Our Mountain Lions made the news

RickyMaveety · 10-23-2008, 09:42 PM

They actually had a news story on the Austin news the other night about how the number of mountain lions in our area is starting to cause a few "problems."

The other morning, I went out to take my doggie girls for a walk, and they were both scared to death ... of something. They both looked at me and whimpered and kept looking out towards the trees.

I am fairly certain that our resident lions made a little foray into the back yard. However, there is no way in hell that even a hungry lion would jump a six-foot kennel fence to be in an enclosed place with two good sized dogs. So, I know they were safe .... but probably not very happy about seeing a cat that big.

The last time I saw them that scared was when I tried to take them for a walk at night. We got out to the drive, heard a big cat scream, and both girls just did an about-face and whimpered us right back into the house double-time.

Ah, the joys of living in the country.

Ervserver · 10-23-2008, 10:38 PM

every mt lion that strays into my area gets shot, farmers like to shoot everything around here

RickyMaveety · 10-23-2008, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ervserver

every mt lion that strays into my area gets shot, farmers like to shoot everything around here

Most of this area is a nature preserve, so shooting anything is quite likely to get you locked up. A few rare exceptions are made (I haven't heard to anyone getting arrested for killing a rattlesnake), but as far as I know, the lions are not subject to being shot.

And, honestly, although they scare the crap out of me, it would bother me more if I thought that someone was going to be shooting a gun in the general direction of my house.

Dave Berk · 10-23-2008, 10:51 PM

And when I want to see a lion I have to go to the zoo. And wait in line... some people have all the fun.

RickyMaveety · 10-23-2008, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Berk

And when I want to see a lion I have to go to the zoo. And wait in line... some people have all the fun.

There's a line to see the lions?? Pandas I can understand ... but lions???

Dave Berk · 10-23-2008, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

There's a line to see the lions?? Pandas I can understand ... but lions???

Pandas??? You know how much it cost to get a Panda from china???

We have to make do with a few half-starved measly lions. And only on visiting hours, mind...

Imagine getting them all for yourself when you're alone, at night, at their native surrounding.. when you're half asleep...

RickyMaveety · 10-23-2008, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Berk

Pandas??? You know how much it cost to get a Panda from china???

We have to make do with a few half-starved measly lions. And only on visiting hours, mind...

Imagine getting them all for yourself when you're alone, at night, at their native surrounding.. when you're half asleep...

I don't have to imagine .... I just have to fall asleep in the chaise on the back porch and wait until it gets dark.

Dave Berk · 10-24-2008, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

I don't have to imagine .... I just have to fall asleep in the chaise on the back porch and wait until it gets dark.

Sound scary. Yet strangely exciting as well.. So long as you don't actually do that, the possiblity of it make life more fun.

...Or I'm just weird

pshrynk · 10-24-2008, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ervserver

every mt lion that strays into my area gets shot, farmers like to shoot everything around here

There's mountain lions in Iowa now? When I was a kid, there were occasional bears on summer holiday from Minnesota, but I can't recall mountain lions.

Or mountains, either.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 10-24-2008, 10:39 AM

Montgomery County, MD (north of Washington DC) has recently seen all manner of animals that formerly were seen only in areas from Northern Virginia to the Shenandoah range. Urban sprawl and the availability of easy eats (i.e. trashcans, mostly) has driven them our way. Hawks and vultures are common in my area now, we're now seeing occasional coyotes and bald eagles (which are soooo cool to see on the wing), and bears have been sighted in our area.

We're pretty sure a young bear climbed a tree in our backyard to get the high seedpods, then had a devil of a time getting back down, waking us up in the middle of the night with its bleating and scratching its way down the tree. My wife thought a bear was fighting a buzzard, and (quite naturally) went right out to see... forcing me to go out with her, so one of us could at least provide a material witness to the mauling of the other... but we missed getting a clear view of it.

RickyMaveety · 10-24-2008, 03:50 PM

There's a town just north of Austin called "Round Rock." There was an item on the news last night about how herds of wild pigs are tearing up the lawns there .... I mean really destroying them ... pulling the entire lawn up by the roots.

One guy had the remarkable foresight to put a time lapse camera up in one of his windows to film them. There must have been twenty or more of the buggers just ripping away at his lawn.

Now, the only thing that is a little scary is imagining the little kids out for trick or treat and being menaced by a bunch of pissed off wild pigs.

And I thought I had a problem with the armadillos ripping up my lawn. What they do is nothing compared to a few dozen javelinas.

DixieGal · 10-24-2008, 04:12 PM

We have been having more and more alligator sightings. Brother-in-law trapped a 9 footer in his pond. It made the news. I think Gulf development is driving them north.

pshrynk · 10-24-2008, 04:16 PM

Oh yeah? Well I've got squirrels in my back yard!

Nate the great · 10-24-2008, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

There's a town just north of Austin called "Round Rock." There was an item on the news last night about how herds of wild pigs are tearing up the lawns there .... I mean really destroying them ... pulling the entire lawn up by the roots.

Cool. Fresh pork delivered to your door.

DixieGal · 10-24-2008, 04:21 PM

My squirrels can kick your squirrels' a$$es! From my post at The Squirrel Thread earlier today:

Quote
OK, People, Listen Up!

This is a true story about how tough these pandimensional squirrels really are:

We had an enormous fire ant hill beside our sidewalk. Nothing would kill it. They were excavating into the concrete. (If you don't believe me, ask any southerner if fire ants can eat into your sidewalk.) This pile was about a half foot high, a very big mound.

The mound was heavily sprinkled with poison pellets. Apparently the ants find them tasty. Well, yesterday morning, we came out to find a squirrel digging furiously in the ant pile. It seemed to be trying to bury a pecan in the pile, and it was covered in ants. While we watched, it ran to the grass and rolled around to get those stinging little b@stards off. Then it went back to it's job and started digging again, through stinging ants and poison pellets.

Nothing, not even ramming a shovel into the pile, drenching it with gasoline, and burning it has been able to kill that pile all summer. Yesterday evening, THE PILE WAS DESTROYED AND THERE WERE NO LIVING ANTS LEFT!

ONE DETERMINED SQUIRREL DID WHAT A FIERY CHEMICAL CONFLAGRATION COULD NOT DO!!!!!

Be afraid. Be very afraid.
__________________
MEET UP! Southeastern USA MR Picnic 10/25/08

10-23-2008, 09:42 PM	#1
RickyMaveety Holy S**T!!! Posts: 5,213 Karma: 108401 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: San Diego, California!! Device: Kindle and iPad	Our Mountain Lions made the news They actually had a news story on the Austin news the other night about how the number of mountain lions in our area is starting to cause a few "problems." The other morning, I went out to take my doggie girls for a walk, and they were both scared to death ... of something. They both looked at me and whimpered and kept looking out towards the trees. I am fairly certain that our resident lions made a little foray into the back yard. However, there is no way in hell that even a hungry lion would jump a six-foot kennel fence to be in an enclosed place with two good sized dogs. So, I know they were safe .... but probably not very happy about seeing a cat that big. The last time I saw them that scared was when I tried to take them for a walk at night. We got out to the drive, heard a big cat scream, and both girls just did an about-face and whimpered us right back into the house double-time. Ah, the joys of living in the country.

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10-23-2008, 10:38 PM	#2
Ervserver Wizard Posts: 2,624 Karma: 1008294 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Iowa, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch	every mt lion that strays into my area gets shot, farmers like to shoot everything around here

10-23-2008, 10:51 PM	#4
Dave Berk Fanatic Posts: 574 Karma: 138556 Join Date: May 2006 Device: PRS505	And when I want to see a lion I have to go to the zoo. And wait in line... some people have all the fun.

10-24-2008, 10:39 AM	#10
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Montgomery County, MD (north of Washington DC) has recently seen all manner of animals that formerly were seen only in areas from Northern Virginia to the Shenandoah range. Urban sprawl and the availability of easy eats (i.e. trashcans, mostly) has driven them our way. Hawks and vultures are common in my area now, we're now seeing occasional coyotes and bald eagles (which are soooo cool to see on the wing), and bears have been sighted in our area. We're pretty sure a young bear climbed a tree in our backyard to get the high seedpods, then had a devil of a time getting back down, waking us up in the middle of the night with its bleating and scratching its way down the tree. My wife thought a bear was fighting a buzzard, and (quite naturally) went right out to see... forcing me to go out with her, so one of us could at least provide a material witness to the mauling of the other... but we missed getting a clear view of it.

10-24-2008, 03:50 PM	#11
RickyMaveety Holy S**T!!! Posts: 5,213 Karma: 108401 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: San Diego, California!! Device: Kindle and iPad	There's a town just north of Austin called "Round Rock." There was an item on the news last night about how herds of wild pigs are tearing up the lawns there .... I mean really destroying them ... pulling the entire lawn up by the roots. One guy had the remarkable foresight to put a time lapse camera up in one of his windows to film them. There must have been twenty or more of the buggers just ripping away at his lawn. Now, the only thing that is a little scary is imagining the little kids out for trick or treat and being menaced by a bunch of pissed off wild pigs. And I thought I had a problem with the armadillos ripping up my lawn. What they do is nothing compared to a few dozen javelinas.

10-24-2008, 04:12 PM	#12
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	We have been having more and more alligator sightings. Brother-in-law trapped a 9 footer in his pond. It made the news. I think Gulf development is driving them north.

10-24-2008, 04:16 PM	#13
pshrynk Beepbeep n beebeep, yeah! Posts: 11,726 Karma: 8255450 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin, aka America's IceBox Device: iThingie, KmkII, I miss Zelda!	Oh yeah? Well I've got squirrels in my back yard!

10-24-2008, 04:21 PM	#15
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	My squirrels can kick your squirrels' a$$es! From my post at The Squirrel Thread earlier today: Quote OK, People, Listen Up! This is a true story about how tough these pandimensional squirrels really are: We had an enormous fire ant hill beside our sidewalk. Nothing would kill it. They were excavating into the concrete. (If you don't believe me, ask any southerner if fire ants can eat into your sidewalk.) This pile was about a half foot high, a very big mound. The mound was heavily sprinkled with poison pellets. Apparently the ants find them tasty. Well, yesterday morning, we came out to find a squirrel digging furiously in the ant pile. It seemed to be trying to bury a pecan in the pile, and it was covered in ants. While we watched, it ran to the grass and rolled around to get those stinging little b@stards off. Then it went back to it's job and started digging again, through stinging ants and poison pellets. Nothing, not even ramming a shovel into the pile, drenching it with gasoline, and burning it has been able to kill that pile all summer. Yesterday evening, THE PILE WAS DESTROYED AND THERE WERE NO LIVING ANTS LEFT! ONE DETERMINED SQUIRREL DID WHAT A FIERY CHEMICAL CONFLAGRATION COULD NOT DO!!!!! Be afraid. Be very afraid. __________________ MEET UP! Southeastern USA MR Picnic 10/25/08

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