# Big cat in guernsey co



## Burkcarp1 (Dec 24, 2016)

Have been hearing rumors about a mountain lion around Quaker city, Salesville area.Does anybody know anything about it? Talked to game warden and he doesn’t believe it so not sure....?? Heard about it pretty straight. Would be nice to protect oneself...


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

Vote #2 for not believing it


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## Tinknocker1 (May 13, 2013)

This encounter was brought to you by Bud light and Batesville Legion !


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## AlanC (Jun 16, 2010)

Wouldn't 100% not believe it. Saw 2 in Monroe county a couple of years ago.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

I could believe it. Theirs also a higher population of bears in Ohio than what people would like to believe


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## G3guy (Feb 21, 2013)

#Fake


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## Redheads (Jun 9, 2008)

Only Bigfoot in Guernsey.......No room for both


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

LOL 
These rumors have been around forever, not just that particular area. 99% chance it's just mistaken identity. It's well known there are some bears in Ohio, not sure that's a good comparison.


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

Hey now!


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

M.Magis said:


> LOL
> These rumors have been around forever, not just that particular area. 99% chance it's just mistaken identity. It's well known there are some bears in Ohio, not sure that's a good comparison.


Well I would say it is. For years people would argue till they were blue in the face about no bears in Ohio. Now it's not even a surprise when someone says they seen one. Same with bobcats. The terrain in southern Ohio is prime for predators


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## Hatchetman (Apr 13, 2004)

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> Hey now!
> View attachment 329169


Now that's either one hell of a big cat or a midget Big Foot...!!


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

DHower08 said:


> Well I would say it is. For years people would argue till they were blue in the face about no bears in Ohio. Now it's not even a surprise when someone says they seen one. Same with bobcats. The terrain in southern Ohio is prime for predators


There have always been a handful of bobcats and bears in Ohio, at least for the last 40 years. Its been hundreds of years since there have been decent populations large cats east of the Mississippi. Thats a pretty big difference.


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## Saltfork (Jul 18, 2018)

Years ago probably 5 there was one on camera at salt fork. There was also a write up in the paper about one being saw in the Cambridge area. Had a dead dear in a tree. So take it for what it is.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

All of the mountain lions that try to swim across the Ohio river to reach our state are all eaten by the huge catfish below the dams on the Ohio river before they get across, you know the catfish that live there that are big enough to swallow a man.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Lundy said:


> All of the mountain lions that try to swim across the Ohio river to reach our state are all eaten by the huge catfish below the dams on the Ohio river before they get across, you know the catfish that live there that are big enough to swallow a man.


The ones as big as volkswagen's? Ain't those in every dam? In every lake?


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Saugeyefisher said:


> The ones as big as volkswagen's? Ain't those in every dam? In every lake?


Yes, they are. Divers have seen them in every lake by the dams and refuse to dive again


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## dugworm (May 23, 2008)

Let's see now. That makes about 6 or 7 years running of a big cat sighting in Guernsey co. Jeez.


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

M.Magis said:


> There have always been a handful of bobcats and bears in Ohio, at least for the last 40 years. Its been hundreds of years since there have been decent populations large cats east of the Mississippi. Thats a pretty big difference.


I believe there is a population in Florida........Last time I checked it is east of the Mississippi.


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## Rocknut (Apr 17, 2015)

My sons friend work the zipline course down in Hocking hills a few summers. One morning while checking the course he spotted a mountain lion on the course. 
I kicked up a bear down in the wayne while Backpacking. 
I don't have a problem with any of them.


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

That mountain lion rumor probably started at the Airport Inn !


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## Stars-n-Stripers (Nov 15, 2007)

I hunted in Cambridge/Salt Fork area a couple years, I would have no surprise in finding a mountain lion or black bear in that area, that's some thick forest and lots of it.


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

We had a bear or two in Portage County. I’ve never seen a cat. But I havnt hunted much down in southern Ohio either. I believe there are still a few in Southern WV so I guess it’s possible.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

I have heard one in the CVNP in NEO one March evening after dark about 10 years ago. Nobody believed me then and nobody will believe me now but I heard it.


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

Lewzer said:


> I have heard one in the CVNP in NEO one March evening after dark about 10 years ago. Nobody believed me then and nobody will believe me now but I heard it.


I believe it as I heard and saw the tracks of one in Noble County several years ago while deer hunting.


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

I want to believe--- but I don't.
Somebody snap a pic or two.
Good luck !


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## hatteras1 (Jan 18, 2011)

Back in late 80's on Georgetown Damascus Road..
Just saying!!


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## Specwar (Sep 22, 2014)

I can’t understand why so many here have closed minds and don’t believe this is quite possible.


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## twistedcatfish1971 (Jul 21, 2013)

35 years ago when living in reminderville on a dead end street California Avenue. I had an old live trap and was messing around with it trying to get neighbor's cat...I heard some growls and some noise in backyard during night but never checked until morning before school...I go out back and trap is 10 feet from where I set it and there was a rabbit in it but it was torn to pieces and blood everywhere...as I was picking trap up I noticed a large cat at edge of woods...later after school I set out to where i saw the large cat with my dog. About a mile into woods we found it. Bobcat and was in very heavy cover with lots of prickers...it was growling and holding growl out for few seconds...still can hear it in my head. 

This was along time ago and at that time there were NO developments. Just woods and fields...

Don.


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## Lewis (Apr 5, 2004)

They are east of the Mississippi!This young adult, male Mountain Lion was struck and killed by a SUV in Milford, Connecticut on June 11, 2012. It provided absolutely irrefutable proof that a wild Mountain Lion, at least occasionally, can make its way to New England. This one cat left DNA and/or photographic evidence of its presence in at least four states during its 1,800-mile journey.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

A few years ago driving thru Virginia on our way to the obx we had one cross in front of us. 
Supposedly they're not in virginia. But there was absolute no mistaking what we seen....


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## cement569 (Jan 21, 2016)

i worked with a guy last year pouring concrete and he has a cabin in Caldwell ohio. he showed me pictures from his trail cam of a big cat, been trying to get a hold of him to send me the pictures. from what I seen in the pictures it could be a lion


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

Lewis said:


> View attachment 329437
> They are east of the Mississippi!This young adult, male Mountain Lion was struck and killed by a SUV in Milford, Connecticut on June 11, 2012. It provided absolutely irrefutable proof that a wild Mountain Lion, at least occasionally, can make its way to New England. This one cat left DNA and/or photographic evidence of its presence in at least four states during its 1,800-mile journey.


I googled this and the DEP are saying more than likely it was an escaped exotic pet and didn’t have a chance in Connecticut once it escaped. It happens a lot. Same thing happened in Ohio some years back.


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> an escaped exotic pet and didn’t have a chance in Connecticut


 My sister lives near Farmington Conn and sent me this pic her neighbor snapped in Sept.
Possibly an escapee in Ohio? ?








No bobcat which they see on a regular basis.


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

garhtr said:


> My sister lives near Farmington Conn and sent me this pic her neighbor snapped in Sept.
> Possibly an escapee in Ohio? ?
> View attachment 329439
> 
> No bobcat which they see on a regular basis.


I was just gonna say. Looked into more and DNA test done on the dead cat confirmed it traveled East from S Dakota... 1500 miles. Also it didn’t fit the bill being an exotic because it wasn’t declawed, no chip. Even had some porcupine quills in its tissue. 1500 miles... Crazy.


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

Experts also say that eastern mountain lion is extinct. I can’t see that being true either. Sometimes I think they are told by the powers to be to put this info out on some species for some reasons.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

garhtr said:


> My sister lives near Farmington Conn and sent me this pic her neighbor snapped in Sept.
> Possibly an escapee in Ohio? ?
> View attachment 329439
> 
> No bobcat which they see on a regular basis.


Looks like a bobcat for sure to me. Height at back, length, short neck, flattened nose. Bobcat weighs around 25 lbs, a mountain lion 100-150lbs and is around 30" at the back.


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

Lundy said:


> Looks like a bobcat for sure to me


 To me it looks to long for its height, bobcats are shorter compared to height ???
Rumored to have a tail but it isn't a good pic for sure.
They see Bobcats daily there so ----


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## Burkcarp1 (Dec 24, 2016)

Lundy said:


> Looks like a bobcat for sure to me. Height at back, length, short neck, flattened nose. Bobcat weighs around 25 lbs, a mountain lion 100-150lbs and is around 30" at the back.


That’s not a bobcat in my opinion because it’s not the same color for starters.I just watched one for 10 min. Last night.and that cat is longer


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## Specwar (Sep 22, 2014)

garhtr said:


> My sister lives near Farmington Conn and sent me this pic her neighbor snapped in Sept.
> Possibly an escapee in Ohio? ?
> View attachment 329439
> 
> No bobcat which they see on a regular basis.


Look at the left shoulder of this cat. Definitely a mountain lion / cougar. Ain’t no way it’s a bobcat!!


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## Eye Licker (Apr 10, 2012)

Here kitty kitty!No bobcat.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

So those are 8' fence posts and the wire fence is 10" squares? Must be a pygmy mountain lion No drinking during work hours.


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## Lewis (Apr 5, 2004)

Some interesting reading on eastern cougars. I am on the it's possible side of the fence. After all, we are not talking about bigfoot here, but a real animal that exists in the United States.
http://www.easterncougar.org/pages/6thworkshop.htm


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## berkshirepresident (Jul 24, 2013)

garhtr said:


> My sister lives near Farmington Conn and sent me this pic her neighbor snapped in Sept.
> Possibly an escapee in Ohio? ?
> View attachment 329439
> 
> No bobcat which they see on a regular basis.


What's pictured here is neither a bobcat nor a mountain lion, IMHO.
What I see is an adult, female LION.


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## Burkcarp1 (Dec 24, 2016)

Lundy said:


> So those are 8' fence posts and the wire fence is 10" squares? Must be a pygmy mountain lion No drinking during work hours.


I’m not sure what you’re smoking but I want some! Lol


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

berkshirepresident said:


> IMHO.
> What I see is an adult, female LION.


 To me its head looks small for a lioness. - cougars head smaller ???


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Burkcarp1 said:


> I’m not sure what you’re smoking but I want some! Lol


hahahaha, I tried it once back in the early 70's,In inhaled, didn't really like it so I haven't tried since. So what would you estimate the height of that animal at the shoulders


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## Burkcarp1 (Dec 24, 2016)

Lundy said:


> hahahaha, I tried it once back in the early 70's,In inhaled, didn't really like it so I haven't tried since. So what would you estimate the height of that animal at the shoulders


26 inches


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## Burkcarp1 (Dec 24, 2016)

Big difference to me my friend....


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## berkshirepresident (Jul 24, 2013)

The bigger that bottom picture gets, the more a see a female lion. Or, as someone else correctly pointed out, a lioness.
Look at the face, the chest and shoulder muscles....and notice how you don't see the fluffy, thick tail of a cougar/mountain lion/Kardashian bride.


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

Yea I’m leaning towards a bobcat also. Not very good focus, No tail, I can’t see the fence being 8-10’ tall. Summer coat. A cougar would be much larger compared to the surroundings/ greenery. And if you look close you can see the points on its chin/cheeks.


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

Yea I’m leaning towards a bobcat also. No tail, I can’t see the fence being 8-10’ tall. Summer coat. A cougar would be much larger compared to the surroundings.


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## Pike (Apr 7, 2004)

Cougars have been confirmed in both the Northern Lower and Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan.


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

Also if you look close you can see the spots/stripes on the front leg.


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## slimdaddy45 (Aug 27, 2007)

I got pics of a black panther lol it about 50 yrds from the camera lol


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

Lundy said:


> So those are 8' fence posts and the wire fence is 10" squares? Must be a pygmy mountain lion No drinking during work hours.


How do you know those dimensions?



berkshirepresident said:


> What's pictured here is neither a bobcat nor a mountain lion, IMHO.
> What I see is an adult, female LION.


I agree, Look at how heavily muscled that cat is. And where are the fur "dewlaps" on the cheeks? I don't see spotting, I see shadows. And look at the right edge of the wooden post down low. Could that be the tip of a long tail?


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## privateer (Apr 26, 2012)

it is interesting that when i first moved to east TN some 20-years ago, the game commission (TWRA) said no mountain lion in TN. this year, they cautioned hunters that we are not to shoot mountain lion unless it is in self-defense. times are a changin...


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## Lazy 8 (May 21, 2010)

slimdaddy45 said:


> I got pics of a black panther lol it about 50 yrds from the camera lol
> View attachment 329489


Please tell Tater to come home. We miss him.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

buckeyebowman said:


> How do you know those dimensions?


Just copy the picture to your computer an enlarge it. You can clearly see the wire fence and posts, and weeds, etc, etc, etc. MAYBE 18" at the back, MAYBE


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

If you look, the spots are pretty clear on the inside of that cats front legs. 
One point that need clarified, when the DNR (or I) talks about there being no cougars in an area, thats not saying there’s no possibility of one being there, like the occasional traveler or escaped pet. I think its well known that happens. It means theres not a population of them. If there was, we’d be getting trail cam pics of them regularly like we do bobcats.


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## Redheads (Jun 9, 2008)

I'm a believer


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

privateer said:


> it is interesting that when i first moved to east TN some 20-years ago, the game commission (TWRA) said no mountain lion in TN. this year, they cautioned hunters that we are not to shoot mountain lion unless it is in self-defense. times are a changin...





M.Magis said:


> If you look, the spots are pretty clear on the inside of that cats front legs.
> One point that need clarified, when the DNR (or I) talks about there being no cougars in an area, thats not saying there’s no possibility of one being there, like the occasional traveler or escaped pet. I think its well known that happens. It means theres not a population of them. If there was, we’d be getting trail cam pics of them regularly like we do bobcats.


My buddy has been told the same thing by PA game wardens. If you ask an Ohio game protector, they will tell you the same. If a specific season has NOT been set for an animal species it is protected.


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

What is it with Guernsey County? All of the Bigfoot and mountain lion reports are from Guernsey County.


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## privateer (Apr 26, 2012)

buckeyebowman said:


> My buddy has been told the same thing by PA game wardens. If you ask an Ohio game protector, they will tell you the same. If a specific season has NOT been set for an animal species it is protected.


my point was that they denied it 20years ago and now they are established enough that they felt they needed to tell us not to shoot them... i am in east tennessee in a rather well populated area but has massive gov land holdings (federal & tva) and i have heard the cat's scream in the valley near my place.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

I get one or two bobcats a year on camera. Had one last year that had a grey squirrel in its mouth.


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## PJF (Mar 25, 2009)

Here is a big cat stealing geese off of my tailgate.....or peeing on them.....near Guernsey co.


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## M R DUCKS (Feb 20, 2010)

buckeyebowman...question,
a friend of mine heard from a guy, who's buddy said, he knew a guy.... you get the idea,...
...a few years back, story was a guy shot a cow Elk here in Ohio during deer season,(escapee from a farm) was told it was Okay, because it wasn't a game specie and there is concern it could/would transmit disease to the deer population.
*I am curious as to who could accurately answer this type of question? Same with the Mute swan, considered an invasive, heard reports of ODNR eliminating them out at Buckeye Lake...not sure if true or not, always wondered IF I was allowed to shoot them.
Mute Swans....did some checking (just now) and it appears you have to get a special permit from ODNR to do so...kind'a like a nuisance permit....


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

Can't be exactly sure, but I have the idea that the ODNR doesn't like escapees from deer or elk farms. Living in such close proximity they can become a disease vector quite easily. Look at how they want us to treat transportation of deer parts now. Very afraid of CWD.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

*Cougars Officially Declared Extinct in Eastern U.S., Removed from Endangered Species List*
__
_An illustration of an eastern cougar, a species last seen in 1938.

Eastern cougars once roamed every U.S. state east of the Mississippi, but it has been eight decades since the last confirmed sighting of the animal. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has officially declared the subspecies extinct and removed it from the U.S. endangered species list.

The decision, announced Monday, is the result of years of deliberation. The agency conducted an extensive review of the eastern cougar in 2011, and recommended it be removed from the endangered and threatened species list in 2015, Reuters reported. The species, also known as pumas, are the genetic cousins of mountain lions in the Western United States and of Florida panthers, which are now found only in the Everglades.

There is “no evidence of the existence of either an extant reproducing population or any individuals of the eastern puma subspecies,” the announcement in the Federal Register said. “It is also highly unlikely that an eastern puma population could remain undetected since the last confirmed sighting in 1938.”

Cougars were common throughout eastern North America until the late 1800s, when their populations began to drastically decline as forests and prey disappeared and European settlers killed them to protect their livestock and families, according to the FWS.

Conservation groups said the decision clears the way for eastern states to rebuild cougar populations in habitats such as the Adirondacks and White Mountains using mountain lions from the U.S. West. Western mountain lions are confirmed to have occasionally ventured as far east as Connecticut, with reported sightings even further in Maine.

Eastern states “need large carnivores like cougars to keep the wild food web healthy,” Michael Robinson, a conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “[They] would curb deer overpopulation and tick-borne diseases that threaten human health.”_


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## privateer (Apr 26, 2012)

Lundy said:


> _Eastern states “need large carnivores like cougars to keep the wild food web healthy,” Michael Robinson, a conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “[They] would curb deer overpopulation and tick-borne diseases that threaten human health.”_


When is the last time you walked to your car in the late evening hours and worried about being eaten. Reintroduce into populated areas without hunting them and they will prey on the weak - humans... we are so much easier to catch than a deer.


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## mike oehme (Aug 17, 2014)

Muddy said:


> What is it with Guernsey County? All of the Bigfoot and mountain lion reports are from Guernsey County.


To much shine being drunk down in southern Ohio and peoples eyes playing tricks on them. Everyone knows the only time that you see bigfoot, is when you see ufo's in the sky. Duh!


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## OrangeMilk (Oct 13, 2012)

It would be 20 years ago at this point but my Dad snapped some shots of a Mountain Lion/Cougar in North Carolina. He was down there near Paris Island for my brother being at USMC boot camp.

Two weeks ago I had a Bobcat on the trail cam in Jackson County. I do believe Ohio University has a program where they raise and release Bobcats in Ohio, or at least they did at one point. 

As for Bears, the last I read it's 75-150 with 95% being juvenile males who can't get territory in PA. They get big here and head back.


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## Saugeye Tom (Oct 6, 2010)

They air dropped beavers once too...little parachutes and all


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## PJF (Mar 25, 2009)

Don't forget the rattlesnakes in garbage bags full of water.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

And the ODNR with the insurance companies stocking coyotes for deer population control.


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## Hatchetman (Apr 13, 2004)

Saugeye Tom said:


> They air dropped beavers once too...little parachutes and all


A friend of my neighbors brother-in-law works with a guy who married a girl who's dad worked for the outfit that trained those beavers on how to and when to pull the rip cord on their little chutes....


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

Now wait a minute! These cats did once exist. We know that. So your saying there’s a chance that Sasquatch exists! Yes!!!!


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## Stars-n-Stripers (Nov 15, 2007)




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## privateer (Apr 26, 2012)

Hatchetman said:


> A friend of my neighbors brother-in-law works with a guy who married a girl who's dad worked for the outfit that trained those beavers on how to and when to pull the rip cord on their little chutes....


so you are saying they did free fall and not static line jumps? wow, that is some training then...


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## PJF (Mar 25, 2009)

I thought the coyotes were brought in to eat the turkey eggs to help increase the grouse population....They brought them in on Greyhound buses cause they didn't like to fly. Started near Guernsey county.


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## CHOPIQ (Apr 6, 2004)

Over the weekend I was hunting near Caldwell and and was going down a gravel raod. I was going into a turn and what I thought was a dog ran in front of me. It was running from my left to my right and then it stopped and ran back to my left. Instead of a dog it was a bobcat. Wasn't a big one but definetly a bobcat. If I hadn't stopped I would have hit it. Thats the third bobcat Ive seen in that area now in the last couple years.


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

It is certainly not impossible for pumas to be in Ohio. Just recently, one was confirmed in eastern Tennessee. People are forever seeing big cats here in NC, although most reports are from the swamps and pine forests of the coastal region. And many of these are large black cats. I do not believe there are big cats here, at least not yet. The eastern puma was once an NC resident, but the last one killed was over 100 years ago. Pumas are secretive animals, and could be living in heavily forested areas undetected for years.
What we do have here in terms of predators:
Black bear. Estimated to be nearly 30,000 now, 2/3 of which are in the coastal plain.
Bobcat. Population estimated to be around 60,000, statewide resident.
Coyote. Invasive. Numbers around 70,000 statewide.
Alligator. Swamps of the coastal plain. Population around 4000.
Red wolf. Alligator River Refuge in eastern NC. Population around 20. Reintroduced former resident, population declining. USFWS and NCDWRC removed protection amid outcry from land owners and deer hunters. Saying animals were hybrids with coyotes. Some proved to be. This year, the Academy of Applied Sciences proved by DNA studies that the red wolves were a unique species unto itself, and is forcing the agencies to resume the program.
The thing that I cannot understand is the outcry from deer hunters. Example:
In 2004, when the red wolf population was at its highest, 150 animals , hunters in the five counties where the wolf roams killed 5700 deer. And the deer herd down there remains huge.
Yet they claim the wolf is having an impact on the deer herd. I do not see it.


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## Smitty82 (Mar 13, 2011)




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## Smitty82 (Mar 13, 2011)




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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

Also, the eastern puma is not extinct. The Florida panther is a race of that subspecies. There are around 200 now in the swamps.


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## Bud Rickett (Mar 2, 2019)

Smitty82 said:


> View attachment 330211


My ex wife was spotted in Knox county. Damn dangerous.


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## EnonEye (Apr 13, 2011)

privateer said:


> my point was that they denied it 20years ago and now they are established enough that they felt they needed to tell us not to shoot them... i am in east tennessee in a rather well populated area but has massive gov land holdings (federal & tva) and i have heard the cat's scream in the valley near my place.


saw one 50 years ago in Trumbull county near Vienna guard base, during a snowstorm traveling slow in car headlights, about midnight, we even stopped and got out and looked at the tracks, amazing creature. And no we didn't do any drugs in those days and we weren't drinking (about 16). A big cat's scream is unmistakable and will put your neck hairs on end and something once confirmed personally you never forget the sound and if you see one have no doubt what you've seen, again, amazing animal


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## snagless-1 (Oct 26, 2014)

Bears and mountain lions don't pay attention to state lines,their both in Ohio and have been.


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

EnonEye said:


> a big cat's scream is unmistakable and will put your neck hairs on end and something once confirmed personally you never forget the sound


Sounds like a woman in pain.


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

snagless-1 said:


> Bears and mountain lions don't pay attention to state lines,their both in Ohio and have been.


We all know bears are in Ohio.. the evening news has film on them often but what evidence do you have with the cats?


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## snagless-1 (Oct 26, 2014)

Game warden spotted one in Shawnee State forest Jefferson County in 2014.


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## Tinknocker1 (May 13, 2013)

NCbassattack said:


> Sounds like a woman in pain.


Try the other hole


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

snagless-1 said:


> Game warden spotted one in Shawnee State forest Jefferson County in 2014.


Here’s what I think you’re referring to but this doesn’t make it fact. 


Here’s ODNR’s official statement on cats in Ohio as of late-November 2014.

_“Last summer, an off-duty wildlife officer spotted what he believes to be a mountain lion in Jefferson County. Nothing ever came of it after his reported sighting. No photos snapped by local residents of the county pre- or post-sighting by the officer, no trail camera photos, no scat, no hair/fur, no tracks, etc._

_While we have a significant population of state-protected bobcats (which people sometimes confuse), there is no indication of wild cougars/mountain lions in Ohio. It’s been 100 years or so since the last wild mountain lion was confirmed in the Buckeye State._

_We have received many unconfirmed reports of sightings over the years, but never anything concrete. Concrete data would include photos that can be confirmed as snapped in Ohio, scat, tracks, or the animal itself such as a road-kill. We have not received anything of the like thus far._

_Mountain lions are very stealthy and secretive animals, so they’re tough to track and locate. That being said, we can’t confirm wild mountain lions in Ohio until evidence supports such.”_


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

Here's a screaming puma.


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## Blackwater (Aug 14, 2019)

I've never seen one. However about 10 years ago my sister saw a giant "mountain lion" like cat on our family farm. I also have a buddy that picked up a large cat on his trail cam more recently which looked like a mountain lion as well. Another buddy of mine said he encountered one while riding his 4x4 through a field of overgrow. He said it was a large cat, with the coloring of a deer, & a long tail. These were all different locations throughout NEO. Idk if they're around or not. I have a friend that lives out in Montana & she's told me they're extremely elusive out there. Whooo knows. Would be cool to see one here someday


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

snagless-1 said:


> Game warden spotted one in Shawnee State forest Jefferson County in 2014.


Shawnee State forest is not in Jefferson County, it’s in Scioto and Adams County.


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## PJF (Mar 25, 2009)

It was so big in Scioto county that it could be seen from Jefferson County. That right there is how big it was......Huge just Huge


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

Blackwater said:


> I've never seen one. However about 10 years ago my sister saw a giant "mountain lion" like cat on our family farm. I also have a buddy that picked up a large cat on his trail cam more recently which looked like a mountain lion as well. Another buddy of mine said he encountered one while riding his 4x4 through a field of overgrow. He said it was a large cat, with the coloring of a deer, & a long tail. These were all different locations throughout NEO. Idk if they're around or not. I have a friend that lives out in Montana & she's told me they're extremely elusive out there. Whooo knows. Would be cool to see one here someday


Haha! In the age of technology, nobody can’t seem to get a picture of one. It’s always my buddy’s cousin from his first wife which was the the cousin of my wife seen one. Everybody has a story.


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## snagless-1 (Oct 26, 2014)

Small minds.......


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## Rocknut (Apr 17, 2015)

In the areas that have known populations of big cats. Most are never seen even the local residents rairley if ever see one. I only saw one while backpacking in Washington. And it was just a quick sighting. The cat turned and was gone. My son on the other hand has a film he took while solo backpacking in Utah of two cubs. He didn't see mom but knew she was close by watching.


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

There is not any documentation to prove that a mountain lion has stepped foot in Ohio this century. Zero proof. Nothing.
That’s the fact of the matter. But hey, if you heard that some guys cousins uncle thinks that he saw one out the trailer window, then I’m a believer.


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## Bud Rickett (Mar 2, 2019)

Not only has the cats not been seen, a cat's kill is unmistakeable. Along with the scat. You don't have to actually see one, but no sign of them being there.


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## Blackwater (Aug 14, 2019)

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> Haha! In the age of technology, nobody can’t seem to get a picture of one. It’s always my buddy’s cousin from his first wife which was the the cousin of my wife seen one. Everybody has a story.


Just adding fuel to the fire lol. Was able to find a pic of the trail cam one. the other two were quite some time ago . So smart phones werent really a thing


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

Well damn, looks as tho I’m going to have to take my feeder down. And I’m never gonna get that big buck. This cat is just way to smart for me.


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

Bud Rickett said:


> a cat's kill is unmistakeable










Adams county two Saturdays ago.
Big cat looking tracks nearby, made me a little nervous heading to my stand Sunday a.m. 
Good luck and good hunting !


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## Burkcarp1 (Dec 24, 2016)

garhtr said:


> View attachment 330367
> Adams county two Saturdays ago.
> Big cat looking tracks nearby, made me a little nervous heading to my stand Sunday a.m.
> Good luck and good hunting !


Can’t be it’s impossible for cats to be in Ohio....


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

Seriously, you never know. But it isn’t a Bigfoot lol. Someone would have had something by now. Too many hunters, trail cams, technology ect.


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## EnonEye (Apr 13, 2011)

garhtr said:


> View attachment 330367
> Adams county two Saturdays ago.
> Big cat looking tracks nearby, made me a little nervous heading to my stand Sunday a.m.
> Good luck and good hunting !


looks like 2 turkeys with hooves makin bacon to me lol.


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## Smitty82 (Mar 13, 2011)




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## FlyFishRich (Feb 3, 2016)

Talked to a hunter last year that hunts the same public land I do here in Trumbull County and he told me that he saw a bobcat one morning. I've seen coyote tracks there and there's plenty of turkeys there for food so who knows.....Rich


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## Hatchetman (Apr 13, 2004)

I've seen quite a few Bobcats in my area. There is one area out by New Somerset that has a pretty good population of them. I live in the country and our upstairs bedroom over looks our driveway. We have a dawn/dusk light on the garage and one night the wife ask me who's big cat was in the driveway, looked out and there sat a younger Bobcat. It got up and walked out of sight. Have seen a couple over between Hopedale and Adena....No cougars though, at least not the feline type....


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## Lewis (Apr 5, 2004)

I live in Guernsey county. Between me and my neighbor we have multiple trail cam pics of a mother Bobcat and her 2 kits. They are becoming very common and widespread in Ohio.


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## PJF (Mar 25, 2009)

Bobcats have been in southeastern ohio for a good while. Documented photos, road kills, etc. As far as Mountain Lions, Puma, Lions, Panthers, Tigers or "Big Cats", Big Foot or Little Green Space Men......still waiting........of course unless you live in Muskingum County where the guy turned all his loose before he offed himself


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## snuff1 (May 26, 2015)

PJF said:


> Bobcats have been in southeastern ohio for a good while. Documented photos, road kills, etc. As far as Mountain Lions, Puma, Lions, Panthers, Tigers or "Big Cats", Big Foot or Little Green Space Men......still waiting........of course unless you live in Muskingum County where the guy turned all his loose before he offed himself


I personally don't discount anything. When I was a young man I was fishing down in the strip pits in southeastern ohio and 1 night while camping some dogs started barking and then the roar of a bobcat. A few years back a young bear was captured along Big Darby Creek close to Columbus and I have been told that there are at least 2 groups of bobcats in park system here in the Columbus area. There are elk in Pennsylvania and will sometime probably migrate here as well. So. What's next.


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## MagicMarker (Mar 19, 2017)

About 15 years ago while bowhunting along Twin Creek here in Preble county had a bobcat walk right under my tree stand This was before cell phone cameras


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## walleye warrior (Apr 9, 2004)

I don't think its likely that there are lions in OH, but that's not to say its impossible. There are a ton of them out in Montana, Idaho, etc. and MOST people will go their whole lives and never see one, so imagine how hard it would be to spot and photograph one here when there couldn't be more than a few.


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## Fish-N-Fool (Apr 12, 2004)

My $0.02: I hunt Wildcat Hollow area and see at minimum 2-3 bobcats every year. I saw 5 2 years ago just on one piece of property. We started seeing 1-2 per year in Pike cty 8 years ago on my buddy's 90 acres - I haven't hardly hunted there the last few years but they still see them. Although they have cams out it is mostly corn feeders and piles and they don't get trail cam pics - all sighting with eyeballs.

No expert and have never taken the time to learn about bobcat, but I have seen enough of them in the flesh and as close as 10 feet on the ground (my very first OH bobcat sighting from a dead fall ground blind in Pike) a few observations:

In OH they come in more than one color phase. I have seen the darker (more gray) versions and the lighter tan versions. Somebody here mentioned summer versus winter coat and I could buy that as the late in the year ones I see are gray phase. In October I see both gray and tan phase.

There are LOTS of bobcat in OH at this point. They are not rare; it is not "special" to watch one. Might have been a couple decades ago, but they are common and the population is higher imo than most hunters think. Bobcat are shy smart critters with a nose better than a coyote....and unlike a coyote once a bobcat catches anything in the wind (and trust me they will) they bolt out of sight NEVER pausing or looking back from any distance. This is my experience 100% of the time if the wind was not correct and they picked up any scent. At a high level they just don't make themselves seen often much like the coyote but even more so.

Mature bobcat look bigger than they are. I've seen young as small as domestic cats and I have seen fully mature bobcats that a person may think weighs 50lbs. Some of that is most OH residents have seen zero or very very few wild cats of any kind? I liken it to fox...a 10 lb fox the average person sees running across a field I would bet a $100 bill the person guesses double the weight - maybe more (unless a fox hunter / trapper).

As for mountain lions....I'm 100% certain on 1 mountain lion running around in OH. No I didn't see it with my eyes, but people I trust 110% did. And although I don't believe it made anything other than local news it was shot and killed by an officer of the state. It was "domestic" meaning a cat that got loose or somebody tossed. It had not traveled into the state as a wild game animal. 

Do I believe or am I concerned about lion of any type in OH - no I don't. I do believe there is a super slight chance a wild lion could travel in the great distance, but it would be extremely rare and with such small parcels of land everywhere in OH it would not go unnoticed imo. 

I do know state's lie and I know this firsthand. I sat up all night in June of this year backpacking the app trail on the TN/NC border and listened to a surreal scene literally from 2am until 45 minutes before daylight broke. I was down in low land surrounded by the mountain ridges in every direction. First the coyotes would sound off, followed by WOLVES, and that would trigger bugles from the elk. It was such an amazing experience I missed the night's sleep and enjoyed the concert and soaked in the experience. Yes I very clearly know the difference between coyote and wolf vocalizations and when you hear them it is not even close. I listened to wolves all night. 3 days later I had cell service and drove into Cades Cove. Google told me no wolves in that area. I saw a park ranger and went over and talked with him. He'd been working Cades Cove area since 1979 when he interned there out of school. I asked him if there were wolves in the area and he said no. I told him BS and shared my experience with him. He went on to tell me how he himself had assisted in the release of Red Wolves there in 1980-81. He told me the idea was to decrease deer herds, etc. Well much went wrong...one wolf traveled out and was killing livestock and they shot it. The wolves quickly ate up the game and dispersed over a vast area - wolves need a lot of area and he said there was not enough game in the cove. So the state decided to go out and trap all the wolves and remove them. And that was the story...no more wolves we trapped them all.

Then he looked at me and asked me if I knew anything about cage trapping wolves and I replied no sir I do not. He laughed hard and said, well son if you believe we were able to go out in 800 square miles of mountain and live cage trap all these wolves I just don't know what to tell you. Then he shared right there in the cove in May of that year he watched an approximately 100-110lb female at first light cross the opening there by the road leading to Abrams Falls trail head. He said he hadn't seen one in 3 years prior to that but yes those were wolves I was listening to.


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## floater99 (May 21, 2010)

Great post F n F I hunt the wildcat hollow area also and Bobcats are not uncommon there our local egg farmer is not very fond of them


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## Hatchetman (Apr 13, 2004)

Fish-N-Fool said:


> My $0.02: I hunt Wildcat Hollow area and see at minimum 2-3 bobcats every year. I saw 5 2 years ago just on one piece of property. We started seeing 1-2 per year in Pike cty 8 years ago on my buddy's 90 acres - I haven't hardly hunted there the last few years but they still see them. Although they have cams out it is mostly corn feeders and piles and they don't get trail cam pics - all sighting with eyeballs.
> 
> No expert and have never taken the time to learn about bobcat, but I have seen enough of them in the flesh and as close as 10 feet on the ground (my very first OH bobcat sighting from a dead fall ground blind in Pike) a few observations:
> 
> ...


I agree 100% on a wolf's howl being a lot different from a coyote's. In the mid 70's we used to fly into Lake Ogascanan(spel?) in Quebec and campat the upper end on an island for a week. The first night I heard a wolf howl it made the hair on my neck stand up. I did get to really enjoy sitting by the fire at night and listening to them talk on the mainland though, it was a beautiful sound....


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## ErieIslander (Jul 12, 2012)

Hatchetman said:


> I agree 100% on a wolf's howl being a lot different from a coyote's. In the mid 70's we used to fly into Lake Ogascanan(spel?) in Quebec and campat the upper end on an island for a week. The first night I heard a wolf howl it made the hair on my neck stand up. I did get to really enjoy sitting by the fire at night and listening to them talk on the mainland though, it was a beautiful sound....


I’ve been to the lake you mention. Beautiful place.


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## ErieIslander (Jul 12, 2012)

Hatchetman said:


> I agree 100% on a wolf's howl being a lot different from a coyote's. In the mid 70's we used to fly into Lake Ogascanan(spel?) in Quebec and campat the upper end on an island for a week. The first night I heard a wolf howl it made the hair on my neck stand up. I did get to really enjoy sitting by the fire at night and listening to them talk on the mainland though, it was a beautiful sound....


I’ve been to the lake you mention. Beautiful place.


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## eyecat (Sep 17, 2018)

Well, I just read this thread.
Reminds me of the time I had a guy in WV tell me to my face that the DNR dropped rattlesnakes in balloons from planes to control the turkey population.
*How in the world do you get a rattlesnake into a balloon?*
I knew better than to argue with him, I just said "really" or "wow" or something like that.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

privateer said:


> When is the last time you walked to your car in the late evening hours and worried about being eaten. Reintroduce into populated areas without hunting them and they will prey on the weak - humans... we are so much easier to catch than a deer.


Great minds thing alike! Human beings are large carnivores. If the deer are overpopulated just do what Ohio did, raise the limits and sell lots of antlerless tags! 



CHOPIQ said:


> Over the weekend I was hunting near Caldwell and and was going down a gravel raod. I was going into a turn and what I thought was a dog ran in front of me. It was running from my left to my right and then it stopped and ran back to my left. Instead of a dog it was a bobcat. Wasn't a big one but definetly a bobcat. If I hadn't stopped I would have hit it. Thats the third bobcat Ive seen in that area now in the last couple years.


A member of our hunting & fishing club has lots of Bobcat pics on his trail cams. The club's western boundary is on the OH/PA state line. So, if they are in the club, then they are in eastern Mahoning Co. at least.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> Well damn, looks as tho I’m going to have to take my feeder down. And I’m never gonna get that big buck. This cat is just way to smart for me.
> View attachment 330363


HAW!! I wondered how long it would be before that old pic came around again! That cat has been seen everywhere from Maine to Texas, which is where I heard it was actually from, although the pic was posted as "proof" that there are pumas in Ohio! If you look closely, or even not so closely, it looks like that feeder is set up in a gravel parking lot!



Hatchetman said:


> I agree 100% on a wolf's howl being a lot different from a coyote's. In the mid 70's we used to fly into Lake Ogascanan(spel?) in Quebec and campat the upper end on an island for a week. The first night I heard a wolf howl it made the hair on my neck stand up. I did get to really enjoy sitting by the fire at night and listening to them talk on the mainland though, it was a beautiful sound....


Absolutely! Wolves howl, coyotes yip and yap! And I've heard both in the same place! On the farm my BIL hunts you can hear coyotes a lot at dawn and at dusk. And just up the road from the farmer's house is a neighbor who owns a wolf, and when that wolf howls it starts yap fests all over those ridges!

We know coyotes are here, but I've only seen two in real life, and one I only saw the tail as it was departing the area in a big hurry! The other was when my buddy was pushing an overgrown apple orchard/thicket for deer. I was at the far end with about a 50 yard gap between the end of the thicket and the edge of an uncut corn field! A big coyote came rocketing out of there and into the corn field! Crap! I figured with a 'yote in there, no way was there a deer in there! So, I relaxed and lit a cig. 
about halfway through the cig, a big doe comes running out on the exact same track as the coyote! I guess that's an indicator of how badly coyotes are "terrorizing" deer!


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

Man, if there are some Big cats around let’s hope that there aren’t very many. If one got ahold of you it would never let go. Wow. Determination and perseverance...


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## 1more (Jan 10, 2015)

Determination to its fullest!


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