Cameras hung....cats are breeding
Elk
I headed out at 5 am to hang cameras in my spot. Good Lort it hurt getting in and out of there with my poor shape. 4 cameras hung and will soak a few weeks, plan to go back and check them out after the 4th. In 3 different spots, well over a mile apart I heard what sounded like a calf elk calling non-stop. 8-12 calls at a time sometimes, sometimes fewer but non-stop one after the other. Odd. As I was getting ready to hike out I stopped at a big meadow and heard it on the other side in the timber. It was circling around to the left but I could not see the source. I sat down and waited glassing. Then I see movement entering the meadow in the grass and put the binos up and see a tail. A long tail. Ahead of it was the mountain lions head. Now this was a good 1000 yards away but this thing was the biggest cat I've ever seen. It was a solid 7-8' mature big ass kitty. By the time I got my cell phone camera zoomed in it had crossed and disappeared up the hill on the other side of the meadow. No pic. But a good time to leave. I was beat but found some pep in my step to put distance between me and the kitty. Apparently it is mating season and the females make the call I heard looking for luv. Kinda spooky knowing I heard at least 3 different cats over a 5 hour 6 mile hike back in there. But I had my bear spray and my 10mm anti kitty pellets just in case. Maybe I'll catch one on one of my cameras. I knew they were around but seeing a big mature cat even at 1000 yards was eye opening. Gonna have my head on a swivel the rest of the time I'm in there. LOL
Sorry about the sideways pics.....the stupid image fixer on here will only let me fix the first pic in the post.
They move quick. It might have been the same cat.
Jordan, sounds like that Cougar had a romantic interest in you.
Mating and Breeding Breeding can take place throughout the year but most females give birth between April and July, following a 3-month gestation period.
On another thread, I gave Jordan a 95% chance of scoring this year. I want to clarify, that the 95% chance pertains to an elk- not a cougar. In heat...
“ most females give birth between April and July, following a 3-month gestation period.”
That would make sense, given calf/fawn drop. September seems like a tough time for a new litter, but I suppose that’d vary by elevation to some extent… Deep snow and short legs can be a tough combo.
Ask me how I know! LOL
Just out of curiosity, what is the "draw" for the location of your cams? Is it simply an old rub or is there a major trail or travel corridor? Seems like an old rub is a pretty random chance of a bull deciding to freshen it up, or am I missing something?
Had you recently been on or near an Ebike?
This bull is feeding in the wet drainage on the other side from the dark timber.
This bull is feeding in the wet drainage on the other side from the dark timber.
A couple bulls romping past the camera I had set on the spring pond.
A couple bulls romping past the camera I had set on the spring pond.
Never been on or near an ebike ever. Looks like a good way to seriously injure oneself.
Smarba, the pics don't show it well but there is a major trail heading down the hill into this drainage that has fresh tracks and has consistently for years. The entire north side of this ridge is small dense pine as you can see....and fairly steep. There are probably 30-40 trees rubbed in here. The bulls come back and freshen and add new rubs every fall. The bulls like to bed during the day about a 1/4-1/3 of the way down from the ridge top, you can see the beds along the trails that traverse that area. The pic of this little bull is near the upper bedding trail. Close by is a very wet drainage full of feed and where there are 3-4 recurring wallows come late august/early september. This is a bachelor pre-rut area....I usually track a herd of 4-5 bulls that come into the wet drainage to feed every night and are still there in the morning. Near the bottom of the trail through the rub/bedding area is a spring pond. This time of year the moose have muddied it up. This spot has been a dynamite spot in the first 2 weeks of archery season. I called in two bulls for my buddy here in 2019 but he didn't have a shot due to blowdown and branches in the way. I've called other bulls in here in prior years. So yeah, it pretty much sux..... ;)
As for the cougar jokes....haha......all I want is to avoid a close encounter of the kitty kind. Other than a moose surprised in close quarters (done that twice now in this spot), nothing bothers me much solo in the woods. But the thought of a big arse kitty following me around looking for the right time to grab me by my neck is pretty unsettling.
Looks like your having a fun summer getting ready for the Harvest BigJ.
Good luck, Robb
Thx for the explanation Jordan, I recently found a very heavy trail and placed a cam to see what's happening. There was also a large aspen with shredded bark from what had to be a lion so perhaps I'll get pics of him too.
For me it is a matter of finding that sweet spot where there is good cover/bedding, with water and feed, then look for activity. The thing I have found is that elk have areas they occupy different times of the year. Like this spot has all the elements but is only good from July to early September as far as having many elk around, in my experience. I think they cross to the north where I have seen alot of cow elk activity after the 2nd/3rd week of September. I suspect they go lower prior to July. The puzzle is fun to try and piece together.
Have heard a cat screech a couple of times and not a good feeling to be close to it. If you have never heard it, go to a zoo that has cats and hang around for a little to see if you can hear some sounds. Better to know what the noise is before you hear something in the woods and do the "WTF was that"? Nice bull in that one pic!
Jordan...seeing as how you check your cams somewhat frequently.....set them to video mode. You can get some great vids there.
I don't hunt in cougar country enough to have heard one yet. The best I could offer is being in a short ladder stand and hearing a big boar popping his jaws. It is a unique sound, it was loud and it echoed in the swamp bottom I was hunting. His size matched his volume.
Here is a recording. The sounds I heard were much less squally and carried a LONG ways......really sounded like a calf elk calling in distress to me at the time.
We did a 20 mile technical ebike ride yesterday, and then last night I heard a similar sound here in our campground, very close. Hmmmm...
Jaq, I'm guessing what you heard may have been a cougar, but not a mountain lion.
