Here's a report from Dixie:
THE SAME LEGEND PERSISTS DOWN HERE:
For the last 10 years, people have been talking about Fish and Wildlife releasing cougars in the Pocosin National Wildlife Refuge, which adjoins my farm ... and Alligator River refuge, across the river.
Same old story, same old song. Fish and Wildlife denies; the people confirm.
Then there's the old Carolina Black Panther legend. Lots of black panther sightings reported, along with the occasional "released cougar" sighting.
Strangely, none of these big cats are treed by the thousands of top-dollar bear hounds that will be released this morning. Nor do they seem to leave any scat, or any confirmable tracks, or any confirmable hair, or any confirmable carcass. No verifiable pictures, no verifiable recordings. They're never caught in traps, never hit by cars, never shot by farmers.
Weird, huh?
Draw your own conclusions.
I'll be a "Doubting Thomas" ... I'm not buying without evidence.
Grizz
MNR releasing cougars ! ( yeah right ! )
I heard this story a while ago so I am not sure I will get the details exactly right but I have a friend who hunts private land here in VA. One of the places is a small lot owned by a woman who raises wolves. She had a horse get attacked by something a while ago. The damage done was severe so they had to put the horse down. They tested the saliva from around the horses wounds and found that it was done by a mountain lion. I think they said 4 or 6 breeding pairs of lions were released not too long ago and pretty far away but one or two of them may have moved into her area. She was not pleased at all, infact she told my friend she wants them killed on site if he sees them, after a farmer had a horse killed just up the street from her.
I personaly have no problem with them in my area and wouldn't mind seeing more. I hear they taste realy good, better than pork, but I don't know if they are legal to hunt here. I think it is stupid to introduce them to an area with the expectation of them reducing the deer population. As seen here, they will prefer an easy penned in, or domesticated snack over a free running deer. Just goes to show how stupid the fish and game department is. I think they are ruining the deer heard in the state and we will be seeing seasons and bag limits seriously reduced in the coming years. All the areas I hunt have lower deer populations than they have ever had. It is depressing. We have more colisions than ever because we have more people and roads than we have ever had and their is less land for the deer every day due to constant building. There is no population boom that I can see. If game and fish is trying to wipe out much of the heard because of CWD concerns then I could possibly understand their actions but I think they are doing it because of the supposed overpopulation. And as for reducing the population with the adition of predators, Coyotes sure have hurt the deer bad in my area. I think they would do much more damage than a few cats.
I personaly have no problem with them in my area and wouldn't mind seeing more. I hear they taste realy good, better than pork, but I don't know if they are legal to hunt here. I think it is stupid to introduce them to an area with the expectation of them reducing the deer population. As seen here, they will prefer an easy penned in, or domesticated snack over a free running deer. Just goes to show how stupid the fish and game department is. I think they are ruining the deer heard in the state and we will be seeing seasons and bag limits seriously reduced in the coming years. All the areas I hunt have lower deer populations than they have ever had. It is depressing. We have more colisions than ever because we have more people and roads than we have ever had and their is less land for the deer every day due to constant building. There is no population boom that I can see. If game and fish is trying to wipe out much of the heard because of CWD concerns then I could possibly understand their actions but I think they are doing it because of the supposed overpopulation. And as for reducing the population with the adition of predators, Coyotes sure have hurt the deer bad in my area. I think they would do much more damage than a few cats.
A bad day in the woods is better than a good day anywhere else.
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Adrian J Hare
- Posts: 573
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 8:56 am
- Location: Ontario
Well there has been a number of sightings in the Creemore, Duneden, Stayner , Newlowell, Utopia, Baxter areas for a few years now. I heard the same rummers and for the 76 and 81 WMUs they will only allow one deer tag per hunter. Just two weeks ago a sighting was made just North of Newlowell.
I have personally talked to two different farmers that have seen one, with one farmer being a sheep farmer west of Duneden that phoned the MNR to tell them that he is losing live stock to this cat. He was told that if he had to shoot the animal , to not to tell anyone and leave the cat for the MNR to pick up.
Just way to many sighting in this area for these things to be naturally wild...
I have personally talked to two different farmers that have seen one, with one farmer being a sheep farmer west of Duneden that phoned the MNR to tell them that he is losing live stock to this cat. He was told that if he had to shoot the animal , to not to tell anyone and leave the cat for the MNR to pick up.
Just way to many sighting in this area for these things to be naturally wild...
Ontario Hunting Lodge
http://z13.invisionfree.com/Ont_Hunting_Lodge/index.php?act=idx
http://z13.invisionfree.com/Ont_Hunting_Lodge/index.php?act=idx
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Hardy Buck
- Posts: 31
- Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:49 pm
- Location: Lake simcoe
Cougars the animal kind....
While tracking a buck i had shot at with my bow 3 weeks ago, i noticed a e-regular track in the lightly covered snowy swamp. This was noo bear, or coyote, or even a wolfe track. it definetaly was something i havent seen before, that had some weight to it 
.
I had talked to hunting friend, who i was hunting with last week, and he and his wife had reported he had seen one along the southern shores of georgian bay area. There have been pictures taken of "wild looking " cats roaming along fence rows looking for grouse and small birds. although, im convinced that they might have been confused with bobcats, possible wolverines from a distance, but you never now.
Dont forget that most of the farmers that sight them, DONT have digital cameras, rather disposable, so there are pics lurking out there.
P.S. There is a chance that they might be escapes from local zoos, but with this many "reports/Sightings" so wide-spread amongest ontario, i think somethings up.
P. P. S. Im not out in the bush to see it or not, but i highly doubt there is enough cougars to be worried about hurting the deer population. If anything, it will help keep diseases away.
. I had talked to hunting friend, who i was hunting with last week, and he and his wife had reported he had seen one along the southern shores of georgian bay area. There have been pictures taken of "wild looking " cats roaming along fence rows looking for grouse and small birds. although, im convinced that they might have been confused with bobcats, possible wolverines from a distance, but you never now.
Dont forget that most of the farmers that sight them, DONT have digital cameras, rather disposable, so there are pics lurking out there.
P.S. There is a chance that they might be escapes from local zoos, but with this many "reports/Sightings" so wide-spread amongest ontario, i think somethings up.
P. P. S. Im not out in the bush to see it or not, but i highly doubt there is enough cougars to be worried about hurting the deer population. If anything, it will help keep diseases away.
" Theres a spot for all of gods creatures, Right beside the Mash Potatoes "
I was just talking to a guy at work about their week of rifle hunting.They were hunting north of Napanne and his brother had a cougar stalk his deer decoy in front of him for 20 min.The cougar dropped the stalk when it winded the hunter and walked off.He had no camera but the cougar took a dump on its way back into the woods so he has a fresh cougar turd for a soiviner.With the cat in front of him that long there is no doubt what it was.Don't know about its origins but they are definetly out there.They bow hunt on the same land so they are just a little uneasy about walking in there in the dark now!
Is that something an escaped or released pet would do? Take off from human odour?duber wrote:.The cougar dropped the stalk when it winded the hunter and walked off.
You can take the man out of the woods but you can't take the woods out of the man.
"Celebrate your harvest with a Bloodtrail Ale(tm)!!"
"It CAN Be Done!"
"Celebrate your harvest with a Bloodtrail Ale(tm)!!"
"It CAN Be Done!"
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Grizzly Adam
- Posts: 5701
- Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 8:36 pm
- Location: Decatur County, Indiana
I can't for the life of me figure out why, if ya'll have so many cougars slipping around up there, someone doesn't shoot one dead as a hammer.
I assure you that if I was deer hunting here on my farm and saw a cougar, I'd be slinging an arrow or hurling some lead ... why not? There's no law protecting cougars in place here, and I don't want 'em around.
Do ya'll have some law preventing folks from shooting them, and if so, why, since your MNR maintains they aren't there?
It's hard to imagine that hunter after hunter would simply observe cougar after cougar and not kill one.
If they're around, let's have a carcass. A dead cougar is a lot more convincing than tales of sightings.
Grizz
I assure you that if I was deer hunting here on my farm and saw a cougar, I'd be slinging an arrow or hurling some lead ... why not? There's no law protecting cougars in place here, and I don't want 'em around.
Do ya'll have some law preventing folks from shooting them, and if so, why, since your MNR maintains they aren't there?
It's hard to imagine that hunter after hunter would simply observe cougar after cougar and not kill one.
If they're around, let's have a carcass. A dead cougar is a lot more convincing than tales of sightings.
Grizz
Grizz,
The reason they are protected is because they are "not here". They are considered an endangered species, so although there is no mention of it in our hunting regulations (which is basically a summary) it is protected. I don't know if that is a provincial law or a federal law. And I'd rather not find out the hard way. It's not worth losing my hunting priviledges over. Of course if my life or someone elses life was threatened I would do what needs to be done.
If the population is around 500, as some feel it is, their numbers are quite small in relation to the vast amount of suitable habitat in Ontario.
A picture might be worth more than a carcass
. I'm sure the various outdoor publications, as well as the local media, would like to get their paws on photos or video footage.
The reason they are protected is because they are "not here". They are considered an endangered species, so although there is no mention of it in our hunting regulations (which is basically a summary) it is protected. I don't know if that is a provincial law or a federal law. And I'd rather not find out the hard way. It's not worth losing my hunting priviledges over. Of course if my life or someone elses life was threatened I would do what needs to be done.
If the population is around 500, as some feel it is, their numbers are quite small in relation to the vast amount of suitable habitat in Ontario.
A picture might be worth more than a carcass
. I'm sure the various outdoor publications, as well as the local media, would like to get their paws on photos or video footage.You can take the man out of the woods but you can't take the woods out of the man.
"Celebrate your harvest with a Bloodtrail Ale(tm)!!"
"It CAN Be Done!"
"Celebrate your harvest with a Bloodtrail Ale(tm)!!"
"It CAN Be Done!"
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whateverworks
- Posts: 97
- Joined: Wed Sep 27, 2006 6:23 pm
- Location: eastern ontario
Cougar
Got out of my jeep at a property that I hunt ust before dawn. Lady across the road lets her 3 dogs out. All of which come whipping across the road barking and growling their fool heads off and trying to follow me into the field. She comes out and has no control over them what so ever and so they pretty much stirred up everything for within a mile. I will give her this, she at least looked a little recalcitrant. Anyway she warns me to be careful in the bush as "There is a cougar in there!" I've explored and hunted that bush for two years and it's not that big. I kept my eyes peeled and later shot a cougar. Turned out it was a squirrel though. Guess I should be a little more sure of what I'm shooting at eh? As you can see he was a tough little bugger.
The closest thing I've seen to a cougar in the area was her. If she lets her dogs out again and ruins another hunt I just may tell her that.
jw
The closest thing I've seen to a cougar in the area was her. If she lets her dogs out again and ruins another hunt I just may tell her that.
jw
John Wade the Dog Trainer
www.johnwade.ca
www.johnwade.ca
The MNR wouldn't do something like that that would leave them open to huge lawsuits (releasing predators without warning people in the area) but I could see some loonie animal rights groups doing it....thinking they could eliminate hunting by humans by letting "mother nature" take care of it! (course, we all know mother nature is alot more efficient and kills overpopulation with disease!)