Mountain lion in virginia!!!!!!!!!
Virginia
This is a picture of a mountain lion i recieved the other day. It was hit by a car in wise virginia. The police had to put it down later.
this is the man who hit it. i guess thats wats ben eating up the deer population!
Uh...not tryin to flame or dispute, but I saw this picture on another site or forum a month or two ago and I think this cat was killed out west somewhere.
Hoax!!!!! This cat was killed in Arizona. This was also on a previous thread at this site and it was removed! The last time I saw this picture it was said to be in West Virginia.
I see mule deer antlers in the background, upper left of photo.
Boy, that guy in wise county must go mule deer shed hunting out west, cause he has a pile of muley sheds in the back room as tony so adeptly pointed out. Total BS............
I suspect a Taxidermy Studio in the antler room. Look at how they are hung.
I wish you guys would quit crying "hoax" about everything you see. That is my brother's girlfriend's cousin's uncle and he wouldn't send out a picture unless it was true! Besides, I was driving behind him when he hit it - he had to use my cell phone to call the officials since his battery was dead. It took the cops forever to get there and the lion killed and ate a deer while we were waiting. Eventually VDGIF showed up and took the cat in an unmarked vehicle. They again denied that the tattoo on it's ear was from their stocking program. It's obvious that they have put this Arizona story out there to confuse the truth!!
Cool, Forrester, as long as it wasn't taken at night using Infrared Goggles at a High Fence bait pile with a crossbow using an ________ broadhead, shot off of a boat mounted ATV that was moving in water under motor power
( you fill in the blank with your choice of;
expandable, replaceble blade, cut on contact, etc )
;^)
Tony
Well even if this isnt in virginia i know that there is mountain lion in virginia becaouse ive seen them, so whatever youll beleive eventully you guys will get it!!!
Hey wtail, it's all good! These rumours crop up all the time. That's the great thing about the internet. Gives you lots of places to go and find out if what you're hearing is the truth.
Nothing personal wtailchaser2. I just wanted to squash this one early because it has been getting around and we know it's not VA. The more false alarms that sound, the harder it will be to have the truth accepted when/if they are found here. I never said I didn't believe they were here, just not that one which was obvious. And I'm tired of hearing that VDGIF stocked the cats to control the deer - if so then we need more cats! Sorry if I came down too hard.
Whitetail ...I'm convinced there are cougar in VA, this one wasn't though.
Funny, I hunted in Cougar rich California from 1979 to 1991, and in all those years, I only saw one Cougar.
They are very secretative animals, indeed.
Tony
OK, I'll say it. There are no free roaming, reproducing cougars in Virginia. I did qualify that by saying "reproducing." Sure, someone could and probably have released captive western cougars. These would be individual and non-reproducing unless a released male could find a released female and those are real long odds. Here's my logic. There have been 88 roadkills of Florida panthers since 1972. The population estimate has grown from about 6 in '72 to about 80 to 100 now. In Darrell Land's "Florida Panther Population Dynamics in Southwest Florida" he states that "the occurance of road-killed panthers is probably the best method for determining where panthers are." Where are the authentic road-kills in Virginia? In looking at the mortality reports from Florida, one panther was even run over by a wildlife officer doing less than 40 mph. Another was run over by a farm truck doing less than 25 mph. What about all those trail cams out there? Where are the cougar photos? What about illegal kill? Seven western cougars were released on the border of Georgia and Florida. During the first deer season, two were illegally killed by hunters and the others were pressured into populated areas and had to be recaptured. Cougars are hard to spot out west due to the lack of human population density, except for the ones who feed on pets in suburban Denver, LA and other big cities. The evidence is not there that there is a viable population in Virginia. And if there ever is, expect limitations on hunting in those areas. I'm done.
Virginia has had roadkills and illegal kills.
This past summer, while deer hunting in Fairfax County on a kill permit, I watched a flock of Black Crested Titmouse birds fly into the Beech Tree next to me. They all then proceeded to hang upside down, and peck at insects and larvae on the ground-facing sides of the leaves.
I was in awe. I had never seen that before, probably because I had never been in a deer stand 22 feet in the air during the first week of July before.
My Dad used to tell me, "Son, the book of what you don't know is a hell of a lot bigger than the book of what you do know!" ;^)
He was correct. ;^)
I will keep an open mind on the subject of Catamounts in Virginia.
Tony
fuzzy: Road kills and illegal kills? Do you have proof of these "road kills"? I've never heard anything about that. On the other hand, I was privy to road killed coyotes LONG before the general public was informed "they are here".
I've also dealt with a woman who claimed to have had one in her yard several years ago on the outskirts of Waterford (near Leesburg). The sighting she described left no doubt in my mind that what she saw was, in fact, a cougar. I was intrigued. She wanted me to "take it out". She also had a bear come up onto her back porch several times, and asked that I remove it, as well. In as much as my focus was her deer problem (I don't do bears, much less cougars), I told her I wasn't sure how the warden would react to her request, but promised to inquire.
Well, I e-mailed the warden, who confirmed what I already knew, that "bear are protected in Loudoun County and may not be killed."
"On the other hand", he said, "couger are considered by VDGIF to be escaped exotics and, therefore, are not protected. Good luck." Which brings me to my next question, what "illegal" kills are you referring to?
Bogie, what the warden told you is wrong. Puma concolor is protected both by state and federal laws. The laws don't distinguish by subspecies. This was told to me by Jay Jefferies, biologist for DGIF who dropped in for the mountain lion argument during one of my hunter ed classes. They have also left wiggle room by listing cats on their website and saying nothing about them being extinct in Virginia. I figure the only legal way to shoot one in Virginia is if its carrying off your first born. As for Fuzzy: it would have been big news. I've seen nothing but proven hoaxes.
illegal kills are rarely big news when someone does something illegally, they rarely prepare a press-release. some folks are so distrustful of "authority" that even offers of amnesty will not convince them to relinquish a specimen. that's all I am saying on that subject.
I have personal knowlege of a roadkill of an immature cougar on I-81 in Augusta County thst was reported to me in 1992. My sister called it in to me at 10PM from a payphone, she was on her way to Newport News. The animal was gone when I got there (2 hour drive for me).
I have a very good friend who watched a mature cougar through a 4X scope, in an open meadow, for several minutes in good light, in Carroll Country 5 years ago, while deer hunting.
I realize your skepticism, for this "hearsay evidence" as you do not know these people, nor do you know me.
That's OK, I'd feel the same way.
I had dismissed all reports previous to these as "hokum".
Call me a crackpot. I've been called worse.
Bogen, ditto on the roadkill 'yotes. I killed one that had hold of one of my chickens, in '86. At least 5 years before they were "here", started seeing road kills in '88
fuzzy, you're a crackpot..LOL...you asked for it :)
I have had reports and personal accounts from people I trust as well (people with credible ID skills). I have had no direct encounters or evidence myself but am open to, and hopeful of, the possibilities. Maybe I'll call one in on Saturday?
Forester, I sure did, as for you callng one in, I hope so!
;-)
Do snarling ex-wives count as a sighting?
She has some long sharp claws, too! And her fangs are hideous!
Check out the photo in the attached link. This was from Crozet this past fall. Is there a scale problem?
As for trusting those other people's eyes. I only trust mine, and only at about 90%. Let me tell you why. My drilling crew and I were going to a jobsite in Madison County. We were passing through an area of hilly open fields. All of a sudden, one of the guys, who has been hunting all his life, starts screaming "Black panther!Black panther!." Why would a reasonable person risk ridicule by his co-workers unless he was sure of what he saw? It was a black kitty cat walking across an open field. There was nothing else in the field to enable him to judge scale. We wore his butt out over that. I was also out with another long time hunter heading on down the road. He points to a plowed area and says "gobbler!" I looked at the field and then looked back at him; I was driving. "Dollar says it ain't no gobbler!" He was incensed that I challenged him. I turned the truck around and we pulled up to the field. It was a groundhog waddling towards his hole. He didn't pay up. I even thought I saw a cougar while I was in a treestand one day. A large cat jumped up on a log and walked its length. If I had not had more than thirty seconds to look at it, I would have swore it was 6 feet long with a 3 foot tail. Turns out it was a bobcat and I got to watch it for several minutes at about fifty yards. Depending on your mindset at the time, one can interpret almost anything wrong. Thats why people get mistaken for game in hunting accidents.
Bandicooter agreed...
passing sightings, distant sightings, and momentary glimpses aren't reliable...I almost ran over a "cougar" and was ready to SWEAR it was one, until I saw the bobbned tail in the headlights...HUGE bobcat! I personall had a squirrel tunrn into a 4 point buck once, in good light, same with a turkey that was a 50# doe fawn.... there are levels of trust and distrust though
when your trusted sibling (from a hunting family, farm-raised, reasonanably sane, 20/20 vision) calls you and describes a dead animal she is looking at by car headlights, from less than 3 feet away, you tend to believe her description
same with a good, solid, sane man, whom I know well and do trust, more than myself; in good light, watching an animal thru good optics, and at reasonably close range for several minutes, in a totally open pasture.... this man has NEVER claimed a cougar sighting by the way, only described what he saw....his description fits no other animal
the "illegal" kill is not appropriate to discuss in any open forum.... buy me a pop and moon-pie sometime and we will talk (and no, I didn't break the law)
I do not expect anyone here to believe any of these people...but ask that you keep an open mind, b/c eventually documentation will come
(by the way, I believe strongly that Bigfoot does NOT exist, but that Lee H. Oswald did NOT act alone! ;-)
Well, if'n them thar Catamounts ain't here yet, they sure is on thar way!
My brother and I saw one in Highland Cty several years ago. It was mostly black with brown splotches on the side. I met an outfitter at a sportsman's show who guides out of Highland and he told me that he has had a half dozen reports from his hunters having seen these cats. Some call them mountain lions, panthers, cougars, pumas or whatever. The one we saw was about 5ft long including long tail.
stickman :)<-<
Check out this site. There have been many sitings
http://network.bestfriends.org/MessageBoards/TopicPopup.aspx?g=3ec88962a84640bf9c4f82bef8e87b2b&t=16208
stickman :)<-<
Better yet.
http://www.easternpumaresearch.com/
stickman :)<-<
Being a retired Florida DNR officer, I know what panthers (mountain lions) look like. We have panthers in Fl. Three weeks ago, I saw 2 young panthers on the back side of my farm in Carroll County. Had about a 10 second CLEAR look at a standing cat about 20 yards away. Times like that that you wished you had ur camera.
Rockin, I believe you, sent you a PM
http://www.roanoke.com/outdoors/billcochran/wb/168668
Interesting, and mildly unsettling. On the one hand, I wouldn't mind seeing one and don't mind that they're out there. On the other hand, I'm most concerned for kids.
We had a report in Northern Virginia years ago (Bluemount?) from a group of kids that were waiting for a bus at the end of a gravel road. They said the cat was crouched in the brush, eyeballing them with it's tail twitching, but turned and disappeared once they made eye contact with it.
I believe they're here. I also believe it's only a matter of time before we hear about a painful - if not deadly - human/cat conflict. This isn't California or Colorado. The day that happens, those bear dogs are going to be working overtime.....PC bunny-huggers and regulations be damned.
Bogen raises a good point, with all the cougar siting and their long tails...........you would think the bear hunters would be seein/treeing some of these cats. My gosh they have their dogs running all over western virginia during the chase season and of course bear season, but not hearing much from the bear contingent on cougar siteings??? My bro lives in Crozet and their is a black cougar running around there on a regular basis, been seen by all the highly educated transplants their near Charlottesville, so gotta know it is true (Sorry, I went to UNC,so had to pick on the Charlottesville crowd a bit)
Thanks,
WP
The grapevine tells me that the bear hounds put them up a tree once in a while but the hunters keep it quiet so as not to cause a stir. Just what i hear.
I read this book a few years ago. Residents in our area don't seem to have the same philosophy as the folks in Boulder. We do, however, have what may be described as an overpopulation of whitetail deer in the county. There seem to be other similarities. You might enjoy reading it and see what you think.
Soon after reading the book, the owner of a property I hunt near Waterford reported his dog missing. This was quite unusual. The dog was about 7 years old and although it would roam the property, it had never before disappeared. The dog was never found. The property owner was on his regular afternoon walk about a year later when he spotted a large cat with a long tail creeping silently towards him in the brush less than 25 yards away. When the cat noticed that he had been spotted, it ran away. The gentleman was convinced he had seen a mountain line and reported the incident to the CPO. The CPO listened to the story, but was quick to tell him that we don't have any mountain lions in this area.
Willpower
UNC is that The University of Northern Canada? lol I'm a UVA man myself.
VAbowhunter
Sorry guys, I still have to say Pooh! There are so many trail cameras out now and they have yet to produce a big cat. By the way - the Crozet cat was supposed to be normal colored, as supposedly shown by the out-of-scale photo previously mentioned, not black. The "we've got to keep this quiet" comments from those that supposedly have hit, shot, treed or otherwise have proof is along the same tales as those that say that VDGIF transplanted rattlers-cougars-hogs-coyotes etc. to achieve some clandestine objective. Even if one legitimate photo of a cat shows up, or even one carcass, doesn't prove that "they're back". It just means someone's former pet escaped or was set loose and the owner doesn't want to own up to it. Want to read about cats? Check the online edition of the Rocky Mountain News. There's a story about a cat coming in a bedroom and dragging out a Yellow Lab while the family slept. Or a man shootin one that was stalking him and his wife while on a walk.
Here's the link for the bedroom cat.
Yes, there are quite a few stories that are not to be believed. Just yesterday evening a guy told me about his father seeing a mountain lion two consecutive evenings watching him from a fenceline as he did farm chores. As he finished telling the tale we heard the local coyotes yipping on the mountain a few hundred yards away. The very next thing out of his mouth was about how VDGIF stocked them to control the deer.
Most folks I don't believe. But there are a few that I do. Still hoping to confirm the cats with my own eyes one day....
Just remember on thing VABowhunter, there is a little bit of Tarheel in everyone!!!
Anyone seen a bigfoot in virginia?
Not unless you are talking about my ex girlfriend.
She was taller than me, and out weighed me by 100 pounds, but MAN O MAN that Woman could cook !
She had a bass boat, too !
Tony
i have heard of several sightings in buckingham co. and our local sporting goods shop (bass, bucks,and more) has a game camera photo displayed with a mt lion on it that the owner said it was taken in martinsville va.
Hey, waite a minute. That is the same picture that has been going around New York for months. That poor cat has been hit by a car in two states. No wonder their numbers are not what they used to be.
I dont need links folks my father lives in surry county north carolina just a few miles from the va border with carroll county. he has a photo of a cougar getting ready to attack a deer from a trail cam quite an awesome picture
Mathewsman,
Can you post the picture that you referenced. I am sure we would all like to see it. Thanks for mentionng it, look forward to seeing it!
WP
I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts it's the one that came out and made the rounds last year. As I recall it was Photoshopped - and included a mule deer.
That's what I was thinking also. Was that ever proven as photo shopped. I've tried to find a problem with it and haven't found anything yet except it was odd that the posture of the cat wasn't consistent with being that close to a deer. Did you ever see the one with the raccoon riding the back of a hog?
On the photo we're talking about, I believe the story was that there were two photos off the same camera set, so everything was identical except that the animals were in different positions - and that they were somehow combined into one.
I have an opinion on the subject. I am new here, I just signed up, because I have been researching the internet for days about Mountain Lions in VA. I happened to come across this forum, and just now signed up to show you non believer's something. I am an avid hunter and sportsman, and I know what a bobcat looks like. I know what I saw, for the 2nd time in my life, on Sept. 29, 2008. And I know what was squaling on it's way back to the woods that morning. And you say it's someone's pet, well, this so called pet had a baby with her (STUDY THE PHOTO'S). And I live in the Southwest part of VIRGINIA. Be my guest, find these photos somewhere else on the internet, because I just took them on Sept. 29, 2008. Oh, and I also have this cat's droppings in a ziplock baggie, just in case I need DNA Proof. This cat wounded one of our horses, and their tracks are still all over my property, within 20 feet of my house. Observe the pics.
Mama and Baby tracks together!
Sitting down on hind legs!
Sorry, according to my Peterson Guide, Field Guide to Animal Tracks, those are dog tracks. Cat tracks shouldn't be showing a toenail. There is also supposed to be more separation between the pad and the toes in a cat track.
See the attached website for good cat track photos.
hunterb8s, if you get the DNA analysis done, could you please scan and post the lab-report? by the way, for obvious reasons, predator droppings aren't a great matrix for DNA extraction, if you can recover a hair or two from the tracks in the mud, you might have better luck
Wouldn't the droppings have the DNA of whatever was eaten?
Bandicooter, that was my point, predator droppings will contain more DNA of prey, than the predator.
