Cougar Sighting in Leander

[TwiceHorn 30,715]

 

Bad ass.  Don't get et. 

https://www.kxan.com/amp/news/local/travis-county/mountain-lion-spotted-in-leander-neighborhood/1738132479

[wood 10,786]

Yeah I saw this on the news earlier. That is one large gato. We've had cats disappear around here (sw austin) over the last few years, but we always figgered the culprits were coyotes or foxes, which are definitely in the area, or that the pets had just wandered off. Had no idea mountain lions were even a thing around here. What's next ... bears?

[gsoda3 3,187]

the old timers say there used to be bears round centex. 

[DCA_HORN 725]

Near Pulaskis candy store?

[TwiceHorn 30,715]

I guess by googling or clicking on mountain lion or other big cat stories, my google app feeds me mountain lion stories nearly daily.

 

It would seem, from those stories, that their population is pretty healthy, even in places where man has made significant inroads.  And, for the most part, they live mostly peacefully nearby.

 

There is a small colony of mountain lions in Griffith and adjacent parks right spang in the middle of El Lay.

[wood 10,786]

2 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

the old timers say there used to be bears round centex. 

I bet those were some scrawny, skinny bears...

[gsoda3 3,187]

11 minutes ago, wood said:

I bet those were some scrawny, skinny bears...

i had to look it up.  according to the tx parks and wildlife dpt we average 1 black bear sighting a year in the hill country.  that's surprising. 

[fattyflattie 4,631]

Black bears also used to have a presence along the mid/upper coast.  

[wood 10,786]

10 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

i had to look it up.  according to the tx parks and wildlife dpt we average 1 black bear sighting a year in the hill country.  that's surprising. 

furk

[Baboontyme 2,668]

According to Michigan DNR, that's a narrow angle lens and a well fed housecat. He hates Mondays and really likes lasagna. Carry on, nothing to see here. 

[Lobwedgephil 1,139]

Not what I was expecting, damnit. 

[Walden Ponderer 12,638]

6 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

i had to look it up.  according to the tx parks and wildlife dpt we average 1 black bear sighting a year in the hill country.  that's surprising. 

I actually saw a mama bear with cubs in Big Bend back in the early 90s. I was at the top of a ridge on Sierra del Caballo Muerto, and they were on the floor of the valley a couple of miles away, headed the opposite direction. Park ranger had told us just that morning that bears and mountain lions were back in the park for the first time in over a decade.

[Quagmire 2,139]

Not the type of cougar I was expecting

[South Austin 51,410]

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

That is amazing. I, for one, welcome out new mountain lion overlords.

[Dewey 3,266]

Wonder how many they havent seen, this happens when you build out in the sticks. Hope they just leave them be.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4,956]

Saw one in Hallsville about ten years ago. Had a bear sighting on our property in Panola County a couple years before that.

[deadshank 24,644]

Good stuff.  Big cats, wolves and bears are a spectacle to see firsthand. It is quite interesting that they are reclaiming their natural ranges.

[HornOnTheBayou 8,816]

33 minutes ago, Quagmire said:

Not the type of cougar I was expecting

In Leander, this is about as good as it gets.

[BigDHornfan 6,504]

56 minutes ago, South Austin said:

[hornian 5,153]

Did she buy the Homeowner a drink before she came to his house?

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3,827]

8 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

According to Michigan DNR, that's a narrow angle lens and a well fed housecat. He hates Mondays and really likes lasagna. Carry on, nothing to see here. 

That lens is hard to tell anything other than that with that mulch ring around the tree that is at least a 3' long cat 

Edited January 30, 2019 by ShaggyBevo RIP

[Js1 82,364]

38 minutes ago, BigDHornfan said:

That Veronica Vaughn is one fine piece of ACE!

[Deej 76,081]

Saw the thread title and excitedly thought Tangerine's had reopened a bit further up 183. 

[Reagan1k 2,999]

8 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

the old timers say there used to be bears round centex. 

I may resemble that remark.......Anyone familiar with Lairds BBQ in Llano (RIP Lairds) .....Well, Kenneth Laird's wife was a semi-pro photographer and did a lot of wildlife work.

The restaurant had a lot of her pictures on the wall and there were multiple shots showing black bears in  Llano county from the 70's and 80's.

TPWD guys I've talked to said while there used to be a steady population (in much of TX), any current Hill Country sightings are transient bears (typically young males)  coming in from west Texas or from south of the border.

On the big cats - those things have an enormous range and can wander for many 100's of miles in the course of a year. 

Most of the big cat sightings in TX are yellow labs or bobcats (thanks Nextdoor.com) but there are plenty that are legit.

There have been confirmed sightings in the Balcones Canyonlands so it is very likely that this cat (looks like a young female based on size) was roaming outside that area into Leander.

She's probably long gone by now, but that is still really cool.  Amazing creatures.

 

 

Edited January 30, 2019 by Reagan1k

[HornsOverIthaca 2,333]

8 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Black bears also used to have a presence along the mid/upper coast.  

Gentrification forced them out.

[Js1 82,364]

2 minutes ago, Reagan1k said:

TPWD guys I've talked to said while there used to be a steady population (in much of TX), any current Hill Country sightings are transient bears (typically young males)  coming in from west Texas or from south of the border.

 

Build a big gay wall!

[Zepol87 9,015]

 

1 hour ago, South Austin said:

Kimbrough holla!!! 

You guys down there making a huge deal out of this like the people jogging seeing coyotes in Frisco? Those people are pussies

[Shoxthemonkey 1,972]

8 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

According to Michigan DNR, that's a narrow angle lens and a well fed housecat. He hates Mondays and really likes lasagna. Carry on, nothing to see here. 

This is what the Kansas Parks and Wildlife used to always say as well. The proliferation of game cams caught enough of them to prove their existence statewide. My wife's cousin, who is a game warden, says they told the tale so people would be less likely to disturb the cats. We have one that roams the abandoned quarry behind our house.

[Reagan1k 2,999]

20 minutes ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

That lens is hard to tell anything other than that with that mulch ring around the tree that is at least a 3' long cat 

Yeah - the mulch ring provides scale.  

[Armybrat 40,464]

Nephew just outside Liberty Hill has seen a lot of cougar tracks around his place.

Three months ago this coyote & his mate ambled through my back yard in the middle of the day here in Brushy Creek....

Edited January 30, 2019 by Armybrat

[deadshank 24,644]

On a similar note:

https://www.princeton.edu/news/2018/12/18/red-wolf-dna-found-mysterious-texas-canines

[3shot 139]

7 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Nephew just outside Liberty Hill has seen a lot of cougar tracks around his place.

Three months ago this coyote & his mate ambled through my back yard in the middle of the day here in Brushy Creek....

You sure that's not a gray fox?  

[gecko 1,104]

Damn, even the cougars are trying to get in on the Apple-related real estate boom.

[Armybrat 40,464]

4 minutes ago, 3shot said:

You sure that's not a gray fox?  

With my old eyes it could’ve been an elephant for all I know.

[ztejas 42,744]

50 is probably my cutoff. Haven't gone beyond 44 but would be willing. 

Obviously looks are the first thing I would consider but money is equally as important. Anyone catch it's name/number?

[Hate 20,037]

We're going to need a bigger spiral staircase.

[ztejas 42,744]

22 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Nephew just outside Liberty Hill has seen a lot of cougar tracks around his place.

Three months ago this coyote & his mate ambled through my back yard in the middle of the day here in Brushy Creek....

Definitely a fox. But I've seen both foxes and coyotes around Dallas so there could be coyotes roaming around too.

[ztejas 42,744]

Just now, Hate said:

We're going to need a bigger spiral staircase.

And a more off-putting floormat greeting.

Something like "Blessed Be That Reside In The Lord's Home" should do the trick.

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3,827]

16 minutes ago, 3shot said:

You sure that's not a gray fox?  

It is a fox.

[bluto 4,800]

2 hours ago, South Austin said:

Tarell Brown's alma mater, they were in my junior high's division. 

[South Austin 51,410]

4 minutes ago, bluto said:

Tarell Brown's alma mater, they were in my junior high's division. 

Did Mrs. Vaughn put out?

[bluto 4,800]

Just now, South Austin said:

Did Mrs. Vaughn put out?

She lives in Mesquite so it's probably best for all parties if we move on 

[Zepol87 9,015]

Kimbrough had a lot of Sunnyvale people so she was probably a slight step up from Mesquite women

[llanoflash 151]

50 minutes ago, Reagan1k said:

I may resemble that remark.......Anyone familiar with Lairds BBQ in Llano (RIP Lairds) .....Well, Kenneth Laird's wife was a semi-pro photographer and did a lot of wildlife work.

The restaurant had a lot of her pictures on the wall and there were multiple shots showing black bears in  Llano county from the 70's and 80's.

TPWD guys I've talked to said while there used to be a steady population (in much of TX), any current Hill Country sightings are transient bears (typically young males)  coming in from west Texas or from south of the border.

On the big cats - those things have an enormous range and can wander for many 100's of miles in the course of a year. 

Most of the big cat sightings in TX are yellow labs or bobcats (thanks Nextdoor.com) but there are plenty that are legit.

There have been confirmed sightings in the Balcones Canyonlands so it is very likely that this cat (looks like a young female based on size) was roaming outside that area into Leander.

She's probably long gone by now, but that is still really cool.  Amazing creatures.

 

 

yes.. one of the bears in those pics was shot by a rancher. i saw it.

the rancher  is gone now so it doesnt matter-- but fuck i was mad that he did that.

it was actually in the late 90s.

[ztejas 42,744]

14 minutes ago, llanoflash said:

yes.. one of the bears in those pics was shot by a rancher. i saw it.

the rancher  is gone now so it doesnt matter-- but fuck i was mad that he did that.

it was actually in the late 90s.

[atomheartbevo 88,750]

I’ve been seeing s lot more coyotes (or the same ones I should say, just more active) along Shoal Creek just south of the 45th Street area (moving back and forth along the green belt).  People are claiming that the Bull Creek contruction is driving some into our area.  

Pretty cool to be jogging along and see one going along the creek in the evenings.  

[TwiceHorn 30,715]

9 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

According to Michigan DNR, that's a narrow angle lens and a well fed housecat. He hates Mondays and really likes lasagna. Carry on, nothing to see here. 

From all the wild cat stories I get, very common official response.  Well "not cougar; bobcat, lynx, etc."

[SimonBolivar 10,648]

1 hour ago, Zepol87 said:

 

You guys down there making a huge deal out of this like the people jogging seeing coyotes in Frisco? Those people are pussies

Come on now there's a difference. Obviously cougars are most likely going to keep their distance, but cougars killed 2 adults in the PNW last year. There's only been one confirmed adult fatality due to a coyote ever.

Edited January 30, 2019 by SimonBolivar

[HouTex 1,838]

My 82 year old mother swears she saw a cougar in far western Fort Bend County last year. She should be able to tell a cougar from a bobcat or other midsized wild feline.

As for coyotes, they are common along Buffalo Bayou throughout Houston. And a friend recently photographed a bobcat in Tanglewood.

Another friend was hiking in Big Bend in the late 00’s and came across a black bear.

I’m waiting for a wolf to make an appearance in the wild in Texas. That would be cool.