Mountain Lions, I have a new respect.

[Scott Free]

I stepped on a bobcat when I was quail hunting one day.

I had a chipmunk jump on my head when I was sleeping out under the stars one night. That's not quite the same thing, though—is it?

Welcome to bladeforums!!!

 

[Cascade_mtn's]

THIS freaks me out...

That is an amazing photo. I have never seen a Mt. Lion in the wild before. Seen plenty of black bears, one grizzly, and the most frightening to me ever was a mother moose on the Blackfoot river in Montana. My Brother and I moved like cheetahs back to camp.

I would love to see one in the wild. Preferably not feasting on my liver at the time. But at a distance I would feel very fortunate. On backpacking trips one of us always has a pistol (.45 or .357 mag) and the other a reputable bear mace canister on the waist strap of our backpacks, or day packs.

 

[Flexxx]

I think the reason we are seeing so many now days is because people are moving into there territory.

 

[Carolina River Rat]

Here kitty kitty.

If I looked out my back door and saw that I'd likely soil myself and die. In that order.

 

[Alvaro Candanedo]

I like the comment where the woman says the shotgun having been loaded would have just pissed the cat off, and that hitting it with the buttstock was the right idea.

I think you missunderstood: She couldn't find the ammo for the shotgun and
resorted to beat the lion with the shotgun, then realizing that it might end up pissing off the cat.

 

[mapper66]

Back in the late 90's I was doing a solo hike on the Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier. I remember crossing over a wet patch of trail and seeing the distinct print of a very large cat in the mud, water still seeping into it. I was way the hell out there, solo, and felt very, very alone at that moment. No weapon, maybe a SAK. I recall thinking to myself that at least my pack covered my neck, so I might have some protection if pounced on from behind. Those damn cats scare me way, way more than the black bears we have around here. Though I bet more people have been killed by black bears. Must be something about the stalking aspect of it that gives people the heebie jeebies. Was headed to Glacier NP not long after that and a solo hiker was attacked and eaten by a grizzly the week before. I canceled that trip. Very humbling to realize you are no longer the top of the food chain....

 

[TUF]

The most dangerous things in North America are humans and mosquitos.

I think you can categorize a Mountain Lion attack as very dangerous also. But also very rare. Even if you live in Mountain Lion country you are unlikely to ever see one much less be attacked by one.

They aren't nearly as large or as strong as is being categorized in this thread. They are phenomenal jumpers (30+ feet horizontal, 15+ feet vertical) but in no way as strong as a Jaguar. Few Mountain Lions weigh more than 150 pounds although 200+ is possible in the northern parts of their range.

I don't know how much tougher a Mountain Lion is than a tough dog, if any. Mountain Lions are good predators and as such they win most of their encounters as they are the one doing the hunting and they will initiate the contact. As stated frequently from behind or above. Domesticated dogs for the most part lack the instinct to kill like a wild animal. Which again is decidedly in the cats favor. But a big Mastiff pound for pound (similar sized animals) would fare pretty well face to face.

I have Airedales and raised them for more than twenty years. A fair number of my pups were used by guys that run lions. They almost always use them to protect their hound from the lions and they say they hold up just fine. I never heard one say that an Airedale could or had killed a lion but the lions get a hold of them occassionally and the dogs inflict about as much damage on the lion as the lion does the dog. A lot of that can be attributed to the Airedales thick coat and the fact the lion doesn't have much time with the other dogs confusing him and possibly attacking him at the same time.

Here is a pretty good video of some dogs catching up to what looks like a very tired lion

[youtube]MqRr9n-yfgU[/youtube]

Mountain Lions are magnificent animals and are opportunistic predators. They are mostly nocturnal and they are not Satan. If you don't bother one of them you have better odds of winning the lottery than one of them bothering you. In fact if you get a chance to see one in the wild count yourself as one very lucky individual as relatively few people get to experience witnessing one of the most elusive creatures in North America.

 

[Cascade_mtn's]

The most dangerous things in North America are humans and mosquitos.

Mountain Lions are magnificent animals and are opportunistic predators. They are mostly nocturnal and they are not Satan. If you don't bother one of them you have better odds of winning the lottery than one of them bothering you. In fact if you get a chance to see one in the wild count yourself as one very lucky individual as relatively few people get to experience witnessing one of the most elusive creatures in North America.

VERY will said, and exactly how I feel. :thumbup:

 

[Dunner]

I agree completely with the low odds argument too. I enjoy the outdoors very much and not in a neurotic way LOL. I am generally relaxed but do get a weird feeling every once in a while.

I am glad to be armed in the back country but that is as much for two legged predators as other types. I would love to see a mountain lion in the wild because I know it's such a rare experience. I think it would be a treat as long as it wasn't chomped down on my wind pipe

 

[Glock26]

I always respect all wildlife, but make sure to have insurance at all times.

 

[Knife Dude]

Dogs versus large cats.. as others have mentioned, if there are enough dogs, they might be able to distract the cat long enough until you can shoot it. Also those Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs (African Lion Dogs) were not bred to actually kill lions, but to help hunting them and in a group of a couple of dogs corner the lion so the hunter gets a better shot at it.
I have been in Namibia last year where they still are alowed to hunt the African Leopard. I spoke with the owner of a hunting farm there and he told me that first of all (eventhough they have a population of about 20-21,000 leopards in Namibia, there is never an incident between humans and leopards.. except when they are being hunted.) So if they shoot a leopard and only injure it they have to go after it to kill it as a wounded leopard is not something you want to have around on your farm.. Problem is to stalk the wounded leopard as it usually disappers in thick bush.. if you follow it, it will circle you and attack the whole hunter group from the side or back. Within a couple of seconds a wounded leopard will injure or kill a hunter group of 3 or more men.. Just for those who think you are ok with your .357 in your backbag.. A group of hunters with large caliber rifles and being fully aware that there is a leopard close by and having their rifles ready to shoot.. they can be beaten up by a single leopard before anyone can even fire a shot! Happend more than once!
So what they use to stalk the wounded leopard is dogs. Usually some aggressive small terriers. These dogs are small and don't have any fear. They are somehow bred that way.. Such a dog, even alone, will attack a leopard or large snake or whatever is moving.. not that the dog will survive.. it just goes for it and often dies in the attack. So they use around 5+ of these dogs to stalk the wounded leopard.. they find the leopard and attack it so the hunters will know where it is and can go and shoot it.. And yes, he told me that usually some dogs will die in such an event..
Just mentioning this as I guess the African leopard and some of these US cougars seem pretty close in size..

On the other hand.. blade versus large cat.. well I would never want to experience that and would rather have a gun on me but the Maasai tribe in East Africa proves that it surely is possible. For a young man to become an adult he has to go out and kill a lion! Not a leopard or a hyiena.. no, a full grown African Lion!! This has been practised for hundreds of years and eventhough rather uncommon today (as it is also against the law) it still happens today. Mostly when a lion is killing their livestock it is time for a young man to become an elder while going out and killing the lion.. And they don't use some high end blades in INFI steel or such.. I have handled such Masaii spears and that's not something very robust to 'fight' with. A great stabbing weapon that has to be aimed very precisely.. But honestly if a lion would come carging at me I most likely would die of a heart attack even before he reached me.. even if I would hold a large gun in .375H&H or .460WM or whatever.. So I have the biggest respect of these guys going after lions with nothing but some thin spears and a leather shield..
So.. long story short.. blade versus large cat.. doable.. if you are a Maasai and have been spending all your days since childhood learning how to do it.

 

[fixer]

If you mean the SF Bay Area, yes there have been black lions here for years up in the Oakland hills. A friend of mine that used to hunt lions has seen them ~ the ones he has seen were black phase mtn lions and not jaguars.

there have been Black Panthers in SF for decades!

generally they just seem to shake their fists and stir shit up at political rallys.

 

[TxSxB]

Cougars are VERY scary animals.

Although...

It could be a hell of a lot worse

 

[Macchina]

That's a mountain lion! I've seen those in the city before! I can't believe what he did to that deer!

 

[Maqua]

There was one cruising around my North Texas neighborhood last year. He liked to hang out on the golf course in the early morning and then slink back into the Corps of Engineers lands, where there are ample deer and hogs to hunt. These track pics were headed into a subdivision, where there are ample poochies and kitties to snack on. The local story is this cat was treed and shot in the middle of the night, probably at the behest of the country club who didn't want to serve up some retiree for cat chow, or having to scoop said remains from the sand trap.

 

[Knife Dude]

Holy SH#@!! I hope that pic of the bear coming into the tent is a good photoshop and not really taken by some poor guy! 1000 times I would prefer the kitty in front of the window..