Who has seen a mountain lion in the wild?

Who has seen a mountain lion, much less a black one, in the wild, what county, and what was the situation that you saw the cat under? Were you deer hunting, calling, crossed the road in front of you while you were driving, etc.?

I saw one once while deer hunting North of Laredo. I was in a blind over looking a wide opening, late afternoon I believe. He was about 100 yards from me skirting the brush with a slow deliberate, non-stop walk. It took me a bit to figure out what it was. I felt like it was a really cool sighting that I still have a vivid memory of today. When I got back to camp & was talking about it, some were quick to chide me because I didn't shoot it. I didn't see the point. Two days later another hunter shot him (I'm pretty sure it must of been the same one) & big cat weighed 150+ lbs, if memory serves me. He was not black but sandy brown color. I have a picture of hunter & cat somewhere.

A few, driving, hunting, treed, horse back while working

I have
They're out there despite the naysayers.
Yes, I know the difference between bobcats and the long tail big cats

4.5 in CO, called one in, One while MD hunting, one treed by dog in front yard, one horse back while working(had kitten)
2 in NM one horse back while gathering cattle, other elk hunting(now I buy the 2 tags every year)
3 while hauling cattle from dale barns at night in TX driving Earth, Concho, San Saba
1 Laredo crossing sendero

a few Im sure I forgotten.

- 1 crossed the road in the Ozark National Forest, 1980s
- 1 out in western Wyoming crossed the highway, 2004 to 2005
- 1 in Montague county on a turkey lease, it was laying in a ranch road and I walked up on it probably 50-75 feet away. It got up pretty quickly and hopped over a fence, 2006

Seems like there is one more but I can't quite remember where and when.

Their long tails were very distinct.

I've seen 2 that I absolutely identified (not black, just normal brown lions). A couple possible sightings while predator calling south Texas, but I cannot confirm them.

The 2 verified were in Williamson County, north of Georgetown, driving up Ronald Reagan BLVD. along the San Gabriel River in the morning. Watched 2 run across an open, cut hay field at about mach 3. Those suckers were fast coming off the river, but the field was big, and I watched them for a solid 10 seconds in open country. Very easy to tell what I was looking at. This was before they built 600 houses out that way and it was still pretty wild country.

I've seen two that I was certain of. One cat that was laying on a hay bail on the tree line in Nacogdoches county. Hauled a$$ into a field pig hunting and spot lighted him before he hopped down and disappeared. Other was in Callahan county on a buddies ranch off 36. Was driving a road that ran parallel with a thick creek bottom to get to the blind. Saw the cat run across the road and scale the hillside before disappearing. That one was a big cat. Needless to say I did not hunt that blind that evening.

We were building fence in SW Throckmorton County and there was one sitting on a nearby hill watching us. We just kept working and he eventually went somewhere else.

Comanche County young mountain lion crossed about 60-70 yards in front of me while I was driving on CR 113.

I have seen 2 in Montague County, a few years apart, the 2nd being with Pig Popper 3 or 4 years ago. The first I actually watched for 30 minutes or so do some basic grooming, all through my rifle scope, but had no shot as it was on the neighbor's property. The other took off pretty quick after being spotted.

I *think* I saw one and I'm pretty certain I found fresh scat and a den. This was on a Black Bear hunt in Idaho. I had tags for Black Bear, Mountain Lion, and Gray Wolf. Anyway, so I re-positioned from that den and set up shop for hours hoping it would come back. Nothing.

My friend showed me a picture of one behind his house in Travis county

Have found tracks here on the ranch in Breckenridge, and a few of their kills, but never saw one.

Saw my first about 30 years ago, juvenile crossed the CR in front of me the stopped and rolled under a buck and rail fence then casually walked off, Wyoming.
Spouse went on a mt lion hunt a few years later near Dubois and got a nice female.
I went on a mt lion hunt a couple of years later in Colorado, guy did some nuisance lion work near a housing addition in the mountains, we jumped a nice female again and I took her. He said he had tracks on folks front porches and they were freaked out.

Several year ago we both saw a decent sized mt lion on the family place in Cooke County, might be same time frame as the Montague Co sightings. We 1st found tracks in a skiff of snow then saw the cat the next day, right on the Red.

Couple of years ago we took one on the ranch we work for up here, jumped it along the creek -we think it had a kill nearby.
We get tracks around the meadows this time of the year every year, hoping we don't trap one.
Neighbor sent us trail cam pics he got this spring of a female and young next door to the ranch.

Driving back from a hunt in South Texas years ago spouse thought he saw something odd dead by the road in OK panhandle so he stopped, it was a dead mt lion right on 287. I reported it to their game depart.

Two in young co driving in the early morning on the ranch

Near Godlett, Texas (Hwy 287) on the way to Wellington to hunt. 8 a.m. going over bridge saw one near water.

This was 15 years ago.

Yes I have, called up three others, all in the dark. I have see two others when driving on a ranch or down the highway.
This is a frame from the video that we aired on CARNIVORETV show. This lion was there for over 5 1/2 minutes, it could not get enough of the ultrasonic sounds of the FREQ.
I have seen several others in trees over my hounds.
Adios,
Gary

Seen tracks on my old lease in Murray but never one in the wild.

Starr County - crossed a sendero where I was sitting. +/- 2005

have seen 3 in northern Burnet county, NE side of lake Buchanan in the south Morgan creek area back in the mid 1960s with one being in the mid 1970s.

The adjoining LO to the west on my place SW of Ozona has killed 2 in the past year and the LO to the north had one on game camera at a water trough a few months ago.

Near Estes Park CO. I was trying to climb a fairly steep draw between two cliffs. Looked up and two cubs were looking down on me trying to figure out what I was doing. Waited until I got about 50 yds from them and scampered off.

First I ever saw was in the mid 60's about 15-20 miles north of Roma crossing the highway.
Adios,
Gary

South of Freer in the tower. Big cat came on the sendero, and just walked across, split second more a he would have been shot.

I've seen 5 in all my years in Webb Co, all while deer hunting. Was only able to get a shot on one.

So did you get him?

I'm calling b.s on all these sightings.


There ain't no mountains in South Texas....

Seen several. When in high school living in Central California I worked at a turkey ranch at the foothills and all the dead birds we would take to an incinerator on ranch and burn. The cats would hide out in the rocks and eat the dead birds the didn't get loaded to be burned.

I’ve seen 2, one was in Eastland county back in the early 90’s while bow hunting and the second was in Red River county crossing the Red River into Oklahoma.

I saw a dead one on I20 just west of Weatherford about 5 years ago.

Early 90’s. Crawford County, AR. Squirrel hunting. Sitting against a tree and heard something coming through the woods. Expected a deer, but was two mountain lions. One a little bigger than the other. Bigger one was wearing a thick blaze orange collar with antenna sticking out of it. After holding my breath and staying absolutely still while they passed 20 yards away, I hightailed it to my truck and got the heck out of there.

Killed a small tom in Terrell county. He was sitting in a hole in the rimrock. Called a big one in one night in Pecos county but buddy couldn’t get on him. I was running the light. Saw one three years ago early inthe morning by PK lake that ran across the highway.

1. Webb county. Early ‘90’s. Bow hunting in the desert between Freer and Laredo. I had found tracks a few days before but was skeptical it was a real puma. I was in a ground blind I had made out of brush in the afternoon sitting over a corn pile. It walked out into a sendero around 3 pm about 150 yards to the south. I got a good look at it through my binoculars. It laid down in the grass on it’s belly motionless for about 10 minutes. So still I lost sight of it and thought it had left before it stood back up. When it left it went back the way it had came from. It was tan with some white under it’s jaw and on its belly. Couldn’t say if it was male or female or even whether it was full grown. Only one I’ve seen and a cool encounter but I did not see any deer during that sit which was unusual for where I was. Admittedly I walked out with 15 or so minutes of legal shooting time remaining.

we saw two or at least two sightings(could been same cat) on same ranch different pasture in 2 years.

I’ve seen one in Smith County (east Texas) while hog hunting one night. I was in the passenger seat running the cordless spotlight. Saw some eyes in the woods and jumped out of the truck and ran down to a deep creek. The cat was standing on the trunk of a big fallen tree. The battery was bad and the light was dimming as I ran up to it. As the light faded away it slipped off the tree and was gone. (2006)

The second experience was about 1995 also in Smith County. Stepdad came in and said we had a cat attack one of our full grown cows. I didn’t believe him, so I jumped in the jeep and headed to the pasture to take a look. There were distinct claw marks down both hips and the tail was bitten off clean, leaving about 8 inches of tail. I guess she was too big to take down.

Don’t hear of many mountain lion sightings around east Texas so still surprised I’ve had these two experiences.

Well panhandle is not S. Texas.

In all my travels I’ve yet to see a mountain lion. Saw tracks in soft dirt at our lease in Utopia in the late 90’s.

Found a dead fawn caught up in our feed pen on the ranch in Batesville, we were running to another blind so I got it out of the hog panel and left it in the road. Came back 20 min later it was gone. Found it drug head first under some persimmons 20 yards away. I swore it was a cat but others didn’t believe me.

2 weeks later it was seen 200 yards from that sight running thru some dead trees.

Saw one backpacking the Rogue River trail in Oregon in 2018. Seen a few in BC when I lived there in the early 90s.

I had one cross the road as I pulled out of my gate. It stopped in the middle of the road, took a look, then hopped the fence. It wasn't more then 60 hyards from me so I got a very good look. My ex wife saw it too. This was southeast Grayson county maybe 15 years ago. I also heard one scream one morning. That will get hyour attention. My neighbor says thye have a female on game camera, but I haven't seen the pics. She said at one point she had two cubs with her.

Never but every ranch I’ve been on with a sighting had poor deer hunting. Not sure if it was cat related or just not good

Saw one while hunting mule deer in central Nevada back in 1980. Could have killed it very easily as he was laying under a pinion pine up hill about 50 yards away. I had gun on him and squalled at him and he just laid there twitching his tail.I thought he might think I'm be something to eat so I put a round into a pine about 10' behind him and he jumped about 5' in the air and was gone. He probably weighed 120 lbs or so and young and probably hadn't ever laid eyes on a human.

Found good blood and hair, when we had to get on our hand and knees in the brush and couldn't see 10ft in front of us we decided to back out. We tried to find some dogs, but this was before Iphones and info at your fingertips and were unable to find any. Think about this all the time.

Had one hunter watch one creep some geese in a tank, watched him for 30 minutes but was one of those guys that didn't feel the need to shoot.

They are there, no doubt about it. I've been holding off on doing a lion hunt in hopes that I'd eventually get one in STX but time is running out

Me. Hit him with my truck between Enid, Ok and Nash on 64.

sent you a guy. Callaghan runs them with hounds according to Manager. He said they wait until they got consistent tracks on a couple then call in dog. No thank you. Sounds like 10 roles of duck tape to get all the cactus and thorns out

Saw 3 mid day, mom and 2 cubs, behind camp in Spur County. Called one in at night 3 years ago in Baylor County.

I have seen 2 in the wild in the CO of my misbegotten cowboy youth, both when I was elk hunting

On the ranch in the trans-pecos early one morning I stepped outside just as the first rays of light broke the horizon. He was on the pipe coral fence 30-40 yards away.

A few years later my cousin saw one(maybe the same one) not 200-300 yards from the corals stalking some mule deer does.

Kerr County .My wife had 1 walk by her at 50 yards while she was hunting sitting on the ground.
I did believe her but there is always that small doubt. The next morning by buddy seen it chase a fawn down a bluff.
She was 30 yards from camp when she seen it and my buddy was 100 yards from camp when he seen it .
So it was around our camp all night. And I think how many time I walked out side that night to take a wiz in the dark and it had to be close .

La Salle county round 20 years ago while on a hog hunt. Climbed to the top of a tall tripod and he strolled across the road at ~75yds. couldnt get one chambered in time to take a shot. impressive animal though!

1 in Mississippi
2 in Texas Eastland and Edwards counties
4 in Montana while elk hunting.

All standard mt lion colored

Have seen 6..two crossing hwy 500,one on our lease just off 500 in sansaba cty, two on hwy84 east of Goldthaite, one on lake palistine chasing a deer.

While hunting for mule deer in Jeff Davis County back in about 2002, IIRC, I saw a couple cross one of the ranch roads while driving out of camp one morning. The ranch owner at the time (Sproul Ranch, near Fort Davis) ran them with dogs, and, I was told, treed and killed them later that evening.

My wife and I saw a glimpse of what we believe were three mountain lions crossing a sendero about 150 yards in front of us, while driving a Kawasaki Mule on the family ranch in McMullen County, about 15 years ago. Over the years, several reliable hunters also reported sightings, but I never saw another one down there.

I had a deer lease in northern Nuevo León, Mexico, back in the late '90s. My brother came down with me one weekend and saw a mother with two cubs come up to water at a stock tank right at dusk. It was too dark for a photograph, but he dragged me over there the next morning and showed, and photographed, the paw prints in the soft mud.

Muzzle loader Elk hunting in 6 inches of snow near Kremmling Colorado about 20 years ago when at day break I heard an animal roaring coming in my direction. I was positioned at the edge of a meadow when on the opposite side about 150 yds away a female lion with older 2 cubs broke cover and were walking toward me. I had crossed the meadow earlier and my tracks were in the snow. When she hit my tracks she hesitated for a moment and then took off in the opposite direction. Crystal clear morning so no doubt what I saw. I must say the few moments while she was roaring and approaching had the hair up on the back of my neck. I posted the Black panther / mountain lion
post and this was one of my earlier experience seeing a large cat s in the wild.

I saw the back half of one in Terrell county. I was walking below me in the wash...the same wash I had to cross in the dark after coming off the bluff I was hunting. Don't no why, but that night I quit hunting a little early and crossed the wash in the daylight. LOL

One in Colorado in 1992, one in Cotulla in 2003 and one in whitney in 2022.

Have seen two. The first one a buddy and I saw one laying under a mesquite tree in Haskell while we were Quail hunting. The second one I saw while driving down the road in Foard county.

I saw one in the San Pedro Parks wilderness back in mid 80s. It was fun to watch, it acted like a house cat catching mice in an old downed pinon tree. I knew my hunt was over as soon as it showed up, but I didn't care. Pretty neat to watch.

Saw one in Colorado elk hunting.
One on my land in Montague County. Had been seeing tracks.

Both of the above were quick glimpses.

However, while in the USAF, outside of Phoenix, I was calling coyotes and sitting on a tall bunch of square hay bales. A lion showed up. I didn’t want to shoot it and it didn’t want to come up there after me. It left. Prior to coming down, I fired off a couple of shots and hustled back to my pickup.

Eastland just before sunrise walked about 50 yards in front of me.

I never looked up but I knew he was in the tree over my head. I didn’t stick around to make his acquaintance.

^^^^^^

Interesting since Cougars (and cheetahs) can not 'roar' ?

Yep, only the 5 big cat species can roar

I have, a couple times. Early '90s a little outside of Big Wells (Dimmit County). We were hunting/camping on a buddy's lease in mid-December.
One afternoon one of the guys looked up the road/sendero and saw a big cat. We all got out our binoculars and started checking it out.
Then we saw the cubs. It was a mama and her babies. She watched us as we watched her. It would have been an easy shot, but we didn't want to orphan the cubs.
Saw her a couple more times that trip and again about a year later.

We were a little nervous when we would go pee in the brush during the night.

I've seen 3. One in Baylor county back in the 70s. The next one ran across the road in front of me outside of Junction. Had a juvenile run across the road in front of us in Wyoming this May.

About 7-8 years ago during a fishing/camping trip at Big Bear Lake in California

A dead one along Highway 62 in Southern Oregon, and a live one in my headlights at night on an S-curve in the Greensprings Highway in the southern Cascade Mountains. The creepiest encounter was when I was helping a friend with his beaver trapline in the dead of winter on the Rogue River not far from Crater Lake. We came upon an extremely fresh blacktail buck kill -- only partially eaten, and the tracks were so recent there was still moisture seeping in the pug marks. Our eyes got as big as saucers and we both double-checked our pistols and then back-tracked the hell out of there.

So I didn't hear a mountain lion roar when she approached. You got me, I was just trying to allow people to see your vast knowledge and intellectual superiority !!!

I guess it wasn't a roar it was more like the attached below.

Always curious why some members want to discredit others

By the way most children and non out doors people have heard this common cougar screech on numerous TV shows and out door specials. Surprised you missed it!!!

https://youtu.be/EfnTdF7ja9E

So listening to the video reminded me of another mountain lion encounter. The wife and I went to our getaway in Arkansas. Being very tired from work we both took a long nap that afternoon, so we wound up cooking our steaks late that evening. We had just started buying Sam's thick ribeye's and the wife cooked them very rare. After supper we decided to sit out back (by the grill) and watch the fireworks from the town just south of us, it was the weekend before 4th of July. So we're sitting there enjoying a glass of wine, just listening to the cicada's when all of a sudden a mountain lion screamed about 10 yards from us. Well all I can say is my wife passed the wilderness 101 class...the one where all you have to do is out run your buddy for safety. My [censored] was stuck in the chair and she was behind the door saying "come on, come on!" The lion was coming to the blood smell still fresh in the grill. Let's just say that's a night we will remember forever.

He was just pointing out facts. Only the big 5 cats roar

So you also want to argue the mute point!!! I was relating that the lion was approaching making an intimidating sound. I'll contact you guys in the future to help me be precise in the semantics I use to tell my story. Mountain lions do make load screams, Roars, hisses. etc,
Both of you need to find better things to do then demean your fellow out doors men. I'm certain the video I attached clarifies to normal people the point I was making. I do now see how smart you both are but who cares,

There are mountain lions who come feed at night on the big landfill in Melissa, Collin County. It’s a fact! I’ve seen two.

Those are called feral cats

We simply strive to be 'accurate' here. Is not our fault you do not know the difference between a 'roar' and a 'scream'. And yes it makes a difference.

I would submit you are being a bit too sensitive about the correction.

The video you posted is a good representation of some of the sounds cougars make (none of them remotely like a roar however). I would venture a guess.... the vast majority of supposed cougar 'screams' heard by folks are NOT cougars at all....but Gray Fox calling in the night.

And I would be most interested to know how folks can tell a Black Panther scream from that of a normal colored Cougar? Those folks must possess a special gift. (sarcasm off).

I have not seen any, but other hunters on properties that I have been on have. My Dad and the LO in OK (Osage county) have both seen mountain lions. My Son and Father in Law have both seen them on our place in Navarro County.

i saw one cross a county road in soythern gonzales county in 2000

missed a easy shot at one in the same area in 2003, came to rattling horns on my right side at about 80 yds. by the time i convinced myself what i was seeing it stepped into the pasture road and i missed am easy offhand shot. went the next morning and made plaster casts of its tracks.

I've seen two. First one ran across the FM 649 near San Roman in Starr County. The other one came up from the river and crossed the highway 170, at the high hill going from Lajitas to Presidio. Awesome critters.

Saw one while Hunting with Treeing Walkers on the Nolan River. We were a couple miles outside Blum in the 70's. Second one My wife and I saw was crossing a pasture by the McDavid ranch on FM730 between Azle and Weatherford. That one attacked a horse and was shot a few weeks later nearby. The 3rd was on my Deer lease outside Coleman about 15 years ago. That one I shot with a high powered .257 cal air rifle. Spun it around like a helicopter but it took off and I never found it. Not that I tried very hard to find it if you know what I mean. A single shot airgun wasn't what I would call a preferred weapon to stock a wounded lion with.

Oh there was a forth, but it was dead when I got it. We ran a lion with the Treeing walkers from Covington all the way to Maypearl. The hounds were lost for a couple days. Finally, a farmer called and said they had bayed something under an old house he stored hay in. He was able to catch the young dog but the older one was still under the house. When Clyde and I got there I climbed under the house and was able to catch the older hound by her back legs and pull her out. When I did she had this young lion in her mouth dead. She was cut up pretty bad and Mr. Dobson sowed a pretty good cut on her neck up right then. He was afraid screw worms would get in it. He wiped her down with diesel to keep the flies off her till we could get home to clean her up. That would of been in 74' or 75'.

I saw my first mountian lion last month in Frisco on Brinkman Ranch where they had mowed a field

I was walking around 8 am and it was running across the field, it was pushing 200lbs.

I saw one around 2002 crossing the street at the Lake Texoma Damn where the overflow from the spillway runs, it was at sunrise

I have 5500 acre Brinkman Ranch across the street from my subdivision, it full of deer, coyotes, bobcats etc. They have sold about 400 acres recently and now are devolping the area, I walk every morning 9 months out of the year been doing it for decades up here.

Two weeks ago someone hit a huge buck at Main/Coit. A few years ago we had coyotes attacking joggers and walkers in the area, I think they had 7 confirmed coyote bites, 3 of them was in my neighborhood.

Frisco is the only city I know that allows dove hunting inside the city limit if you are hunting on more than 10 acres.

I agree that area is full of coyote's, bobcats and deer. I'm well aware of the coyote attacks. None of that has anything to do with Mt lions

My daughter and I had 1 cross in front of us in Fisher County about 6-7 miles west of Rotan.

We had just filled a feeder and were driving between a CRP field and a cotton field. He crossed the turn row about 30 yards in front of us and disappeared into the cotton.

Only time I've seen one in the wild was when I was about 13-14 years old. Was at a friend's ranch outside Athens. We were driving a golf cart around the property and had one cross the road about 50 yards in front of us. There's no mistaking a mountain in the daylight when you can see its tail. The cat stopped in the middle of the road, took a look at us, then causally continued into the woods. Pretty exciting stuff for a young kid.

Red I gotta ask what part of Brinkman ranch were you walking by when you saw it? I drive by that ranch every morning on Main st and I feel like it's way too open for even deer in most parts.

I saw one at base of cap rock just northwest of Fluvanna Texas in 1995

200lbs, humm....

When OH Ivie was brand new, there was one that hung out on the north side of the lake for several months. Most of us that were fishing the lake right after it opened saw it. I suspect that the new lake cut off it's normal travel route and it took a while to sort things out. It was very calm and didn't seem to pay any attention to people in a boat.

I saw a nice mountain lion in 2008 near Rockspring, TX at a lease. He was running when the feline saw me.

My buddies found one in NM last Saturday at 1:15 PM when calling coyotes with the FREQ. Called here out in the big opening.
Adios,
Gary

Never saw it but it bumped (slurping the remains of the bean can) the bottom of the bed of the coleman pop-up all night long. Red River Nm. Paw print abut 4-5" in dia IIRC. Don't forget to put the trash in the bear proof container! I guess the Star 380 might have worked.

saw one briefly when i was a kid. we were down in Uvalde. i was young. 7-8 range. my dad was bowhunting, and i was there watching. he had these 2 tripods that sat about 9 foot eye level. well, one of them was missing a leg and was about 4 foot eye level. guess who got to sit in the 4 footer. anyway, the sun has just come up. and a lion comes across the road towards us into the brush. my dad and i both look at each other eyes wide. let me tell you that 7 year old me was quite scared to be sitting in a 4 foot tripod the rest of that morning. lol.

Just two
Bandera County 1988
Medina County 2003

I saw one in a parking lot in Oceanside, CA. I think it was 2002-2003 time frame. I don’t know if that counts as wild.

I believe it is state law for property annexed by a city. I was fishing the Lower Fork in OK below the turbines and thought someone on the opposite bank was letting their golden retriever play in the water. There is a shallow rock shoal in the river there. Then I saw it bounding across the rocks scaring off a heron. Big cat not a dog. It went up the bank where the power plant outlet meets the Lower Fork.

One sighting, one trail camera verification, and one set of tracks all in Louisiana.

The first experience was in the early 90s. I found cougar tracks on a sand bar in sandy intermittent stream in LaSalle Parish in central Louisiana after I was asked to look around by a concerned landowner. I contacted LDWF and was told cougars didn’t exist in Louisiana. LDWF wouldn’t even come out and take a look at the tracks …

The second experience was a sighting in 2004 in Evangeline Parish near Interstate 49. I was sitting on a deer stand on the edge of a large fallow field. After seeing several deer use the north south trail that was due east of me about 200 yards into the field, I saw a doe running wide open like her life depended on it. My first thought was a buck was chasing her since it was during the rut. She stopped out in the middle and looked back south from where she had been so I looked that way too. I expected to see a buck but I saw a large cougar crouching to ambush a deer in a clump of hemp sesbania growing out in the field about 20 yards from the heavily used deer trail. The cougar was 100-110 yards southeast of me and I watched it through my scope for at least 15 minutes before it slipped off into grass. It was brown like a traditional cougar, about the height at the shoulder of my big lab, looked to weigh 120-130 lbs, and had that characteristic long cougar tail. Even though I could have easily shot the cat I didn’t shoot because the Florida panther was listed as an endangered species in Louisiana. I walked in about 1/4 mile to the stand but radioed the lease manager to pick me up after dark. He did and wanted to know why since I hadn’t shot anything. When I told him what I had seen and why I asked to be picked up at supper a couple of the other guys on the lease told me/him they had seen cougar cross the road there the day before but didn’t tell anyone. Once again I contacted LDWF and was told cougars didn’t exist in Louisiana.

The third instance was two confirmed trail camera pictures of a cougar taken a few days apart in DeSoto Parish as part of a research project I was helping with. The project was to document any nontarget animal use of a proposed feral hog attractant. Since hogs were heavily using the area we speculated that the concentration attracted the cougar. Those pictures were part of the evidence that caused the LDWF to finally recognize the verified presence of cougars in Louisiana. Cougars are here and are likely juvenile males looking for females and/or to establish a territory.

Just my 2 cents
Big Hutch

Me and a buddy saw one crossing HWY 154 Between Lake Fork and Quitman about 4 in the afternoon during deer season a few years back. Other vehicles saw it too because they had to brake and let it cross.

That would be an extremely rare sighting for that area

Coke county Game warden told me that county was full of them. I saw one crossing the road between Water Valley and Robert Lee a few months ago.

I have....being from Montana, they are prevelent. My brother and I (circa 1981) were hiking up a canyon in the Pryor Mountains to do some fishing, and he made his presence known with a loud scream. He was sitting on a ledge in the sun about 100 or so feet away in the canyon we were hiking up. If you've ever heard a Mountain Lion scream, it'll make the hair stand up on your neck!

I saw one. It was on a friend's deer lease (somewhere southeast of Abilene as I recall) around 2000. I went to my blind before light via an old farm road that went through a wooded area before coming out into a high grass field where my blind was. I was in the blind. It was probably 8 am. First a coyote came out of the woods on the same road I had come down to get to my blind. I saw him clearly until he went off of the road into the high grass. Then the lion came out of the same road and then went thru the same high grass and then out of sight. I remember seeing it clearly in the road and then only its tail and occasionally the top of its head in the tall grass. I also remember being thankful I had worn my headlight when I went thru those woods. It made no sound nor had I heard any sound when I had walked thru the woods but wondered whether it had been there watching me and my light bobbing the the dark. That was when I decided to carry a sidearm with me when going out before light.

I've yet to see one in the wild

I have. Twice. Both times in Oklahoma. Once on the tall grass prairie up north of Pawhuska and once near Tenkiller Lake on Corp of Engineers land

Blanco county in 2014.

Had a deer lease for 1year a few miles west of Strawn. Very hilly area lots of oaks . Had one on my game cam several times . Funny thing was we never saw a deer on that place and hunted hard . It was a very large ranch . That’s been probably 17 or 18 years ago . He was just a normal mountain lion.

I have only seen one while bighorn sheep hunting in CO. I had a lion tag and was so flustered I wiffed an easy 200 yard shot. Two days later I killed my ram...at 200 yards. Go figure!

When I was 14 I saw one running down a fence line we had come out to repair. Nobody believed me. Saw a big thick tom cross the road in front of me last year and had 2 witnesses with me this time. Both sightings were on the edge of hagerman wildlife refuge.

I've seen 4 mountain lions in the wild and 1 large black cat with white spots hit on the side of 812 just West of 21 in CenTex in my lifetime with first sighting in 1966.
The one I called up close enough to identify in mid 80's ended my solo nighttime varmint calling career....

Texas Parks and Wildlife knows of WAY more sightings than they will admit and tend to laugh it off nervously.
TPW turned a female loose from a live trap caught by a neighbor when he had chickens disappearing from his coop in the Piney Woods.
She had kittens in the edge of the brush around the coop so TPW turned her loose.
Neighbor said that's the last time he will call TPW to handle anything like that.

TP&W does not hide verified sightings. TP&W biologist will investigate if the sighting has any credibility. They actually have a live time map of all confirmed sightings.
I think someone lied to you about TP&W trapping one and letting it go. There isn't a breeding population in east Texas. The few confirmed sightings in north and east Texas are all dispersing males

I haven’t seen one in person, but I have seen Bigfoot hunting one with a crossbow inside a high fence.

Seen 3 around Nocona. One crossing the road behind the lake at the spillway and another 8 miles or so west on Hwy 82. A group of us saw a black cat northwest of Nocona a few years ago. It was about the size of a large bobcat but with a tail. None of us could say for sure what it was.

Saw one in the Waco city limits in 1991, jumping out of the dumpster in my apartment complex on the far northwest side of town on the edge of a wooded area. I was throwing away garbage after dark and it jumped out up on top of the dumpster as I walked up to it. We were face to face just a few feet apart for a quick moment and then it was gone. I called the Waco TPWD office the next day to report it and all they said was "yep.... we had several reports." Around that time there was a picture published in the newspaper of a mountain lion sitting calm like a house cat on the edge of a Waco golf course at the woodline watching golfers. Like it was looking at the menu for dinner.

Once in the early 2000s at a property by Preston Rd and Westgrove Dr. The home owners took dozens of pictures and Dallas game wardens got pretty excited and showed up in person to check things out. The property backs up to white rock creek and I believe that animals use creek beds as highways to travel unseen and safely.

Saw this one on Tuesday morning, spouse called him in for me.
He didn't get a walk.
105 lb male, probably 2 yr old tom.

Never seen one, but seen there paw prints many times. It wakes you up when you see the paw print that is as big as your fist in the dark while going to the blind. I think I have seen there silhouette a few times. Once flanking me while walking to a blind. Just can't say for sure that is what it was. So I won't say that I have seen one.

Very cool, Wytex!

I've seen one two times in Fannin County. Both time crossing my field while I was working my bee hives. Called the game warden who ran cows next to me and he said " not again " when ii told him it was heading towards his property

So I'm assuming TP&W investigated and found it wasn't a Mt lion

Lol

Don't know. I have seen bobcats in the yard before but this was easily 5 times larger. There were multiple paw prints that I could cover with my hand and I wear a 3x glove. They were much larger than my dogs prints and the bobcats prints that I frequently see on the property. It jumped right to the top of an 8-ft tall chain link fence that was surrounding the tennis courts on the property as it was leaving.

I was curious because TP&W keeps track of confirmed sightings. If the GW found evidence then the biologist would have came out and confirmed it. The only confirmed Mt lion even close to there was the Rowlett cat a few years ago

I`ve seen 2 in my lifetime. One was in Erath County 30 years ago and the other was near Cloudcroft NM. Both times I only seen them for a second or less. The first one was in Erath County (Bluff Dale area) and I though a dog had run across the road but then I realized that wasn`t no FN dog, it was a mountain lion. I was in the Mountain Lakes development and only driving around 10 mph. It was long, low to the ground and had a very long and straight tail (100 yards away). The one in NM was about 200 yards away and I barely saw it as it ran into some cedar trees and disappeared. The dead giveaway for it was the very long tail as well. I wasn`t 100% sure it was a mountain lion, but there is nothing else it could be that looked like it did with a very long tail. I`d take my oath on it.

I had dropped of a load of cattle off out side of granbury at bout 2am and one I saw in erath was also just south of bluff dale when it crossed the road. think that was late 90’s

I swear my dad and I saw one near Clyde lake about 25 years ago.

Just a track I saw on my property in NC. Notice there are no claw marks??
Ideas of what it is??? I think cat.

Looks like a black bear track to me.

So when I was 18 we would go to a couple places that you were guaranteed to see at least six every night. One was Chip-N Danceland in Rendon, and the other was the Stagecoach Ballroom on E. Belnap. Chip-n had younger cougars in the 100 to 130 lb range while the Stagecoach seemed to have older more mature ones in the 150 to 180 lb range.