puma tracks

snafu · May 06, 2013, 09:00:53 PM

Zoomed in on one of the prints, from the tracks above. Track was a day old & slightly melted/distorted. Those posts are old bridge pilons, not fence posts.

JohnP · May 06, 2013, 09:30:53 PM

Dead lion tracks:

snafu · May 07, 2013, 07:23:27 AM

Heck yeah I want one. There are a few that roam my area. My focus until I no longer can hunt. Is to bag me one.

FinsnFur · May 17, 2013, 05:08:09 AM

Dead lion tracks

Okanagan · May 17, 2013, 10:03:02 AM

Quote from: FinsnFur on May 17, 2013, 05:08:09 AM
Dead lion tracks

John, those are fresh tracks you have there. With tracks that fresh I'll bet you can tell the size, sex and even the shade of color on the critter!

snafu · May 17, 2013, 06:31:55 PM

Some people. Two yrs ago, I was calling land owners along the river corridor to obtain permission to hunt. Was talking to one guy one evening. I told him I was a predator hunter. He asks, "what coyotes?" I said yes, but what I'm really after is a puma" Right then he screams "LEAVE THOSE Mountain Lions ALONE! Then he slams down the phone. In a perfect world, a puma would maul his tree hugging carcass. As he's skipping through the timber. Et I would get to read about it, lol.

FinsnFur · May 17, 2013, 11:41:56 PM

Leave the Mountain Lions alone uh

snafu · May 18, 2013, 09:15:44 PM

JohnP did you hunt/kill that puma?

snafu · May 18, 2013, 09:25:16 PM

I did some carpentry work for a woman a few yrs back. Maybe 6yrs ago or so. A couple of yrs before I met her. She was married & they owned a large acrege along & above the timbered river bluff. They had a small mowed pasture camp ground out back, that butted up to the bluff. One day her & her two daughters were going to have a pick-nick. Mom is setting the out door table & her daughters are bringing the food from the van to her.

Mother turned around to see a puma low-crawling up on her from her blindside. She screamed for her daughters to get in the van. Woman then climbed up on the table. Waving her arms & screaming & yelling at the puma. Which at that time was very close, very close. The puma staying down low in stalk mode. They had a stare off for a little bit. Then the lion slowly turned away & slinked over the bluff.

Okanagan · May 18, 2013, 11:48:01 PM

Sounds like a typical lion encounter, especially the insolent stare down after the stalk was blown. Lucky she saw the cat!

Over the past 25 years I have two close friends who have had a cougar stalk one of their kids. One was a five year old on a family hike on the Olympic Peninsula of WA state. The other was a four year old on a family picnic on Vancouver Island in Canada. In both cases the dad saw the lion, talked to his son telling him either not to move or to walk backward slowly toward him as he as he walked to the boy. In each case when the Dad picked up the boy the cat relaxed from its crouched sneak, looked at them a moment and strolled away.

A cougar killed a child at a school in Lillooet, BC during that time and I distantly know a family who lost a child to a cougar decades ago on Vancouver Island. I am MUCH more concerned about children being attacked by a cougar than an adult. A few years ago a lion mauled a girl on Vancouver Island as she walked with her mother through woods to a beach. The girl was wearing a life jacket which helped protect her and her mother beat on the cat till it ran away.

All those and a few more stories from friends who have had lions come to elk and deer calls, and I still haven't had one come to me in the open when I have rifle (and tag!) in hand and I am set up as the shooter!!!

snafu · May 19, 2013, 07:42:35 AM

Interesting encounters Okanagan, thanks. Man I can't wait for snow fly, to get back at it.

JohnP · May 19, 2013, 09:28:37 AM

Quote from: snafu on May 18, 2013, 09:15:44 PM
JohnP did you hunt/kill that puma?

Kinda, sorta, ah shucks â€" no, the truck did. We live in a lion rich environment and I have killed my fair share and been involved in a lot of other kills. Have no desire to kill any more except those that are preying on livestock,

snafu · May 19, 2013, 11:17:51 AM

OK. Say what is a lions pelt worth anyway? Average range that is.

Okanagan · May 19, 2013, 01:33:26 PM

Just to balance my stories a bit, FWIW, cougars stalk people often, yet rarely attack a human. Its a cat thing. Just because one is close or even sneaking up on an adult does not mean it is going to carry through with an attack, but it is not worth finding out. I.e. A friend of mine had one come to an elk call and it would not shoo off so he shot it. I've had several sneak up on me or follow me not counting called ones. A friend shot at one that had sneaked to within 21 feet of me, but I never saw it nor any of the others, just tracks. The friend clipped hair only. We were hunting deer in snow when he looked over at me and saw the lion. It had sneaked to a position above me and was crouched but nobody knows if it would have jumped me, maybe not even the cat if it hadn't decided yet. Glad my friend shot at it but wish he'd have been more accurate!

I'd guess that high 90's percent of the time humans never know a lion has stalked them. A border cop with night thermal vision wrote somewhere that his team was amazed at how often they saw cougars stalking and following illegals and agents, none of whom were ever aware of the cat.

I've no idea as to value but they make a striking rug and I also like them tanned and used as a throw or hanging item.

Okanagan · May 19, 2013, 01:38:22 PM

John, did you run over that lion? I saw a dead one hit on the freeway south of Bellingham a few years ago. That has to be fairly unusual to hit one with a vehicle.

JohnP · May 19, 2013, 06:15:06 PM

Quote from: Okanagan on May 19, 2013, 01:38:22 PM
John, did you run over that lion? I saw a dead one hit on the freeway south of Bellingham a few years ago. That has to be fairly unusual to hit one with a vehicle.

Do I have to tell the truth?

I would agree with you that it is unusual except for a few locations here in AZ and maybe some other southwestern areas. Our mountain ranges down here are referred to as "sky islands" and are separated by cities, open range lands and paved roads. As the semi-adults are being forced out of momma's home range they must travel out into the civilized world which means crossing major roads, state highways and the interstates. None of the mountain ranges here in this corner are connected so they must travel. We live(ed) in the Huachuca's I can look out across the valley and see the Mule Mountains but to get there ya gotta cross the most dangerous place in the US, the public roads. You would be surprised at the number of track and actual sightings we see in the arid flatlands and scrub desert.

snafu · May 19, 2013, 06:26:16 PM

This question is for anyone. Yeah sometimes I just don't have the answer, lol. Anyway for you experienced lion hunters. What is the typical size (measurement) of an adult puma track? I'm talking from outer toe pad to outer toe pad, not total paw measurement. Thanks

FinsnFur · May 19, 2013, 07:44:46 PM

Quote from: snafu on May 19, 2013, 11:17:51 AM
OK. Say what is a lions pelt worth anyway? Average range that is.

Depends on the size, the condition, and the time of year. Anywhere from $175 buck for a cruddy one, up to somewhere in the vicinity of $500 or $600 bucks for a nice one. Get it tanned by a reputable tannery and you can sell a nice one for $900 all day long.

snafu · May 20, 2013, 06:18:49 AM

Thanks Jim. So what would be the going rate on getting one tanned? Not made into a rug, just tanned.

FinsnFur · May 20, 2013, 03:57:26 PM

I dont do it anymore, in fact I sold all my equipment a couple years ago. I think I was around $75 buck for Mountain Lion, so I would expect it to be between there and $100 today. Some may even charge by the lineal foot since Lions are long hides.