Anyone see this...a "ghost" of sorts since they don't exist...

[GMan 3,569]

http://www.wvva.com/story/23812614/2013/10/28/mercer-county-family-finds-cougar-prowling-near-their-home

[Deleted Account 5,203]

http://www.wvva.com/story/23812614/2013/10/28/mercer-county-family-finds-cougar-prowling-near-their-home

 

THEY DON'T EXIST IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.  YOU HEAR ME?!  THEY DON'T EXIST IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES!!!  THEY ARE EXTINCT!!!  WVVA IS LYING, NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG.

 

Signed,

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

[GMan 3,569]

THEY DON'T EXIST IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.  YOU HEAR ME?!  THEY DON'T EXIST IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES!!!  THEY ARE EXTINCT!!!  WVVA IS LYING, NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG.

 

Signed,

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

WVDNR

VDGIF

 

Fixed that for you...

[Deleted Account 5,203]

BTW, I'm not a huge conspiracy theorist, largely because I believe that the government is so inept that it cannot possibly coordinate anything of reasonable scale. 

 

However, I firmly believe the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service is trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes regarding the cougars east of the Mississippi.  There's considerable motive to do so.  Cougars are dangerous predators, and they pose dangers to livestock (the lifeblood of farmers, a very persuasive political bloc), wildlife (which could limit the sport hunting populations, angering hunters), pets (which gets the bleeding heart types scared), and humans themselves. 

 

Sorry, but they exist.  There's almost 200 (not a typo) documented sightings of tracks, scat, and the cougars themselves.  About 20% of those have actual tangible evidence that proves cougars exist in the east.  In each instance, the USFWS goes to painstaking lengths to link the cougars to populations in the Plains, and issues multiple press releases (see: cougar killed in MA) that state that these animals are not indigenous to the East.  Whether they're part of the "extinct" Eastern Cougar, or a western population that has migrated eastward is irrelevant to me.  Both populations can interbreed.

 

The evidence is too strong to ignore. 

 

Notably, the professor at Wytheville Community College mentioned by the woefully deficient WVVA is a member of the Eastern Cougar Foundation, Donald Linzey.  WVVA could've really turned this into a great investigative piece, but naturally, it dropped the ball.

[redtiger 1,740]

That video is great! Hard to argue with video, and up close video at that.

 

I fully believe they are here, from Georgia to Maine. Small population + huge range = very few sightings

 

If there are no Eastern Cougars then there is no need for this web page.

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/information/?s=050112

[Deleted Account 5,203]

That video is great! Hard to argue with video, and up close video at that.

 

I fully believe they are here, from Georgia to Maine. Small population + huge range = very few sightings

 

If there are no Eastern Cougars then there is no need for this web page.

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/information/?s=050112

 

I love reading the DGIF blurb, then contrasting it with #8 here: http://www.easterncougar.org/pages/6thworkshop.htm

Interesting, ain't it.  "We've never had confirmed sightings, despite what our own employees say."

[futbolking 766]

I saw a great photo just the other day of a cougar that somebody captured on a motion camera in Bland County....(at night) sure looks like a Cougar to me.... If I can get my hands on it, I'll post it. 

[swvacsas2 15]

Have a good friend and a cousin who have seen them in Wise County. Botg guys know animals and they can tell a cougar from a souped up bobcat.

[redtiger 1,740]

I've said it before but several years ago I took a real interest in this subject and did some "research" on the web. Nothing major, just looking around. anyway one of the VDGIF web pages I read was Fairley long and talked about how cougars don't exist east of the Mississippi River and haven't been found in VA in 150 years or whatever. The write-up ended with (im paraphrasing here) "Cougars don't inhabit Virginia, but if you see one be sure to call us". I cant find the web page now, it was just ridiculous.

 

My grandfather told stories about visiting family and being followed home at night by "painters" and im not talking about scary tales, I mean just in conversation. The same way he would talk about getn lost while coon huntin and walking around until daylight lol.  I also have heard from people I truly trust and believe in that they have seen them. Its just a fact. I love evidence that cant be refuted, such as the video above.

 

That would be awesome futbolking.

 

Ive never seen a cougar but I have obviously seen video of them and I have seen bobcats, there no similarity in the 2. Not in, size, coloring, or the way they carry themselves.

[futbolking 766]

I'm positive I saw one while driving down wilderness road about 10 years back near dusk....it leaped onto the road in front of me and leaped to the other side....it was there and gone in an instant..... Lot of folks up in Floyd swear they see them up near Buffalo Mountain.

 

Anyway, thought this was interesting.

 

http://www.patc.us/resources/florafauna/cougar.html

[redtiger 1,740]

I find this to be really interesting,  "Cougar are part of the natural heritage, a tradition in mountain culture, and a source of pride in the Appalachians. They are extremely rare and are protected by law."  (near the bottom of futbolkings link)What law? If cougars don't exist here then how can they be protected by law?

[1inStripes 932]

I had what I still believe to be a cougar go across the road in front of me one night about 10-12 years ago in Scott County.  Ive argued it with a friend, who says they are not around.  He did have one point, that Im surprised that a coon hunter hasnt came across them as many of those prowl the woods with coon hounds.

[redtiger 1,740]

That is a good point but coon hunters dont tree alot of bobcats either and they are here. The cougar population would be much smaller than the bobcat population and encounters much less likely. All coon hunters will tell you that at one time or another their dogs have gotten after something but just couldnt get it treed, possibly a cougar. I imagine dogs unfamiliar with hunting cougars would have a really hard time keeping up with them and probably wouldnt even trail them.

[1inStripes 932]

I would say a dog would track a cougar without too much trouble for a while and find the wild goose chases that never materialize into a coon to be more likely. It was a convincing argument for me even though I still feel strongly about what I saw that night.

[redtiger 1,740]

Its definitely a strong argument. Odds are that coon hunters would come across them at some point. But the Cougar population would be relatively small and would generally stick to the higher country in the fall(with so many hunters in the woods).