Mountain lion in Azalia??

[comanche]

they have been spotted in Greene County and it's more than one. My neighbor told me he saw a cat on a couple of occasions when he was hiking on his property just behind mine but I just thought he was crazy even though he is an avid hunter. A few weeks later my only other neighbor told me his wife was going to her car very early in the morning and said she got a very quick look at what appeared as a large cat and she about peed her pants. The first neighbor told me he called the conservation officer and he told him to shoot it since it was so close to houses and he would then give him a permit. I just told him to get the permit first, just in case the CO changed his mind.Mountain Lion spotted in Green County - YouTube

 

[newdumdum9825]

I've always heard stories of coyotes attacking people... Once while hiking in Orange County California I had a yoyey walk out of the brush on the trail 20yds in front of me, stop on the trail and stare at me, and just keep walking as if I wasn't there.

Heck my first yote I shot was about 10yds in front of me when I took the first. shot, tracked his blood trail (snow is a amazing helper!) found where he was holed up at cause the dogs had him cornered, he popped out less than 10yds in front of me looked me in the eyes as he also looked at my barrel aimed right at his head an ran off... My first thoughts became wait a min??? This is a cornered injured predator wtf just happened he could have gotten me? Than as I followed the trail again I lost it amidst the dog tracks I stood there looking around trying to look for the bright red in the snow, he walked up from behind me less than 10 again and stopped directly beside me (directly as in those few yards off), I had enough time to unshoulder my gun, flip the safety, aim, pause, and shoot again!

So I mean it's weird to think that top predators won't always attack like they make it out but you can't always expect that to happen.

i guess now when I go out yotey hunting I gotta keep an eye out for bobcats and mtn lions while looking for Wiley coyote. Oh and wild hogs case I was just told they are less than 5 mins away from here in seymour

 

[xM3RC1L3SS1x]

Cat coming at me, where to shoot on the cat? EVERYWHERE REPEATEDLY!!!

I heard that Chuck Norris once killed one..... He looked at it and said bang, and it dropped over.

 

[ghitch75]

they have been spotted in Greene County and it's more than one. My neighbor told me he saw a cat on a couple of occasions when he was hiking on his property just behind mine but I just thought he was crazy even though he is an avid hunter. A few weeks later my only other neighbor told me his wife was going to her car very early in the morning and said she got a very quick look at what appeared as a large cat and she about peed her pants. The first neighbor told me he called the conservation officer and he told him to shoot it since it was so close to houses and he would then give him a permit. I just told him to get the permit first, just in case the CO changed his mind.Mountain Lion spotted in Green County - YouTube

my neighbor 1/4 miles got a pic on his trail cam.....last year buddy of mine turkey hunt on the back side of my ground seen one.....i hunted by the viaduct back in the 80's and seen tracks and scat.......they have been around a long time......

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

IDNR has a guy in charge of cougar sightings in indiana and he's collecting "confirmed" sightings. If anyone has pictures, trail cam pics, etc. you should contact IDNR and give them the info.

I have seen two at NSWC Crane since 1985 - one in 1987 and one this past summer. I can tell you there have been no "confirmed" sightings at NSWC Crane, but countless sightings. Three years ago they were sighted numersous times in the Burn City gate area and Natural Resources issued a base-wide e-mail with what to do if you see one, warnings, etc. I turned in the sighting from the summer and the natural resources department set out trail cams in that area for a month with no pics.

They are skittish, difficult to impossible to pattern, almost never leave tracks, hard to find critters. I've had two sightings since '85 at Crane and have hunted this base hard - never seen a track. But, they are here. Until this last year i've had a number of trail cams out - no cougar pics - but, they are here.

Things to look for: Cougars eviscerate their kills. Adult cougars only eat their own kills...normally...they don't scavange. Cougars casche their kills - like Bobcats - but Bobcats do not eat the livers like Cougars tend to do so that's how you can tell the difference. If you find a kill fitting that description place a trail cam and you might get lucky. Keep a camera on you and make sure the batteries are up (had I done this during my bike ride this summer we'd have a "confirmed" sighting now - I was within 40 yards of the cat).

Cougars are indeed protected in Indiana so I wouldn't purposely hunt them. However, attempting to get a confirmed sighting would be an awesome get.

 

[ghitch75]

IDNR has a guy in charge of cougar sightings in indiana and he's collecting "confirmed" sightings. If anyone has pictures, trail cam pics, etc. you should contact IDNR and give them the info.

I have seen two at NSWC Crane since 1985 - one in 1987 and one this past summer. I can tell you there have been no "confirmed" sightings at NSWC Crane, but countless sightings. Three years ago they were sighted numersous times in the Burn City gate area and Natural Resources issued a base-wide e-mail with what to do if you see one, warnings, etc. I turned in the sighting from the summer and the natural resources department set out trail cams in that area for a month with no pics.

They are skittish, difficult to impossible to pattern, almost never leave tracks, hard to find critters. I've had two sightings since '85 at Crane and have hunted this base hard - never seen a track. But, they are here. Until this last year i've had a number of trail cams out - no cougar pics - but, they are here.

Things to look for: Cougars eviscerate their kills. Adult cougars only eat their own kills...normally...they don't scavange. Cougars casche their kills - like Bobcats - but Bobcats do not eat the livers like Cougars tend to do so that's how you can tell the difference. If you find a kill fitting that description place a trail cam and you might get lucky. Keep a camera on you and make sure the batteries are up (had I done this during my bike ride this summer we'd have a "confirmed" sighting now - I was within 40 yards of the cat).

Cougars are indeed protected in Indiana so I wouldn't purposely hunt them. However, attempting to get a confirmed sighting would be an awesome get.

i'm 4 miles from the north fence...

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

i'm 4 miles from the north fence...

The one I saw in 1987 was in area 4 which borders the Bloomington Gate at the NE corner - dead center of north boundary.

The one I saw this past summer was near captains pond on 161 splitting areas 14 and 12.

 

[lucky4034]

A mountain lion that's coming at me seems like a pretty hard target to hit accurately - short of hitting it in the face/head I wouldn't be sure where exactly to shoot it to put it down as quickly as possible...

I imagine the chest cavity but where, exactly, I couldn't be sure........ Not something I've ever thought about.

Just make sure you use a flashlight to identify your target first.... (I couldn't resist)

 

[lucky4034]

Short of self defense... why is everyone so scared or hell bent on tracking it down and killing it?

 

[ViperJock]

I heard that Chuck Norris once killed one..... He looked at it and said bang, and it dropped over.

Not exactly how it happened. His hand recoiled a little and he said "bang" twice.

 

[littletommy]

We went to Red Rocks canyon in Nevada a few years back, and in their visitor center, they had a taxidermy Mt. Lion. I got to talking with a park ranger, and he said there were several in the park area, but in his 11 years there, he'd never seen one, and it was extremely rare for anyone to ever see them.

I have seen a Bobcat here in Southern IN twice now, within a few hundred yards of my house, and I'm thinking there was a confirmed sighting of a Mt. Lion a few miles up river in Bethlehem.

 

[Bennettjh]

I've heard of the mountain lion in Azalia. I bet it requires a BIG litter box.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

According to DNR a "confirmed sighting" is not what we call a credible source alone. It's photographic evidence verified by a DNR agent.

The cat three years ago caught on the DNR trail cam near Bloomfield was sighted by the land owner taking down one of his cows. He called the DNR and they set up trail cams on the carcass and got some shots of the cat.

View attachment 24540 View attachment 24541

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

Short of self defense... why is everyone so scared or hell bent on tracking it down and killing it?

I don't think anyone really wants to kill any of these cats. Everyone wants to document them in Indiana including me. Believe it or not DNR has precious few "verified sightings". Two years ago the state police saw several cats in the Bedford area. The Times Mail quoted these as "verified sightings" but they were not. The DNR was not contacted and no one took photos.

I think the land owner in Bloomfield has a valid complaint - that one took down one of his cows. If these cats are verified as part of the IDNR wildlife, then land owners may eventually have somewhere to go for their lost livestock. That's better than SSS.

 

[Hookeye]

Even if one gets pics of a cougar, that doesn't mean it was always wild or migrated in.
My guess is that most sightings are illegal pets turned loose (or escapee).
There may be pronounced visibility in pets going wild, as their skills and equipment may not be up to their wild cousin's standards.
And................that may lead to a high mortality rate.
People might see something, but it might not make it to the following year.

 

[xM3RC1L3SS1x]

Not exactly how it happened. His hand recoiled a little and he said "bang" twice.

Well that must be since he was busy wrestling a bear with the other hand. Stuff happens

 

[cavskillz]

I have one on video walking through the back yard in cass county...

 

[manley82]

I was born and raised just outside Azaila/Jonesville and have heard the stories of big cats but never known anyone to get "proof" or confirmed sightings. More urban legend than anything, but that being said I do believe they are in Indiana but from illegal pet owners releasing more than anything.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Mountain lions are here. Mostly gun shop rumor but sometimes we get to put a foot on a body (puma shot downtown Chicago): Cougar Shot in Chicago; Was 1,000 Miles From Home?

DNR admits that mountain lions have been confirmed in Indiana but grudgingly: http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw-Mountain_Lion_Information.pdf

 

[OWGEM]

I visited the Exotic Feline Rescue Center last week, located near Center Point, Owen County. It is one county north of the 2010 DNR sighting Kirk refers to in Greene County. I asked the tour guide about any escaped cougars. She said in 2009 a tree fell across the fencing and yes a cougar escaped, never to be heard of again. Most likely the same animal. So yes, there is one cougar loose in Indiana.