Coping with escaped mountain lions in Houston

[57Coastie]

Advice from Texas Parks and Wildlife for dealing with escaped mountain lions in Houston:

Install outdoor lighting
Remove vegetation from around childrens' play areas
Do not feed wildlife
Keep pets under control
Store garbage securely

If you encounter a mountain lion in town:

Pick up children to prevent them from running
Stay calm and slowly back away
Appear large by raising your arms or waving a stick
Throw rocks or sticks; speak loudly and firmly
Fight back. Do not play dead.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hea ... 46172.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I keep feeling that something is missing here.

Jim

[Keith B]

So, don't go 'Here kitty kitty' if you see one?

[USA1]

I've seen plenty of cougars in Houston , but never a mountain lion .

[pbwalker]

I've seen plenty of cougars in Houston , but never a mountain lion .

[Tass]

Very well might be true...when I was with the parks department we'd get a call every few years of a big 'something' in the park. Also rumors of a mountain lion in the Addicks reservoir area.

Tass

[Pete92FS]

Also rumors of a mountain lion in the Addicks reservoir area.
Tass

Might be true since this one was spotted in Hershey Park.

I've seen plenty of cougars in Houston , but never a mountain lion .

I made a comment about two legged or four legged cougar spotted to my wife this morning when we heard it on the news but all I got was "The Look".
No sense of humor.

[old farmer]

So, if I am in danger from the mountiain lion, then may I defend myself with my Marlin? And what are the tracking signs of mountain lion?

[joe817]

We get reports up here about mountain lions about every 2 years or so. The last one around October or November time frame in Flower Mound, south of Denton and west of Lewisville.

I think it's just a matter of time until one is spotted in my area, as the Trinity River Basin is close to me, and I've spotted feral pigs, coyotes, skunks....every thing you'd see in a rural environment.

[Keith B]

So, if I am in danger from the mountiain lion, then may I defend myself with my Marlin? And what are the tracking signs of mountain lion?

If you think you can fend off a mountain lion with a fish, then have at it.


Seriously, for being able to track them, there should be big cat tracks (footprints) around the area. That is about the only sign they leave.

We have seen a cougar (puma/montain lion) in our neighborhood in north Plano. It was a young one. Someone tried to tell me it was a neighborhood cat, but having grown up in the Ozark mountains and hunted all my life, I can tell you it was definitely a mountain lion. They seem to run moslty the creek lines looking for field mice and rabbits, and occasionally small family pets that are running loose.

[old farmer]

Well
My Marlin was a 1895 Leveraction in .45/70. http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/ ... Cowboy.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I was thinking about hunting gear and not fishing gear.

[Abraham]

Cougars, schmoogars, I'm afraid of Bigfoot!

Campers have be harassing him pretty regularly now and he's quite annoyed...

[kragluver]

My uncle is a wildlife biologist for the state. He told me once that they get Mountain Lion reports from every county in the state. Those animals don't get seen if they don't want to be seen.

[Keith B]

Cougars, schmoogars, I'm afraid of Bigfoot!

Campers have be harassing him pretty regularly now and he's quite annoyed...

Yeah, if you don't believe it, just look at these videos:

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZpTXjxU3WLQ[/youtube]

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=-tXEEZE0rqM[/youtube]

[The Annoyed Man]

Cougars, schmoogars, I'm afraid of Bigfoot!

Campers have be harassing him pretty regularly now and he's quite annoyed...

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=-tXEEZE0rqM[/youtube]

[The Annoyed Man]

Keith, you beat me to it!

I'm not posting it for reasons of forum rules, but the one where they stick Sasquatch's hand in a pan of warm water while he's sleeping is pretty funny.