Does anybody seem to have issues with cougars or other predators?

[Latestarter]

Thanks for the scrape explanation @greybeard ... I didn't know they made those piles. I knew they "spray" marked but wasn't aware they made scrapes.

 

[greybeard]

Baymule, while it is true, that the sign just a few miles up the road says 45 miles to Houston, it's also true I live surrounded by the Sam Houston National Forest WMA (Wildlife Management Area) that has 161,508 acres in it. There's plenty of roaming room here.

 

[SkyWarrior]

Wait, you used to run sled dogs? Were in Colorado?

Yep.

 

[SkyWarrior]

Cougars are VERY stealthy and can be within "take down" range of you and you'd never even know it's there. Chances are the cat would know where you are long before you even knew one was in the area around you. Unless you routinely backtrack your trail, one could be following you and sizing you up and you'd never know it.

That reminds me of an interesting thing that happened in Colorado many moons ago. Our porch light in the back no longer worked but I put the Malamutes out in the back. One night I got a hinky feeling and got a flashlight and shone it out back. About 50 feet from the fence was a mountain lion lying beneath a tree. Waiting.

A few weeks earlier we were watching a nature show. When they showed a mountain lion, one of my Malamute females started stalking it. At that moment, we knew we had a problem.

 

[Blue Sky]

I have found scraped piles off and on since spring. Earlier this spring my husband and I were on a remote part of our land near a seasonal creek, early morning. We found the rear 1/3 of a ram about 6 months, 50 lbs. Neatly severed about 60 feet from the kill site- blood, trampled grass and plucked fleece. Everything fresh and no fleece tags on the 5ft perimeter fence. We keep our sheep w dogs in a safe pen at night but this guy didn't come in and we missed it. I'm assuming it was a lion kill. Or one hefty bobcat.

 

[Lilythefarmer]

There is a criter around me too She ain't happy with me.She gottin into my garden and I'm scared what she'd do to my rabbits (She's some kind o' snake)

 

[Lilythefarmer]

There is a criter around me too She ain't happy with me.She gottin into my garden and I'm scared what she'd do to my rabbits (She's some kind o' snake)

Well... what I get my rabbits

 

[goats&moregoats]

They give out cougar tags year round out here

Just wanted to say the black and white goat in your picture looks like my Poppit.

 

[Ridgetop]

Here in California cougars are protected and we have them coming through our yards frequently. I am not talking about large ranches or even 20 acre mini spreads, I am talking about 1/2 acre properties that are surrounded by horse trails! They are seen walking around during the day and are not afraid of humans anymore no matter what PETA says! Several years ago a friend of ours needed college money so he was doing some weed whacking on our field (before we got more sheep and LGDs). He played semi pro football so you know he was BIG. He came in after a cold drink and said he had seen the bobcat (we had told him about sighting one a few days before) and it was BIG! It had started stalking him and he got nervous and revved the weed whacker at it and it ran off, jumping the far fence. It had a long yellow tail! When it turned and ran off it was about 30 feet away. If he hadn't noticed it who knows. Luckily our LGD keeps our 6 acres protected but we still lock up the sheep at night in the barn. We are technically in Los Angeles city limits. 2 days ago the newpaper had a story about a 2 year old tagged lion that had crossed 4 freeways from Santa Monica to Santa Clarita. He was hit and killed by a car crossing the 5th freeway before he would have reached open ground in the Angeles National Forest in Palmdale. They travel far!

 

[outdoorhoney]

Thank you so much for the input you all have put here @greybeard @Latestarter @Blue Sky @Ridgetop (and a few others who wrote here as well)

This summer has brought my town incredible amounts of heat and little amounts of water which has resulted in wildfires. As habitats are being destroyed and taken away from these predators (I'm mostly concerned about mountain lions and coyotes, but bears as well), I'm starting to wonder if it's going to send these predators out looking for new territory potentially bringing them closer to our neck of the woods? I'm keeping a watchful eye at night around my girls pen.

@goats&moregoats Great picture! Very cute Gertrude is fawn, black and white. Plus, she has wattles