Thought my hoarder friends would appreciate these pics...

I always envisioned living out in the woods in a log cabin with a Grizzly bear and Mtn Lion for pets. I'd need a Stihl 880 to trim my beard being that much of a man! AHAHA!

NW Walker... I sure hope the cat doesn't go to waste. At least turn it into dog food or something!

 

Sorry to hear about the ram NW. That's one big cat! Im glad we don't have to deal with them around here, just coyotes.

 

Sorry to hear about your Ram but glad they got that big cat! As heavy as the coyotes are around here I don't walk the property after dark without some backup

 

Yup, and bob's go for the neck too, so their size is deceiving. Ole Giz wouldn't last long, but then, even my son's huskies might not either… and, they can can pretty snarly when pizzed.

 

Nice pics. Sorry bout the ram. They say we don't have them in indiana but old timers will tell you that the dnr released a few way back to control the deer population. My vet was doing a project for a university regarding tracks and gait of local critters and found tracks from one in a very populated area! It's amazing how stealthy they are.

 

Is that a Lynx? Cool cat. I have taken a bobcat right in my yard as well, after it ate a few chickens the previous nights. Also beautiful, but not quite as unsettling as this big guy. Here's the bob....

 

I have scars from giving the housecat a bath 19 years ago. Shiver to think of what those claws would do to me! Supposedly there was a Mountain Lion living in our area. I would be happy to send him your way since you have an opening now.

 

Holy smokes, that's a biggun. We have those things and bobcats here. Don't see the lions much as they move mostly at night. I seen one off the tree stand about five years ago and couldn't believe what I was seeing. Hopefully you solved your problem but where there's one there may be another.

 

Here Kitty Kitty...Sorry you lost your Ram!!

 

I have always wanted to see one out in the wild while hiking. I know I'm crazy, but think it would be something awesome to see and check off the list! Glad your safe NW Walker

 

Were you his father? If so, we used to work together on the ISS (old Space Station Freedom) back in the '90's. Remember Ed Zompa (RIP)?

Sorry about the loss of Scott.

 

I have graced the outdoors for most of my life and hunted wild animals for the same. I carry protection when in the woods. But I respect life. I probably would have gone after the cat too, if it had taken one of my animals, but lets just all understand that the cat was doing what it is supposed to do. We are just one little part of the big picture.

 

I am right there with you Chief, I hate to see them get killed for doing what they do, and I'm really in their world here. It's wilderness to the south for the next 100 miles.

Lost another ewe yesterday. Found wool flags on the fence where another cat took the 100 lb. ewe over a 4' fence and off into the forest. More hounds and Fish and Wildlife officers this morning, and another 130 lb.-ish Tom down about an hour ago. I have a friend who tracks the elk herd for the tribe, and she told me of two cougar cubs in my drainage about 3 years ago, so hopefully this was those two and that's it. Hopefully.

As for going after them on my own, well...without hounds the chances of seeing one, let alone treeing one or getting a chance at a shot are pretty much nil. The only legal hound hunts are depredation and public safety hunts led by Fish and Wildlife, so that's the only avenue I have short of poaching, which is not something I would ever do, regardless of how I feel about the current hound hunting restrictions. I am within my rights to kill a nuisance predator if it's preying on my livestock, but I can't use hounds and without them I just wouldn't get a shot unless it's a really careless cougar. They are just so dang cagey. Anyway, hopefully it's all over now.

 

Crazy that they don't allow landowners to use dogs when they have a problem… good grief. Anybody ever build a cage trap out of re-bar / or? …that could hold a cat? If it was placed where the cats were always looking for your sheep, and baited with their favorite food… lamb… and, maybe they're too smart to go after the bait.