cougar in central Iowa

Called a number of farmer's last pm, making sure I still had permission to hunt coyote. Spoke to a couple new ones as well, to gain permission. Obtained permission, farmer's good.

Spoke with one new farmer, in this cougar territory from the visual reports I've heard. He told me, two yrs ago during Fall corn harvest. His hired hand was combining a standing corn near a small hayfield with a pond with a few trees around the pond. 1/4 mile from the farmsted.

Farmhand stated he seen a cougar laying by another brown animal[he initially thought was a dead deer] by this pond on the grass. He came around again, combining. Well that time, the animal he thought was a dead deer. Arose, he said it was a cougar as well. He remarked, one was quite abit larger than the other.

He then drove up to the farmhouse & told the farmer. Farmer went through his gun safe quickly & couldn't find ammo for his .243. So he grabbed his AR & drove out to the pond. Both lions were gone.
 
i dont have the pics... i have to ask him about it monday, we are going rabbit hunting together that morning(its his father and brothers that live out there).. his entire family moved to iowa years ago... there names are kliabers... very good christian family and they hunt dogs hard.. ive never been out there but his family lives around the corydon area... on 14 i believe is what he told me.. granted it was about 2 yrs ago he was telling me this story so its been atleast that since they killed the cougar... ill get more details monday and let you guys know...
 
i think theres some state ground out there called bobwhite state park... i think its close.. ive had some buddies pheasant hunt that area before and they stopped into see them.... so the gov. must be close to them too.
 
Here is the pond with the pine trees. The two different farmer's, seen a cougar come out from. On two different days while harvesting. Pond is 1/8 mile from a gravel road.
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc78/moreammo/Scenery003.jpg

As I stoppped on the gravel to take a pic of this pond[above]. A coyote crossed[right to left, below the dike]. I couldn't get my camera out of the case quick enough /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif
I wasn't hunting today anyway, just scouting around.
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Here is the other pond[same mile section, as the one above]. This pond is located to the East of the one above. This is the pond, the farmhand seen two cougar's laying on the grass, around the pond. While he harvested the adjacent corn field.
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc78/moreammo/Scenery004.jpg
 
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I saw bigfoot one time chasing a wolf that was chasing a mountain lion that was chasing a deer.I think , but I could be wrong. I know of individuals who hunt these things for the government and have never happended per chance on one in their career.Some must just be luckier than others.
 
"I know of individuals who hunt these things for the government and have never happended per chance on one in their career"

Would appear[according to you]. These individuals, are being paid, for services "NOT rendered"

I want my tax dollars back! LOL!
 
Kirby, have you ever been on a mountain lion hunt?The point being most sightings are not mountain lions,are not supported by any real evidence, even though someone says someone has pictures those pictures usually are never presented or are inconclusive.People tend to see what they think they want to see and right now all seem to want to see a mountain lion.Most in Iowa don't know the difference between a mountain lion and a bobcat and there are a lot more bobcats than lions. But oh well I guess all the suspense and speculation is half the fun. I have noticed here the the guys who think they have seen a lion usually have seen one more that once and usually have seen things no one else claims.. Just lucky I guess LOLLL
 
Why would I go on a "lion hunt". When said, professionals can't even find one? Hmmmm.

Actually smoken. I believe I seen the Mormon Ridge lion a few yrs back. But my view with my binocs & spotter scope was short lived. As this animal, got up & turned into a standing corn field.

At first quick view, I thought it was a very large Bobcat[it was sitting on a high crop hill, 1/2 mile away @ the time]. But when it raised up & turned into the corn. I seen a very long thick tail. I only told a few people of my sighting. You are perhaps, the 3rd or 4th.

Reason I don't yack that around. Is most don't/wouldn't believe it anywho. No big whoop to me. I could care less, who believes they exist in Iowa or not.

However, I do agree, with you a tad. About people who see animals that look like a lion. Understandable.

Fact is a lion has been repeatidly seen in my County for over 6yrs now.

Will "I" see a lion out hunting? Who knows, but if I do. Et this lion is on permissioned land. I will kill it. If/when I do, you'll get 1st dibs on it's colon.
 
Mountain lions in Iowa are documented by car strikes,so they do exist ,no questions.Lion hunters government or not do find and get mountain lions. Still the point is they are so secretive and elusive that the chances of just seeing one are extremely remote unless you are actually trying to hunt. That is why I question so many sightings. University of Minnesota did a study on song bird depredation and found even domestic cats were so secretive that for each one you see out in the wild ,there are twenty more that saw you.You ever noticeed when calling coyotes and a bobcat comes in that you will spot him a ways into the call sequence oor after and he is just sitting and looking your way. You wonder how long has he been there and how did he get that close without me seeing him.
Hunting lions invovles lots of scouting and trying to find covered kills that are returned to and then putting lion dogs on them, baying them and then shooting them.Most likely your will not even see the lion until the dogs put it at bay in a tree or rocks and you catch up with the dogs.

I met a government hunter in Wyoming who interestingly was from near Cumberland Iowa originally.. He had begun to try to call mountain lions. His observation was that when calling he had called them across a bare field and not seen them until he saw the tail wagging slowly inside of 50 yards.
You can keep the colon,you seem to be fascinated by them. PS your use of the latin language in your post is interesting.I studied Latin in HS, didn't know any other schools offered it.
 
Interesting. I've read some, on lions. Similar to what you've stated. I'm also familiar with hounds. As I use to have & hunted with hounds. What is not etched in stone though. Is a hunter doesn't have to be a "professional" to see one, nor kill one. A myth, to say the least...smile.

I'm familiar with feral cats as well. Often hidden yes, not secretive.
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Abit of local history;

I met & conversed with a lady who owned & lived on Mormon Ridge. She & her two daughters, were having a picnic on their family camp ground site. Which lay behind their farmsted. On Mormon Ridge.

A lion came up from the river bottom & commenced to low crawl across their mowed[ie; very short grass] camp ground pasture. Towards one of her daughters.

The mother seen this, et yelled for her girls to run to the parked van. Meanwhile, the mother climbed atop of a picnic table & yelled/waived her arms @ the crouched lion. Soon the lion raised up, turned & slinked over the bluff down towards the river bottom.

The mother, told me the lion was less than 100 ft from her out in the open, while she yelled. Twas, not a golden lab.

For many yrs, I've hunted hard. 16-18 days a month, from mid October-Spring planting time[early April]. I know my country very well. Have hunted it, since 1964. I'm quite familiar with tracking & animal tracks.

My hunt area consists of 1-square mile sections. Mostly ALL OPEN rolling cropland, with little cover area's. My eyes are abit old, but regardless. I can pick out a partially buried coyote from near the 1/2 mile.

I've spoken with other experienced hunter's/farmer's included. Et they shared, their lion sightings/locations with me. One lion has a history, of following a certain timbered creek. Around every two wks. That lion, is the one I will kill, if seen. As the country is pretty open.

I don't know whether, there is two or three lions in my area. I believe there are two, for sure. That roam the river bottom & timbered feeder creeks. That origionate from within open farm cropland.

Yeah, odd's. I figure them pretty good for me. About every two wks.

Most medical terminology is Latin, otherwise mostly Greek. I was a medic for 17yrs. No big whoop.
 
Obtained some river bottom & bluff ground yesterday. Area which this lion has been roaming. Spoke with the landowner. She said, it stalked her dog up on the back porch. On their river bluff acrege, this last Summer. Her husband & her scared it off, back towards the river. More fresh snow a coming, good.
 
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http://www.iowaoutdoors.org/article.php/20041020063101732


kirby, this article posted about the mountain lion killed in 04 in chariton is the one that my friends brother and father killed with there dogs. granted i dont have PROOF in pictures to post for the NON believers but their word is good for me. if you would like.. look them up if your close, their door is always open to people. the father is a retired minister and a good man...
i live next door to one of the brothers and we frequently hunt together. he goes out every year for christmas and we are planning a hunting trip out there the first of the year.. if your still hunting hard then i might look you up for some coyote hunting..
 
Yeah, I read that before. I heard this recent last bow season. A hunter was set in a blind @ the end of a timber strip. Cougar come his way. He got real close within bow range. But the shooter, wouldn't draw on him, as he was scared, the wounded lion might turn on him. This was just SouWest of montour, Iowa abit. There's more than one, IMO. An ex-co-worker seen two different ones about 10 miles apart 2 season's ago. While out deer hunting.

If indeed the one in my area is still around. I expect, if nothing else. Is to find a track[if we would quit getting stinkin ice storms]. Et glazing over the snow. Your welcome to hunt with me anytime, if I'm free. Which is most often, LOL!

If I ever DO get one, everyone is gonna get sick of seeing all the pics, repeatidly...year after year. Forever /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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Seen a pr of cougar tracks[walking abreast] shortly after Christmas, 1.5 miles North of the Iowa River. The tracks were 1/4 mile in a section, where I killed a coyote. One of the lions, occasionly left a tail swipe on the drifted wet snow.

We've had numerous snows since then. Not a track anywhere. The deer have also mostly headed back to the river timber. As the hunting season's have been closed for some time. I suspect the lions have gone there as well.

I plan to keep looking until the crops start to come up.
 
It's always the luck to not get proof when they are seen it's a quick ordeal. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
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Two days ago, I spoke with a co-worker who lives on the edge of town [City of Marshalltown, Iowa] is the town. Co-worker had his dog out the other evening. He heard, continueous loud screams coming from a nearby timber on the edge of town, late pm.

He said, he never heard such loud deep chested screams. Nor the sound of those screams. The screams made his dog freeze & bristle-up & the hair on my co-worker's arms stood up. He's heard domestic cat screams before. No housecat, no doubt.

Over the last 5-6yrs, numerous cougar sightings in this county[Marshall County, Iowa].
 
Mt Lions are not very vocal at all, they make very few sounds some females will do a low grunting type to bring back kittens but they are not a very vocal critter compaired to many others. I know someone who has studied them for 6+ years and in that time has heard them voclaize 3 times. I'm sure if you come up on one with kittens the female would make something of a noise but unless provoked the voclas are very few and far between.
I think many hear bobcats and the sort much more than a true lion vocal. Even though many are called in with "lion in heat" and also young tom sounds.
It would be even more rare to find a pair of lions that are staying in a given area for any length of time in more populated areas. If one was to find cougar kittens then one could presume you have a female that has set up a home range but when you are finding cats above 10 months- 2 years and singles far more common than pairs, then most of these are transiant lions. Even the pairs would more than likly be litter mates and of the same age class.
Most lion dispersal is in a North to NW direction, sure you have a few odd balls like the OK cat and the downtown chicago cat but alot go into ND,MT and Canada.
 
ADC,

Obviously I can't say what my co-worker heard. I only remarked of what he told me. I've heard female domestic cats in heat, so has he.
As for mountain lion's "screaming". I may be wrong, but I suspect a female lion, can/will make a loud squall/scream if in heat. Or at bay.


Many yrs ago[circa; 1971], my Dad had a male coyote trailhound. He would sometimes take down behind the city park, for a run/excercise.

The city park butts up against the Iowa river[plenty of timber], North end of Marshalltown, Iowa. One evening Dad, said his hound happened to take a track. Eventually treeing a "cat". It was pretty dark by that time, Dad got ahold of the hound's collar. As the hound wouldn't leave that tree upon command.

Dad said, "this cat screamed like a mountain lion". Dad couldn't see for sure what kind of cat it was in the darkeness. Needless to say, he left asap, not being armed & no flashlight.
 
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