Calling ALL hunters....!

It appears there is a new addition to my area up in northern Arizona...
This evening while my caretaker was about to toss out some water from making his spaghetti noodles, he came face to face with a very large mountain lion.
2 other locals hunters came by, measured the paw prints, (5 inches across), the depth of the claw in the snow, (2 inches+) and from the indentation, they estimate the cat weighs somewhere around 170-190 lbs.
Body length estimated at least 6 foot, tail at least 4 ft. long....( ever hear of any that big before?)
The area is full of game: cotton tails, white tailed deer, pronghorned antelope, and elk, not to mention the "open range" and a lot of cattle....
Problem is, the cat should never have gotten that close in the first place.
I explained it came in either due to the smell of food, or the 4 dogs up there.
The area is prime real estate for cats....mountainous, and there are a few large caves about them.....
The trees/branches are not large enough to hold even a 20 lb bobcat!
Question:
What should be done, IF anything...?
Locals knew better than to try to track the animal in the dusk.
The cat was at least midway onto the property,(150 ft) from the road, and was standing in a clump of trees watching the caretaker....
Suggestions?
Not my area of any kind of expertise!
Last time I saw one here, it was on top of my house out in the desert back in 1967-68.
We drove up to the house after a ball game at high school, and was warned by my mother to stay in the truck...!
Finally drove it away with honking the horn and flashing the headlights high beams....

 

I HOPE they will go out in a threesome....
The plan is to track it and see if the animal comes back, or circles, as I have seen that before.
Everyone is on edge now, all carrying handguns...my preference would be a 12 gauge with 00 buckshot!
The spaghetti managed to survive, althouga bit soggier than he'd have liked!
(more than likely his socks too!)

 

Cool info!
I never knew that before!
I was told they have a 10 mile range, others say it's more like 20 miles....
Thanks QS!

 

Once you find this kitty, what then? If you intend to kill it, don't let the local PETA or bunnyhuggers know....... "S.S.&S!"

 

I was thinking I'd let the locals have the hide, not being into killing for sport, but for protection....But as for them bunnies...WELL, I'd like a pair of soft fuzzy bunny slippers!
LOL!!!
Supposedly, any kill of this sort has to be reported to local game and fish dept., as they want to determine: age, sex, and health of the animal.....
Probably, I see it as not a great idea, if the animal is acting normally, I doubt if it has rabies...
But, the state wants to "check" anyway.....
One good thing since the cat has been around, the coyotes have departed the area!

 

Personally I would keep a gun handy if needed should the animal become a true problem if it doesn't and was just passing through and still has a healthy fear of humans I would live and let live and allow it to mind its own business if those are it's intentions .

I can no more stand the asses that think just becaues they see a Bear or courgar they must kill it any more than I can the ones that feel they should never be killed for any reason and want to give them human style rights BS .

I would love to have the population of these animals back to the point where seeing a set of tracks in the snow while in the outdoors was a comman occurance again , and yes that includes Elk and Bear .

If you to damn lazy to carry a weapon for the odd an unusual need of protection and become profiecent in its use take your silly Ass and stay in the city .

As a matter of fact you far more likely to be killed by a mugger , rapeist , drug dealer/gang banger than a wild Bear or Courgar yet you're not trying to shoot every human that walks across or near your lawn/home now are you ?!!!

 

.
Sir, you make me see red. You make assumptions on people and flame them with profane spew. Learn how to use spell check as well. This is for the most part a family friendly site. Respect that please!!!

 

If a big cat is getting that close, and if the home-owner or neighbors have small children or pets - you bet your danged arse I'd be hunting it down!

Maybe learn the particulars of the situation before jumping on someone, eh?

 

No children near th area, BUT, most people up there have 3-6 dogs running loose...
Our 4, 2 of which are just puppies, less than 6 months old, are easy snacks for a big Puddy that size!
We keep ours inside, 90% of the time right now, due mainly to the weather having made a muddy mess.
My concern is that the anmal may decide to "perch" up on a trailer or vehicle, and play the cat and mouse waiting game....
Locals tried to track the cat this morning, but the tracks led them straight south to a canyon-, with a drop off of 300 ft width, 600+ ft deep.
The tracks disappeared.....
I figure the cat was walking on the rocks, to stay out of the snow and mud....
All those trying to find the cat are not "seasoned" hunters by any means, and were not sure what they were looking for.
Not something I'd try to do....I want a professional hunter/guide to keep my hide from being punctured by a cat that large!
Maybe, the animal was just checking out his/her territory....and nothing more.
I'd love to see and photograph the cat!
(from a distance!)

 

tacmotusn considering I have spent many a night into the wee hours of the morning live chatting with those on this site of any importance long before it was even an Idea of Melbos "including Melbo himself" I couldn't give a damn what color you see when you read a post of mine , if you can't deal with a few adult words in a post why don't you go over to the Kiddie corner where you belong .

Someone has a single incident of seeing a Large preditor on his land and the first thought is it has to pay for it with it's life ?

This is exactly the line of thinking that all but wiped out the Wolves , Grizzly bear and God knows how many species everwhere south of the Canadian border .

If the animals like the Big Cats and Bears were half as dangerous as people act like they are all of Mankind would have been eaten by them tens of thousands of years ago when all we had to defend ourselves with were rocks and pointy sticks !

I understand that just a mere 30 years or so before my birth this kind of brainless action was going on to the point it all but wiped out even the Whitetailed Deer Population in much of the nation .

If there were incidents of this cat causing problems such as attacking/killing of domestic pets or any attacks on humans dragonfly would have mentioned it in the opening post . Had he posted that this animal has been seen several times on his land and appears to be behaving as though it may be about to start stalking humans killing it would be considered reasonable .

It sounds as if the Cat wanted to kill or attack this "Caretaker" he could have done so quite easily yet it continued on its way without harming anyone or anything .

Until which time .

I stand by my first post if the simple sight of a Predator is going scare you so silly that you think it must die then you should spend your life in the city and even stay away from the zoo so you don't wet your pants from fear !<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_111192", true); </SCRIPT>

 

Had a visit from an ex game and fish employee (retired) he confirmed the tracks and size of the cat and was amazed the 3 could not see which way the tracks came and went!
It came from the south, (canyon) going north along a dirt road...
He said he thinks it is a pregant female, due to it's weight....
Oh JOY!
Baby kitties! (2-4 per litter!)
Wonder how I can get one house broke, and to hunt for me?
YIKES!

 

Thimgs could get 'interesting' when Momma has little ones to feed......

 

Guess I'd better "stock-up" on some cases of "tender vittles"!
Or maybe 'Chicken of the Sea'?
Bet them puddies won't eat "meow mix"!
Figures.....!

 

Reread the original post and see that not only did I . but so did everyone else completely miss the problem and it is one that dragonfly identified yet ignores it .

.

Lets see here now , you or your "Caretaker" are disposing of food garbage/waste right next to your living space yet you don't think it should attract and intice any wild animals to come close to your home ?

Pregnant female or large Tom cougar , doesn't matter as a matter of fact you're lucky you don't have Bears lining up at your front door .

You're living in a wilderness setting and break a cardinal rule of not keeping you property clean and free of food garbage even right near your home and you want to blame and perhaps kill the wildlife for coming in so close .

For decades it has been a known fact that food garbage will bring in these kinds of animals and will eventually cause animal human interactions/conflicts .

Funny how the people cause the problem yet the animals always seem to have to pay the price for it with their lives .

You people who live in the country basically have garbage dumps on your land close enough to hit with a rock from your front door yet you don't think the animals will or should come in looking for a easy meal .

And Humans think they're the smart ones in the equation here ?

 

You hit the nail straight on the head there!
I have been warning about disposal of all wastes on or near the property...
Seems my warnings fell on deaf ears though.
I even had all of the empty cans, which were washed out/cleaned, put into a plastic bag, and hauled to a dump several miles away.
Further conversation with the man on site has now revealed:
He is cooking 98% of the time outdoors, on a BBQ of all things!
Great!
Guess what he's cooking? Meat!
Yeah well, that explains that!
As for the bears, there have been some, mostly near homes in the outlying areas of the nearest town...
From all the information I was able to get, it seems that those bruins always go to the trash piles, placed next to or in close proximity to, people's residences!
Go figure!
It is coming down to pure laziness, and blatant stupidity!
What can I say?
"Here kitty, kitty, kitty"!

 

LOL!!!