Something VERY strange is going on.

In the past 2 weeks I have found a dead crow, rabbit, woodpecker, and yesterday a woodchuck. When I found the crow I thought maybe West Nile but then started finding the rest. Rabbit was eaten, and yesterday when we came home we found the woodchuck right by the house. It was early afternoon, the woodchuck had large gouges accross his belly and it was a fresh kill. We live on 2 1/2 acres. Our next door neighbor said he saw a large cat slink accross his yard several weeks ago he said it had a straight tail and wasn't a bobcat. I have seen a cyotie and fox in the past year but have NEVER had anything this close to the house. I am afraid to work in my gardens. I don't know who to call or what to do. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks, Maria

Call your state Fish and Game department. They have big traps that they can set to remove whatever you are dealing with. You should be able to find their phone number in your phone book or call your sheriff's department and ask them what to do.

Good luck. I hope this helps ya.

Lani

They can tell a lot by the condition and slices or bites on a carcass so if there is one around try to but a box over it until they can examine it. That it is leaving small prey lay without devouring it is frightening and could indicate madness or even rabies in the hunter. Be very careful!

Thanks Ponditis, I will give a call............Zany, I really have an uneasy feeling about what this could be. I took the two birds in to have them checked for west nile, there was nothing left of the rabbit other then skin and DH took the woodchuck to the dump so I don't have anything to show. BELIEVE me, I am being really careful. Thanks. I just would feel alot better if I knew what the heck it was. I told DH to get someone out here to cut our back acre down. There has been soooo much development here that we leave it for small animals and deer to have refuge but for now I guess it should go. I am really stumped!!!!

Please let us know if you find out what it is.It sounds scary, do yall have bears and panthers there?

Werewolves?
(sorry, I couldn't resist)

Springsong , no bears but on the front page of the Detroit Freepress this morning there were pictures and an article entitled, "Big Cats are back." It said that there have been many sightings of cougars in lower Michigan and showed some pics of two sighted in Monroe. Now I am really nervous.........treelover, I could deal with werewolves! LOL.
We cut the back field down so waiting to see what kind of results that will bring. I worry about our dog, Sadie, she is a great dog , very protective and not afraid of anything, She loves being outside but I have been keeping her in alot more. Don't want anything to happen to her.

oh please be careful and don't go out at night.

Cougers??????? Really I haven't heard about this at all scarry we have had lots of very scragley cyote's up in this area in fact I almost hit one a couple weeks ago when it ran across the exit ramp on I-75. But Cougers sound very scarry did the paper give you info on what to do if you suspect you have some hanging around your yard??

Sandy

Cougars?! WHen I first read your post I thought 'maybe' but I chalked it up to my own fear of big cats attacking me while hiking.

Be careful! Cougars can be nasty. Every time they see one in the surrounding areas here all kinds of warnings go out and no one can relax until the cougar is removed.

take care, meems!

My nearby friends live on a fairly unpopulated mountain adjoining the national forest here in NC.

They have had a panther around for several months now, and hear it many nights. 2 weeks ago Bud was taking a walk up the gravel road and actually saw the panther up ahead who was using the gravel as a litter box... and then just calmly scooped a mound to cover it just as a domestic cat does.

He watches his dogs closely.

old rose.....It talked about sightings and showed some pictures.It really didn't give any info. on what to do if you see one. There was a mother and an almost full grown cub. The paper said there had been about 80 sightings so far and that they did not think that there were any left in Mi. until now. We are keeping our eyes open. Springsong and turtlelu, we are in before dark now, thanks. It bothers me that the woodchuck was killed during the day though. Darius did your friend see this panther during day light?

Meems, we have those in Washington State ever since the voters decided we should not be using dogs or bait to kill them. They, cougars, will actually take your animals right off of your porch. One woman went into her shed and there was one in there looking at her.

She backed out slowly and got to the house. Her husband shot it. When anyone sees one and calls the Fish and Wildlife, they call professionals with dogs and they go until they get it. They are the only ones that can use dogs though. A bill has been passed to change the original some.

Jeanette

A small bobcat might go after these types of prey but a large cougar or mountain lion usually does not. They prefer deer when possible and if not they will attack other animals such as goats, calves, and dogs. They rarely attack people although it has been known to happen. I have never heard of one hunting small prey and leaving the carcass.

If confronted by a Mountain lion DO NOT RUN, Stand tall and try to look as big as you can. DO NOT BEND OVER OR CROUCH. If you have a child with you try to pick them up with out bending down. If that is not possible have them stand behind you. Back away slowly, DO NOT RUN.

These beautiful animals have been protected for many years now and have increased in numbers as a result. When areas are logged, they move to find new territory. The same applies to areas that are being converted from wildlands to housing developments and strip malls.

Although they are predominately nocturnal it is not uncommon for them to be out during daylight hours. In the past few months we have had hundreds of sightings in and about towns and cities here. Bringing your pets in at dusk will greatly reduce the chance they will have a bad encounter with one of these cats. I wish we had known that before we lost our rottwieler about 3 years ago. Both she and the cougar were killed by a truck on the highway when she chased it trying to protect our neighbors calf and horse.

zany, that was interesting reading.

sad about losing your dog though, she died a nobel death.

We have a law similiar to the one in Washington, and as a result many more dogs, cats and livestock have lost to them in recent years. When you raise animals for a living, these concerns mean lost dollars as well as suffering animals. The people in the cities are finding out the hard way that their vote to protect the cute little cubs might mean that their dog or cat will be dinner for one of them some day because they often lurk around the edges of cities looking for easy meals. There have been many more cougar sightings in our area since the law was passed, and those who understand the implications of it are outnumbered by the soft hearts who voted for that law. Thankfully no people have been attacked, but it is only a matter of time before that happens.

Jeannette and Zany, thanks so much for the additional info. So sorry to hear about your dog, I sure don't want that to happen to our Sadie. Zany, you have given us all some very useful info. We have not had much response to our phone calls as we can't identify the animal. They want us to report a sighting. We spoke to more of our neighbors tonite and one of them has seen a wolf in the area. They are all keeping their eyes open. It is good to hear your experiences..makes me feel better to know I am not alone! Thanks.
Maria

These sightings are happening around the country. Rural areas like mine where the small towns are surrounded by mountains and rivers are the first to start seeing the cats come in (after the farmers and ranchers of course)

In addition to losing habitat to encrochment, there is the problem that a Cougar can stake out a territory up to (I think) 200 square miles in some areas and as little as 20 miles in more prosperous hunting grounds. As the populations increase the younger animals are forced to seek out territory and they find themselves in direct conflict with humans and hunting for game where the deer is scarce to survive.

They have made a remarkable comeback from the brink of extinction but as the recent problems indicate, it is only a matter of time before they will have to be population controled. We have wilderness enough to support a healthy population of these cats nationwide and if we keep checks and balances on them we can live in harmony.

A cougar was recently (June) killed in the middle of the city of Ontario Oregon. It was only a half block from the library and directly behind the Chiropractors office that I go to. The police had it cornered in a ladies back yard after a chase that lasted quite some time. This area was at least 10 blocks from any highway and the cat had to pass lots of homes any direction it had traveled.

There are more and more cougar sightings all the time around this area. I am always vigilant if I go out after dark to let my tiny poodle do her thing.

The Black Hills area of SD has been getting a number of sightings of mountain lions/panthers/cougars -different variety than mine :) - DNR has shot a couple that kept coming close to houses.

I live in the mountains and do not go outside by myself even to work in my garden. Ok, I guess you can say I asked for it by moving here. But from all the stories I hear like the one above, it does not matter where you live.

Besides the new laws prohibiting dogs and baiting, and people moving into their territory I still think humans come first.

A young girl was dragged out of the middle of a U.S.Forest Service campground near where I live. Her grandmother ran after her and beat the cat off. Broad daylight.

You just have to be very vigilant wherever you are. If the terrorists don't get you the cats will. haha

Jeanette

now there's a twisted sense of humor - lol

Ya know this might be a shot in the dark here.....but I'm wondering if she put human hair(that you can get from most any beauty/barber shop) around the main area of her house and garden if that would help keep them away? if one decides to come thru her yard.
I know this works well for other animals such as deer and racoons. Just don't know if if would work for this type of large cat.
Or......maybe try going to the pet groomers and have them save you the animal hair which would mostly be dog hair.
I mean aren't cat's afraid of dogs...no matter what size the cat is?

Again this is just a shot in the dark here, but I do feel for you though. I hope and pray that you NEVER EVER have the chance to see this beast upclose!!
Thoughts and prayers are with you.

If you encounter a cougar you are supposed to appear as large as you can. When we go hiking around here (I don't go alone any more!) I carry an umbrella. I would hope that opening and closing it might be a deterant should I encounter one. It should at least cause confusion. You all be careful! Like Mary said, it's only a matter of time.

Earlier this spring one of our neighbors had a donkey killed right out in his yard, and the other donkey was ripped up pretty bad. They found the tracks and determined it was a mountain lion. We have lost two of our cats this summer and they tell us that mountain lions hate domestic cats. There's been numerous sightings around here as well as livestock attacks.

Because of the new laws the cats are really becoming a problem. There are many stories of them taking domestic cats and dogs right from the area of the house.

If there are that many they probably will grab anything they can to eat. The Forest Service ranger from here had to go cruise some timber on a local mountain and one was following him and got between him and his truck. He finally out maneuvered the cat and got to the truck. That was on the front page of the paper. They are trying to let people know to be careful.

The other day we stopped by a stream near the house here to catch a couple of fish for lunch and all the time I had my line in the water I was looking around. Not fun.

We used to go to Montana when we were kids and take the horses up to creeks and fish by ourselves. Never gave it a thought. Not even when one screamed from an old mining cave. Oh to be young again.


You're right Kooger, I do have a twisted sense of humor. lol

Jeanette

Gosh...........I guess Mi. isn't alone in recent sightings and incidents. A few paragraphs up I mentioned a wolf was seen, well it was a Fox not a wolf. I think treelover has me thinking about the werewolves! Lol. We are all being quite careful and watchful even during the day. There has not been anything new over the past few days. I am sure though we haven't seen the last of it yet. Thanks so much for your concern.
Meems

About the time you let your guard down Meems and you will lose another small animal. Jeanette

They are campaigning to pass a law like that here regarding the hunting of bears. ... no baiting or hunting with dogs. It hasn't passed yet but a lot of people are afraid what will happen if it does. Right now bears really aren't a problem other then maybe someone getting their bird feeder raided. If there's a big population boom we may end up with more bear encounters.

That is how you get a population explosion. By enforcing a law like that. We didn't have that many problems with the cougars either. Now we do.

Now the people have made their own law, "shoot and shovel".

Jeanette

We had a weird encounter here a couple of months ago... A bear came out into the city and was running right down the road in broad daylight. It had to be shot. Accusations about it being drugged and planted in the city made the papers.

I don't think the law will pass. There are too many hunters in Maine and the bear population isn't suffering. We'll see come November.

Even Rhode Island has problems with larger predators. They recently trapped and relocated a cougar that was hanging around a new bike trail through a wooded area. We also have an active population of fishercats (large weasle type creatures) and coyotes.

Never heard of fishercats. I guess each area has their own type of animals. Very interesting. Jeanette

information on fishercats
http://www.nationaltrappers.com/Fisher.html

That is very interesting. When I first saw it I thought it looked like the head of a fox on a cat's body except for the ears. Then I read about it. Thanks for sharing. Jeanette

I know we have red foxes & Bobcats here. I have seen both but safely from a car. There is lots of chickens here on the farm (not mine) & they kill some of them. Next door killed a fox right in their yard just a few feet from my trailer.... it was just after daybreak. I have never seen one on the farm in the day time. We did see one fox in a peanut field down the road in the day time. Hope I never meet one close up.

Coyotes will take small pets and they aren't afraid of suburban areas. I've seen them walking down the street like they owned the place, and I guess they do in a coyote way. I don't think they attack humans. They've always been afraid of me. I like to see them and hear them.

Can anyone tell me what this hornet-looking critter is? It's close to an inch long and very shiny black and orange. It was working over our salvias like a hummer.

That looks very like the large dark bumblebees we have in SW France poozak.
salvia_lover posted on the thread I started about having something similar but with bright bits on. Sounds a bit possible http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/458712/

Fascinating discussion here - I've enjoyed reading thanks

It has been interesting getting all of the info. everyone has offered. There really is a wealth of info in Daves Garden of all kinds and that is wonderful!
Meems