Cougar habits-experience with cougars?

[MAX-24-Dean]

This is what the guy looked like, very nice coat. He was dispatched by law enforcement/game department.
Edit: This picture was taken approx. 2 hours after my first encounter as law enforcment showed up.
At 5:30am it was still pitch dark here when I pointed the flashlight in its direction and saw it.

Picture was taken at 7:30am

 

[TugBarge]

What part of Washington? Rural here and never saw one in 40+ years. Sightings about once a year reported in the local news.

Bruce

I am also in SW WA. No cougar sightings yet.

 

[Jchonline]

This is what the guy looked like, very nice coat. He was dispatched by law enforcement/game department.

Yes that's exactly what I would have done. No messing with an animal with this kind of demeanor toward humans. You either kill it or it will attack someone eventually. I do hate killing animals, but in this case it is warranted.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Told law enforcement that if it would not have force me to retreat and hadn't followed me, I would not have called them.
I know that neighbors recently lost livestock to the cat.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Klickitat County is one of three counties in Washington State that is considered prime habitat for Cougars, hence the over population.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

We see them all the time here; there are two nearby dens for cubs that I know of, so, yes, lots of deer carcasses around.

Our house rules: nobody runs around when the light levels are low, e.g. dawn or dusk, and always take a dog out with you if you are going out between dusk and dawn. We have German shepherds with high protection instincts. Our outside lights are motion activated, so they come on as we exit the house. We pay attention to other animals, just in case. More often than not, our horses or cows will see the mountain lions (cougars/panthers) first. Then again, our animals are quite non-reactive to their presence, which suggests to me that the mountain lions come through often, and don't bother the animals. Our animals are quite reactive to pigs, and I have seen the horse hunt, surround, and drive pigs out of the pasture.

Know your environment; cougars like to be safe, so they tend to be in brush, in trees, or on rooftops. When we lived in town, animal control followed up on a young girl reporting one on the neighbor's roof, and tracks were found there. Subsequent game cameras showed that the mountain lions were moving along stream beds through town, and then leaping onto roofs to go house to house on roof tops. It was said to explain some of the local small dog and cat losses. Locally, mountain lions have been observed to jump forty feet horizontally, and eighteen plus feet vertically. Around here, they are exclusive hunters of deer, except for a few months when young adults are scouting for new territory and can run short of deer. A neighbor has had cattle on an area with a den for more than fifty years and has never lost a calf to a mountain lion. (Ok, anecdotal.)

Candidly, I worry much more about feral pigs. Statistically, cougars aren't much of a risk.

An Update on Fatalities Due to Venomous and Nonvenomous Animals in the United States (2008–2015)

To review recent (2008–2015) United States mortality data from deaths caused by nonvenomous and venomous animals and compare with historical data.The …

www.sciencedirect.com

All the best,

Peter

My first encounter with a Cougar was about 8 years ago. I got that feeling like someone was watching me as I rounded the corner of my barn.
Walked by the barn out the fence, when I looked back at the barn I saw a cougar in the loft through the open door. Would have been a 10 foot vertical leap to get up in the loft. That's when I found out about their ability to leap horzontally and vertically.

 

[ponytug]

My first encounter with a Cougar was about 8 years ago. I got that feeling like someone was watching me as I rounded the corner of my barn.
Walked by the barn out the fence, when I looked back at the barn I saw a cougar in the loft through the open door. Would have been a 10 foot vertical leap to get up in the loft. That's when I found out about their ability to leap horzontally and vertically.

Great radar!

I'm always looking up in big cat country. Dropping on prey is a favorite hunting method. There is a big oak that we often pass by, and there is a wide branch about 12' up that has no moss or lichen on the top side. I'm personally convinced it is a mountain lion roost, but I have never seen on there. Whether it hunts from there, caches food there, or just rests there, I have no idea, so it might be a roost for... something else like a tree climbing pig?

I find seeing a big cat above me to be very unsettling.

We see them a couple times a year. They keep their distance, and we keep ours.

Most of the cougar/mountain lion attacks in California have been trail runners, typically dawn/dusk.

All the best,

Peter

 

[JasperFrank]

We have them here at my place frequently. Before letting the dog out, in the fall, all the outdoor lights go on, as it is still dark. 10 minutes later, I'll go out with a "hella," flash light, with huge candle power. And scan the area for my dog's morning walk. Cougars don't want to be around humans. They run off, and will not attack people or dogs, unless they are starving, or a bad Cougar, that just like us, happens. We have bad humans also.

 

[Jstpssng]

I would think a good load of birdshot would help move him along and hopefully would associate the bad stinging from the shot to give him some fear of you, I probably would make sure that I had some buckshot backing up the birdshot just in case my plan didn't go as planned.

To each their own. If I feel threatened enough to shoot something, it's going to die. I also would use something lethal... leave your #4 buck for something which can't kick your butt. (I consider buckshot to be a "hope it works" option... go big with a slug, or go home.) I might consider bear spray, it's supposed to be pretty potent.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

To each their own. If I feel threatened enough to shoot something, it's going to die. I also would use something lethal... leave your #4 buck for something which can't kick your butt. (I consider buckshot to be a "hope it works" option... go big with a slug, or go home.) I might consider bear spray, it's supposed to be pretty potent.

I was kind of trying to stay within the law as I kind of figured anyone had enough sense to do what needed to be done if they felt they or their family was in danger without posting it on a forum for any and everybody to see, I also don't believe that every animal has to be killed if you can give it a healthy fear of humans and what they can do, but I do believe if it comes right down to it that we are truly the apex predator and should be the final survivor.

 

[ultrarunner]

Great radar!

I'm always looking up in big cat country. Dropping on prey is a favorite hunting method. There is a big oak that we often pass by, and there is a wide branch about 12' up that has no moss or lichen on the top side. I'm personally convinced it is a mountain lion roost, but I have never seen on there. Whether it hunts from there, caches food there, or just rests there, I have no idea, so it might be a roost for... something else like a tree climbing pig?

I find seeing a big cat above me to be very unsettling.

We see them a couple times a year. They keep their distance, and we keep ours.

Most of the cougar/mountain lion attacks in California have been trail runners, typically dawn/dusk.

All the best,

Peter

Sightings not uncommon in SF Bay Area.

At the tree farm is a large oak just behind the house and the dogs were out in the fence back making a racket... usually a person's trespassing or a rattle snake... but this time was not the case... About 10 feet up on a broad oak limb was a mountain lion sprayed out relaxing... best guess about 90 lbs.

 

[hslogger]

Cougars are back in the coast range, and valleys of Washington and Oregon. Roughly twenty years ago give or take the powers outlawed hound dogging and treeing the big cats for sport.
It has taken a while for them to rebound but they have quite well.

You do not want to RUN. nope nada no no. If you run they will, too, right after you. Stand your ground make a lot noise, raise your hands, appear larger than you are. Grab a stick or pistol but don't turn your back and run.

 

[LouNY]

To each their own. If I feel threatened enough to shoot something, it's going to die. I also would use something lethal... leave your #4 buck for something which can't kick your butt. (I consider buckshot to be a "hope it works" option... go big with a slug, or go home.) I might consider bear spray, it's supposed to be pretty potent.

I have considerable conficence in 27 pellets close to a quarter of an inch in diameter traveling over 1100 fps, it has been proven quite lethal in many situations. Especially as I can get those results repeatedly and quickly.

 

[Jstpssng]

I have considerable conficence in 27 pellets close to a quarter of an inch in diameter traveling over 1100 fps, it has been proven quite lethal in many situations. Especially as I can get those results repeatedly and quickly.

I understand that. Yet based on what I've seen deer hunting, it's also used as a "Hope it hits" type of shot, often resulting in a wounded animal running off. (I also know somebody who killed a black bear with a single shot .22 rifle, yet I don't condone that either.)

If I feel that I need to shoot something, I want to know that it's going down RIGHT NOW. I've faced down a cow moose, up close and personal; and I've faced down a black bear. The cow charged me twice and was 17 feet away when she turned each time; the bear was closer than that. It's amazing how quickly something that big can move... you might not get that second shot.

No doubt there were babies nearby both times, but I didn't know where so didn't dare move.

I was kind of trying to stay within the law as I kind of figured anyone had enough sense to do what needed to be done if they felt they or their family was in danger without posting it on a forum for any and everybody to see, I also don't believe that every animal has to be killed if you can give it a healthy fear of humans and what they can do, but I do believe if it comes right down to it that we are truly the apex predator and should be the final survivor.

I see your point. However, I can't condone intentionally wounding anything. Which is worse; a predator which doesn't fear you; or a wounded predator which doesn't fear you? I would try the bear spray first, with something at hand which throws a big chunk of lead as backup.

 

[Hay Dude]

I have considerable conficence in 27 pellets close to a quarter of an inch in diameter traveling over 1100 fps, it has been proven quite lethal in many situations. Especially as I can get those results repeatedly and quickly.

Agree. When frightened by a large predator (bear, cougar, etc), I’d rather have the “cloud” affect of buckshot than one slug. Just a injury hit or even the loud boom usually sends them running off.

 

[oosik]

We have cougars around here. OP was probably very lucky that he was not attacked. MANY years ago I lost six barn cats in one week. Not eaten - just ripped to shreds. Hunters have bagged some really large cats just five miles west of me.

Been here forty plus years. Never worried about cougars/mountain lions. However - I don't go out and wander around at night either.

 

[ultrarunner]

Living in a city of 450,000 +/- Fish and Game has issued depredatation permit for mountain lion attacking horses.

It caused quite a stir with extensive media coverage and law enforcement had a major issue with it.

Running into similar with bears in the Lake Tahoe region breaking into cars and homes but woe to the homeowner that injures or harasses a bear inside your home...

Animal control and city police useless as they refer to fish and game...

Fish and Game not available after hours and weekends.

The police office actually told me the community built in 1940's inside the city limits is historic bear habitat and people are the intruders...

Discharge of firearm inside city limits is punishable offense...

and there you have it in California.

 

[oosik]

And people are getting exactly what they want...... Let's just be sure we keep it in California.

 

[deserteagle71]

Mountain lions have killed two mule deer on my property in the 28 years I've lived here. They also take down some of the many mustangs running wild around here. Came across this near a cabin I take care of; the paw print was as wide as my boot:

 

[Eagle1]

Those prints are something. My old boy has huge feet his print is the size of my hand, yet a kitty print completely covered his.