-- Posted by Joe Dirte on Thu, Jan 5, 2012, at 4:07 PM
I spend alot of time in the woods, working, hunting and trapping. I have seen cat tracks before that are to big to be bobcat tracks. I saw a black bear near Libertyville in St. Francois county a few years back, even got a pic on my phone. There are alot of critters in those hills we dont always get a chance to see.
-- Posted by Joe Dirte on Thu, Jan 5, 2012, at 4:16 PM
Easy,
You sure those were not bobcats? I have heard what you were speaking of when I was growing up. But the mountain line or cougar is a different breed of cat and relatively recent to Missouri I thought.
-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Thu, Jan 5, 2012, at 4:17 PM
It's Bushs fault.
-- Posted by not_sorry on Thu, Jan 5, 2012, at 4:22 PM
Well the conservation department determined it was wild and not a pet and they turned it loose.
-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Thu, Jan 5, 2012, at 9:16 PM
Those who have cattle and other livestock in Bollinger and more souther counties know that these critters have been around for awhile. Just like the black bear, many tend to bury their head in the sand and claim that they were eradicated, never to come back. They've been here for a while.
-- Posted by Knoblickian on Thu, Jan 5, 2012, at 9:31 PM
Rick, what you heard was most likely bobcats. They have an eerie screech which is not unlike a woman's scream. Just worse. Mountain Lions have been around for the past 15 years or so, but like the bears have been denied by officials. If there are only a few, they are not acknowledged as being here. I saw a wolf here last year. Thought I was crazy until I talked to two others who saw him too. He was most likely a lone male who got run off and was just here for the winter. That was in southern Madison county where I have some land. The predators are coming back and that's fine with me. This was their land to begin with.
-- Posted by Knoblickian on Thu, Jan 5, 2012, at 9:49 PM
In the time that man has only read about, when I was a kid in high school, there were rumors of a mountain lion running loose around Swan Lake in Kentucky. We kids loaded up in our trucks and cars and set out late one night for the great mountain lion safari. After getting a car or two stuck in the mud, freezing our behinds off, being soaked with melted sleet, and making ourselves deathly ill, we headed home. To this day, we will all swear we saw the creature standing defiantly in the distance, and that sound is a laugh of derision.
-- Posted by InReply on Thu, Jan 5, 2012, at 11:47 PM
Cougars have been in S. Missouri much longer then 15 years. While living in Wayne County back in the early 80s we had several sightings of both bears and cougars. Myself and my buddy came across a black bear about a mile up otter creek on lake Wappapello in 1982 while fishing from my boat. My neighbor had a photo of a cougar laying on a branch of a large oak tree on his property that was taken in that hot summer of 80'...In short, I believe they are here and they have been here for a long time. I am also pretty sure they have been breeding. With an ever growing food source and plenty of waterways for them to travel they will be here for quite sometime to come.
-- Posted by GREYWOLF on Fri, Jan 6, 2012, at 4:51 AM
The cougars may den and even have cubs in this area but I highly doubt that any of them make it to adulthood. There simply isn't enough open wilderness anywhere around here for the female to hide the cubs from prowling males who actively track and kill them.
-- Posted by Data48 on Fri, Jan 6, 2012, at 5:40 AM
Yep Beringer IS one bad dude - but very nice and of course very smart! He also works with black bears and hellbenders - which sounds worse than they really are ;-) He was part of an interview on NPR-Talk of the Nation-yesterday. The interview was in conjunction with a report from the STL Zoo regarding the successful hatching of hellbender eggs. A great representative for Missouri and MDC.
-- Posted by treegal on Fri, Jan 6, 2012, at 8:32 AM
Easy - do you get your news only from the Missourian? :-)
-- Posted by treegal on Fri, Jan 6, 2012, at 8:38 AM
Didn't realize NPR was a political topic - my bad
-- Posted by treegal on Fri, Jan 6, 2012, at 8:46 AM
Just a few years ago some teenage boys in the Qulin area told their grandpa they saw a black lab with very long tail. Gramps told them to stay out of that woods.
Paul Harvey told that out west, conservation officers told a lady to stay in her house because there was a couger in her garage. She promptly informed them that was a Buick. :)
-- Posted by Old John on Fri, Jan 6, 2012, at 10:49 AM
I know of the presence of cougars in southern Bollinger County for at least the past 20 years. Because they are nocturnal animals and seldom seen, it has been easy to ignore their presence. I also believe there are breeding pairs. There is no doubt that the official position will be to deny this until a pregnant female or a cub is seen. This was the official position with bears and even the presence of cougars until some were killed or caught on video.
When the dogs hide under the porch and refuse to leave the safety of the house a person knows that something really ornery is lurking about.
-- Posted by Robert* on Fri, Jan 6, 2012, at 11:02 AM
As a youngster I heard that eerie screech several times. Always chalked it up to screech owls.
Every fall I see several bobcats in the Delta area. They are seen often hanging around outdoor basketball goals. :)
I did see somekind of large cat at Whitewater last year. The headlamps caught it as it ran through a field, very quick and light in color.
-- Posted by Old John on Fri, Jan 6, 2012, at 11:33 AM
stnmsn8;
There is no such thing as "breeding pairs" of cougars. Cougars are among the most solitary animals on earth. The only time a male and female can be in the area is when the female is in heat. If they meet any other time they will fight over the territory and the male will kill her and/or any cubs he can catch which, unless the female has hundreds of square miles of wilderness to hide them in, is usually all of them. That's why I maintain my position that while they are definitely here and may even have cubs, they aren't successfully raising them here. I also have my doubts about the claimed sighting of a wolf. Unlike cougars who are secretive and solitary wolves do not bother to hide their presence. They aggressively mark, patrol and protect large territories and vocalize constantly while doing so. If they were here we'd know about it!
-- Posted by Data48 on Fri, Jan 6, 2012, at 12:03 PM
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