Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Depends on the predator. Coyotes are pretty skittish around people, foxes even more so. Bear and wolf... not so much.
Depends on the animal. Black bears can be skittish, some run when they see people. Or at least bicycles, seen a bear twice while bicycling. Stopped to take a look, bear runs, then sees I'm still there runs up a tree. One of the times I was going downhill at 30 mph toward a bear on the side of the road (didn't realize it was a bear at first). That bear ran.
Since fall bow (for deer) is underway and there are no firearm seasons currently in right now I'm guessing he was attacked when either walking to his treestand (Bowhunters typically hunt from elevated platforms in trees) or from it and killed it with an arrow. Not an easy feat when it's coming at you.
BOBCATS ARE THE ONLY WILDCATS FOUND IN NEW JERSEY!!! THERE ARE NO MOUNTAIN LIONS HERE!!!
Not true. I saw one in Warren County with my own eyes two years ago. I was totally shocked. I reported it to the DEP and the officer who took my info didn't seem the least bit surprised. He didn't act like he thought I was crazy. He didn't ask me if I was sure or say it was probably a bobcat. I, without a doubt, know the difference between a mountain lion and bobcat. Bobcats are the only wildcats that the State will admit are in NJ.
Not true. I saw one in Warren County with my own eyes two years ago. I was totally shocked. I reported it to the DEP and the officer who took my info didn't seem the least bit surprised. He didn't act like he thought I was crazy.
I'm assuming by "DEP Officer" you mean a Conservation Officer (Commonly known as a Game Warden)? He didn't act like he thought you were crazy because he was just doing his due diligence. If he cared he would have asked if you were sure, where you saw it, etc... They take these kinds of calls from people all the time who think they've seen a mountain lion. You don't honestly believe that a mountain lions and people would be able to coexist in a state of 9 million people and an average density of 1210 people per square mile without a SINGLE recorded encounter/attack, do you?
Unlike black bears, mountain lions are obligate carnivores, meaning they must consume meat exclusively to survive, and they are capable of taking down the largest mammals in New Jersey. Northwest NJ is prime habitat for these cats, but they were hunted to extinction in the middle 1800s. God help us if they ever actually reestablished themselves here. Wolves and cougars have no place here any longer-coyotes are enough of a problem.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Calico696
He didn't ask me if I was sure or say it was probably a bobcat. I, without a doubt, know the difference between a mountain lion and bobcat. Bobcats are the only wildcats that the State will admit are in NJ.
I get a chuckle out of the way some people believe that NJF&W is some sort of shadowy organization with all of these deep dark secrets to guard. I've heard tall tales about clandestine coyote reintroduction programs, secret bear relocation to South Jersey-heck, even some hunters believe this nonsense.
I'm assuming by "DEP Officer" you mean a Conservation Officer (Commonly known as a Game Warden)? He didn't act like he thought you were crazy because he was just doing his due diligence. If he cared he would have asked if you were sure, where you saw it, etc... They take these kinds of calls from people all the time who think they've seen a mountain lion. You don't honestly believe that a mountain lions and people would be able to coexist in a state of 9 million people and an average density of 1210 people per square mile without a SINGLE recorded encounter/attack, do you?
What part of "saw one with my own eyes" did you not read or understand? Believe me, don't believe me, whatever. I'm not looking to argue with you, I know what I saw. I wasn't drunk, half asleep or without my glasses either.
I never believed others who had told me that they had seen one before I saw it myself. One of these days, someone is going get one on camera.
What part of "saw one with my own eyes" did you not read or understand? Believe me, don't believe me, whatever. I'm not looking to argue with you, I know what I saw. I wasn't drunk, half asleep or without my glasses either.
No one is doubting that you saw "something", you just didn't see a mountain lion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Calico696
I never believed others who had told me that they had seen one before I saw it myself. One of these days, someone is going get one on camera.
Are familiar with trail cameras?
These are motion operated cameras hunters attach to trees or other objects in the woods. Wildlife biologists and others use them as well. There are literally thousands of these cameras in the woods of New Jersey at any given time, primarily to monitor deer in the area by hunters looking for mature bucks. The photos are easily shared since all you do to check the camera is pull out the SD card, pop it into your laptop and pull them up on your screen.
On my cameras as well as images shared by other New Jersey hunters online I've seen just about every animal native to the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region-even some that are rarely seen in person. Some hunters even put out "carcass cams" where a camera is trained on a deer carcass in the woods just to see what carrion eaters/predators are in a given area. There were nearly 100,000 hunting licenses sold that would be specific to deer hunters. Even if only 10% of those hunters were using trail cameras (I would tend to believe that the percentage is much higher) that's 10,000 cameras in the woods. Do you really believe that 10,000 cameras strapped to tree, day in and day out, 24 hours a day, for weeks at a time didn't see a mountain lion but you did?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Calico696
I never believed others who had told me that they had seen one before I saw it myself. One of these days, someone is going get one on camera.
I'll believe it when I see photo evidence, but the fact remains that there isn't any, despite the fact that nearly every person in the woods these days carries a camera on them at all times in the form of a cell phone and there are cameras mounted on trees all over the state. That, in and of itself, is very telling.
No one is doubting that you saw "something", you just didn't see a mountain lion.
Ok. Then I saw a bobcat that was 100 lbs. overweight, about a foot too tall and had a non-bobbed tail.
Like I said earlier, I was a skeptical as you are until I saw it myself. My husband told me that he saw one many, many years ago in NEPA. I didn't believe him. Now I do.
People "see" things in the woods all the time. Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil, hell I've "seen" monster bucks that seem to pop up out of thin air just before legal shooting time (1/2 hour before sunrise) that disappear just as quickly. That doesn't mean it was really there-It's a product of low light, sleep deprivation, and the mind wandering for a moment. I will say this, every person I've ever encountered who has "seen" a mountain lion in NJ has one thing in common with all the rest-a lack of proof
People "see" things in the woods all the time. Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil, hell I've "seen" monster bucks that seem to pop up out of thin air just before legal shooting time (1/2 hour before sunrise) that disappear just as quickly. That doesn't mean it was really there-It's a product of low light, sleep deprivation, and the mind wandering for a moment. I will say this, every person I've ever encountered who has "seen" a mountain lion in NJ has one thing in common with all the rest-a lack of proof
Well, you'll probably never get proof from me. I still have one of those "old time" flip cell phones that doesn't have a camera.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
