Cougar Sighting in Leander

[TwiceHorn 31707]

3 minutes ago, TxEx99 said:

I've never seen pigs but I'm not surprised.  You can't throw a rock in a "rural" area and not hit a damn wild pig.  Hope the cats eat them all.

As for snakes, go down toward the banks of the river and you'll find snakes when it's warmer.

I see snakes, mostly copperheads actually, all over DFW MTB trails, usually juveniles.

According to mountain bike lore, if you ride up on an armadillo on the trail, it's liable to jump straight up.  Never seen a 'dillo either, but lots of 'dillo holes.

Edited February 2, 2019 by TwiceHorn

[Reagan1k 3026]

On 1/31/2019 at 9:19 AM, Johnny Sack said:

dit: and pretty much almost every cougar, black panther or bear sighting where there is no photo proof is bullshit.  I can't tell you how many times goobers in east Texas try and tell me they saw a black panther.

Yep-  Meth or bad eyesight.  

There has never been a confirmed “black panther” in the US.  Any of the black big cats are melanistic color phases of leopards (Asia/Africa) or jaguars in South America.  

A black panther in the US would have to be a melanistic mountain lion and they don’t have that trait genetically.  Never once seen in the wild or in captivity.  The black panthers in east Texas river bottoms and southern swamps are truely a myth.  

[CooterBrown 18155]

In high school we were spotlighting rabbits outside of Hallettsville and saw a big cat. At least 2’ at the shoulder. We weren’t a hundred feet from it so we had a good view of the size. At the time, I would’ve guessed at least 80 pounds. It took off away from us and jumped through the far fence at the other side of the pasture. We considered it black at the time but being at night it may have just appeared darker than it was. I assume it was a mountain lion. I’d heard people saying you could hear them at night back then but I never did.

[Michael Knight 13098]

This thread would be better in nsaa

[Bullneck 19332]

On 1/30/2019 at 9:20 AM, Zepol87 said:

 

Kimbrough holla!!! 

You guys down there making a huge deal out of this like the people jogging seeing coyotes in Frisco? Those people are pussies

[Scheiss Meister 8420]

On 1/30/2019 at 2:54 PM, deadshank said:

2019 varmint talk not going away

Have we touched on badgers yet?

Badgers?  We don't have to show you no badgers!  We don't need no stinking badgers!

My mountain lion csb: In the early 80s I lived on a farm in Shelby County.  One bright moonlit night I took a walk down the dirt road running by the house.  I came to the top of a small hill and looked down at the bottom, where a small creek ran, so there was a gap in the trees.  This allowed moonlight to clearly illuminate the road there.  What looked at first like a big, funny looking golden retriever stepped out into the road, stopped, and looked up at me.  About that time I noticed that the body was more cat-like than dog-like, and it had a sinuous tail, again more cat-like than a dog's stiff tail.  It was a mount lion, about 20 yards from me.  We quickly came to an agreement that I would go back home, and it would do whatever the hell it wanted.  It moved off the opposite direction of my way home, and we both hurried off.  It was very, very cool.  

[NorthLoop 14308]

Family ranch is north of Jacksboro. I've been out there a thousand times. Spent weeks at a time hunting/fishing/camping. Never seen one cat. But every time I go out there, I find a TON of cat prints bigger than my hand all over the damn place. It's like they're perched up on the bluffs watching us. 

[HookEm 2472]

I live in Leander about 2 miles from where the OP cat was seen. We have a couple of acres. My wife found what was left of a small deer that had been dragged about 100 feet at the back of our property. We always assumed it was a large cat. They have reported sightings of mountain lions out here for years.

[HornsOverIthaca 2339]

On 1/30/2019 at 8:47 PM, Longhorn Al said:

I prefer the cougars at Vandegrift football games.

Yeah but the traffic pattern around Vandegrift High School really ruins it.

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

I understand that there are a bunch of wild pigs in there, too.  I have never seen anything more exotic than the bright green snakes I occasionally run over. 

Those are called rough green snakes and are they are really cool looking. Hard as hell to find. Well, I have a hard time finding them. I think I posted one in the snek thread.

[HornsOverIthaca 2339]

You know I think I've determined my preferred way to shuffle off this mortal coil when the time comes:   mauled to death by Punxsutawney Phil.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11830]

22 hours ago, Reagan1k said:

Yep-  Meth or bad eyesight.  

There has never been a confirmed “black panther” in the US.  Any of the black big cats are melanistic color phases of leopards (Asia/Africa) or jaguars in South America.  

A black panther in the US would have to be a melanistic mountain lion and they don’t have that trait genetically.  Never once seen in the wild or in captivity.  The black panthers in east Texas river bottoms and southern swamps are truely a myth.  

A game warden I knew attributed most “black panther” sightings to melanistic deer.  The human eye isn’t used to seeing a fast moving dark animal that size, so they assume it was a cat.  

[Reagan1k 3026]

Yep-  and around neighborhoods or sub divisions, black labs become panthers and yellow labs are normally what are masquerading as mountain lions.  

Same with tracks-  99% of “big cat” tracks are just big dogs -  people arent used to seeing dog tracks in dirt since most yards are grassed and they are surprised how big of a track a 60- 100 lb dog leaves in soft dirt. 

[Matuka 1315]

imgur

backyard in December 

[Reagan1k 3026]

That’s awesome -  those are cool critters! Highly adaptable! 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4980]

6 hours ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

A game warden I knew attributed most “black panther” sightings to melanistic deer.  The human eye isn’t used to seeing a fast moving dark animal that size, so they assume it was a cat.  

There are a lot of idiot game wardens out there. Just like there are a lot of idiot people searching for more complicated solutions than logic requires (that's not to say they can'texist). If black panther sightings were melanistic deer, there would be melanistic deer roadkill about everywhere there are black panther sightings and it wouldn't be uncommon instead of concentrated in areas where there are more significant populations of known melanistic deer. Not to mention game cameras.  So remember this next time you get stopped by a game warden. They may have a degree in wildlife or a related field, but they can still be idiots. 

[TwiceHorn 31707]

Another thing I have picked up from my google feed is that in certain parts of the country (northeast) where bobcats and/or mountain lions were thought to be extirpated, sightings were routinely dismissed by wildlife authorities as housecats (if claimed to be bobcats) and bobcats/lynx (if claimed to be cougars).  Then game cameras became more ubiquitous and the authorities had to admit that the cats in question were re-establishing.

And then I saw a story about scientists in BC studying lynx.  They started having trouble distinguishing lynx from bobcats and started circulating the photos among wildlife biologists and wound up writing a paper about how much difficulty authorities had distinguishing bobcats from lynx in photos.  It was kind of comical.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11830]

1 hour ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

There are a lot of idiot game wardens out there. Just like there are a lot of idiot people searching for more complicated solutions than logic requires (that's not to say they can'texist). If black panther sightings were melanistic deer, there would be melanistic deer roadkill about everywhere there are black panther sightings and it wouldn't be uncommon instead of concentrated in areas where there are more significant populations of known melanistic deer. Not to mention game cameras.  So remember this next time you get stopped by a game warden. They may have a degree in wildlife or a related field, but they can still be idiots. 

Yeah I agree some of them are morons.  The only time I ever sassed a lawman was an idiot warden in Willacy County who confiscated our fillets and gave 3 of my buddies tickets for having filleted fish on the beach.  The tickets got dismissed back here in Austin by the captain.  

[wood 11642]

2 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

There are a lot of idiot game wardens out there. Just like there are a lot of idiot people searching for more complicated solutions than logic requires (that's not to say they can'texist). If black panther sightings were melanistic deer, there would be melanistic deer roadkill about everywhere there are black panther sightings and it wouldn't be uncommon instead of concentrated in areas where there are more significant populations of known melanistic deer. Not to mention game cameras.  So remember this next time you get stopped by a game warden. They may have a degree in wildlife or a related field, but they can still be idiots. 

Kinda like how you can be a sportswriter without really knowing shit about sports?

50 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Yeah I agree some of them are morons.  The only time I ever sassed a lawman was an idiot warden in Willacy County who confiscated our fillets and gave 3 of my buddies tickets for having filleted fish on the beach.  The tickets got dismissed back here in Austin by the captain.  

This reminds me of the time I got pulled over for turning left on red from a one-way to a one-way - which is perfectly legal provided you it right. I explained it to the guy & he actually stopped writing the ticket, admitted he was wrong, and told me to have a nice day. I thought I must have been on a hidden camera reality show or something. It was like some kinda bizarro world.

[HenryJames 66394]

12 hours ago, Matuka said:

 

 

backyard in December 

Soon.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4980]

13 hours ago, Matuka said:

 

 

backyard in December 

[Hate 20167]

Not Leander, but timely...and apparently this dude is a badass.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/colorado-man-fights-off-kills-mountain-lion-during-trail-run-suffers-serious-injuries

 

A Colorado runner was attacked Monday by a mountain lion during a trail run in the northern part of the state that resulted in puncture wounds to his face, arms, legs and back and the death of the animal.

Rebecca Ferrell, a spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, tells The Coloradoan the man was running alone at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space near Fort Collins when he was attacked from behind.

The runner, whose name has not been released, fought off the cougar-- killing it in the process-- and hiked out of the area and drove himself to a hospital. The Denver Post reported that the runner suffered serious injuries that included facial bite wounds and lacerations to his body. He is expected to recover.

Wildlife officers searching the trail found the juvenile mountain lion's body near several of the runner's possessions. They estimated that the animal weighed about 80 pounds.

“The runner did everything he could to save his life. In the event of a lion attack you need to do anything in your power to fight back just as this gentleman did,” Mark Leslie, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Northeast Region manager, told KKTV.

The last mountain lion attack in Colorado was reported in June 2016 in Pitkin County.

“Mountain lion attacks are not common in Colorado and it is unfortunate that the lion’s hunting instincts were triggered by the runner,” Ty Petersburg, area wildlife manager for CPW, said. “This could have had a very different outcome.”

Edited February 5, 2019 by Hate

[Steamboat1874 4186]

[Pescado_Rojo 19476]

On 1/30/2019 at 12:16 PM, DCA_HORN said:

Who was it that had a picture of a bobcat they shot as a kid? I wanna say cajun or pescado?

Only cougar I ever slayed was around 1992. Pool hall above the old Cannibal Club on 6th St. Fortunately there were no camera phones back then. 

[ztejas 43787]

On 2/3/2019 at 7:31 PM, TwiceHorn said:

where bobcats and/or mountain lions were thought to be extirpated,

I read this as "expatriated" at first and imagined Bobcats and mountain lions being deported or retiring to a warm, central American climate. 

[TwiceHorn 31707]

Just now, ztejas said:

I read this as "expatriated" at first and imagined Bobcats and mountain lions being deported or retiring to a warm, central American climate. 

Similar concept.

[HouTex 1902]

2 hours ago, Hate said:

Not Leander, but timely...and apparently this dude is a badass.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/colorado-man-fights-off-kills-mountain-lion-during-trail-run-suffers-serious-injuries

 

A Colorado runner was attacked Monday by a mountain lion during a trail run in the northern part of the state that resulted in puncture wounds to his face, arms, legs and back and the death of the animal.

Rebecca Ferrell, a spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, tells The Coloradoan the man was running alone at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space near Fort Collins when he was attacked from behind.

The runner, whose name has not been released, fought off the cougar-- killing it in the process-- and hiked out of the area and drove himself to a hospital. The Denver Post reported that the runner suffered serious injuries that included facial bite wounds and lacerations to his body. He is expected to recover.

Wildlife officers searching the trail found the juvenile mountain lion's body near several of the runner's possessions. They estimated that the animal weighed about 80 pounds.

“The runner did everything he could to save his life. In the event of a lion attack you need to do anything in your power to fight back just as this gentleman did,” Mark Leslie, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Northeast Region manager, told KKTV.

The last mountain lion attack in Colorado was reported in June 2016 in Pitkin County.

“Mountain lion attacks are not common in Colorado and it is unfortunate that the lion’s hunting instincts were triggered by the runner,” Ty Petersburg, area wildlife manager for CPW, said. “This could have had a very different outcome.”

Good for the runner.  If it was a mature cat I'm not sure he could have killed it/fought it off.

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20708]

7 hours ago, Hate said:

Not Leander, but timely...and apparently this dude is a badass.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/colorado-man-fights-off-kills-mountain-lion-during-trail-run-suffers-serious-injuries

 

A Colorado runner was attacked Monday by a mountain lion during a trail run in the northern part of the state that resulted in puncture wounds to his face, arms, legs and back and the death of the animal.

Rebecca Ferrell, a spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, tells The Coloradoan the man was running alone at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space near Fort Collins when he was attacked from behind.

The runner, whose name has not been released, fought off the cougar-- killing it in the process-- and hiked out of the area and drove himself to a hospital. The Denver Post reported that the runner suffered serious injuries that included facial bite wounds and lacerations to his body. He is expected to recover.

Wildlife officers searching the trail found the juvenile mountain lion's body near several of the runner's possessions. They estimated that the animal weighed about 80 pounds.

“The runner did everything he could to save his life. In the event of a lion attack you need to do anything in your power to fight back just as this gentleman did,” Mark Leslie, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Northeast Region manager, told KKTV.

The last mountain lion attack in Colorado was reported in June 2016 in Pitkin County.

“Mountain lion attacks are not common in Colorado and it is unfortunate that the lion’s hunting instincts were triggered by the runner,” Ty Petersburg, area wildlife manager for CPW, said. “This could have had a very different outcome.”

 

 

Pussy finally defeated?

[Zepol87 9263]

Told y'all!!!

[HenryJames 66394]

6 hours ago, Steamboat1874 said:

2,1.