tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15194226.post1988167766583347688..comments2024-03-08T01:24:09.884-07:00Comments on Matt's Sci/Tech Blog: Cougar - the cat's coming backMatt Billehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18230930494550861704noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15194226.post-54056529087070883822013-06-28T06:14:24.147-06:002013-06-28T06:14:24.147-06:00Great article Matt. I have a big interest for reli...Great article Matt. I have a big interest for relict Eastern Cougar reports, as it really hits home in my life due to the many sightings which have taken place nearby. I've even heard of a man who claims to have seen one down the road from the area where I live! I certainly think the population of deer and amount of wilderness in our area MAY be able to support a large cat, and I'm always on the look out for tracks.Jay Cooneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14300702399539846543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15194226.post-45335862937234356592013-06-27T02:59:17.765-06:002013-06-27T02:59:17.765-06:00Hey, how about you get me a copy of the video. I ...Hey, how about you get me a copy of the video. I would love to see it and put it on my website if it is clearly a cougar!omegaman66https://www.blogger.com/profile/05279638697205766258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15194226.post-47050900428546249992013-06-27T02:58:04.401-06:002013-06-27T02:58:04.401-06:00My opinion on the why! I believe cougars are a he...My opinion on the why! I believe cougars are a headache that most states would rather not deal with. 1/2 the hunters are afraid of cougars. Darn near all the ranchers are afraid of cougars. Lots of pressure to keep them out.<br /><br />Even west nebraska with it just established breeding population of about 30 cougars is apparently going to open up a hunting season on them. That is retarded.<br /><br />30 individuals is far to small to be considered a viable population to support hunting. So why are they going to allow it? If not to stop the spread!<br /><br />For over a DECADE the florida panther recovery plan has called for moving some out of south florida so all your eggs will not be in one basket. Well that has not happened even though there is no more room for florida panthers in south florida.<br /><br />You can't stock pile them. Cougars self regulate. Last year was a record for cougars killed on the florida hwys. Why because all the new cougars MUST disperse to find a new home. Well there is no more room! Move till they get hit by a car!<br /><br />Arkansas was the best place to introduce cougars according to one study. Arkansas said Heck No!<br /><br />None of the states that were identified by the study (top ten areas) have come forward and accepted any florida panthers. omegaman66https://www.blogger.com/profile/05279638697205766258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15194226.post-11276068172340703132013-06-26T18:54:13.546-06:002013-06-26T18:54:13.546-06:00Omega, I didn't know there were concerned that...Omega, I didn't know there were concerned that too much hunting was being allowed in the Dakotas. It's hard to accept it's being allowed so Eastern states won't see any range-expanding cougars. I'd have to see some evidence for that. Matt Billehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18230930494550861704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15194226.post-29832884601250151752013-06-26T18:52:10.063-06:002013-06-26T18:52:10.063-06:00Omega, I didn't know there were concerned that...Omega, I didn't know there were concerned that too much hunting was being allowed in the Dakotas. It's hard to accept it's being allowed so Eastern states won't see any range-expanding cougars. I'd have to see some evidence for that. Matt Billehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18230930494550861704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15194226.post-46088018617448849002013-06-26T01:35:23.049-06:002013-06-26T01:35:23.049-06:00Outside of florida! The eastern cougar and the fl...Outside of florida! The eastern cougar and the florida panther are scientifically different subspecies. Although I doubt the numerous subspecies of cougars actually rise to the level to be considered a subspecies. <br /><br />The florida panther ranged as far as Arkansas... supposedly although it is amazing how so little dna ever same to support such elaborate subspecies maps of the cougar.<br /><br />But that is not why I write. I doubt that outside of Florida any eastern subspecies survived unless it was in the Northeast Canada.<br /><br />All cougars that have turned up in former Territory have turned out to be western cougars with only a couple of exceptions of florida panthers and of course south american escaped pets. Right at 99 percent have been male. Another indication that they are long range dispersers from established populations further west.<br /><br />The news is not good for reestablishment. Reestablishment will come from western populations spreading east. Half the states they spread to give them no protection. But that isn't the problem because the other half do, even though no state agency will touch reintroduction because of stupid public fear.<br /><br />No the problem with reestablishment is that in the Dakotas the cougars are being hunted past the point that they should be. Hunting there would be fine by me if it were done in a good scientific game management manner. But they are being reduced to the point that dispersers from the area have now been greatly reduced. Females are the key and a low low population in the black hills means dispersers will surely only be male and many fewer of them.<br /><br />They are cutting off the supply of cougars available for recolonization, I believe just for that purpose. They know exactly what they are doing.omegaman66https://www.blogger.com/profile/05279638697205766258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15194226.post-83664657766737210512013-06-14T19:05:48.314-06:002013-06-14T19:05:48.314-06:00I thought the Eastern Cougar (outside that Florida...I thought the Eastern Cougar (outside that Florida population) was supposed to have gone extinct by at latest the 1930's. After that there were probably no longer so many or so determined hunters.Laurence Clark Crossenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15908708438427333473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15194226.post-43010987133688975272013-06-14T17:05:28.076-06:002013-06-14T17:05:28.076-06:00Clark, you're right, I didn't support my r...Clark, you're right, I didn't support my reasoning. I've gone back and revised the original post.Matt Billehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18230930494550861704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15194226.post-68999465690498551942013-06-14T06:07:55.155-06:002013-06-14T06:07:55.155-06:00You did not really answer the question that you sh...You did not really answer the question that you should answer. What early evidence exists that they never went extinct?Laurence Clark Crossenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15908708438427333473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15194226.post-57111153254583267512013-06-13T20:28:24.654-06:002013-06-13T20:28:24.654-06:00Clark, it's rare I go out on such a limb, but ...Clark, it's rare I go out on such a limb, but I just have a feeling on this one. If 95% of the sightings were wrong, we still have a lot of sightings. (I realize I don't acccept that line of logic for sasquatch, but it's different when you have a known species and are talking about a range where you know it once occurred.)<br />The explosion of the deer population means there's cougar food everywhere, and they don't need to come near human settlements to find it. Tennessee seems to be a place the reports were consistently good, and some PA and VA sightings are impressive. (I wrote about some in Shadows of Existence.) I don't know what do to with the "black puma" type sightings, but my dad had one cross the road in front of him in Maine in the 1950s. Matt Billehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18230930494550861704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15194226.post-76095977338122956982013-06-13T16:17:19.313-06:002013-06-13T16:17:19.313-06:00That certainly seems like an extreme position for ...That certainly seems like an extreme position for anyone, particularly for you. How could they have survived east of the Mississippi given the intensive hunting one hundred years ago? I think it came back from Florida and Canada. Ideal conditions have long existed given the huge deer population, and there is always the pressure for young males to establish their own new territory. It seems that the authorities are disinclined from acknowledging their return and it is hard to know if they are breeding in the wild.Laurence Clark Crossenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15908708438427333473noreply@blogger.com