Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire mountain lions.......

seems to be more of them every year..........was up hog hunting monday and came across a large set of cat prints in the road....we checked them out and it appeared that the cat was hanging around the area.....came back to work yesterday and was told by another guy who hunts the same club that they found a fresh killed doe in the creek saturday where we were...they drug it up out of the creek to find it back in the creek missing a few more parts on sunday......explains why the cat was hangning around.......sure wish they would open season or allow mountian lions to be trapped......way too many around here.

If you see one when no ones around, you'll know what to do.........

Anyone dare make a guess as to how many kids and joggers it is going to take before the public comes to it's senses? 5? 10? 20? FWIW, Dutch.

It may take a liberal about 20 to figure out that the cat is bad news. But, it wouldn't take any for the rest of us..
Sad, but true..
Don

I disagree.The cat is feeding on natural prey,not puppies and joggers.If it was in a rural area I might agree,but I can't figure out why some people just have to kill all the predators just because.

In many parts of the mountain-lion West, hunters, outfitters, and ranchers follow the "three S" rule when they meet lions afield �

Shoot

Shovel

Shut up

And they often find that they've thrown dirt over 'way more lions than the authorities figure that there are, total, in the area.

.

the few cougars that make it to my side of the state have been tearing up colts and such. infact no one gives them any attention till livestock is killed. it will not take long for mountain lions that are not a hunted population to start preying on pets and humans. they have no fear of man if they arent hunted. if Kali would allow hunters to even just run the cats with hounds and not even shoot them. the cats will get the message that humans are bad news. as to just shooting preditors, Montana law states that cougars are considered table fair and you must take the meat along with the skull and hide. my brother actually thinks its some of the finest meat there is

DFG regulates deer tag quotas for deer herd management.....bring into the picture a large population of cats and down goes deer herds.....look at the whole picture.....if you have wild life management why exclude cougars.....years ago it was a treat to see a cougar in the wild..and then it was mostly a streak as the cat took off.....now you see them all too often and thier no longer afraid of humans.....2 years ago at fort hunter ligget I was hunting when a huge mountain lion came out of the brush 20 yards from me.....I thought it was cool and made a small noise expecting it to see me and bolt......instead it turned towards me and crouched down......(spine tingle)......it took a few steps towards me and I put the bead of my shotgun on the cat(I was hunting with slugs for hogs in a primative weapons only area) and started yelling at the top of my lungs.....the dang thing sat down like someones pet dog......after what seemed like hours (probably just a couple of minutes) it turned and ran off into the bushes.....needless to say I watched my back all the way out and reported this to the people at the check in station....they told me that the cats aren't afraid of people anymore and they rarely have an attack on humans......rarely?.....that's a comforting thought.....anyways I didn't say anyone was going to shoot this cat........just wish they would trap them and relocate them where there are plenty of deer......like San Fransisco....but them tree huggers don't want them there......too dangerous.

Is it true that it's illegal to kill a lion even in self defense in California?

--Mike

no...this is as close as I could find to your question:

CALIFORNIA CODES
FISH AND GAME CODE
SECTION 4800-4809

4807. (a) Any mountain lion that is encountered while in the act of
pursuing, inflicting injury to, or killing livestock, or domestic
animals, may be taken immediately by the owner of the property or the
owner's employee or agent. The taking shall be reported within 72
hours to the department. The department shall investigate the
depredation, and, if the mountain lion was captured, injured, or
killed, the mountain lion or the entire carcass of the mountain lion
which has been recovered shall be turned over to the department.
Upon satisfactorily completing the investigation and receiving the
mountain lion or the carcass, if recovered, the department shall
issue a permit confirming that the requirements of this section have
been met with respect to the particular mountain lion taken under
these circumstances.

Thanks. I had heard/read somewhere that it was. It seemed looney even for CA--no offence. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

--Mike

Leave the lions alone. They have to be taking a toll on the illegals.

Cougar is really good eating. It's probably one of the finest of meats; delicate, lovely flavor.

Steve

We mustn't forget to defend ourselves....................

I like it.........................

Humans having been killing large cats for thousands of years. Doesn't that make it natural? I read this year that a lion that was tagged in the Black Hills of South Dakota was hit by a train in Oklahoma. Huge deer herds to follow.

George

I have only eaten cougar one time but what I ate was good groceries.

Must be some folks that think cat meat is good. The health department perminently shut down a Chinese restaurant in Huntsville, Texas because while inspecting it they discovered five skinned and dressed cats in the cooler. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />


BCR

Glad to hear they had them in the cooler! Hate to think I'm eating spoiled kung-pao kitty when I go to those places! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Agree with others, lion is gooooood eating!

Just a note, opening a hunting season back up on lions in CA is not quite the same as waging genocide against them! Hunted cats are respectful of humans. If they have no reason to fear us, we're just an easy meal.

You forget who you're talking about. When they shot that cougar in Palo Alto California last year, the residents were upset!

Cougar Shrine

When I discussed this with some friends, I told them that it was a shame that they had called the police for such a simple problem. They should have just shot it themselves. Aghast at such a barbaric attitude, they asked me if we should kill all of the cougars. My response?

"I'm from Detroit. We would have shot the cougar, cut down the tree, paved over the lawn, built a factory there and manufactured cougars! And there would have been a stuffed cougar on display in the lobby!"

Needless to say that I wasn't too popular in those circles after that. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

BirdDawg,

You would think that after the last census taken on the Mountain Lion population in 2002 that the number 20,000+ within the borders of California would change the minds of DFG and the state law makers. The last vote was close but we didn't get the required 2/3's needed. If more attacks happen maybe things will change. We have to convince the powers to be that the Mountain Lion Preservation Foundation doesn't know what they are taking about. Lawdog
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Great point! Now I am not so sure I want to hunt them.... what a dilema...