Contributors to this thread:
Has anyone tried this "leopard style" with bait wired up in a tree? Mostly to keep the coyotes off of it.
I was under the impression that lions only like to eat what they kill. I.E. They are not scavengers per se. I'm not sure this would legal either unless it was a gut pile or boned carcass? Lots of gray area here you would need to clear up.
They will scavenge but I think their preference to eat what they kill would keep bating from being real effective.
Lions will take to a carcass in a heatbeat.They don't care if they kill it or not,but it has to be relatively fresh.North American cats aren't built for eating tainted meat like African cats do.It will make them sick.I've seen them eat off a carcass that was a couple days or more past what I would but beyond that,they are gone.
They find carcasses quickly in this country as they home in on the magpies.I believe they can pick up on that at 1/2 mile or more,I believe.They will readily take any kill that is fit to eat and they don't have to risk injury to get.Think about it.
I've seen as many as 4 lions use one carcass.They will also feed on their own kind at times.
It is a good idea to anchor a carcass,if you are watching it as lions often like to drag them into the bottoms of draws or under low hanging conifer limbs.It is a good idea to peel back some skin,to start,so that magpie sized birds can get to working on it.A cable snare,cinched around,in front of the hips and anchored to a tree,works.
I know nothing about lions except that we have a very few here in East Texas. Mostly traveling through and I've only seen two in my lifetime. That said, on an 18,000 acre place that I hunt a small part of, last year a lady killed a doe, and being unable to load it by herself, went to the camphouse and got some help. When they got back, the doe had been pulled into the woods, the neck and part of one shoulder eaten, and was partially covered with sticks and pine straw. I've never seen coyotes cover a kill, so that says cat to me, and I don't see a 30 lb. bobcat dragging the doe to the woods. Beside that, the lady saw the cat the next night right at dark, but she thought it was too dark to shoot. I've known this lady for years, and she might piss you off with the truth, ( whatever she thinks, she says), but she's not lying. So, yeah, I think a lion would take over a fresh kill. My two cents.
Post up next to the nearest jogging trail. Works that way in California I hear.
Dang right they'll eat a fresh carcass tied up in a tree. Beaver works great...Or does on bobcat anyway...
Keith, it seem Idaho does not allow the intentional baiting of Mt Lions but a legally shot big game animal carcass can be used (left at the exact area of the kill) but not moved to another area and I would expect, (moving to a tree and hung there) is moving for the intent of baiting which is illegal. This is how I read the regulations on baiting lions. This is the same regulation Colorado uses for "baiting" of lions or bears.
There are no predators that will pass up a good, free meal. Like Jim said - think about how many calories are consumed and how much risk of injury they’re subject to. If you were scraping by, paycheck to paycheck, and skipping lunch most days, and then somebody offered you a free steak dinner, you wouldn’t pass that up, would you???
And I think Paul just told you everything you need to know about the regs...
