Just will leave this here. Interesting to see what Ursus has to add.
http://www.krgv.com/story/37122843/authentication-underway-for-reported-mountain-lion-kill

Pretty sure that's legit.

House cat.

Plenty of mountain lions down here. There was a game cam pic taken at Laguna Atascosa NWR a few years ago with 7 or 8 in the field of view around a feeder. Crazy.

carl spacklers hat said:

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Plenty of mountain lions down here. There was a game cam pic taken at Laguna Atascosa NWR a few years ago with 7 or 8 in the field of view around a feeder. Crazy.

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Carl:

Years ago, in a galaxy far, far away I lived in Laguna Vista for several years and got to know folks that worked at the LAWR and up north of Rio Hondo I believe I saw a Mountain Lion twice when we used to hunt up there.

What strikes me as odd is that if that cat was killed near Olmito it was in a highly populated area about 20-30 miles from the real wild areas of the LAWR, and between those areas are a ton of flat open farm land and lots of major roads. I was always told that the big cats trended northward in the refuge, not so much to the south and west due to the population and open expanses.

In the last two years I have heard of two separate instances where knowledgeable landowners in the Western RGV have seen Jagarundi. Of course they could be off, but these are folks that are pretty reputable but would never officially report this due to the implications.

I've always wanted to see one, not to shoot but just see it.

The closest neighbor to my inlaws between llano and mason says there are a couple of them out there roaming around but I've never seen any sign of them.

It looks like a Honda Ridgeline, was it Ursus

Based on the article, I'm just going to guess they missed some other part of the statement.

There must be much more to this story!

Thanks Ursus, always great to hear from you on these deals.

And it is amazing that a RGV media outlet was able to communicate this story as effectively as it has. It is truly amazing how bad both the reporting and the writing is in the RGV.

I really want to Photoshop Will Ferrell's head onto a feral hog.

ursusguy said:

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I really want to Photoshop Will Ferrell's head onto a feral hog.

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I actually tried to Google and find something combining Will Ferrell to a hog/pig when I posted my comment above.

I just moved from Laguna Vista last year. Lived on the golf course for the last 3 years there.

Beautiful place, can't wait to retire, there....



Anyway, a lady down the road from me (on the course) said she saw ML come drink from her bird pond on a regular basis.

I have personally seen Nilgai and Deer on the course and mud and have killed so many ducks there, its not even funny.


With Hog and Nilgai populations coming up....There will be more ML sightings IMO.



I wonder what the habitat/territory the Ocelot vs ML would cover.

People have seen ocelots around, as well, on the course.

I don't know if both of these "cats" can stay there.




....Oh, and from what I heard about the story before it hit the news, is that this ML was shot on a ranch around Rancho Viejo...which is very far south of the refuge. If it did come from the North, I wonder what pushed it south because there is more than enough food sources.

I think it came from along the river or from the west, some how.

I would tend to agree with the idea that it came from west or south of Olmito proper. Google Earth view shows plenty of range that could hold a mountain lion. As for movement around deep South Texas, there are a number of wildlife corridors and water routes that COULD provide access to areas that border on more populous areas of the region. A black bear was removed from Rio Grande City a couple of years ago. We just take for granted how close we are to the wildlife that ranges around just outside our backyards. There was a reported ML sighting along the Arroyo Colorado in Harlingen just a couple of years ago (I know, I know, probably someone's yellow lab) but if you know that waterway, you could see how a ML could use that corridor and end up in an otherwise odd location.

http://www.themonitor.com/news/article_9c26af10-fb9f-11e5-b75c-d373a0c878c2.html

I bet it's legit. That's big Country from kingsville to Raymondville to Edinburg, plenty big enough to hold a bunch of big cats.

Very cool.

Worked on the course when I was in HS. One night I was bringing in water coolers from the course and swore up and down I saw a mountain lion on the 11th Hole near the green. Not long after that a TPWD game camera on holly beach had a picture of a female and two kittens.

Speaking of plausible panther sites... Any chance this is a panther track? Or is this from a very, very lost dog. Location: Big Cypress NWR in SW Florida



Also saw this track, hoping it's from a bear. It looks like the big track had stepped on a small track (bottom right)

Looks like dog/yote... not a panther.

Definitely bear on number 2

Thank you

#1 is really close, but note how symmetric the track is. Panther tracks are pretty asymmetric.

Very cool on #2.

Future reference, put a size reference in the photo.

Picture #1 looks really close to this mountain lion track to me....

I thought so, too. The wide pad and missing nail marks gave me enough reason to post the pic. The toes look too long though. Deferred to the pros here and believe it's just a dog/coyote. I'd really like to see a panther, so the search continues.

It is really close, and another in the area could change my mind. It is close. Also note Sunchaser's track is as wide as it tall, your's is more linear. But the biggie, note that right middle toe, that is your best tell. If there was a little better view of the pad I could easily change my mind.