TV news indicated one was nailed in Chicago yesterday.
Here's a New York State Conservationist Magazine Article on Mountain Lions:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/42763.html
A very reputable source and easy to read article (with nice pictures)
Forgive me if this has already been posted, my dad just sent it to me today. Seems a western US puma was stalking a cowboy hunter's dogs and rushed in to attack when... the cowboy's mule killed the puma! This is what you call one bad *ss...[IMG]
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Buy my new book 'Zen and the Art of Pessimisim,' or not. I guess it doesn't really matter if you read it.
the mountain lion was already dead. that group of pics and description is an old internet legend.
http://snopes.com/photos/animals/mulelion.asp
"Katahdin is a strange, lone, savage hill, unlike all others...It does not need superlatives to set it off." - Fannie Hardy Eckstorm
Vermont Views and Brews
ya caught me...
Buy my new book 'Zen and the Art of Pessimisim,' or not. I guess it doesn't really matter if you read it.
The prey IS here, the habitat IS here, but the animals ARE NOT. No doubt as time passes we may see single animals roam through, but so far all "mountain lions" positiviely identified in the Northeast (the majority of sightings are actually bobcats, golden retrievers, and even house cats) have been escaped pets. Mitochondrial DNA analysis from the epithelial cells sloughed off on scat have proven that these have been South American animals --- ie stupid people with inappropriate pets have released them when they got to be too difficult to deal with.
Chris
In this crowded world, our sense of coexistence with wilderness life can be enforced by heights that are hard to climb. --- John Hay
The relatively relaxed attitude of the dogs was a "dead" giveaway. Tain't no lion dogs that will sit idly by like that when the cat is still fighting.
sardog1
"Å! kjære Bymann gakk ei stjur og stiv,
men kom her up og kjenn eit annat Liv!
kom hit, kom hit, og ver ei daud og lat!
kom kjenn, hot d'er, som heiter Svevn og Mat,
og Drykk og Tørste og det heile, som
er Liv og Helse i ein Hovedsum."
-- Aasmund O. Vinje, "Til Fjells!"
Okay, we don't need no stinkin' phony mule stories. Here's a real story to make your jaw fall open:
The late, lamented Chicago cougar is descended from Black Hills cougars and apparently traveled on foot through Wisconsin to the Windy City.
sardog1
"Å! kjære Bymann gakk ei stjur og stiv,
men kom her up og kjenn eit annat Liv!
kom hit, kom hit, og ver ei daud og lat!
kom kjenn, hot d'er, som heiter Svevn og Mat,
og Drykk og Tørste og det heile, som
er Liv og Helse i ein Hovedsum."
-- Aasmund O. Vinje, "Til Fjells!"
I was speaking to a friend yesterday who had a call from a friend telling about a mountain lion she and her daughter had seen while on a hike to Goodrich Rock in Waterville Valley. Apparently the animal was very interested in them, following them through the woods at a distance. They aborted their plans and returned to their car, wishing I'm sure, that they had brought a camera along.
Ellen
Volunteer Maintainer: East Pond Trail
"Through winter-time we call on spring/And through the spring on summer call/And when abounding hedges ring/Declare that winter's best of all/And after that there's nothing good/Because the spring-time has not come... William Butler Yeats
It would be interesting to know exactly when and where on the trail they spotted the cat whether mtn lion or not. The upper half of the Goodrich Rock Trail is pretty wild and remote feeling, with large glacial erratics, steep hillside and lots of hiding places, even though it is so close to civilization.I was speaking to a friend yesterday who had a call from a friend telling about a mountain lion she and her daughter had seen while on a hike to Goodrich Rock in Waterville Valley.
A couple of us were up there clipping brush Sunday and saw nary a sign of wildlife except for a single deer track, and some mountain bikers on Greeley Ponds Trail.
Never test the depth of the water with both feet!
I agree, Harry -- would like to know more about the Goodrich Rock "sighting", too. I definitely saw cat-tracks out that way last winter, but 99.2% sure they were the local bobcat and nothing bigger.
When I read eruggles' post yesterday (late as usual), I have to admit to having more-than-typical mixed feelings about the possible resurgence of a species in our midst. I am all about living in harmony with moose, bears, deer, and all the smaller critters -- and there are few things more beautiful than a mountain lion -- but they come with certain risks that other indigenous species don't bring.
I recognize that the risk of being attacked by a mountain lion is infinitely small (certainly less than, say, the risk of being taken out by a crazed Boy George fan after the concert tour was cancelled), but as someone who hikes all the time with small kids, it still gives me the willies. I know there's always a risk you could bump into a mother-and-cub or a rutting moose in the wrong place at the wrong time -- but they typically don't go on the hunt.
Knowing how elusive our cats have been when they wanted to be, no report of mountain lions is a surprise or lacks some credibility to me. My biggest question is where they came from. I suspect many actual sightings may not necessarily be the migration or return of a former indigenous creature ... that is, I suspect they are likely escaped "pets".
I do know a former owner of snow leopards who at one time was the only private individual licensed to keep them in Massachusetts. On a number of occasions he was called by local police in Southeastern Mass. to confer on sightings. Based upon evidence, the tracks especially, including one that that been cast in plaster by the police, and some photos, he was pretty sure they were strong proof that these animals were indeed the the mountain lion or a close relative thereof. But the question remained, where did they come from?
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