Attacks have increased in recent years.

In a few cases the victim used a knife to harm and scare the cougar away. At least one case where the cougar was killed with a knife. In cougar country I would always have at least a large knife on me and a handgun or rifle when possible when in the wilds.

They say playing dead is NOT the thing to do with cougars. Give them a rough enough time and they'll often leave. Found many of these cougars were small or thin and often young. Plenty of cases where the cougar was in perfect health leaving no room for defending them by animal loving nuts. Their defense is: They are predators, period! And yes, a beautiful animal too.

Try Wikipedia and "List of confirmed cougar attacks in US and Canada 2001-now." This will give you a good start. Many, many stories of cougar attacks on the internet.

Wonder if anyone in this group has had a memorable encounter with a cougar?

We have a guy about 15 miles away who keeps exotic cats in pens. Guess a cougar got out and our close neighbor said she seen it twice. Once about 1/4 mile north of our house and another time about 3 miles away. At least we think this is an escaped cougar. I do know that there are some cougars in southern Illinois and I'm in SW Indiana. Read a cougar's territory can be from 100 to 250 miles.

Although a coyote was the culprit--what a strange thing when that young female folk singer was killed by a couple of coyotes in Nova Scotia. Now that's an animal we definitely have here on our farm. You might want to look this up on the internet. Folk singer killed by coyotes should get you there.

Don McCullough

[Griff]

And my new neighbors (from CA) wondered why I sit on my back patio every evening & morning when I'm home with a wounded rabit call!

[crs]

getitdone1 - thanks for the summary.

Griff,
Did you wound that rabbit all by yourself?

[TedH]

Wonder if anyone in this group has had a memorable encounter with a cougar?


Don McCullough

I've had a couple.

First one is not really an encounter. On the farm in central Missouri, when I was 10 or 11 years old, I got home from school one day and my Mother said she had seen a cougar down by the lake earlier in the day which is about a quarter mile from the house. There was snow on the ground at the time so I took my 22 and walked down there. Sure enough, I found some very large cat tracks in the snow. No one else seemed to believe my Mom, even my Dad. But I know what I saw. It was nearly unheard of in Missouri at that time.

Fast forward about 20 years. I was hunting in North Central Idaho with a buddy. He had shot a nice whitetail buck and field dressed it before coming down the mountain to find me. As we went back and approached his deer we were shocked to see a lion with his head stuck inside the rib cage of the deer. It heard us and promptly sat up and just stared us down. Almost like he was telling us that was his deer now and we best leave. Neither of us had a tag, so we fired a shot over his head and that finally scared him off. Didn't seem none to scared of us, which was kind of spooky when you think about all the time spend in the woods around them.

A couple years later we were hunting and we treed a large male. He sat high on a limb, appearing calm as could be, just waiting for us to go away. This time we did have tags, and I shot him through the chest with a 357 mag revolver. At the shot he pounced straight up the tree another good 10 feet before jumping down and running off another 50 yards before he piled up. Again, I sensed no fear from this animal.

I have the utmost respect for mountain lions, and would never go into their home without some kind of firearm. It's not surprising that attacks are on the rise in places like CA that quit hunting them, thus loosing what little fear of humans they may have had.

[mikld]

Not familiar with cougar's hunting tactics, just what I've read about attacks. In So. Cal I believe the victims were jumped from behind or at least attacked from cover. So, unless you had a handgun at ready, or a rifle at port arms, safety off, round in the chamber, any attack would be a surprise? If I had my handgun holstered (SA with an empty chamber under the hammer), by the time I knew what was happening it would be too late! Has anybody seen an attack coming?

[TedH]

They are very intelligent hunters for sure. I doubt you would know they were there until they had a hold of you. We used to find deer kills in Idaho all the time in places where old logging roads had a steep bank with a ledge that was 8-10 feet higher than the road. The cats would ambush a deer as it was walking by, just waiting for the right moment and jumping down on their back.

[Griff]

Griff,
Did you wound that rabbit all by yourself?

No, the wife gets upset when the bunnies around the farm are harmed... so I have to make do with one of those artificial calls.

[Chas.]

In the early 70's there was a father and son that had a petting zoo on the dad's farm not too far from me. They also had some wild animals. One day, a lion got ahold of a 3 year old boy, mauled him good, and took off his arm. They closed the petting zoo after that. That incident is not too remarkable except the 27 year old son was none other than Jack Hanna.

[buckeyeshooter]

was on a bear hunt in Idaho. We were watching an orchard of wild plums in a valley between 2 'hills'?? (mountains where I come from). Anyway, a mass exodus of 127 elk, 46 deer and 17 turkeys started racing out of the brush and heading east. I ask the guide if Smoky bear just woke up. ---- His reply, nope must be a cat starting to hunt. About 20 minutes later--- shure enough a cougar sneaking through the plums. Too bad I had only a bear tag. I bet my 50 Alaskan would have rolled him good!

[KWK]

Probably memorable to only me, but I've encountered a cougar once in the wild. A girlfriend and I were hiking up a rocky area of Yosemite. We paused in front of a small cave, and being perfect city slickers, we decided to have a look inside. The growl of an annoyed cougar informed us we needed to get away pronto. I'm glad it wasn't more upset with us.

[2X22]

17 years ago I was helping a friend pack out gunny sacks of yew bark he was peeling. We were packing one over our shoulder up a steep trail about a 1/2 mile out of a bush hole to the top of a ridge where we could drive to and throwing them in a pile. I was about 1/2 back down and come around a corner where I could see my buddy. He was coming up the trail and behind him just above him on the hill was a cougar getting closer and closer. I hollered at him and when he figured out what I was trying to get across he turned around and by that time the cougar was crouched down about 30' away, slightly above him with his ears laid back. He threw the gunny sack at him (about 75lbs) and that didn't faze the cat a bit. My buddy didn't want to turn his back to him so he started throwing sticks and rocks while hollering as loud as he could while I was sprinting down toward him.

Whether it was the fight my buddy was putting up, the hollering, or me running toward him, the cat decided to get the heck outa dodge. It was pretty scary and when I got down to my friend (in his late 50's) he was white as a ghost and scared to death. In his mind that cat had made up its mind to get him. Neither of us were armed though there was a pistol in the truck. We didn't have it with us simply because we packed out about 4000lbs of bark overall that day and it was just that much more weight.

And about 10 years or less ago down at Blue Creek on the Cowlitz river there was a cat attack where a cat jumped on the back of a fellow that had a backpack on with either a salmon or steelhead in it. If I remember correctly there was no real injuries as the fellow had on a coach combined with the pack that took the brunt of the attack. A couple newspapers carried the story, I didn't know the fellow it happened to.

Do I pack a pistol and/or a rifle when I'm out in the woods around here? YES

2x22

[AJMD429]

Wonder if anyone in this group has had a memorable encounter with a cougar?

Well, there was this French teacher I had in college, who wouldn't give you an "A" unless you. . . . oh, that kind of 'cougar attack'...

Does my daughter's stray cat she rescued count, since I can't go near it unless I have on the furnace gloves and Carharts...? (...could have something to do with the fact that they always get me to be the bad guy when it comes to checking wounds or giving medicine... )

So, I guess for me, the answer is 'no' (I barely got a 'B' in French )

[olyinaz]

We've got bobcats to the point of it being a real problem in my neighborhood (taking lots of pets) but lately they seemed to have vamoosed. Last week several neighbors tell me that a puma is patrolling the neighborhood now and the cops are looking to nail it but it's being crafty. I'm thinking that could be why I haven't seen a bobby in a few weeks. At any rate, they sure are beautiful critters! Too bad they're so dagum dangerous.

Oly

[gak]

The "perfect"predator. I"ve related this story elsewhere, maybe on this forum, but several years ago got to "play" with a year old male Arizona cougar. I worked in a city office. A group of us were standing in a hallway when we saw a colleague running our way with a big grin on her face. Right--and swiping--at her heels, kitty cat like...was a big mountain lion! (leashed) She stopped to introduce him to us. I followed them out to a large balcony area as she handed the kitty back to his handler with a big "thanks!" I asked if it was ok to spend some time with him, and with with a "sure," for twenty minutes proceeded to rough-house with him, just (well almost) as you would a big Lab. What an experience. What a solid animal...actually liked to be pounded (again, well sorta!) on the ribcage. You could hear that 95% grown cat purr from across the room! Huge paws...and those teeth--he gladly bared a few times with a screechy yowl more than once. Further context: One of our managers was meeting with a rep of an Oregon big cat preserve--as our city was considering a similar project, and the visitor was taking the opportunity to pick up an orphaned "cub" found nine months earlier by a trucker--from a state game and fish rep also attending the meeting. Experience of a lifetime. And, yes, what a gorgeous animal.

Other: back in the days (35+ years ago) when mountain lions (and bobs) were very reclusive and rarely seen...When deer hunting in the Superstition Mts of central Arizona, my dad and I rested in the shade on an inclined and lichened rock face. I noticed across the canyon on the opposing cliff face (75-100 yds as the crow flies) a ledge and adjacent cave, and speculated out loud to my dad "what a perfect spot for a mountain lion," and I proceeded to faux-aim my rifle at the ledge. No more than five minutes later, out of the cave came said mountain lion...stretched and sunned himself on that ledge!! Though I've heard of many others, that was my first and only sighting of a cougar in the wild...but what a memory!

[jeepnik]

Well, I can say that all of the attacks I have read of here in California, nice to be at least #2 at something, have bee surprise attacks. In some cases, there has been stalking involved, and in others, it seem the cat was lying in wait along a trail of some sort. They have taken everything from toddlers to senior citizens. Some at least have had no fear of attacking healthy, as in runners and moutain bike riders, adults.

They rarely "eat" their human prey, but frequently take and eat domestic pets up to the size of german shepards and such. Domestic pets don't stand a chance against them.

Now as to memeorable encounters. Probably the most memorable was my first. I was horseback riding in the Lake Elizabeth area. A large (yea, I was young, but I found out later it was indeed a large, but old cat), puma ran across the trail maybe twenty or thirty feet in front of me. Now you're probably thinking, what did the horse do. Absolutely nothing. It just kept on walking down the trail and ignored the cat. Now being young, I imediately headed back to the stables. As it turns out, the cat was well known. Apparently it was quite old, and lived out of the garbage cans in the area. It apparently was quite used to people, and the horses from the area were quite comfortable around it. Still, for an 8 or 9 year old kid, it was really something to see.

I've been luck enough to see a fair number of cats in the wild. Most at pretty extreme distances. I'm quite sure they knew I was there long before I knew they were. Once though, while riding dirt bikes in the Cajon pass, a buddy and I had stopped for lunch, and watched a mother and two young cats "play". They were running and jumping up and down and all around a big boulder pile. We watched for maybe twenty minutes before the disappeared behind the rocks. You'd swear you were just looking at a family of dometic cats in your yard. But I sure would have hated to get between mama and her young.

[El Chivo]

I was at the ranger's office today and they had a handout on cougars. With all the feel-good language, they made it sound like cougars are man's best friend. But they did get to the part where cougars attack humans, and how to discourage them.

The one I hadn't heard was, don't bend over. Then they'll think you are a four-legged animal. Apparently two legged animals aren't their food of preference.

[jeepnik]

I was at the ranger's office today and they had a handout on cougars. With all the feel-good language, they made it sound like cougars are man's best friend. But they did get to the part where cougars attack humans, and how to discourage them.

The one I hadn't heard was, don't bend over. Then they'll think you are a four-legged animal. Apparently two legged animals aren't their food of preference.

Yea, apparently we just don't taste very good. I'd say that's a good thing

[Old Time Hunter]

They eat horses here in Wisconsin:

http://www.wisn.com/news/24552941/detail.html

[Streetstar]

Wonder if anyone in this group has had a memorable encounter with a cougar?

Well, there was this French teacher I had in college, who wouldn't give you an "A" unless you. . . . oh, that kind of 'cougar attack'...

Does my daughter's stray cat she rescued count, since I can't go near it unless I have on the furnace gloves and Carharts...? (...could have something to do with the fact that they always get me to be the bad guy when it comes to checking wounds or giving medicine... )

So, I guess for me, the answer is 'no' (I barely got a 'B' in French )

Sorry-- i know the cougar reference is getting old, but .............................

[KSFlatheadhunter]

Other: back in the days (35+ years ago) when mountain lions (and bobs) were very reclusive and rarely seen...When deer hunting in the Superstition Mts of central Arizona, my dad and I rested in the shade on an inclined and lichened rock face. I noticed across the canyon on the opposing cliff face (75-100 yds as the crow flies) a ledge and adjacent cave, and speculated out loud to my dad "what a perfect spot for a mountain lion," and I proceeded to faux-aim my rifle at the ledge. No more than five minutes later, out of the cave came said mountain lion...stretched and sunned himself on that ledge!! Though I've heard of many others, that was my first and only sighting of a cougar in the wild...but what a memory!

Wow, thanks for the heads up. My sister in law and family live at the base of the Superstitions in Apache Junction. I usually get up at 4:30 am to climb the mountain behind her house when we go to visit. I am usually trying to make sure I don't step on a Western Diamondback, I will add looking for Mountain Lions to the list!

Thanks,
Darin

[rangerider7]

I might have told this story before. A friend of mine hunts with a bow on COE land. He was on the east side of Bosque county when he spotted a mountain lion down below him in a canyon. He started to shoot it but decided that was not a good idea. A deer appeared to his left, he took a look and decided to take it. He looked back for the ML to see if it might contest him for the deer and it was gone. That shook him up. He turn to wait and get a good shot on the dear. That's when he heard something behind him. He turned a saw the ML about 20 feet behind him staring at him. He was shaking so hard he made a bad shot on the deer and it was thrashing around in the brush. He decided discretion was better than valor by this time and jumped from the tree and ran back to his truck about 500 yards away. He got on his cell phone and called a buddy. He told him to bring a gun to help him get his deer out because of the ML. When his buddy got there all he had was a 22 revolver. My friend was not amused. They did go back and retrieved the nice buck. The only signs they saw of the ML was a couple of deer carcasses he had covered. I told him "that ML was full or you would have been dead meat. He was just curious." He carries a large revolver with him now even though the COE bands them along with rifles. He has seen several over the last two years but none have tried to stalk him.

[futura]

I ride a dual sport motorcycle on the logging roads and skid trails, single tracks on Vancouver Island. It takes you into places you just can't get to by car, jeep or even by foot.

My buddy was riding with his son on a logging road mid island. The kid was riding about 25 yards ahead and my friend watched what he first thought was a golden lab pop out of the woods and start pacing about ten yards behind his son.

He soon realized it was a cougar and speed up and got on his horn. He said the cougar acted like he was not even there and on his own accord decided to break off and go back into the woods. The road home a little faster that day.