We go feed my neighbors Ligers, african lions, mountain lion, jaguars, black bears and white tigers sometimes. If you don't know the place exists hunting in the evening could get scary at feeding time. They are close enough that the roars makes your hair stand up. When the females are in season we have all kinds of cats roaming the area.

I have had bobcats kill a bunch of goats and drag them off.
And there is zero such thing as a black panther. Only a myth. There is no way that NOT one wildlife biologist, scientist, or zookeeper has never seen one and thousands of normal folk have.

over 50 years ago i Tilman co. OK (near Vernon, TX) on red river, a rancher had a mare and colt come in the colt had big scratches on it's hind quarters, the vet said as big as they were it had to be cougar. almost a year later same rancher was running a brush hog and jumped a lion and cub, He said cub was maby a foot tall so thought he would catch it (wrong)
it tore him up. He came in with scratches on his arm and leg and no cat. this is probably 100-150 mile from the area you are talking about. it was also over 50 years ago, and mother with cub.

I have seen 2 cats in my lifetime and there have been 5 sightings on our place in about 100 years that we can remember. 2 of the sightings were more than likely the same female seen in the same pasture. I have found about 10 tracks or trails with good sign. None where confirmed by biologist, zoo keepers, or "professional hunters". However, I do not have any doubts about my family members ability to identify a lion from a bobcat or a coyote. No black lions where ever mentioned.

My most recent sighting and was something I never would have believed as a story. A momma with a cub was wading across the Brazos after the recent flooding very slowly and calculated. We were about 400 yards away with binos looking straight down the bluff. No doubt in pursuit of sounder of hogs that we saw earlier. Assuming after having been hunkered down through the storms. The river was about 20 feet high and still had a strong current but she swam across. Food is good motivator.

As pappy once said: a person with an open mind has a wider point of view ... tis all about distance the closer ya get ta the mt the taller it gets... i gots cheap posts... posted this earlier, dang GOV still spying on me bout alien body parts, me post done gone missing ... see if this works...

I have never seen a mountain lion in person, but have a half dozen game camera pictures of them over the past 10 years. BIL seen one last weekend at his property in Terrell County.

I've only seen one. He attacked me and I had to fight him off with a...well no, that didn't happen.

To truly see a lion in the wild is extremely rare. A few years ago, I asked a very well known and respected lion hunter and outfitter from NM how many lions he had seen in the wild without his dogs under them, his answer was simple, "None".
So if you are one of the few folks who has not seen a lion in the wild, you should be in the majority.
Adios,
Gary

Would you expect someone who hunts them routinely with dogs to see them a lot when without dogs ?

They are shy, and creatures of extreme caution that require large prey. Sure they are rare for people who spend a few hours in a deer stand a few weekends a year to see in Texas. Sure for the general population of couch potatoes and ninnies, a rare bird indeed.

For someone who spends the majority of their lifetime either working or enjoying the outdoors not so much rare as difficult to see. You could cross paths with one 100 times without ever knowing it without a dog.

Similarly to other species that have increased in numbers with human protections they have as well. Not that they themselves are protected but are thought of as majestic or seen as iconic and thus left alone. The exponential
increase in hog populations across the south have given them a more dependable, quantifiable, and less difficult source of prey.

50 or 100 years ago when deer, antelope, or domestic livestock where their best bet for a solid meal and people more routinely fired shots at them on sight because livestock was their livelihood and they make a damn cool mount.

Seen one down a road about 200 yards in Uvalde (a long time ago) when I was a kid. Thought it was a turkey until it turned and I saw his long tail extend. All I had was a 22 pistol…..sad day.

Recently had one on my game camera up above dhanis, but that cat was never ever seen by anyone, ever.

Guess I should have said that this fellow in NM is a rancher and an outfitter for other game as well. He is in an area where the lion population is higher than most of Texas and he has not seen a lion except for those his dogs have found. I do believe that the lion population is higher in Texas today than anytime in my life but I can name on one hand all that I have seen on one hand and that includes a couple that I called up.
Last October, a gentleman got one on a trail camera less than 3 miles of where I am sitting. A few years ago, got a call a little after dark from a hunter less than a mile SW of Menard who claimed to have seen a lion that evening while deer hunting. I loaded a couple of my hounds and the dogs trailed him about a half mile before they jumped and the race was on. Unfortunately, he beat me to a deer proof fence and into the neighboring ranch. There are a few lions around and yes, they are difficult to see.
Adios,
Gary

In my opinion, the primary reason for the increase in the lion population is absentee land ownership. There is simply much less land that is owned, lived on and operated by the same person. There is much less livestock than there was in the past as many of the absentee owners are more interested in wildlife than raising cattle, sheep or goats. Absentee owners are typically not interested in predator control as someone who is trying to make a living off the land.
You are sure correct that the explosion of the hog population has increased the available food supply for lions and coyotes. I feel another reason for the increase in the lion population is that most of the old lion hunters are gone. When I was a youngster, most of the larger ranches maintain a pack of dogs for predator control work or employed one of the locals who had hounds. There are still a few lion hunters and I know of a couple of trappers that are good at catching lions. Most of these gentlemen are in the Big Bend region.
Adios,
Gary
Gary

I saw one in central Nevada years ago while hunting mule deer and could have killed easily. Young cat that might go 100 lbs. I know several people that live on the north side of Possum Kingdom lake has had them cross the road at night and these people are not kool aid drinkers.