A mountain lion in the neighborhood

[gja1000]

This was a play on words from Judy's "bear on my porch" No, not our neighborhood, my daughter's neighborhood! No kidding.

Here's the story. When we were in Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago, I read in an Austin forum that a cougar (mountain lion) had been spotted in Round Rock (the town my daughter lives in - about 10 miles north of where I live in Austin). That piqued my interest so I read farther and then it said someone had seen it crossing highway 620 which is the highway that is parallel to my daughter's addition. So, I read farther and it went on to say that it was spotted in the Tanglewood addition as well as the OAKLANDS addition - which of course is where my daughter lives.

So, I called her and yes, she had heard about it, but everyone was sorta thinking it was probably a big dog or a big cat something else, rather than a mountain lion and that's what I thought too.

Well, last Sunday, neighbors two doors down from my daughter came over to say that something had killed their cat and all that was left was fur and blood. They also said there was a LARGE paw print close to the remains. My sil took a picture of the print with a ball point pen laying next to it and it was almost as long as the pen - definitely not a dog paw print. Well that got their attention.

So, they called us and we took over one of Gary's game cameras. You set up a game camera in an area where you think you might see game walking through, such a deer or hogs. It will also take pictures all day/night long. It is motion activated and only takes a picture when something moves in front of it. They have the camera pointed to the greenbelt (wooded) area behind their house, but haven't yet seen anything.

Well, this morning a man came to my daughter's house, he lives a few streets over from her and he said that he had heard a cat had been killed in her cove and wondered if she knew anything about it, which of course she did. He said his house backs up to a creek and he had seen the mountain lion two days ago. He said he is from west Texas and KNOWS what a mountain lion looks like and this is definitely a mountain lion. He also said that ALL the cats are gone from his street - he had 2 his neighbor had 2 and others had cats and they are ALL GONE.

Some people have contacted the TX Parks and Wildlife but they say they can't do anything until there is a human confrontation. Uhhhh, I think that is too late to do something. Anyway, the man said he was going to contact someone who could set a live trap for it - hopefully that will work.

There is occasionally mountain lions spotted in urban areas, but they are usually just passing through, and are only spotted a time or two. This one however, is apparently lingering in the area because there is water and food (cats). It is pretty unsettling to Brooke and her family - even though their backyard is fenced, just letting the dog out to do her business, gives one an uneasy feeling, especially after the events of today.

Oh, and my sil is going to set up the game camera behind the man's house that my daughter talked to today - it is more likely they will catch the cat on camera if the camera is pointed toward the creek. And I think if they did get a picture of it the Parks and Wildlife folks might be more inclined to help.

And who says it is not exciting to live in the city! Actually, my daughter's addition is not in the city proper. It is along a well traveled highway (620), but is in a very wooded area that is flanked by a pretty large creek.

[DianaB]

That's scary!!! I hope your daughter is very careful about letting the kids outside.

We have mountain lions too. One was seen in our neighbors yard several years ago when Jaci was little. Since several of us had small children we all got big dogs.......that's why we have Mollee, our airdale. They are very protective and we wanted her to stay with Jaci when she was outside. We've never had one get too close to the house that we know of because of the dog's scent being around, we think. Also, Jaci used to carry a walkie talkie so she could talk to me as she walked up the hill to our house. There's woods all around and it's a quarter mile walk.

I hope this man is able to get a picture and convince someone to get rid of it..........if not......I hope someone just takes a gun and gets rid of it for them!!!!

We had Kansas Fish and Game release some around but they deny that they did it but there's some people that have proof that they did. They've also released some wolves about 50 miles from here. We don't want them either!!!!

[judy]

That is terrible! It's killing pets, not just taking food.

I agree with Diana...somebody needs to locate where it is living and shoot it. Obviously, the Wildlife Dept. is not on their toes! What kind of human confrontation do they need?

That sounds like NYC. They won't put a traffic light up unless there has been a serious accident. It's too expensive!

[Marilyn]

Oh, wow, sure hope they catch it soon, or it moves on!!!! This can be so scary. Bears, mountain lions, what's next???

[gja1000]

Originally Posted by Marilyn

Oh, wow, sure hope they catch it soon, or it moves on!!!! This can be so scary. Bears, mountain lions, what's next???

Oh please, nothing else for anyone!

[Lindsey]

That is scary! We have cougars around too... one was tranquilized in the city a couple of summers ago. It was in a person's front yard, and they were just about to send their children out to walk to school. It must have been wandering down the river in search of food (a river runs through the middle of the city). The thing with cougars is that you don't know they're there until it's too late. They're stalkers!

[Janet]

That would be just too scary. I would even be afraid to go out with the dogs. They'd just have to use pads all the time until it was taken care of.

I hope they can get a picture of it. My BIL has one set up in his woods and captures all sorts of animals, but mostly deer, hogs and wild turkey.

[JJJ]

Someone definitely needs to catch it.

[judy]

Our bears have been getting into a lot of garbage cans! We have over 100 units, and the bears have discovered that this place is like a buffet!

I don't know what will be done about it if anything. They haven't been back to my road. We are pretty careful with our garbage, and nobody has bird feeders.

Cougars are pretty aggressive, aren't they? I say, shoot them!

[gja1000]

Do they provide bear proof garbage cans? They should, that's the only type of outdoor garbage can that can be used in places with lots of bears, otherwise they'll just keep coming to the buffet. I remember once in Alaska, we couldn't figure out how to get the bear proof garbage can open at one of the cabins where we were staying. LOL!

Yes, I agree, shoot the cougar - but it is in a pretty heavily populated area and if the shooter missed, it could possibly hit something/someone it shouldn't. I haven't heard of any more sightings. Hopefully, it has moved on.

[Janet]

Just saw on Animal Planet yesterday a series titled ManEaters. It had bear, wolves and coyotes on it and all the damage and killing they do. I had no idea that coyotes were so vicious. The show told of where they are coming into urban areas and one attacked a three year old girl. I guess with them losing their areas because of us...they have to go somewhere.

[gja1000]

Coyotes can be very vicious, especially when they are being crowded out of their space by urban development, or drought/famine. A few years ago one of my students was walking his dachsund on lease in a green belt on the outskirts of Austin when a coyote ran up and grabbed the dog and ran off with it. It was very traumatic, to say the least.

[judy]

Originally Posted by gja1000

Do they provide bear proof garbage cans? They should, that's the only type of outdoor garbage can that can be used in places with lots of bears, otherwise they'll just keep coming to the buffet. I remember once in Alaska, we couldn't figure out how to get the bear proof garbage can open at one of the cabins where we were staying. LOL!

Yes, I agree, shoot the cougar - but it is in a pretty heavily populated area and if the shooter missed, it could possibly hit something/someone it shouldn't. I haven't heard of any more sightings. Hopefully, it has moved on.

I have to say that a lot of people who live here are pretty dumb sometimes! They don't provide garbage pails. Some of our homes have garbage rooms on the porch with a bolt lock, others have outdoor wooden structures. People can all buy their own bear proof garbage pails. They can also take down the bird feeders!!! Prevention is the best plan, and it really doesn't cost that much!

Those of us with some smarts are keeping the garbage inside until garbage days (Monday and Friday). Some people only have hummingbird feeders, which supposedly don't attract bears. I also keep my grill accessories inside, and keep my grill really clean.

Thank goodness the bears hibernate , and a lot of these weekenders go somewhere else in the winter! Darn these city folk!!!

Hopefully, bear hunting season will be successful and weed out a lot of bears.

Cougars are not part of hunting season, as far as I know. If I knew how to shoot, I would just shoot them anytime I saw one. They are feral animals, and you cannot walk your dogs around here at night as far as I'm concerned. Dogs need to be trained to go potty right outside after dark if they're too big for pads.

[judy]

Did I say cougars? Sorry....I meant coyotes. Wed don't have cougars (so far).

I hate coyotes!