Mountain Lions

[olyclimber]

aaaahhhh....the Cougs....the only college team that has a name that is synonymous with screwing up at the last second.. "I Coug'd it again!".

[sobo]

Yeah, even the Minnesota Vikings have been known to "Coug it" in not one, not two, not three, but four, that's FOUR, Superbowls!

[Couloir]

...and cuts a hind 1/4 off the cougar's elk kill and runs away, with dinner!!

That's fucked up. I wonder what the cougar would have done if he just sat right there, eating the raw meat, laughing and growling wildly between bites.

[spicoli11]

He should have pissed on the elk and claimed it for himself

[magellan]

I haven't seen a cougar since Ruby Beach, ONP, in 1973.

 

I saw a bear in Tiger Mt St park sunday, near TMT above High Point creek. Only my second bear ever.

[kix]

one crossed the path about 50 yards ahead of my wife, son and I several years ago while hiking at dusk, on cougar mtn of all places.

 

go figure.

 

 

used to see them fairly regularly in the santa monica and san gabriel mountains years ago when I lived in la la land.

almost always at dawn or dusk.

 

never been stalked to my knowledge, but I have had the hair on my neck stand up several times feeling almost certain that one was near. I would just begin yelling at the top of my lungs. it felt a little foolish, but not that foolish.

[minx]

i've seen several bears this year. running up a trail in North Bend, came around a corner and there was a pretty good sized one. i ran rather briskly back home

 

one dashed out right in front of my car a few weeks back .

[mtn_mouse]

I don't know anything about mounting lions , but here in donnybakerland we have a healthy cougar population. Much fear seems to follow these critters, unless you live among them as I do. While cross country skiing in the mountains, I routinely see their tracks on the trails. Often there are fresh tracks on my ski tracks, they have been following me, but only out of curiosity. I have been fortunate to see four cougars face to face. No problems.

Cougar problems are very limited, and localized where their habitat has been compromised. Like seattle!

[111]

a friend was bow hunting in the snow and doubled back to find cat tracks not 10 minutes behind his. he followed the tracks and they ended up doubling back on him and then disappearing into a tree.

 

On a seperate note, a bear was just killed in benton county and the carcass was dropped off in McDonald Forest. Bear claw neclace anyone? Cougar scat is fairly common on the trails in mcdonald forest. We see it all the time while working on trails there.

[sobo]

I live in Benton County. Where is this McDonald Forest of which you speak?

 

EDIT: nevermind. Google produces a McDonald Forest in Benton County OREGON

[knelson]

Four or five years ago, real early morning, Mowich side of Knapsack Pass in that little basin before you start heading up again. Came around the corner after crossing a creek and saw something on the grassy hill towards the east, maybe 100 yards from us. The brain immediately thought deer because of the color, but then switched to bear because it didn't look like a deer, then switched to WTF? since it didn't look like either, was moving uphill damn fast, and had a gait like a kitty cat. Before I could get to the camera, it was gone. Pretty sure it was a cougar since we ruled out everything else. I mentioned it to a ranger I ran in to there a few weeks afterwards and he just gave me one of those "you on drugs?" look. (I wasn't.)

 

Needless to say, when I stroll through that area these days (usually solo) my senses are on maximum alert.

[hubris]

I had a mountain lion stalk me for over 30 minutes while working in Knight Inlet (Canada, and I guess not the Cascades). Scariest 30 minutes of my life!! We had our wildlife biologist come in and try to find out if we were going to log his den/primary habitat. He said they saw it briefly, and estimated it at 160 pounds. I could not believe the size of the fucker! They also said it was probably more curious than anything, and if it was after me, I would never have seen it. Most beautiful animal I have ever seen though.

 

Funny thing is when I returned home from my shift, they were interviewing a guy on the news because he SAW a mountain lion while fishing in Squamish

Edited August 12, 2006 by hubris

[Mike_G]

I saw a mtn lion several years ago while driving home from a fire in the middle of the night in the Okanogan highlands (between Tonasket and Republic). He crossed the road in front of my engine and just looked at us like "yeah, you're going to slow that big truck down and wait for me to saunter across the gravel". He was one cool cat.

 

Also heard one just outside of Grants Pass, OR one night. My wife saw reflections of its eyes in the brush with her headlamp. Luckily, she was on the front porch of a house...

[G-spotter]

I had a mountain lion stalk me for over 30 minutes while working in Knight Inlet (Canada, and I guess not the Cascades). Scariest 30 minutes of my life!! We had our wildlife biologist come in and try to find out if we were going to log his den/primary habitat. He said they saw it briefly, and estimated it at 160 pounds. I could not believe the size of the fucker! They also said it was probably more curious than anything, and if it was after me, I would never have seen it. Most beautiful animal I have ever seen though.

 

Funny thing is when I returned home from my shift, they were interviewing a guy on the news because he SAW a mountain lion while fishing in Squamish

 

I thought you had to kill it with a toothpick to get on the news

[nolanr]

Saw one disappearing into the brush along the side of the Mt. Loop Hwy east of Verlot Ranger Station several years ago. There were people car camped all over. It was early morning and I don't think anybody but me had any idea it was prowling around. I had the same initial reaction as one of the other posters. About the color of a deer, but not tall enough and moving differently than a deer. The long tail was the clincher.

 

I've seen bobcats along roads a couple times. One was heading out to the TH for Ingalls Lake, the other was in the Olympics near Pt. Angeles. He sat on his haunches and looked at me for a while I was beaming him w/ my headlights.

[PLC]

Let's see...

 

I came face-to-face with a cougar on my way up Monitor Ridge on St. Helens about 4-5 years ago. I came around a corner and the cat was standing there about six feet away from me. It just turned and disappeared.

 

I saw one on the side of the road near the valley in Yosemite this Spring...

 

A deliver driver and I saw one trotting through my yard a couple years ago in the middle of the afternoon (I live out in Woodinville on some acreage).

 

I also saw one in Yellowstone in 1981 on my first camping trip with my parents.

 

My single greatest skill is my ability to spot wildlife.

[TrogdortheBurninator]

We saw this bobcat on whitepine rd on sunday. Definitely the longest view I've ever had of a wild cat. He was standing in the road when we pulled the corner, then he ran into the woods. My buddy had his camera, so he handed it to me and I snuck around the back of the car. Rather than run, he just stood there curious. The light was low, so the pic is pretty bigfootesque. I had an SLR in the trunk, but another car was coming the other way so I didnt have time to grab it. Now I'm bummed I didn't.

[lancegranite]

 

This was taken on a winter trip to Mt. Stickney.

We followed these tracks for a mile or so.

Edited December 5, 2006 by lancegranite

[bwrts]

Nice!

 

Never seen one myself...but I have stumbled upon a few dens and remnant signs...like chewed on bones and kitty fur. Spotted afew bobcats and encountered many black bears. My buddy spied a few cat like creatures joggn across the ramp/ledge middle portion of Icicle buttress the other day. He said they ran with little worry about the mini roofs and overlaps despite the 250ish drop to the road.

[G-spotter]

 

 

Shouldn't this be in the Giant Housecats thread

[lancegranite]

Blobcat?

[Skeezix]

I saw a cougar one time.

[spotly]

Saw one in the Cabinets a few years ago and got followed by two on that same trip. Also saw my first Lynx this year It ran across Hwy 20 right around the big turnout at Cutthroat Peak. Was the most ungainly looking cat I've ever seen - rear legs were real long.

 

When I was a kid, 3 of us got stalked by a Mt. Lion in Oregon. We were walking along a logging road and the cat followed us for over an hour. Never did see it but it kept screaming at us off in the trees. We were freaked.

[gertlush]

Cougars!? It's the Sasquatches you gotta watch out for

[G-spotter]

Never had a Sasquatch buy me vodka and red bull.