Mountain lions in Missouri

Bibbyman · August 12, 2003, 05:38:55 PM

These pictures of a mountain lion were circulated around the office today. The e-mail had originated from the Missouri Department of Conservation and was said to be of a road kill yesterday south of Fulton, Mo.

Someone else heard a report on the radio at noon. I've not got any "independent" reports on the incident but will update as info comes my way. We've seen and heard mountain lions for years around here but the Conservation Department always dismissed the sightings.

Larry · August 12, 2003, 06:00:43 PM

Just looks like a Bobcat on steroids.

Couple of neighbors swear they have seen them but I have not been conviced.

Den Socling · August 12, 2003, 06:28:32 PM

Same thing here in northcentral PA. I saw a mountain lion walk across the road in front of me on a sunny morning near Cherry Springs. People who work for DCNR say that they have seen them. The state says they don't exist. One thing is for sure. I don't want one coming up behind me in the woods. I welcome the return of everything from Fishers to Elk but I don't want mountain lions. The Whitetail herds need thinned but my friends and I don't.

Larry · August 12, 2003, 07:00:57 PM

I think it is pretty neat. We got bear coming up from Arkansas, elk coming in from Kansas and up north, mountain lions coming in from who knows where. Also hear tails of black pumas running around and I don't even know what they are.

MDC won't confirm anything until they get a road kill or somebody kills an elk during deer season and than we hear it was an escapee from a game farm.

Bibbyman · August 12, 2003, 08:01:44 PM

Here is info from one of the local TV stations on the road kill mountain lion.

Mountain Lion Story on KMIZ TV Columbia, MO.

Local people have seen, heard, and found tracks of mountain lions for many, many years. I don't think they have migrated here from anywhere - they were always here.

A few years back, an old geezer trapped a bobcat in our county. It was a big deal and every hunter that could get their hands on a trap set traps for them and found there were quite a number of them – yet, I've never seen one in the wild in our county and most people won't.

Tom · August 12, 2003, 08:46:58 PM

They're kinda rare. They get dropped, sporadically, form flying saucers. :D

OneWithWood · August 13, 2003, 04:12:25 AM

Cats do like high places so a saucer would probably intrigue them :D

If you want to see a cat in the forest you need to look up. They sleep up in the trees. You will very rarely see one when it is on the ground.

Haytrader · August 13, 2003, 04:48:45 AM

Oh Tom,
You are so full of it.
Put that jug back behind the seat. ;)

Bibbyman · August 13, 2003, 06:13:20 AM

Tom brought to my attention some earlier discusion on big cats in this thread.

Hunting Sportsmanship

DanG · August 13, 2003, 09:14:44 AM

That old thread was an interesting read. It mentioned another rare beast...Timberbeast. What ever happened to him?

smwwoody · August 13, 2003, 10:02:35 AM

Hi Den

we have seen a few of the cats up here in benezett too. Ill make you a deal we will trade you some Elk for all your big cats and I bet you will be wanting the cats back real Quick

Woody

Bibbyman · August 13, 2003, 10:20:27 AM

At least MOST of the big cats here remain hidden and off the roads. ;)

Hitting dear is bad enough, I don't want an elk in my lap. >:(

Den Socling · August 13, 2003, 02:08:23 PM

Woody,

We have a bunch of vac kilns near Emporium. I've seen lots of elk. I usually see them in woods or fields but also on a golf course and in an orchard. I bet they can be a pain. But deer can be a pain as well. Even rabbits can wipe out a garden.

Bibbyman,

I've always worried about hitting elk. Even in my truck, they would end up in my face.

One evening, I'm driving past a field where I expected them to be but they weren't there. I was paying too much attention to the field and DanG near rear-ended an elk. They were walking in single file down the road to another field. They were on the right side of the road, though. ;D

Den

Bibbyman · August 13, 2003, 06:27:29 PM

Here is the news account from the KC Star with a few more details. The location where it was hit is on my morning run to the office and about 5 miles from our farm - as the crow flies.

Cougar killed Monday in Missouri is more proof big cats roam state, experts say - KC Star

It looked like in the picture and now it's told that the cat was missing one front paw. I wonder if that had something to do with it getting hit on the highway? There is almost always a dead deer in that stretch of the highway - probably a lot more crippled. Would be easy pickin's for a handicapped cat.

smwwoody · August 13, 2003, 09:12:14 PM

Den

The elk are great most of the time yes they can do some damage but that is not the problem. The problem is the people that come to see them.

Are your kilns at Emporium Hard Woods "rossi" I have cut lots of timber off of that mountian in front of thier mill. I live about 20 minuts from that mill

Woody

ARKANSAWYER · August 14, 2003, 05:16:58 AM

For years Arkansas Game and Fish said that there were not any Big Cats in Arkansas. I teach Hunters ED and told them that I have many times heard the call of the cat down on the Buffalo and Lower White rivers while frog gigging. It will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. I tell myself that cats do not like water. They tried to tell me that it was a Bobcat but I knew better. NOW they say that we have them since one or two have been killed and laid out on the tailgate of a truck. We's got lots of elk and bears and coyotes are getting out of control again.
ARKANSAWYER

Den Socling · August 14, 2003, 05:33:50 AM

Woody,

The "people" who come to see the elk shouldn't be a problem but, with people, you'll always find morons. There are signs that say "don't stop on the road to view elk". You wouldn't think that such a sign would be necessary. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop the morons from parking on the road.

Our kilns are across town at Lewis & Hockenberry. I pass Emporium Hardwoods often but haven't sold anything to them, yet.
That's a rugged area. Must be tough to cut some of those mountainsides. But then, 150 years ago, they were cutting the same mountainsides and skidding in snow or with splashdams.

Den

Bibbyman · August 14, 2003, 06:42:57 AM

More info from the Fulton Sun.

Road kill proves to be Callaway cougar - Fulton Sun

I've heard a mountain lion scream two times in my life. Once when I was small and playing about 100 yards behind our house. Like ARKANSAWYER says, it'll make the hair stand on the back of your neck. I had no idea what it was but ran and told Mom that I heard a woman screaming across the valley. She didn't believe me and didn't go investigate.

When I was 15, I was deer hunting about 1/4 mile behind our house and was setting above a spring. It was an hour or so before sundown and the woods were starting to get dark. I heard the cat scream on the ridge across from me. I thought, "I'm going to get a shot at that panther.". I set there with white knuckles wrapped around the Savage 310 30/30 bolt-action with thumb on safety and finger on the trigger. About 10 minutes went by and my eyes were about dried out from not blinking. Then it screamed again - this time closer. After I quit shaking, I thought, "Boy! Any minute now I'm going to see it." I set there frozen about another 10 minutes - all the time the light was fading. It screamed again closer yet. I thought, "This SOB is going to eat me! I'm getting to hell out of here!". I don't think there would have been a cross county runner that could have kept up with me getting back to the house.

We've seen tracks and had other evidence that big cats were around. Sometimes you can get the idea one is around by the way the dogs in the area act up.

The only time I've seen a big cat was in the mid-70's. Mary and I were returning from a small town west of us and was about one mile out of town on a gravel road. There was a crust of snow covering the rolling prairie and open clear fields. I looked out to my right and saw what looked to be a Black Labrador running across the field. I pointed it out to Mary and we stopped to watch it run across a large, open field. It was not any type of dog. You could tell by the body shape and proportions, but also because of how it moved, it's tail was as long as it main body and whipped and twisted as it ran.

A neighbor that lives between us and the small town on that same gravel road is getting gravel out of the stream on our farm. He stopped on his last load out the other evening and visited a minute. I asked if he'd heard about the road kill mountain lion and he hadn't yet. We got to talking and he said he'd seen a black panther back in 1976 or 77. I said we had too - up by this small town. He said, Yea, that's were I saw it too - between this guy's farm and another's. That's exactly where we had seen it. He said it setting in the road and he tried to run over it. It had run down the road for some time but then jumped the ditch and crossed a filed. I said when we saw it, there was a crust of snow still on the fields. He says, yea, there was snow on when I saw it too. Well could have been he was 100 yards ahead of us and saw the same cat at the same time.

He reported it to the game warden but it was dismissed like all the other sightings, as black mountain lions are very rare even where there are plentiful.

smwwoody · August 14, 2003, 08:04:36 AM

Den

I know Dave Lewis. I real good friend of mine Dick Sorg, cuts for him. You'll have to let me know the next time you are in the area and we can get together for a cup of Coffee.

Bibby

It is about the same here on the big cats. I have heard them three times and saw one jump onto a road and back off just as fast as it got there. the Game commision says that there are none here. The first one that I heard was when I was about 14 alone in the woods about dusk on a horse. Once I got the horse calmed downe enough to get dack on him we could have wone the tripple crown all in one day as fast and as far as I ran him to get home. my dad was in the barn when I got home and didn't realy care about the cat he was to interested in telling me that If I ever brought a horse in looking like that agian I would have been better off letting the cat get me

Woody

Jeff · August 14, 2003, 11:55:01 AM

QuoteThat old thread was an interesting read. It mentioned another rare beast...Timberbeast. What ever happened to him?

I heard from him last month. He was going to send a letter to Mark M's future son-in-law.

I think has job and other interests have takin him away for a while. He still has an MD up in the woods and a lot of property, so no fear, I reckon someday the timberbeast will return.

David_c · September 09, 2003, 07:10:43 PM

i saw a mountian loin cross the road on the way home from the fireworks on july 4th girls saw it to. deer and elk are bad to hit but what i truly dont want to hit is a moose which we have plenty of. there in my back yard all the time they dont come to close though because i have 5 dogs out there 3 hounds a lab and an akita. but you sure know when there about though.

Larry · September 27, 2003, 06:16:32 PM

Mr. Dave Hamilton, a wildlife research biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation, gave a talk about large cats in the state as a guest of the Midland Empire Audubon Society a couple of weeks ago at Missouri Western State College.

"A whole lot is happening right now, and it's just not in Missouri," Mr. Hamilton said."A lot of sightings have been reported along the Missouri and Platte River (in Nebraska) valleys. Perhaps they are providing highways for the lions to roam from South Dakota to Texas."

We live in the bluffs close to the Missouri River and have an over abundance of deer. Wouldn't surprise me if a lion settled in here. Wonder if a little kitty food would help to attract them? I would rather meet a lion in the woods than a mugger in the city. Neighbor swears he has seen one.

Mr. Hamilton also stated that a lion was videotaped in Arkansas earlier this month. Can't believe Arky hasn't kept us informed of this recent development.

Fla._Deadheader · September 27, 2003, 07:45:45 PM

Now, this is my Daughters story, not mine. :

  A few years ago, she lived about 3 miles, as the crow flies, from Arkansawyer.
  About 10 PM, one night, we get this excited phone call. She was blathering something about a cat???
  Had to get her calmed down. Thought she might have been "Tasting the Nectar", as it were.
  Well, seems that there was a lite snow on the ground, and a full moon.
  There was SOMETHING walking on the roof of their Mobile Home. It WAS possible for coons to do that, occasionally.
  Finally, they could see a shadow on the snow, of a cat, a BIG cat, going back and forth on the image of the mobile home roof, in the snow.
  Another time, they swear they saw a "Black Panther" crossing a field, not more than 200 yards from their place???
  There were black bears there also.
  She moved down here in 1996.

Don P · September 28, 2003, 07:57:55 AM

Our plumber dropped by the job last week with a pic of the bear cub he hit a couple of weeks ago. There was a mother with 2 cubs. He hit the 125 pound cub in the head with the hook under the bumper and it died instantly. He said the other cub came back to look it over, mama stayed back in the woods. This was on the edge of town by the new park. DNR sent it to VA Tech.
The last one I remember getting hit, the EMS guys put it in the back of the amalance to play a trick on the girls at the hospital...boy did they get in deep :D.

Bibbyman · January 16, 2004, 01:52:56 AM

I got this picture in an e-mail. The note with it said that it had been shot near Stover, MO. last fall – I assume by the man who is holding it. Said he is over 6' tall. Said he was deer hunting when he heard the cows throwing a fit. Went to investigate and saw the cat trying to get a calf.

Anyone else hear anything about this?