klo 1,

Hi. Thanks for the news tip. I appreciate that you took the time to come post this message here to tell me about it. You're right...I watch KXII much more often than I tune in to KTEN, and it is mostly because before we had satellite TV, KXII was the only channel we could pick up with our antenna so we got used to watching it. I do miss Lisann and am glad KTEN had the good sense to hire her.

I don't know if the sighting is 'good news' or 'bad news'. I, of course, have known they were here since my first encounter with them which was just hearing them from afar in the winter of 1999, and then of course, you know the recent history. I'd just as soon not have them here, but that's beyond our control, isn't it, No one has seen one here, as far as I know, since about October, but another neighbor's small dog disappeared a couple of weeks ago. Of course, we have no way of knowing what kind of predator likely got it, but we've never had dogs, cats, chickens or guineas disappear at anything close to this year's rate even though we always have bobcats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, etc. around.

I've linked the story below. We'll have to watch KTEN, KXII and The Ardmoreite for further developments.

Imagine the shock of the folks when they found this on their game camera!

And, now that you've let us know that you are "out there", I hope you'll post often and take part in our many interesting discussions. OK?

Thanks again, Dawn

OK, Y'all, it is linked below. Judge it for yourselves.

Here is a link that might be useful: KTEN's Cougar Story with Game Camera Photo

Click on the link below for more of the story. Once you're on that page, click the link that says Oklahoma Cougar and you'll see the rest of the photos, and some deer photos from the same location.

Here is a link that might be useful: More game camera photos from Atoka County

Fairly good pictures and from all appearances a lion. This goes along with the trail cam picture I saw from south central KS earlier this fall. Will be interesting what they say when they look at the pictures. Jay

Sorry Dawn, but that is just a tom cat. :)

Jessaka,

Yes, but he's a big ol' tom cat.

Dawn

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty. Not sure I want him showing up at the milk bowl at my house. Dawn that was my thought when I read Jessaka's post. LOL. Jay

Jay,

It would be OK at your house because your horses could just kick that big old kitty cat in the head.

I was really relieved for the deer they they and the tom cat weren't posing for photographs together. If you look at the time/date stamp on the series of photos on the link, you'll see the tom cat hung around for quite a while and then, later, the deer showed up. Smart deer.

My fiercest animal is a Maine Coon Cat. He apparently doesn't like deer and chases them off when they come onto our property to eat. I don't think he'd stand a chance against the bigger cat though, and he is afraid of our dogs. Our dogs will chase a coyote but I'm not sure how they'd react if they saw this big cat. We all know how I react.

Dawn

Thanks Dawn for the welcome. I don't have a lot of time to visit the forum as I have a disabled husband that requires a lot of care. Visit when I can but am going to try to come on more often as Spring approaches. I have a small garden I try to work in as therapy for me so will have a lot of questions!

You're welcome, and thanks for posting the news.

We look forward to seeing you here more often, as your schedule permits, of course.

Dawn

Man, I hate those things. It's halfway between your house and mine, Dawn. We haven't heard or seen one for months now so maybe he'll just stay away.

I just saw the original news item and came here to post it and found someone had beaten me to it.

There are so many trail cameras out there now days that sooner or later someone would have to get pictures if there were significant numbers whatsoever dispersing through here. I really thought we would get at least two confirmations this deer season, but that was probably a little too optimistic. I would not be surprised to learn this same one gets photographed or verifired again in the next few weeks as it moves on through that area. Hopefully they will verify the location and test DNA samples to make sure it was a native one, but it looks very probable based on what I read.

In other news, a cougar was killed in Iowa while sitting in a tree a few weeks or so ago, and one has been photgraphed and tracked through eastern Minnesota into Wisconsin in the last few weeks. Dispersal scross the plains to good habitat is still pretty rair, but it is obviously starting to happen more frequently. Will enough females ever come through to get resident population started in the suitable areas to the east of here? That's the big question.

Also in other news, at the family get-together last week, my nephew told me about one of his friends having a photograph of a cougar on his ranch dragging a buck past a deer feeder. That makes the 5th different time someone has brought up that picture (to me) and thought it was from their town in Oklahoma.

(Now back to cleaning up the rest of the vomit from the 5-yr-old. They always manage to get it on every piece of their pajamas and every item in the bed, don't they.)

Scott,

Sorry to hear the 5-year-old is sick....and, yes, they do. I'm just hoping the 5-yr-old threw up in his or her own bed and not in yours. Kids seem to have a knack for coming into their parents room to say "I'm sick" and then throwing up on the spot to prove it.

We haven't had a cougar sighting here in a while now (since about October I think) and I, too, was really surprised that we didn't hear from any hunters around here that they'd either seen one or caught a photo on a trail camera during the deer hunting season.

My cousins told us at Christmas that they occasionally see a cougar walking through a pasture near their rural property about 30 miles south of Granbury, Texas. They've lived there about 4 years and the sightings only began a couple of years ago.

Viewing the pictures from Atoka, by the way, creeped me out.....made my heart race and I felt almost ill and slept poorly last night. I guess they made me feel the terror of the second encounter this summer all over again, and I was thinking I was beyond that point.

Scott, someone else tried to tell us that photo of the cougar dragging the deer happened at the ranch of someone they knew too, and I had to explain to them that this seems to be the newest "urban legend", so to speak.

Diane, I always think of your family when I see photos or hear about a cougar sighting anywhere near your county or mine. I suspect they're more common where you live than where we live. Y'all be careful.

I had just about convinced myself that I'd start walking the dogs again once this cold spell passes, but now I'm back to thinking I'll keep walking on the treadmill inside instead. I wouldn't be bothered by this news if "our" cougars would behave themselves and only be seen at night, but since they misbehaved and appeared in daylight this summer, I can't assume they've reverted to normal behavior.

Dawn

If they would just stick to deer.........

Have you checked out the Skunk Whisperer's website? Lots of info there and he will come and track it for you, too. I'm sure for a fee.

Awfully scary, huh, the things we humans have done (habitat destruction; development) to force critters into places they didn't ordinarily inhabit before in order to find food. There is always a pay off (or pay back). We are going to have to start growing up instead of out before long. Gives me the shivers.......

Dawn, you and others be careful. No telling what they will do in search of food in the winter time.

Susan

Susan,

I guess you missed all the excitement this past summer. We didn't need for anyone to track one for us because it came to see me at least twice and what we really needed was for someone to make it go away and stay gone.

I first saw it at the western edge of my garden and then a few weeks later at the eastern edge of my garden.....on the second 'sighting', the cougar and I were about 12-15 feet away from one another and I thought I was going to die. Other people saw them here, including my daughter-in-law who almost hit one with her car and a neighbor who lives less than a mile north of us and another neighbor (who sometimes posts here) who lives about a mile south of us. One neighbor saw 2 of them together, which Scott told me is rare, and we had them out during the daylight hours, and close to homes, which is also rare.

We knew of a particular route it and they were traveling through our neighborhood as at least one or them, and sometimes two, was seen on that route at least 3 times.

Counting cats, small dogs, chickens and guineas, we lost about 70 animals within about 3 miles of our house. Undoubtedly other predators were getting some of them, but we believe the cougar was getting his or her share. It is long and complicated tale. One of the wildlife rangers put a trap between our next door neighbor's house and ours because that's one other route it seemed to be traveling. All they caught was an atypical bobcat and then a typical one, and the trap was too small for a cougar anyway.

There has been a high degree of frustration here with the events over the summer. At our house, we tried to change how we do certain things.....the poultry hasn't been allowed to free-range in months and likely never will free-range again. The dogs and I gave up our long walks along our country road because it is too remote and lightly traveled and, if attacked, no one would have been around to help us. Some of our neighbors replaced small dogs that disappeared with another small dog which then quickly disappeared, even if the dog had just been let outside for a brief period of time to do their "doggie business". Small children are being watched even more closely than before and cats are being kept in houses and barns a lot more and are being scolded if they venture into the woods.

Week before last one of our neighbors was passing out flyers with photos of their missing dog. That was the first small dog to go missing in a couple of months, and I'm not saying a cougar got it, because there are plenty of other predators around, but it does make you wonder.

I have done things I never thought I'd do, like carrying a gun with me just to walk out to check the mail, work in the garden, feed the chickens, etc. I also have strategically-placed 6' metal fence posts in various places so if I go out without a gun, I still have a weapon nearby. I don't let my old, frail dog go outside alone to do his doggie business...he has to have a younger, feistier young dog with him when he goes.

I don't feed deer out in the open behind the garage like I used to. I moved their feeding area much, much farther from the house and I move it every few days so there's not a defined pattern of them visiting the same spot at the same time every day.

I could go on an on forever, but basically we're doing all we can to stay safe and still maintain our privacy and keep would-be lion hunters from trying to do their trophy hunting on our land. We have enough trouble with deer poachers and bullets being fired near our home as it is.

I feel for the family that has these mountain lions on their property. Once you know they are there, that knowledege affects many of your everyday activities and makes it hard to live a normal life. You really do have to exercise a much greater amount of caution.

It is a fact of life here in this world that there always will be problems between predator animals and humans with their farm/ranch animals and domestic pets. There always will be areas where the two sides "collide" and "clash". Here at our house, we take our stewardship of the land seriously and do all we can to peacefully co-exist with the wildlife here as much as possible, and we put food and water out for them when they need it. We call a wildlife officer or rehab person if we find an injured deer or owl or other animal that is hurt and needs help. With a cougar, though, you cannot tolerate it being on your property near your home, and we're prepared to do what we have to do to protect ourselves if it attacks.

Prior to this year's wildlife troubles, it had been several years since anyone in our neighborhood had seen or heard a cougar at close range and none of us had lost animals to a suspected predator in several years....then over 70 in one year. We always have foxes, bobcats and coyotes but they tend to avoid coming too close to humans and large pet dogs. This year we've had it all. When the snow was on the ground after the big snowfall, I watched carefully and found bobcat tracks down by our mailbox, and coyote tracks (and scat) within 50' of the garage, but I didn't see any mountain lion tracks, for which I am grateful.

Dawn

It certainly does affect your everyday activities. Since we saw our latest this past spring not but a few feet from the house, we're much more paranoid when outside, most especially with the kids.

Prior to last spring, we knew they were in the area as we'd seen them, neighbors' dogs had been attacked, scat had been found, and we'd even seen them -- but not near the house. When you see them that close (and that's still nowhere near as close as Dawn's encounter!), it shakes you. Deeply. You make changes and, each time you start to think about relaxing a bit, that fear rises back up and makes you think twice. At least that's how it is for us.

Diane

Diane,

It is exactly the same here.

Just when you think it is safe to go back into the water, JAWS (or, in your case and ours, BIG KITTY) rears its ugly head again.....

You know, ever since that close encounter I cannot even look at a photo of a cougar without having that panic reaction...heart racing and an almost palpable fear that I can only compare to feeling a slight electrical shock. Prior to that, I could look at photos all day or listen to the sound files of the sounds cougars make. Now I cannot do either without that odd feeling. I suppose it is a mild touch of post-traumatic stress, but it is just ridiculous that it happens.

Once you have a predator right there close to your family/home/animals, it does change you forever....you lose a certain innocence and I don't think you're ever as carefree as you once were.

Dawn

I'm bumping this back up to the top of the page for those who haven't seen the cougar photos yet. In addition to being linked in the first 2 or 3 threads of this post, some of them are on the website of The Oklahoman and on the Website of TV station KTEN, and probably elsewhere because Wolflover saw them on Channel 9's news.

Dawn

I'm bumping this back up to the top of the page for those who haven't seen the cougar photos yet. In addition to being linked in the first 2 or 3 threads of this post, some of them are on the website of The Oklahoman and on the Website of TV station KTEN, and probably elsewhere because Wolflover saw them on Channel 9's news.

Dawn

The NewsOK article was well written.

There is still a chance it is a released one, but I boubt it. It almost certainly wasn't born in this state and almost certainly is a male about 2 years old. I would really hope that they would search the nearby areas for recent kills so that they could test the DNA and prove everything.

I have come to realize that it is impossible to get people to see the reality of the cougar population here. We have had cougars come through and be confirmed every 10 or so years since they were wiped out a hundred years ago, but now that their populations have reached maximum capacity west of here, we are seeing them disperse through here and the rest of the plains with regularity in the last decade. Still, it is misleading to say "we have cougars here" because it will make people believe there are cougars living and reproducing in these areas and that is simply not the case.

dawn, if your dogs are big enough i hope this spring you keep them by your side. they can be a good warning. if they are not big enough, i hope you get another dog or two.

i remember walking late at night in the rv park where we were staying in san diego and where we kept spotting a cougar. all the sudden my dog started growling at something in the bushes. she was acting very strange, and i knew by her growl that it was something big and then i heard a rustle in the bushes. i quit going out there at night. i also quit hiking with her in the day in that wilderness park after spotting that thing a few times. carry a rifle when you garden too.

Dawn - the news finally arrived here in Tulsa. This was on the Tulsa World site this morning:

Wouldn't you love it if we'd just let this go???

Here is a link that might be useful: Atoka cougar sighting

Carol,

It's OK. By discussing it, I think we simply remind ourselves to be aware of the wildlife around us and to be careful, and also to expect the unexpected.

This summer's cougar sightings were upsetting to me because they were so very close to the house, the garden and to me. But, this summer wasn't my first experience with them. I've heard them occasionally, usually out west towards the Red River, but once very up close and personal, during the entire 11 years we've been here.

I've seen them in the past. Everyone in my family has seen a cougar here at least once. Many of our neighbors have too. We have friends who've seen them. We had a neighbor (now deceased) who was 'stalked' by one for about a half mile to a mile as he walked one day. Once he was aware it was stalking him, he picked up some deadfall tree branches (big ones)and waved them in the air to make himself look bigger and tougher, and he walked backwards all the way home so he didn't have to take his eyes off of it.

So, we've always known that they are "around" periodically, but they've never been as obvious or as highly visable as they were this year, and they've never taken so many animals in a fairly short time span.

None of us knows where they're coming from specifically or if they are breeding here, but I had juveniles in my yard, and juveniles don't appear out of thin air---they came from somewhere. I neither know nor care where they're coming from or how they came to be here or how many there are or how many are male or female, adult or juvenile. All I really care about is that they are a threat to my safety and to the safety of our family and animals. For me that's the bottom line--the safety issue.

I don't mind the discussions, but I sincerely hope they never reappear on our property.

Dawn

The Channel 6 News said in their report that the Wildlife Dept told the man that this was likely a female with possible cubs nearby. That would be shocking if true. In fact, it would be the first time in 100 years or so there has been any evidence of female reproducing this far east.

I have no idea if the wildlife dept quote was accurate.

Scott,

You know, if the quote is accurate and was not some sort of mis-quote or mis-statement of fact, that would ease my mind.

You know that other than the fact that my encounters this summer, esp. the second one, were totally terrifying, the main thing that rolls around in my head is that they have to be reproducing "somewhere" because we've had juvenile ones. But, the neighbors have seen one or two larger and clearly more mature ones. So, the juveniles are coming from somewhere. If not from here, then where are they coming from? That is what has puzzled me and left me wondering.

If I ever, God forbid, encounter another juvenile one, I guess that before I flee in terror for the house, I could ask it "Who's your mama?" I don't think I'll stick around waiting for the answer though. And, I absolutely do not expect to ever have one in the yard again. What would be the odds of that occurring a third time? I'm thinking that since the poultry no longer free ranges, and the cats stick close to the house now, we are less likely to see one strolling casually across the yard in broad daylight.

Dawn

There have been juvenile ones found east of the Mississippi in the last 20 years, but every one of them (outside of Florida) were shown to have South American blood in them based on DNA tests, so those at least partially originated in South America and were imported and then reproduced or escaped.

I would not have expected a cougar to have shown up at the same feeder two nights in a row if it was a lone dispersing male unless it has a kill nearby. Surely searches will be made and we will learn more if it indeed is a female with cubs.

I was wondering about the two nights in a row at the same feeder too, but assumed it must be fixated on all the deer scent there. Would it be correct to assume, then, that one of the 'clues' that it might be a female with cubs is the fact that it returned to the same feeding area two nights in a row? Otherwise, what were they seeing that makes them think it might be a mommy cat?

I'm guessing either A) he made a mistake about a wildlife official actually saying that, B) that the original reporter erred in quoting him and the others just used that first report, or C) that the images clearly show that it is a female and/or that it is lactating (if that is the correct word).

I started to blow up the images and try to tell, but I started thinking how embarrassing it would be to have to tell my wife what exactly I was doing on the computer while she was cooking dinner.