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mountain lion killed by Ireton

DOUBLE LUNG

DOUBLE LUNG

Active Member
On thursday night there was a mountain lion killed about 15 miles west of where i live by a farmer. Hope one comes into my path. It will go down.
Here is the article on what all took place.
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I think if it didn't split when it saw humans it was a threat. I'd shoot 'em too!
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If you lived nearby and had little kids you would want the kitty dead.
 
I was just wondering how do other states with these big cats react to them? Do they accept them, or think there a pest?
Did the farmer in the article who shot the cat know what it was? Because he said he knew it wasn't a coyote, but wasn't sure what it was. It seems he didn't know his target before he shot it. Plus isn'it it illegal in iowa.
 
For the moment it is absolutely legal to kill one in Iowa. No legislation has passed giving the cats protected status, although they have tried.
My concern with them is that in their current native range there are huge tracts of ground for them to live and maybe never see or smell a human. In Iowa, I doubt a cat could travel more than a couple miles without human contact, and each interaction may make them fear humans less. As they have less fear, they'll start to realize that penned up livestock or pets could make easy meals, then our kids could be next.
Just my opinion.
 
Way to go man!! I would have shot the mountain lion in a heartbeat. Sure beats going out west to hunt them!! They would make an awesome mount for my hunting room. They are legal to hunt here, and should be! I think that Iowa has too many people that live around what could be possible mountain lion habitat. It is different out west where you have more vast tracts of land. Here in Iowa every section has atleast one house on it. So in conclusion I would say that they may cause more harm than good for us so let's keep hunting them.
 
Im surprised it's legal to kill them since it isn't for bob cat. Thats a good point about cougers feeling more safe around humans... i wish there was a way for these cats to be around here with out them causing problems and them being shot. I would love to see one of these big brutes while hunting! This is just a speculation why they are moving in to iowa and other states now. They think because they are loosing their home territory to developement so they need to travel. I think thats why we have more bear sigting in Iowa. These animals need to go some where while we take their land and build on it. I think either way it's a loosing battle for large preditors. If they stay there land is being taken away, then they probably will eventually be killed. Or if they move to get away from the developement to an area that aren't use to them (like iowa) they are looked down apon.
 
Doctor Mahaffee is a pretty cool guy. I went to that college for a year (born in that town) and agree that that region is no place for a mountain lion. I can imagine it now. Mountain lion walks through college campus in search of food.....enters cafeteria and runs away in terror.....there is no way that food should smell or taste like that......
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Found this today in the Dubuque newspaper.

Oct 30, 2003
DNR: Don't shoot mountain lions
by ASSOCIATED PRESS

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Wildlife officials are telling people who spot mountain lions not to shoot them.

The Department of Natural Resources gave the advice on Monday, four days after a farmer reported the first confirmed shooting of a mountain lion in Iowa since 1867.

"They really didn't have to kill it," said Ron Andrews, the DNR's furbearer specialist.

The 113-pound male mountain lion did not represent a grave threat to livestock or people and there have been no official reports of livestock killed or injured in the area, he said.

Farmers in Sioux City saw the animal near Ireton, about 30 miles north of Sioux City, DNR conservation officer John Sells said.

It is not illegal to shoot the cat, which has no protected status in Iowa, Sells said.

"My suggestion, if you see one, is to call the local sheriff's department and the local DNR conservation officer and get a determination of what should be done," Sells said.

Sells, who examined the cat after it had been skinned, said "it was probably a wild cat," rather than an escaped pet.

The cat had sharp claws and teeth and a healthy coat, all indications that it had not been held in captivity, Sells said.

James Mahaffy, a biology professor at Dordt College, who has been tracking Iowa sightings of mountain lions for several years, said mountain lions seldom attack people.

The cat likely came out of the Black Hills in South Dakota, which has the nearest wild population of mountain lions, Mahaffy said.

Andrews and Mahaffy believe Iowa should afford some protection to mountain lions, due to the recent sightings.

In 2001, the DNR asked the Legislature to classify mountain lions and black bears as furbearers, which would have protected the animals from indiscriminate killing.

The measure passed the House but died in the Senate.

A wild, free-ranging mountain lion was captured alive in Omaha, Neb., just across the Missouri River from western Iowa, earlier this month.



Copyright 2003 Associated Press
 
I've seen several mountain lions while elk hunting and fishing in Wyoming. Each time as soon as the lion realized they'd been spotted they're gone. Even where lions are plentiful attacks are extremely rare.

I like having something new in the food chain.
 
i would of killed the cat too. a mountain lion would be the ultimate killing machine in iowa, ive read that they can eat up to a deer a week that is up to a 100 pounds and can outrun them too for short distances. all i picture is 52 dead fawn does and button bucks each year, and we were worried about the neighbor shooting that 120 class, if there were tons of these cats multiplying like crazy, i could see an effect in the hunting and mature buck harvests later down the road. also like previously said, they could become less warey of people, and lets face it what would be easier prey, a deer or a toddler? Dont get me wrong though would be cool to see one running around, just know i would shoot it if i could though!!
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lets not wait til a BIG CAT takes a little farm girl/boy, waiting for the school bus on a cold rain/snow morning. These are wild mountain lions
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It'd be nice to see them given some protection. I used to bow hunt in California where there were a lot of big cats running around. Saw their tracks on deer trails quite a bit. Never seemed to hurt the deer populations any - there were always plenty to shoot during season. Never knew any kids or pets that got eaten by cougars either...
 
It probably sounds like I'm talking out my rear end but I listen to the news on the way to work everyday and I heard (last week) that a local horse was killed by a mountain lion. It sounds like mountain lions are being seen quite a bit more by humans than bobcats. They seem more comfortable around humans than bobcats. They are being spotted for the first time in this area over the last year or so. As they become more and more comfortable around humans how long will it be before they realize that cattle confinements are easy pickings?

A biology teacher in the Freemont, IA area had one sneak up behind him and growl (or whatever noise it is they make) last year while he was gathering water samples for a class. He turned around and shouted at the animal and it took off running. How much more comfortable are we going to get with these animals becoming more and more comfortable around us?

As elusive as these animals are, would you wait around for a DNR representative to show up and analyze the situation given that they have roughly a 75-mile roaming radius? Heck no!
 
i would give the kitty his first real taste of lead, served hot and fresh straight from my heart.
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for anyone who's interesed in goin' after one, there's an instructional video on this site already. see "scarey stuff"
 
Good one yello, That might be a video more for how not to go after a lion. I personally would have brought a bigger gun and practiced my under pressure shooting a little more.
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