# What? No Cougar Threads



## Whit1 (Apr 27, 2001)

I really shouldn't do this, but I'm going to anyway.........:evil:

We haven't had a rousing cougar thread in a few months and I especially miss seeing the kitty as shown above. It has made five or six appearances here in MS over the past few years. So here's a story that has it's basis in that famous "Cougar on the Porch" photo. The original version, as adapted to Michigan, said it was from Martin, MI which is north of K'zoo. The links found below make for interesting and entertaining reading.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_cougar_porch4.htm
*Cougar on the Porch - Analysis*


*More of this Feature*&#8226; Text Examples
&#8226; Images #1, #2
&#8226; Images #3, #4









*Comments:* As you can see from the many versions of the text accompanying these emailed pictures, each specifying a different local community where the big cat was supposedly sighted, some folks weren't content merely to pass the photos along &#8212; they had to frighten their neighbors in the process. 


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The pictures themselves are authentic, in any case. EXIF data embedded in all four images reveals they were shot with a Nikon digital camera on March 10, 2004 (there has been some confusion about the dating of the images, with most sources erroneously claiming they were taken in 2001 or 2002, and at least one other claiming they were taken in 2005). According to a 2007 article in _Wild Cat News_ by the late Dave Hamilton, wildlife biologist for the Missouri Deparment of Conservation, the photos were snapped by Dr. Dave Rodgers of Lander, Wyoming, an area where cougar sightings are not infrequent. 

"Other than the small remnant population in southern Florida, cougars have been absent east of the Rockies for nearly a century," Hamilton noted. The limited scientific evidence available suggests there could be a gradual resurgence of cougar populations occurring in some midwestern and eastern states, though biologists insist that will take several more years to confirm. 

Meanwhile, ordinary folks from Iowa to Maine keep swearing they've spotted full-grown mountain lions where they're not supposed to exist, egged on by "a hungry news media" that "too often reports unsubstantiated claims as factual," Hamilton wrote. Most such reports involve misidentification of an animal &#8212; mistaking bobcats for cougars, for example &#8212; or are out-and-out hoaxes perpetrated via the Internet. Time will tell how many of them are true. 

*Update:* On April 14, 2008 a 150-pound cougar was shot and killed by police in the North Side Chicago neighborhood of Roscoe Village. Read more... 


*Sources and further reading:*Cougar Hysteria
By Dave Hamilton, _Wild Cat News_, 2007
Photos of Cougars Create False Scare
_Hartford Courant_ (Connecticut), 5 March 2008
Just Because It's on TV News Doesn't Make It True
NCBI News (Omak, Washington), 15 February 2008
Incorrectly Identified as Wisconsin Cougars
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources, 15 February 2008
Illinois DNR Debunks Cougar Claim
Prairie State Outdoors, 7 February 2008
Reports of Cougars in Illinois Called Fake
_Rockford Register Star_, 6 February 2008
Phony Pictures Often Look Anything But
_Roanoke Times_ (Virginia), 3 February 2008
Misleading Mountain Lion Photos Circulate on Internet
WJAC-TV News, 14 January 2008
Mountain Lion Photos Spook Many in Maine
_Portsmouth Herald_, 6 April 2005​


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## Gina Fox (Nov 4, 2007)

I guess my question in regards to the Chicago Cougar is why did they have to kill it?
Do they not have a DNR that could have captured and released the animal to a more appropriate area? Interesting reading thanks for posting that.


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## quest32a (Sep 25, 2001)

[quote="Whit1, post: 2669092



Into Milf Cougars? 100% Free. Join Now!www.DateACougar.com[/URL]
][/QUOTE]

LOL... so where are these elusive MILF cougars?


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## wally-eye (Oct 27, 2004)

quest32a said:


> LOL... so where are these elusive MILF cougars?




Seen a cougar at the Wal Mart in Fremont the other day...she looked quite the beast........

Milt about 15 years ago I actually seen a cougar cross Freesoil road about 4:30PM one afternoon...........Seen a few bobcats in my time but this wasn't a bobcat as the 3 1/2 foot long tail was a dead give away. It was crossing the road at a small creek bottom...........crossed the road and continued sauntering down the creek bottom........


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## 3fingervic (Jan 28, 2009)

I think I married a cougar.:lol: Don't tell my wife I said that.

I liked how the article like the old Unsolved Mysteries show, with the UPDATE.


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## Thunderhead (Feb 2, 2002)

I've never posted on a cougar thread before, mainly because I didn't want to get shredded. lol 

But, I can tell you this much. 

A few months ago, my Mother called me and was pretty shook up. 2 miles North of their house, her and my stepfather, who btw is one of the most laid back guys I know and is also a Vietnam vet said a _very_ large cat crossed the road right in front of their car. It was as long as the car was wide , ( tip of tail to tip of nose ) the back of the animal was as tall as the bumper or better, brown in color with a very long tail. This was in broad daylight at a distance of 10 yards. They sopped the car and watched it disappear into the brush. He's also seen tracks on his back 40 which appeared to be made by a big cat. The dog had also freaked out for no apparent reason at times during their daily walks in the woods when it got a wiff of something that it didn't like one bit.
He now carries while walking the pooch .........

Also, an old man ( 70s ) that I know that hunts the next section over from me said he had one jump up on a log right next to his hunting shack during firearm season 4 years ago, walk along a log, pause, and jump into the brush.
Distance - 20 feet. He watched it for at least a full minute, give or take.
Large brown cat, huge head, very long tail. Weight guessed at 100lbs.

Working a show in GR a few years back, a _very_ old man told me that he has had a Mother and cubs behind his cabin in the UP for the last 5 years and sees them every spring. He never told the DNR cause he doesn't want anybody bothering him, or them. This guy was in his 80s and seemed very credible to me.

I haven't ever seen one, but I do believe that they're here.


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## duckhunter382 (Feb 13, 2005)

there are some questions I have about cougars. one is that I believe it is possible to have an elusive animal and not know it but why hasnt a houndsman treed one? ie: the thumbs wolverine. Also how can the dnr be so adament that they are not wild when there is so much land out there for them to hide and cougars are very sneaky anyway isnt it possible that a few have always been here? myself I have not seen one but I never would say that they are not there. but then again look at the michigan dogman, people swear up and down that hes out there. myself I would bet on cougars over the dogman.


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## kristie (Apr 23, 2003)

um....we're not "adament"...............

here's the link to the reporting form.......

http://www.michigandnr.com/observationReports/feline_obs.asp

Kristie
MDNR


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## WeimGuy88 (Sep 29, 2003)

This guy was spotted in Wisconsin on March 4th 2009 (Edited to ease confusion). It was on the Most emailed photo's section of Yahoo News. Still looking for the actual story.
Cool pic though


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## MEL (Jul 17, 2005)

WeimGuy88 said:


> This guy was spotted in Wisconsin on March 4th 2009 (Edited to ease confusion). It was on the Most emailed photo's section of Yahoo News. Still looking for the actual story.
> Cool pic though


That picture is from the UP, near Watersmeet!!!


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## flinch (Aug 10, 2003)

MEL said:


> That picture is from the UP, near Watersmeet!!!


No no no, it's from the Oscoda area. I got it in an email so it must be true.


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## MEL (Jul 17, 2005)

flinch said:


> No no no, it's from the Oscoda area. I got it in an email so it must be true.


No really!!! Its from the UP. I got it in an email from a good source.


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## WeimGuy88 (Sep 29, 2003)

No your both wrong.....It isn't really a cougar, but a LP Brown Squirrel. They just grow bigger down here.


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## Johnnydeerhunt (Apr 27, 2005)

Sorry Mel, It's from WI. The DNR had the story on their page for a while but I can't find it on there now.


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## MEL (Jul 17, 2005)

Johnnydeerhunt said:


> Sorry Mel, It's from WI. The DNR had the story on their page for a while but I can't find it on there now.


The WI. DNR took it down after we submitteed proof that this picture was from Watersmeet.


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

Whit1 said:


> I really shouldn't do this, but I'm going to anyway.........:evil:
> 
> We haven't had a rousing cougar thread in a few months and I especially miss seeing the kitty as shown above. It has made five or six appearances here in MS over the past few years. So here's a story that has it's basis in that famous "Cougar on the Porch" photo. The original version, as adapted to Michigan, said it was from Martin, MI which is north of K'zoo. The links found below make for interesting and entertaining reading.QUOTE
> 
> ...


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## Whit1 (Apr 27, 2001)

Thomas said: *"Only 30 hours or so and you can get the monkey off your back and get on your favorite stream and catch some trout so you will be posting picture of your catch instead of this kinda stuff.

Well maybe with your advanced age you better wait till it gets light Sat. morning before venturing out so you don't fall and hurt your self. Just remember to post some REAL pictures of your catch."*





Tom, you're right.

I'm finishing up packing now, except for foodstuff.

As usual I'll be walking into my usual spot in the dark. I have relented to age a bit in that I've worked out a route to the river and then upstream without having to cross it twice. A few years ago I put some "bright eyes" on the trees. My mini-mag light picks them up easily.

As for your comments about photos .........They're all real.........well.........most of 'em anyway. :lol:


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## Bwilson (Feb 22, 2008)

My dad and I went up bear huntign in negaunee about 7 years ago. We were in a camper at the bottom of a rock face. Got up went over to the fire pit to get coffee going. Was looking up watching a Bald eagal (first one i ever seen) thought it was really cool and noticed some movement at the top of the rock face. It was brown I thought it was a deer at first but i havent ever seen a deer lay down on the edge and dangle a limb over it. I called my dad out he thouth the same thing our Binos we in the truck by the time we got them dug out it had moved on. So I'm not sure what it was for sure but my dad and i still think that it was a cougar to this day.


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## RT1 (Jul 30, 2008)

i had one in my yard in kalamazoo a few years ago. My son saw it too while eating breakfast, he thought it was neat.

The neighbors noticed cat pawl prints in their garden for about a week. (made sense now)

It was a youger cougar, looked cool, just playing around.

Not going to get into the whole story, but i know what i saw. I came to the conclusion that their around and breeding.


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## RT1 (Jul 30, 2008)

Now that the MI DNR has finally recognized that michigan has cougars and that there is finally proof on a trail cam.....what do all the nay sayers say no......


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