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The tail would indicate Mountain Lion. If you ever see a Mountain Lion on the run you will notice how they hold their tail up and use it to maintain their balance. That is a sight you will never forget. I grew up in Lion Country and although I spent thousands of hours hunting I saw plenty of sign from them but I was 16 or 17 before I saw my first ML in the wild. In the fifty three years since then I have yet to see another.
We do have Mountain Lions around here. There was a sighting confirmed with photos just 5 miles from our house. Arizona estimates its Mountain Lion population as between 2500 - 3000. Our home borders National Forest and this animal was following the same track that the local deer often take.
We also have coyotes and bobcats and see them fairly regularly. This animal looks nothing like either. Could it be a large dog? Maybe, but I am not convinced.
Five miles is nothing to a mountain lion. Which is what I think that is. Mountain lion sightings are becoming increasingly common in AZ. They've been spotted on golf courses in Far North Scottsdale. Which is bordered by the Tonto National Forest to the north and the McDowell Mountains to the east.
That is a cougar, or mountain lion. Definitely NOT a bobcat. Bobcats have fur that conceals their muscles, and often pointy tufted ears, and no tail. That has a very long tail, and obvious musculature. I would be scared to go outside if I picked that up on our crittercam. A neighbor did report that he had seen one ten years ago in the woods behind our home, and my daughter said that she had seen one standing at the edge of the schoolyard meadow, which abuts the same woods, about 6 years ago. I think they are around, even in CT. We had one killed on a parkway in Fairfield County a few years ago, I think. DEP said it was an errant migrant, but with so many reported sightings, I do think they are here and breeding. we've certainly got enough deer around here to feed them!
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,938 posts, read 36,935,179 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nor'Eastah
Yeah, but trying to get your state government to admit they are actually in the state, is another thing! See RI, CT, MA, Maine.....
Quote:
Originally Posted by dpm1
Admitting it would have protected species act consequences. I hope my state never does.
NH, MA, etc are consistent. There isn't a reproducing population of them. There are escape/released pets, and occasional wanderers through. Few states deny this.
If they start to breed and establish residency, they will likely be protected. Thankfully.
There was a guy in Seattle who stepped out to pick up the paper on his driveway. He looked up and across the street in front of the park, there was a cougar. Five miles from downtown Seattle. I guess there's greenbelts that lead into the city and this cat just followed one of those till he couldn't go any further.
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