Windlooker
Well-Known Member
Pulled this today. Pic from 10/11. What do you think. Idk
Windlooker
Well-Known Member
Windlooker
Well-Known Member
A little closer
hillrunner
PMA Member
That's a doe, head is on the right side.
Windlooker
Well-Known Member
You’re right. I did not see that until you pointed it out. Damn I’m dumb
Dat a deer
Trail cam pics fool me all the time!!!!
Back a hundred or 200 years ago- weren’t mountain lions native to iowa? I don’t know answer - I thought maybe I’ve read that in past.
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Mountain Lions are spooky animals. They don't like being disturbed and will tend to move on unnoticed instead cause confrontation, unless they have cubs in the area. There aren't huge patches of Iowa that aren't farmed or intruded upon by human activity, (e.g. lots of agriculture). There's a chance that we can / will build a strong population of big cats here, but it's going to take some specific genetic traits of the parent cats to build that pop.
There was a great documentary on PBS years back about how we got dogs from wolves. In a nutshell... All towns/cities have refuse sites where they discard of their waste. It's thought that the wolves with the more flighty characteristics (genetics) would flee when people came onto the site. These wolves bred together and remained flighty wolves. Those wolves with less flighty characteristics would not flee when people came to the site, (in turn being rewarded with more and better human waste to pick through). These wolves bred together and became more and more tame / docile through the generations. Eventually these more docile wolves could be captured and raised by humans or would voluntarily take human companionship for the benefits of being fed. These wolves became domestic dogs.
Long winded. Sorry... Anyway, it would take some less flighty mountain lions to spread their chill genetics in order to build any sustaining population in our state. Otherwise, we'll probably always have a few in the state, but they will be few and far between. Just my 2 cents.
There was a great documentary on PBS years back about how we got dogs from wolves. In a nutshell... All towns/cities have refuse sites where they discard of their waste. It's thought that the wolves with the more flighty characteristics (genetics) would flee when people came onto the site. These wolves bred together and remained flighty wolves. Those wolves with less flighty characteristics would not flee when people came to the site, (in turn being rewarded with more and better human waste to pick through). These wolves bred together and became more and more tame / docile through the generations. Eventually these more docile wolves could be captured and raised by humans or would voluntarily take human companionship for the benefits of being fed. These wolves became domestic dogs.
Long winded. Sorry... Anyway, it would take some less flighty mountain lions to spread their chill genetics in order to build any sustaining population in our state. Otherwise, we'll probably always have a few in the state, but they will be few and far between. Just my 2 cents.
Had one in my scope in 1987 at 80 yards in sunlight on 9 power on my scope. It was not a coyote which is why I didn't shoot.
Treed one in 1998 while coonhunting. Huge male looking head on him. Golfball sized green eyes will raise the hair on the back of your neck up. Have seen about 7 to 8 of them in northern MO over a 35 year span.
One sighting was on a black top highway west south west of Lamoni Iowa.(in Iowa) I was riding with a guy hauling a load of cattle home from Lamoni sale barn. Cat came out on to the black top.... saw that there was nothing but open cattle field as far as the eye could see and darted back into big ditch(draw/ravine) that it had came out of. Nose to tail looked about one lane wide on the blacktop. About 5 seconds later a blue and white square body chevy with an orange army(10 guys?) in the bed of the truck came flying out of a gateway on the west side of a bale lot on the west side of the draw. This was early Dec shotgun deer season. I always wondered if they knew the cat was there and were trying catch up to it, or if they were just headed out to run another draw deer hunting.
Treed one in 1998 while coonhunting. Huge male looking head on him. Golfball sized green eyes will raise the hair on the back of your neck up. Have seen about 7 to 8 of them in northern MO over a 35 year span.
One sighting was on a black top highway west south west of Lamoni Iowa.(in Iowa) I was riding with a guy hauling a load of cattle home from Lamoni sale barn. Cat came out on to the black top.... saw that there was nothing but open cattle field as far as the eye could see and darted back into big ditch(draw/ravine) that it had came out of. Nose to tail looked about one lane wide on the blacktop. About 5 seconds later a blue and white square body chevy with an orange army(10 guys?) in the bed of the truck came flying out of a gateway on the west side of a bale lot on the west side of the draw. This was early Dec shotgun deer season. I always wondered if they knew the cat was there and were trying catch up to it, or if they were just headed out to run another draw deer hunting.
madplotter
PMA Member
I believe most studies are skewed by politics, that said I often wonder if cats kill because they are hungry or because that's just what they do? IMO, most predators kill because that's what they are programmed to do. I believe the notion that they only kill when they are hungry is a bit naive. As far as being afraid, I doubt anyone is afraid but most of us feel very strongly that we do not want them here and for good reason. If only 5 dogs get killed a year, it's Ok as long as it's not your dog and if only 1 person gets attacked, it's ok because it's not you or yours, just my 2 cents...
Yes it has been documented that predators kill for fun/practice. Yes there are a lot of politics involved.
True, predators do kill for fun/practice, but... they don't tend to do it with things that they think may injure themselves in the process. Personal injury is just too risky for them, as it often leads to death because they lose the ability efficiently hunt and eat. When the juice just isn't worth the squeeze, (which is often), big cats will usually avoid than confront.
CottonwoodCanyon
Well-Known Member
^this. "Spree killing" has been documented in wolf packs (uncommon, but it happens) but is very rare for cats for this exact reason. Cats also aren't as territorial over their kills as bears and canines are, so a cat can kill an animal and then lose the kill to bears, wolves, even a couple farm dogs.
Nightvision
Active Member
Are you guys legally allowed to shoot them for now?
JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
Yes for now. They aren't protected.
Buckscrape
Well-Known Member
They say if you see a cougar, you don't have to worry, it's not hunting you.