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Mountain lion in IL

Depends on the state. I’m pretty sure that in California you have to be in the process of being digested before legally taking self defense measures against a mountain lion. I wish I was being metaphorical.

Shoot, shovel, scoot, and shut up
 
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I went to Rout 66 State Park with my family. We were right next to the river and I saw a huge cat print that couldn't have been from before that morning. I scooped up my 5y/o and left. I am always armed and not terribly afraid of mountain lions, but I am under no illusions that they would see just about any animal (including children) 1/4 of my size as a food animal and hunt it as a matter of course. That's what they do. Denying that only makes you ignorant.
 
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I'll admit that I do not have a retort to this claim :ROFLMAO:

On the same note, releasing an orca at the local waterpark would also result in a significant number of deaths, so I guess that's one more scenario to add to my personal Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment (HARA).

The mere fact that encountering something would be dangerous does not by itself constitute a threat, since exposure rate is an important factor. Bears encounters are rare and will remain rare because predators largely avoid other predators because such encounters are not beneficial to the goal of survival and reproduction.
Have you been to a water park? An orca would not be the biggest mammal in the pool…
 
I'll admit that I do not have a retort to this claim :ROFLMAO:

On the same note, releasing an orca at the local waterpark would also result in a significant number of deaths, so I guess that's one more scenario to add to my personal Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment (HARA).

The mere fact that encountering something would be dangerous does not by itself constitute a threat, since exposure rate is an important factor. Bears encounters are rare and will remain rare because predators largely avoid other predators because such encounters are not beneficial to the goal of survival and reproduction.
Yes, but that is what we're talking about. High order predators in a national park or wilderness area is one thing. In suburban back yards it is quite another BECAUSE of exposure rate. One grizzly bear in suburban Omaha is going to be a serious problem. A half dozen moving in and claiming it as their range simply can not be allowed. We don't share habitat with high order predators. That only happens in the third world because of environmentalist idiots, and a failure to manage wild populations. It would be great if we could leave the Earth "natural", but leaving it that way only leads to extinction. It HAS to be managed, and when a DNR actively denies reality, they threaten both humans and animals.
 
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A considerable portion of the lower 48 lives with back yard bears every day. Whether they be rocky mountain dwellers, inhabitants of Appalachia, the North East, or even Florida; Americans coexist with bears in populated areas.
 
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That just sounds wrong................LOL

Now I'm gonna have nightmares. Thanks........


Haha..when she didn’t have game to strip, she fed them hotdogs and kept them in an aquarium. I made the mistake of breathing when leaning over to look and it knocked the hair right out of my nose. Lol
 
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If you report one around these parts the possum police / state tell you....

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If you have pictures and show them, they tell you "That's not a wild mountain lion, that's an illegal pet released into the wild."
 
A considerable portion of the lower 48 lives with back yard bears every day. Whether they be rocky mountain dwellers, inhabitants of Appalachia, the North East, or even Florida; Americans coexist with bears in populated areas.
Black bears. Chawawas > Pit Bulls > Black Bears.
 
Where's around these parts?
When I lived in Oklahoma the ODWC would do this bullshit despite the evidence, I moved to Arizona and the AZGFD will plainly tell you about the metric shit ton of Mtn lions here and even mention the jaguars that range up into the state from Mexico. I was talking to an AZGFD officer and he admitted that they are trying to figure out if we now have a resident breeding population of jaguars.
 
Bullshit. You are talking about the most sparsely populated land in North America. It's the largest state in the Union with less people than a small city (750,000 people over 630,000 square miles). Introduce a healthy population of grizzly bears into a major metropolitan, suburban area (750,000 over 50 square miles) and you are going to have a shit ton of daily attacks.

Claiming that grizzly bears aren't dangerous because of few attacks is absurd. There are few opportunities for them to attack, which is precisely what we're talking about when we're talking high order predators in suburban areas.

Your drowning statistic defeats your own argument. How many people go swimming each year compared to drowning?

Ever hear of a "man eater"? This is what they used to call predators who hunted and killed humans. It only takes once for them to figure out that we're an easy meal for them.
I'm guessing you have a higher likelihood of dying in Chicago proper or Philadelphia than a mountain lion attack in Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas (yes, multiple spotted there too) or anywhere else.

Still, good idea to not just assume once in woods somebody may not run upon a critter badder assed than themselves.

Speaking of mountain lions. I stayed in Rancho Santa Margarita a few years back. New Courtyard I think. Heck about 2 years ago, maybe 3, a woman was mauled (killed?) by a mountain lion attack on the trail pretty much just outside the hotel.
 
Does she get to keep it and mount it?
Illinois requires you to have the proper license/tag for any roadkill you pick up. It also has to be in season, so with it being on the endangered species list, I doubt they will get to keep it.

Some states like NC allow you to pick up quite a few species without any type of salvage permit or license. Snagged a nice bobcat that was hit in front of me earlier this year. Had it mounted and sat it above the fireplace
 
Illinois requires you to have the proper license/tag for any roadkill you pick up. It also has to be in season, so with it being on the endangered species list, I doubt they will get to keep it.

Some states like NC allow you to pick up quite a few species without any type of salvage permit or license. Snagged a nice bobcat that was hit in front of me earlier this year. Had it mounted and sat it above the fireplace
Contrary to what the California DNR may have you believe, mountain lions are not endangered and are not on “the endangered species list.”
 
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Contrary to what the California DNR may have you believe, mountain lions are not endangered and are not on “the endangered species list.”
Same here. NCDNR denies they are around east coast Carolinas. They said this was not a cat as well. Taken a few miles from my house.
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That's the story around here as well. The state DNR denies the existence of predators below an arbitrary line on the map, until someone happens to catch one on a game cam or hits it with a car.

I don't understand the big deal. Predators migrate, especially when pressured by humans. Gaslighting by state game officials doesn't change nature.

There have been mountain lions showing up on cameras around DFW 'burbs (Rowlett. Tx).
 
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Ask yourself, how many mountain lions would I kill to save my child?

:ROFLMAO: Now ask yourself, what is the likelihood of mountain lions encountering my child?
 
:ROFLMAO: Now ask yourself, what is the likelihood of mountain lions encountering my child?

Still, you need an AR 15!(Ok, don't need, but it would be useful, especially if there is a pride). I thought prides were rare in North America.
 
Kansas has the same tale, the big cats were all killed like 100 years ago, and up till pretty recently, nope, no cats for sure. Until year before last when someone in an eastern city got a cougar walking by on their suburban doorbell camera, now take verifiable (footprints, photos) reports seriously, they are absolutely around.

Which I know because I looked it up this weekend because... saw one. Walking in a slightly edge of the city (where is another bit further east so the DNR still says they haven't come to, totally), slightly woodsy suburban park with the 5 year old in the dark Friday night, him with a headlamp, me with NODs/Thermals. We flushed a Giant Kitty Cat. Bigger than my dog, couldn't have been less than 70#, popped out of the woods, onto the concrete path, ran away. Giant but exactly moved like one of my housecats and total silence. Child didn't know why I suddenly stopped, saw and heard nothing at all.

No... too fast to snap a shot through the thermal but maybe 7-10 yds away. But right on top of it. Clear as day. Third coolest thing I have seen through the thermal I'd say.

Clearly, he was more frightened of us than we were of him but Totally Invisible until he ran away? Not very happy with the rest of the walk through the dark woods, even with the TIC, after that :)
 
If he can stay hid, suburban life will be fairly easy. If he can stay hid.
 
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When I lived in Oklahoma the ODWC would do this bullshit despite the evidence, I moved to Arizona and the AZGFD will plainly tell you about the metric shit ton of Mtn lions here and even mention the jaguars that range up into the state from Mexico. I was talking to an AZGFD officer and he admitted that they are trying to figure out if we now have a resident breeding population of jaguars.

They certainly don't keep it a secret that there's lots of lions in AZ. Though that would be hard to do when lions are found eating human remains at a very popular hiking area inside a national park...

Cool that there may be a breeding population of jaguars in AZ. I know there are a few individuals that travel to and from Mexico to AZ, though they were concerned that the border wall would disrupt the jaguars.
 
Still, you need an AR 15!(Ok, don't need, but it would be useful, especially if there is a pride). I thought prides were rare in North America.

I thought that the correct approach was a Glock in one hand, and my cell phone recording video in the other.
 
Yes almost none of you have mountain lions living where you are, they’re all “transient cats just passing through”. (except for here, the pet mountain lion capital of the world, where they’re released pets)

“Can I shoot em.”
No.
“Why not?”
It’s illegal.
“How can it be illegal to shoot something that doesn’t exist?”
 
That depends on where you live............rural Alaska, not so much.
Getting to be more and more mountain lion & bear activity here in CO.

Not just that, actually. There was a pronghorn hit on the highway close to downtown a few years ago and there was a moose in some field up north, fairly close to my house, a few months ago
 
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A buddy of mine shot a mountain lion and made chili with the meat. He served me some when I visited. If that was any indication of typical mountain lion meat, I’ll take it over deer. It was f’n good. And, I really like venison.
Native Americans felt that dog with corn and beans was pretty damn tasty too. Nowadays, if done judiciously it eliminates night time sound pollution. Nothing wrong with a quiet night sleep on a full stomach.
 
That is because the DNRs in almost every state are infiltrated by woke, leftist morons who deny reality and live in their own fevered dreams. Most are no longer "conservationists", but have become environmentalist, religious fanatics. It is with mistruth/lies like this that they developed horrible policies that damage both humans and wildlife.

"Mountain Lions were eliminated in the state of Illinois before 1870s due to habitat loss and overharvesting."

This is an obvious misdirection and practically a lie. No one has ever "harvested" mountain lions (for food) unless they were starving. We fucking killed them all, as in genocide/species elimination because we cannot share habitat with them, period. High order predators like bears and lions were killed on sight because they are above us on the food chain, and they will kill our children as an easy meal. This is exactly what these fucking, evil morons are trying to bring back, and there is going to be a terrible backlash when they succeed. I hope every last one of these horrible little people with their evil black hearts are held to account, since it is probably not going be their children who are eaten. Instead of managing (euthanizing them when they overpopulate specific ranges) lethal populations they think it's great that they are infiltrating back into populated areas. This is why they pretend and deny and lie to people's faces. It is going to end very badly. If I see a bear or a lion in my suburban yard I'm fucking killing it, period. I suggest any of you who don't want dead children do the same, because I don't live in environmentalist fantasy land, but in the real world where high order predators aren't tolerated around my family, period.
I'd prefer mountain lions and bears over invasive progressive refugees from blue states, and I'll take swaths of forest over filthy housing developments.
 
Kind of an odd place for mountain lion out in the flat land surrounded by corn fields. But it would make a nice rug.........
I mean why not!!