Cougar Sightings or Signs

[FISHINGFARMER]

I am curious to know how many of you have seen a cougar or tracks made from one, while going into your favorite fishing or hunting spots.

Last weeks rain fall made the ground soft enough to leave what we believe is cougar tracks around our farm and barns(central Iowa).We took digital pictures of the tracks,measured the track(4 1/2 inchs)and measured the stride at almost 3feet.

I'm going to send the pictures to a friend we work with at the DNR with pheasants forever.

Just interested if this is becoming more common in Iowa.

Thanks in advance.

Farmer

[PikeBayCommanche]

From what I have read and looked in to they are becoming alot more frequent in Iowa. This has alot to do with the abundance and avaliablity of a food source, Deer especially. So I would not be surprised if it was a cougar that was walking around your farm.

[JIvers]

There are probably a very few mountain lion in Iowa at this moment. However, none have been killed, or filmed, in a over a year anywhere in the state. One was found dead in the fall of 2004 across the Mississippi from Muscatine, another was shot a year or so before that in southwest Iowa, and a third was killed by a car before that. One was photographed by a game tracker camera in northern Iowa in the fall of 2004 as well.

The hysteria about mountain lions has far out-weighed the impact of any actual big cats in Iowa. Many sightings have been reported, but the vast majority of those were not supported by any actual evidence like tracks, fur, or a dead cat. Most of the "cougar" tracks reported turn out to be those of large dogs, which can produce prints larger than most mountain lion. Bear in mind that the three mountain lions found dead in or near Iowa were all young males, who weighed around a hundred pounds. Many breeds of dog grow to twice that weight, and by all accounts it is not easy to tell the prints apart.

[Whisker Trout Slayer]

If you have pictures, video, or any other sign of them contact Ron Andrews with the Iowa DNR. He is in Clear Lake and in charge of investigating the reported sightings or evidence of them. GIve him a call or mail him the pictures at:

Iowa DNR, Fisheries & Wildlife Division

Ron Andrews

1203 N Shore Drive

Clear Lake, Iowa 50428

phone (641) 357-3517

[nwhawk]

There may not be many of them but here are definetly some around at various times. Last spring my aunt had a big set of cat tracks in the mud that also had a spready of 3-4 ft. A farmer I know say's every spring at some point in time he hears a cat growl down in his rivine and has cat tracks a crossed his top field. There may not be many here but time to time they are most definetly here.

[FISHINGFARMER]

Whisker Trout Slayer -

Thanks for info on Ron Andrews, will be calling him next week and dicussing this with him then.