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Have You Seen A Mountain Lion? Many Say They Have

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  • #16
    Been camping in the Adirondacks my whole life, never seen a bear, or a moose, Lynx, Bobcat, Barred Owls, other owls, grouse, or turkeys.. a few deer... while camping/fishing/paddling. I have seen signs & tracks of most of the above, trees clawed up, scat. But I don't see a lot of the animals i hunt doing these activities even though I certainly have seen them while hunting for them, obviously because I am trying very hard to.

    These animals are very good at not being seen if you aren't very careful, or hurt or under duress.. or dead. Thus, just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there.. probably watching the noisy, smelly humans!. A big cat is smarter then most of these… And they have been proven outside of the park, one in Connecticut that walked from the Black Hills!.

    DNA tests show that a 140-pound mountain lion killed last month on a Connecticut highway had walked more than 1,500 miles east from the Black Hills of South Dakota., state officials said today.


    So it CAN happen, because it has!

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    • #17
      Mountain lions in the Adirondacks? = bad for business. Just ask the folks in Banff re grizzlies and mtn. lions.

      I would support the claims of sightings but not that of a resident breeding population.

      Could there be size overlap between a big bobcat and a small mountain lion?
      The best, the most successful adventurer, is the one having the most fun.

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      • #18
        What do you think the DEC should say?

        I've probably seen the same trail cam pictures dozens of times that were taken "in the catskills", or "near Newcomb", or "outside of Old Forge", from my uncle's best friend's former hunting partner.

        I have seen zero reputable evidence that there are mountain lions in the Adirondacks. Eyewitness accounts don't hold a lot of weight. People tend to see what they want to see.

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        • #19
          I mentioned this before but I saw one in Chenango County. While driving looking for fall Turkey I caught a glimpse of something brown with a long tail dash from the dirt road off into a field. I never mentioned it to anyone for obvious reasons until a local rabbit hunter told me his beagle flushed it out of the pines. He was certain that it was a Mountain Lion and said he saw it from less than 100 feet away.

          The question is where did it come from? Game Farm? Someone's former pet???

          Sort of reminds me of bear sightings 40 years ago. People occasionally said they spotted one here but no one believed them. Now they're fairly common in this part of Chenango.

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          • #20
            That is not even close. At least there were substantial bear populations nearby. The closest known cougar population almost 1000 miles away. You'd have a far better chance seeing a real wolf in the ADKS than a cougar.

            I think sightings are mistakes or captive animals. There are hundreds of illegally held Cougars in North America.

            I also don't think there were ever that many in the ADKS. When you look at the bounties paid out by the state the number is surprisingly low.
            Izaak Walton a great writer? He can't even spell COMPLETE.

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            • #21
              G,
              There were mountain lions in the ADK's back in the 1800's as evidenced by geological names. Panther Pond, Panther Mountain, does Panther Gorge ring a bell?
              Sadly or not, they're gone. Unable to coexist with human encroachment.
              The last bounty payment that I can remember was for coyotes back in the late 60's or early 70's.
              Jim

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              • #22
                I am not saying they weren't there. However I know of a Salmon River that never had a salmon swim in it. I also read a second hand account where a hunter had a good winter killing Mountain Lions. When I read the original account the hunter called them "Mountain Tigers" and upon researching further it becomes clear he had a good winter killing Bobcats. Maybe Panther Mountain was named after a Bobcat? I know oldtimers who call Lake Trout a salmon.

                From everything I have read originally most of the Adirondacks had no deer. It was moose country. Apparently the deer showed up after much of the Adirondacks were logged. Then the deer population exploded and moose disappeared. How did Cougars fare with moose? Since predators go where the prey go might the cougar have followed the deer into the Adirondacks?

                Lots of questions.
                Izaak Walton a great writer? He can't even spell COMPLETE.

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                • #23
                  It is quite possible that some mountain lions are living in the ADK's. Why? Because one traveled through NY state from the Dakotas on his way to Connecticut where he had a date with fate. So we know that it is possible. That may explain the sightings.

                  How many? How many moose are there? How would you know unless you estimated their numbers? I used to know some people from Ohio where I once had a firewood business who swore they saw panthers or lions. I knew someone who had a deer preserve for hunters. About fifty deer were in a location of about one half square mile. Not one was seen by any hunters for a week. What does that tell you? Is it because they don't want to be discovered or because the hunters were not in the right place at the right time?

                  Just because the sightings are purely by chance does not indicate that there is NOT a small population in the 9 million acres of the park Let us wait for more reports before we unequivocally state that there haven't been any since the 1800's. Even discounting those that were once pets and were released illegally into the wilds.

                  The mountain lions seen in California in the hills where people jog certainly have had no problem coexisting with "human encroachment." Animals of prey are very adaptable for example the bears who raid the dumpsters in campgrounds. Bears do not generally leave an area which they have frequented even though they encounter humans who camp or hike. That is why state officials have to relocate them sometime many miles from where they have become a "nuisance".

                  I believe the mountain lions here in the east were hunted to extinction, same as the wolves. Then when numbers became too low to reproduce they were seen less and less until they disappeared. Same with the buffalo out West. Where food is plentiful be it game or browse, anything is possible. Just as two legged animals can be pretty damn smart and adaptable so can the four legged variety. Comments?
                  Never Argue With An Idiot. They Will Drag You Down To Their Level And Beat You With Experience.

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                  • #24
                    In Jay Ohern’s book Life with Noah on page 174 Red Smith tells about two sightings of mountain lions, I have old journals from the 30s that tells about seeing one waking below camp on the Coldriver.It was during hunting season. As remote as it is there might be back in there an no one would know .I agree with Schultz.

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                    • #25
                      The occasional sightings doesn't surprise me. We have tons of coyotes yet in 40 years of deer hunting I've never seen one. The first day I had my game camera I was shocked to see 3 coyotes 20 yards in back of my house.

                      Also had photographed 12 bucks in my orchard in the weeks up to deer season and yet the general consensus among locals was there were no bucks and it was the worst season in at least 25 years.

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                      • #26
                        Originally posted by Hard Scrabble View Post
                        Buck,
                        We need to look at this in a pragmatic concept.
                        The members of this forum are well versed and wide ranging.
                        If and only "if" there was a population of wild mountain lions in the ADK's, someone would have reported it.
                        Tracks, evidence of kills, etc.
                        I can't buy in to the conspiracy issue.
                        Think about it, why in the world would the DEC hide evidence?
                        They didn't conceal the attempt to reintroduce Lynxe.
                        Fun to talk about around a fire.
                        Jim
                        It may have sounded so, but I don't believe there's a conspiracy regarding cougars, or wolves for that matter. Cougar sightings are getting to be old news. The Lake George incident wasn't in the paper until six months after it occurred, when the lion was killed elsewhere.
                        Life's short, hunt hard!

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                        • #27
                          Originally posted by Gman View Post
                          I am not saying they weren't there. However I know of a Salmon River that never had a salmon swim in it. I also read a second hand account where a hunter had a good winter killing Mountain Lions. When I read the original account the hunter called them "Mountain Tigers" and upon researching further it becomes clear he had a good winter killing Bobcats. Maybe Panther Mountain was named after a Bobcat? I know oldtimers who call Lake Trout a salmon.

                          From everything I have read originally most of the Adirondacks had no deer. It was moose country. Apparently the deer showed up after much of the Adirondacks were logged. Then the deer population exploded and moose disappeared. How did Cougars fare with moose? Since predators go where the prey go might the cougar have followed the deer into the Adirondacks?

                          Lots of questions.
                          "G"
                          Check your history.
                          Lake Ontario once held a huge population of Landlocked Salmon, as did Lake Champlain.
                          Thus, the Salmon River.
                          Jim

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                          • #28
                            Jim,

                            I know my history well. The Salmon River I am refering to is not that one.
                            Last edited by Gman; 02-08-2016, 10:59 AM.
                            Izaak Walton a great writer? He can't even spell COMPLETE.

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                            • #29
                              OK,
                              A guessing game?
                              Which Salmon River were you talking about??
                              Jim

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                              • #30
                                The Salmon River that flows into the Bay of Quinte. Also according to Rich Preall it is doubtful the Salmon River at Malone had a run of salmon.
                                Izaak Walton a great writer? He can't even spell COMPLETE.

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