Cougars in Mississippi?

Me and a couple of friends of mine saw two black bears in central KY about 22 years ago when balck bears didn't live in KY ( so they say ). I have heard of many mountain lion reports in eastern KY over4 the years . These reports were by trustworthy people and in multiple person sightings. I( haven't seen them myself , but i am always on the lookout when i hike.
 
We've had cougars that had their snap shots taken on trail cameras around the twin cities, local authorities and DNR always seem to play the, "It was a pet that was released or escaped from someones house." But you never here of charges or examples being made of anyone and I'm sure you need some type of permit to keep a cougar around so if that is the case I'm thinking someone would be drawn and quartered on the news for all to see.

Bottom line is we live with all the critters daily, even if you don't see them

I know we have a lot of critters around that people wouldn't associate with a metro area. DNR has moved black bear out of northern suburbs of Minneapolis, a western suburb had a young moose on the freeway one day running around during rush hour. I've seen two coyotes in the past year, one in broad daylight walking down a sidewalk, and my neighbor said she had three foxes fighting in her back yard the other morning, this is not to mention all the whitetail, turkeys, coons etc..
Hell I can't drive down the road anymore without noticing a eagle, hawk or falcon hanging out one a light pole waiting for the next free meal, which reminds me I went to get the mail the other day and a opossum was at my front door, "those things have a lot of teeth" and since when was Minnesota a opossum country?

I think if you live in a area with less then a million people the animals have found it acceptable to deal with, I wonder when the wolves will set up shop, man I'm rambling.:o

Helle
 
While growing up in East Texas there was popular folklore that people heard and seen cougars. But what you saw was probably a Florida Panther. It wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination that they could migrate to Mississippi considering all the influx into their territory in Florida. Other than that, you saw a pet gone native. Just my best guess. Whatever the circumstances you saw something very rare.

Here in NM they have reintroduced the Mexican Grey Wolf. They are starting to get off the reservation. One thing I can't stand are the ranchers complaining about them. The government pays them for their losses and even goes out and put down rogue wolves.
 
It's still a wild world , despite the iPod , cell phones and man on the moon.

F&G in my area has claimed for well over a decade that there are no more foxes in the outer city and suburbs , but I've seen three of them over the past few years.
Antelope are supposed to be scarce and nearly gone in the coastal foothills but I've seen them as far down as Kettleman City.

Think about it , every day/night we are at work, doing the things we need to do to survive , animals are out there doing the same , hiding , migrating , moving , surviving.
 
You have the same problem we do here (except by Fort Dix, apparently; very interesting); NJ Fish and Game require photographic, videographic, or physical proof (a body) before they admit there are cougars here. Everyone knows they're there except the people that matter.
 
Mtn lions are abundant as the deer population explodes around the country. I grew up in New England, and they are making a big comeback up in the Northeast kingdom area of VT/NH and Southward IME. I worked as a member of the Florida Panther Research Team back in the 1980's into the early 1990's. There are no known FL Panthers to have crossed out of the State of FL to date. It would'nt surprise me to see a mountain lion in Georgia or surrounding states but they would be of a different species than the FL panther, which, unfortunately, is so inbred at this point that it may not survive a simple feline disease in the population. Yes, Western blood was introduced, but who really knows if the line has taken well in the general population.

Mtn lions will eat whatever they can when they are hungry; preferring to waste their energy on larger prey than domestic pets, so that they can satiate their appetite and come back for more if they want later. Mostly though wild cats prefer warm meals as they have a better sense of smell than taste, and instinctively know that if it is warm then it is 'fresh kill'.

I'm in NJ now, and have heard of all the sitings Rescue Riley and others mention. Off the record most F& G folks don't want to alarm the general public (read sheeeple...Baaa Baaa) so they are told it's policy to deny anything short of a physical roadkill; and at that to remove said roadkill immediately upon notification to keep it out of the media. One thing is for sure, once you have heard a mtn lion call at night in person, you will never forget or mistake it for anything else IME. No denying that!:eek:

The Pinelands is a perfect area to reintroduce the big cat as there is plenty of cover and chow for the cats without much interaction with people. I spend a considerable amount of time down there backpacking around and have only seen a track or two over the course of the past 2 years. Big cats want no part of man, unlike the bird feeder bears that are plaquing the easte coast these days. If you see one, you're a lucky person.
 
I live in upstate NY too, a retired State Trooper down the road says that he saw something like a lynx. I haven't seen tracks, but the guy is no drama queen.
 
i live here in northwest alabama . I believe you and would like to add 2 bits of info on my on.

1. about 5 yrs ago i was driving around checking things at work and a large (golden retriever size) cat jumped out in front of my work truck and ran down the road in front of me. i think it was a panther . It was the color tan with small black spots. Of course everyone laughs when i tell this story. AND NO IT WAS NOT A BOBCAT!!!!!!!!!


2. my father in law told me about 2 weeks ago that there was some MT lion tracks found on the TVA land around wilson or wheeler dams.
 
I believe you. I have seen 1 personally in my area. Some people I know well farm 2500 acres and they saw one last year.

I came across some tracks recently WAY to big for bobcat tracks.
 
Ok guys, im the one who started this thread and im confused. What is the difference between a Florida panther, or a cougar, or a Mtn lion. Arent they all the same except maybe one is black and the other being tan? The one i saw here was tan in color.
 
Wildone39, All of the cats discussed are species, 'Felis concolor', or cougar. Which is just another name for what others in different regions of North america call Panther(a misnomer from early settler days of seeing the cats in the dark believing they were black panthers), Mountain lion,Painter, Catamount, Cougar, Puma, etc. The Florida panther, 'Felis concolor coryi' is a subspecies of the North american mountain lion. No mountain lions are black in color normally, and melanistic phases are very rare. There are 'red and blue' phases, rufous brown and slate gray out West though seldom seen. Most are the color of their favorite prey, deer, a tawny brown upper, and whitish lower body.

There is a species of large cat called a Pnather from SA & CA that has sometimes been reported in the Southern US, but unverifiably so. Recent work by the SW jaguar Project has found evidence of mexican jaguars crossing the US Border in AZ/NM/TX areas to date. Even these cats are not black in color, rather they are spotted look up a picture.

A young Mountain lion will have spots for up to a year;so you could have seen a younger one looking for rats, coons, or such around buildings when driving.

The FL Panther has a distinct 'crook' near the end of it's tail that looks like granma rocked on it with her rocker. Also, the FL p' is darker than any others, has longer legs and smaller feet, and is the lightest with a large male going 150lbs. genetic and regional isolation has caused dinsitinctive charcteriscs among the extremely small population as well.

They used to range from the Mid Missipi' to Fl, but man pushed them all the way down into the Everglades. they have tried to move upstate, but to no success due to the population of man in Fl.

Let me know if you have more questions...
 
Thanks 1tracker for the info. They must have moved up from Fla. because i have definatly seen one. So there is no such thing as a black panther? I didnt know that. The one i saw was light tan or brown. Thanks for the website driftdraft, ill check it out.
 
Yeah, they are in Mississippi. I have not had the privilege , but my wife and daughter have both seen big cats in our area. We are in south MS. And several years ago in north MS where my father lives they had some sort of big cat that lived in a river bottom on his hunting club. Many a brave hunter, armed with a high powered rifle backed out of the woods scared shitless after that thing let out a yowl.
 
The mountain lions' number one food source has been on the increase since the beginning of the last century. As the population of whitetail deer increases, and they move into areas that they have not been, the cats follow. It was once said that there were no mountain lions east of the mississippi river, but that is not the case, as the deer pop continues to grow. By the way, it is estimated that there are more whitetail deer in north america than there ever has been, and- incidentally- more mountain lions than ever as well.
 
jaguars have been photographed as far north as Arizona. If a cat that large can make it to the states and remain largely hidden, I am sure cougars are in many places they are not supposed to be.
 
Bear in mind that the powers that be dont want to admit to having a M.L. population for several reasons. 1-Most people would crap down both pants legs at even a hint from big brother that their was something sneaking around in their backyard that was above them in the food chain. Population hysteria!!!--2-In a lot of these areas a resident M.L. population would represent proof of the re-emergence of an endangered species and land, money and resources would have to be alotted to the protection of said species. In other words,too much trouble. Here in N.W. Ct. the environmental people deny their existence on the grounds of one not being found as roadkill. Though Ive spoken to half a dozen people that have seen them, including one with half his tail missing seen by three separate people on three different occassions in the same WMA. Maybe theyre not so stupid or prevalent to be hit by a car. With their main food source--deer--at a historical population high, it certainly doesnt seem to much of a stretch for me to believe that theyre out there doing what they do well. Staying out of sight--Just my 2 centavos worth--KV
 
Mountain Lions can and do take domestic cats. I had a friend once with 40 acres in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and he had a problem with a local Mt. Lion taking his cats.

Why are deer population in N. America at a historical high? Not enough hunters? Too much easy food from crops? What?
 
bulgron said:
Why are deer population in N. America at a historical high? Not enough hunters? Too much easy food from crops? What?
Click to expand...

For one of the few times the government did things right. With hunting seasons and all the regulations about deer, it has allowed the populations to get extremely large in a lot of areas. To the point that seasons are starting to get longer or bigger limits on numbers taken allow. In TN they are trying to get more people to take Does to help control the populations. I can take 3 Does per day all hunting season if I want to these days.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top