So I'm in colorado for work and saw this on the news last night. A couple of mountain lions cruised down to Boulder for the afternoon. One had to be tranquilized. I'm sure this is somewhat common here but thought of this board when I saw it. Made me a little uneasy on my run through one of their trails this afternoon, though, damn rabbits...

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/11/06/mountain-lions-descend-on-neighborhoods-as-cooler-weather-moves-in/

Interesting. I spoke with an old Aggie vet that runs cattle on some property south of Manor yesterday that's adjacent to a project I'm running right now. He told me he saw a mountain loin at the back part of the property earlier this week. I asked if he was sure it wasn't a big bobcat. "Son, this wasn't a bobcat. It was a BIG cat." He said his rancheros have seen sightings over the past few years, but he never believed them until now.

Also, on my deer lease near Abilene, my brother-in-law found some tracks last weekend that he thinks are lion tracks. He didn't take a picture, but says when he got home he looked on the internet and it looked the same. Not sure what to think about that one.

Boulder has had mountain lion fatalities in tue past, yet for years refused to decrease the mule deer herd in town. Read "A Beast in Garden", changed my perspective on things (and several state agrncies).

Manor has lots of deer in the area, I could see it. Abilene isn't bad, but I'd be leery without a photo.

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So I'm in colorado for work and saw this on the news last night. A couple of mountain lions cruised down to Boulder for the afternoon. One had to be tranquilized. I'm sure this is somewhat common here but thought of this board when I saw it. Made me a little uneasy on my run through one of their trails this afternoon, though, damn rabbits...

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/11/06/mountain-lions-descend-on-neighborhoods-as-cooler-weather-moves-in/

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In Boulder? Dude they were already tranquil from some herb. But a mountain lion with the munchies is nothing to be trifled with!

"The Beast in the Garden" is a really good book

I was told of some sightings in Randall County as well as near Muleshoe this fall. Can't vouch for accuracy.

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Boulder has had mountain lion fatalities in tue past, yet for years refused to decrease the mule deer herd in town. Read "A Beast in Garden", changed my perspective on things (and several state agrncies).

Manor has lots of deer in the area, I could see it. Abilene isn't bad, but I'd be leery without a photo.

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You really think there could be mountain lions near Manor, TX? My family still owns some family land where the toll road hits brushy creek. We see a couple deer and a few hogs but there isn't much wildlife out there. I can't believe there are mountain lions within a 30 mile radius of that place, but I guess it is possible.

Compared to where I normally get reports, it's way better. That being said, you are probably correct and may be pretty crappy.

I make all my interns read that book right off the bat.

My wife's relatives are convinced that there is at least one right now in Robertson County. So and so has seen it and the other guy saw tracks and all of that. I just nod my head politely and stay silent until they change the subject. I'm not going to call them all out for being crazy because I suppose it is possible, but......

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Compared to where I normally get reports, it's way better. That being said, you are probably correct and may be pretty crappy.

I make all my interns read that book right off the bat.

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I guess it could be possible, but I agree with you that it is probably unlikely.

Have you ever heard of any confirmed reports up around Stillhouse Hollow Lake area near Salado? When I was in high school, so 1995-1999 timeframe we went fishing on the lampasas river right below the spillway. We were catching some perch and small bass and having a good time (that water is very clear and beautiful by the way, especially for that part of Texas).

It was getting near dark and all of a sudden we hear a siren blaring and a guy on a bullhorn yelling for people to come up. So we head up and hit the trail unsure of what is going on and there was a park ranger there stating that there was a mountain lion sighting on the trail and we were in imminent danger. I told the ranger I would take my chances and asked if I could fish for a few more minutes. He declined my request and made us walk out on the trail with him driving his truck literally 10 feet immediately behind us with his lights and sirens going as if the mountain lion was going to pounce on us at any moment. I always wondered if this was legit or if he just wanted to shut down the park early so he could go home.

That's about the extent of my mountain lion sightings in central texas, besides the typical uncomfirmed local rumor about any creek bottom in the area.

Ursus - what's the premise of the Beast in the Garden book and what specifically did it change about your outlook?

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So I'm in colorado for work and saw this on the news last night. A couple of mountain lions cruised down to Boulder for the afternoon. One had to be tranquilized. I'm sure this is somewhat common here but thought of this board when I saw it. Made me a little uneasy on my run through one of their trails this afternoon, though, damn rabbits...

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/11/06/mountain-lions-descend-on-neighborhoods-as-cooler-weather-moves-in/

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In Boulder? Dude they were already tranquil from some herb. But a mountain lion with the munchies is nothing to be trifled with!

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Haha this couldn't be more true. The # of hippies and homeless people (sometimes it was hard to distinguish between the two) blew Austin out of the water.

Gator, that predates me and outside of where I know lots details on sighting data.

Boogs--general premise is there were were a crap load of warning signs, and due to the goofiness of the general public (crying wolf with the wrong id all the time), lack of communication between natural resource professionals (ie bureaucracy at its finest), and biologists in general sucking at communicating with the general public the build up severity was missed.

I could easily blow off every lion sighting I've had, since to date (coming up on 11 years-and I average 6-10 calls a year) never had a legit one in the area I typically cover. I am extremely biased by that notion, but I don't let it completely blind me to the notion it could occur. Most biologists will dodge public meeting and the media like the plague, I don't. I require my interns to engage in a minimum of 2 public speaking engagements (and I will arrange for random left field questions to turn up the heat a bit).

Between the book, and now professional experience, sadly I've come to figure out lifelong "hunters" make terrible eyewitnesses in these matters. Don't mean that as a shot at anyone, but "I'm a hunter" or "I grew up in Abilene" (seriously, I don't know what it is about the Abilene connection) starts off nearly every one of the incidents. Followed by, "hey my neighbor got a trail camera picture", which just happens to be on the second page of Google......but I do my best to respond with 24 hours until it proves to be a wild goose chase.

Cops, EMTs, Lawyers and usurus. People who constantly deal with the lowest common denominators of society. Don't know how they cope.





Not kidding, much. I don't deal well with stupidity. Had a guy just yesterday show me a mission patch that an astronaut had given him. That part was possible. But he swore it had been taken on a moon mission, in a box with lots of other patches.

It was a patch for a Space Shuttle mission.

GatorAg, I worked as a summer seasonal ranger for the COE at Stillhouse & Belton Lakes during that time frame & would have been aware of anything like that due to me being the resident nature nerd. I highly suspect you were duped by one particular summer ranger who just wanted you to hurry up & get out of Chalk Ridge Falls so he could lock the gate & go home. He was pretty much of a knucklehead & was only there one summer. This sounds like something he would pull. Lions have been seen in the area and I had one walk across the road in the Union Grove WMA on Stillhouse during that time period. Heck, that might have been where he got the idea. That's a pretty good ways from Chalk Ridge but my sighting was certainly not anything that should have been considered dangerous. I just thought it was cool to see. This guy was just an idiot...and chronic liar. Ft. Hood is nearby and regularly has lions seen by some of their biologists working on golden-cheeks or black-caped vireos.

Thanks for the replies. Him hurrying us out was my perception as well especially since he blaired the siren the whole time like a jackass right behind us which was completely unnecessary. Thanks again for the insight.

Forgot about the Fort Hood proximity. Through high school and college I hunted on Ft. Hood. They usually mentioned liins during the orientation, and were very blunt about not shooting them. If we went around the Henson Mountains (think that was the name) you got a second reminder about it.