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Riverside mountain lion

muddy

muddy

Well-Known Member
heard from a pretty reliable resource that there was a mountain lion killed over here by riverside, Iowa?? was shot by a guy when he saw it for the 5th time up by his house while his kids were in the back yard so the story goes. anyone from that neck of the woods have any definite info on that? the guy i talked to also said he saw a mountain lion down by kalona when he was out bowhunting a couple weeks ago.
 
Yes, that is true that the big kitty was killed in Riverside. My husband and I saw another one last Saturday running across a cut corn field. The cat was less than sixty yards from us and was probably going around 35-40 miles per hour across the field. What an amazing site but not too thrilled about having one less than three miles away from my house. In November my husband saw a doe while he was bow hunting that had rake marks up and down her sides and her whole backend had chunks of meat and hide hanging from it. I guess maybe the kitty has been playing around our house. Time to lock up the dogs and load the gun.
 
Welcome, Lioness! It's nice to see a fellow feline here...
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Welcome to the site Lioness..

are there any photos or an article or anything?? i've been looking in the iowa city papers but so far nothing. wasn't sure if mighty riverside had a paper.
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Haven't seen anything on it yet I would like to see a picture also. You can't blame the guy for shooting it since he has little kids running around. I have heard that the DNR has purchased some of these kittys to control the doe population but I think $5.00 doe tags would do the trick a little bit better. Also, thanks for the welcome Kat.
 
Thanks for the info Lioness. there's no way the DNR could get away with releasing mountain lions without telling the public. i'm guessing they're just wandering in and with all the food walking around (deer) who can blame them?
 
The people that we have talked to about it said that the DNR had told the guy he could keep the cat but they wanted their collar back. Someone had to put the collar on its neck.
 
a collar? as in a radio tracking collar?? do not take this the wrong way but i would have to see that to believe that. as political as things are anymore i still don't think that the DNR could get away with stocking mountain lions in iowa without some publicity. maybe it's a collared cat from the dakotas or some other state.

it's hard to say where they're coming from Limb Chicken, but as secretive as they are they just don't stand out and announce themselves. years ago bobcats weren't here in large numbers but then BANG! they were everywhere. i dunno, anything can happen anywhere.
 
The stories about the DNR releasing mountain lions are just those......stories. I agree with Muddy, I would have to see this with my own eyes. Why would the DNR release a large predator that has the potential to eat people when it is perfectly legal to shoot them? The DNR is not going to release predators that are not protected by law.
Various forms of wildlife have an awesome ability for traveling huge distances......the ones that are being seen (and shot at) are no doubt lions from the Dakotas or farther west.
 
good point jon, if the DNR is introducing them they would have it illegal for people to gun down their investments. and from what i hear most of the lions are young males...wanderers out looking for a home range.
 
Wherever they are coming from really doesn't matter collars or no collars I don't know if I can get used to the idea of seeing more of them around. I like to hunt without worrying of calling in the wrong animal.
 
We saw one during first gun season in Hamilton County. Ran by at about 50 yards. The landowner had seen it a few times as well.
 
Muddy, the DNR has been accused of secretively release mountian lions out here in the Dakotas. If they do or not I can't confirm. Their pr policies always seem to be the "mushroom policy", keep everyone in the dark! I've herd stories of some being shot (poached), only to be left at the kill site because it had a raido colar. There are some ranchers who have lost horses and cattle from lion attacks. I couldn't blame anyone for killing a cat to protect their kids or livestock. I do know a big cat can travel 50-60 miles in one night. The Iowa DNR claims they do not and don't plan on releasing any cats. If you do spot one you are asked to call Ron Andrews @ 641-357-3517
Hunt on All4s
 
I've heard that collared cougar story a dozen different times from a dozen different people in the last year. It's always a different county, different person who shot it (usually a friend of a friend, or my cousin's brother in law, etc.), with slight variations on the theme - sometimes the cat is buried out back and the DNR comes knocking on the door looking for their radio collar, sometimes its in the barn when the DNR comes for the collar - you get the picture. Can we say urban legend? I'd be willing to bet this story crops up in surrounding states as well.
As far as where the cats are coming from - the Black Hills is the closest wild population. They do roam pretty far and the rivers make great travel corridors. There's probably a couple of these wild cats in Iowa right now. Most though are pets that either escaped or were dumped on purpose. You'd be suprised at how many people buy mountain lion kittens for pets (illegally) and then figure out how much work they are to feed and care for...
 
...I love the mountain lion debate!...I live in a county where some of the first lions were reported...as soon as the reliable reports came in the stories began...too many to list here...I too have heard the many stories of collared lions and those that have microchips planted in their skin...my personal favorite includes somebody cornering the lion under a porch and trying to tranquilize it...the guy gives it too much juice and kills the lion...for quite some time my name was tied to the story and I have been asked by a few strangers if I felt any remorse for killing it...I usually tell them no (I haven't even see one, yet!)...

...there have been three confirmed mountain lions killed in Iowa...one was likely a pet as it had no front claws...the other two killed had no collars attached to them...earlier this year one was captured in Omaha...my guess is they are expanding from western states as populations of them grow due to reduced hunting pressure and the growing deer populations...the Iowa DNR has one Furbearer Biologist and one assistant for him...they are basically broke...why would they spend money they don't have to bring in lions to eat deer which have been about the only reliable revenue source the last 10 years?...
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I'm not sure the story is true or not. I live near river side, and I think if it were true there would be a lot more talk about it in here lone tree! I've heard the story once though.. but I heard the news like a month ago. Maybe if stuffy gets on here he could fill us in too. But I would say the story is false.
Do you guys know what direction from river side this cat was shot?
I bow hunt not to far from river side, I know there has been a bob cat spotted, actually I heard it two springs ago while turkey hunting. But i think a mountain lion is a little far out there. I'll keep my ears open for anything else.

jason
 
Ok... so i had my doubts about the story being true... but i talked to a friend of the guy who shot it and he said it was just a kitten that was killed. The moma is still running around, but it hasn't been seen since the kitten was killed.

jason
 
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