I believe people think they saw something but they aren't certain what it was.
I know several ranchers in several Western states and Canadian Provinces that have lots of mountain lions (everything being relative) on their ranches. Some even have outfitters that hunt their ranch or they themselves are outfitters for mountain lions on their own properties. Almost all of them have never seen a mountain lion in their entire life. Most outfitters that live and work in cat country have never seen a mountain lion without the aide of dogs.....and they are looking for them.
Now black panthers, that's a completely different deal...them suckers are everywhere in Alabama. Hell, their is one just to the left of this post.
And this brings up another question.........With the probably hundreds of thousands of deer drives that have went on through the years, as well as coon hunters and hog hunters why has NONE been treed and photos taken or wardens called to the scene? Dogs here a big wusses and won't even chase them in a pack like out west?
Dogs can't do much with a decent size cat. I have been a many miles behind tree dogs day and night and I've never seen a bobcat treed. We have ran and treed what I think was a bobcat several times. Each time at night and we got nearly to the tree and the dogs would leave out and tree again a couple hundred yards away. One night we walked several miles just trying to catch the dogs. From what I have been told it takes a big pack to run a cat. I have killed one bobcat while hunting with dogs. I think the beagles were tracking it but I can't swear to it. They were running in a thicket and we let them run for a while , several loops then went in. The dog owner thought he saw a rabbit, said I just saw it and it's a big one set here and you will kill him. Dogs made the loop and went within 20 feet of me but nothing ahead of them. I thought I must have missed it then the cat came slipping behind them. I gave him both barrels of 12 gage bird shot when he looked at me. I think he had got that far ahead of them and was probably 30 yards behind them.
Last edited by Ryano; 08/27/1403:05 PM.
Re: Y'all tale the survey....Have you ever seen a cougar in AL?
[Re: deadeye]
#1057727 08/27/1403:35 PM08/27/1403:35 PM
From the comments:" I saw a large dark brown cat 3 days ago on my way home from work in south side alabama ( etowah county)!! It was approx 5.5-6 feet in length and had a long tail. It just walked slowly across the road and down into the woods. "
Which one of y'all is this?
"I'm not near as critical about how big they are as I once was. Smiles are more important now! We will grow more deer." Jimmy G.
Re: Y'all take the survey....Have you ever seen a cougar in AL?
[Re: deadeye]
#1057760 08/27/1403:48 PM08/27/1403:48 PM
I have never seen one for sure, but I had a big cat cross the road in front of me one morning headed to church. It came trotting off the side of a mountain, across a deep ditch and the road in about three steps. I honestly dont know what it was other than BIG, like German Shephard size. I don't remember seeing a tail, but it was much bigger than any bobcat I've ever seen.
About 3 years ago, my wife called me about 3 in the afternoon. She said " what kinda cat is dark tan, about the size of Claire ( my parents yellow lab), and has a long tail with a black tip?" I asked why. She said one just walked across the road in front of her.
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
Re: Y'all tale the survey....Have you ever seen a cougar in AL?
[Re: top cat]
#1057816 08/27/1404:23 PM08/27/1404:23 PM
Jackson, Madison, Marshal countys. Not Bkack, just mountain lions.
LUCK:::; When presistence, dedication, perspiration and preparation meet up with opportunity!!! - - - - - - - -A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take everything you have. Thomas Jeferson - - - - - - - -
Re: Y'all tale the survey....Have you ever seen a cougar in AL?
[Re: top cat]
#1057858 08/27/1404:36 PM08/27/1404:36 PM
I was bow hunting with a buddy of mine in Bullock county around 2004. We were hunting a hardwood bottom and this big cat came in about 30 min before dark. It was tan with a long tail and no doubt it was what it was. Not a bob cat, not a yote, not a dog or even the Easter bunny. We both saw it and looked at it through binocs. Having said that, we ran cameras in that area before and after seeing it and never got a pic. A guy that hunted with us said he saw one not far from there a few years prior. Mountain lions/cougars may not live in Alabama, but they must visit from time to time.
Re: Y'all tale the survey....Have you ever seen a cougar in AL?
[Re: deadeye]
#1057891 08/27/1404:49 PM08/27/1404:49 PM
I was around 12 or 13. I was sitting in my stand kept hearing something move around behind me. Never got to see it. But right before dark i heard a scream from a big cat between me and the truck. Lol I dont what kind it was but in my mind it sounded hungry and my stand was pretty comfortable. I hung around until my dad came to see what was wrong.
Re: Y'all tale the survey....Have you ever seen a cougar in AL?
[Re: deadeye]
#1057895 08/27/1404:51 PM08/27/1404:51 PM
Here is the problem. The DCNR does not take the stance that there isn't an occosional cougar seen. The problem comes into play with us having a breeding population, which we don't. Any we have are transients or released. We cannot verify big cats with any technique used to sample large carnivors. If every cougar sighting was valid, AL would have the largest cougar population in the country. Lots of folks just aren't seeing what they think they are.
Last edited by NightHunter; 08/27/1405:07 PM.
Re: Y'all tale the survey....Have you ever seen a cougar in AL?
[Re: deadeye]
#1057906 08/27/1404:57 PM08/27/1404:57 PM
I went ahead and read the article before reading this thread. When I saw the results of the survey, stating that right at 50% of the folks that answered said that they have seen a panther in Alabama, I laughed.
Now, I read the entire thread, and see that about 80% of the people in this thread think they've seen one too. Instead of laughing, it scares me. Not because of the presence of panthers in Alabama, but because some of you are toting high powered rifles around in the woods, spotting things that just aren't there. No wonder hunters get shot in the woods every year.