Mountain lions are an essential element of California ecosystems. Unfortunately they are not currently managed in any form. Although the most important cougar prey species, blacktail and mule deer, are managed, a failure to manage the main species that eats deer makes deer management less predictable. Other states have progressive, scientific methods of managing wildlife and consider mountain lions [...]
Archive for the ‘Mountain lions’ Category
California Fails to Manage Mountain Lions
Posted in Big game hunting, blacktail deer, Hunting, Mountain lions, mule deer, mule deer, wildlife conservation, tagged Mountain lions on February 22, 2012 | 2 Comments »
The difference between a Coyote Track and a Mountain Lion Track
Posted in animal tracks, Coyotes, Mountain lions, tagged animal tracks on October 13, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Came upon a mountain lion track while hiking near Del Valle Reservoir last week. It had been raining and the ground was nearly saturated, good conditions for seeing tracks. I was looking at a variety of tracks when I came upon a set of mountain lions prints. I photographed one the clearest tracks with my [...]
Mountain Lion Track on Freshly Graded Road
Posted in blacktail deer, Mountain lions, tracking, tagged Cougar Track on May 10, 2011 | 1 Comment »
My pocket knife is 3 1/2 inches long, about the length of this track. This is not a large lion or a small one either. The ground is soft, which is why the track shows at all. On hard ground one seldom spots lion tracks. This lion track was found on a road that also held [...]
Mending Fences – with Distractions
Posted in Endangered species, Hunting, Mountain lions, Scat, turkey, wildflowers, tagged Ohlone Preserve wildflowers, Rio Grande Turkey on April 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The pace of work changes when you spend a couple days in the hills. It’s really hard to get in a hurry and there are many distractions. The main event- mending fence. The sub plots – turkeys, wildflowers and other photo ops. (Click photos to enlarge.) When you’re working on a project that looks overwhelming, [...]
Two Bucks, Same Fate
Posted in Big game hunting, blacktail deer, Mountain lions, tagged Mountain lions on February 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Last spring I came across a nice buck while turkey hunting. Although his antlers were undeveloped, the size of the base of his antlers indicated that he’d be a shooter. I looked for him during the rifle season last summer and didn’t find him. Rob found him a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately a lion found him [...]
Another Deer Bites the Dust
Posted in blacktail deer, California red-legged frog, Deer hunting, Mountain lions on September 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Spent Friday night and Saturday morning at the ranch. It was hot and the deer didn’t seem very active, but I was distracted watching poachers and wondering if they were heading our way. Decided to make a brief still hunt and came upon a fairly fresh set of deer bones. Another mountain lion kill. No [...]
Can’t Stockpile Wildlife
Posted in Big game hunting, deer, Mountain lions, wildlife management, tagged mountain lion management on August 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
When you think you have control over a population of animals on your property, you’re heading for disappointment. Nature is designed to end surplus and if you don’t step in when a surplus is available, something else will. We found this out a few years ago when we had a rather unusal buck on our [...]
2009 Kenndy Meadows D6 Pack in Archery Hunt
Posted in animal tracks, Archery hunting, black bears, blacktail deer, Deer hunting, horse pack trip, hunting public areas, Mountain lions, mule deer, tagged Hunting with Kennedy Meadows Pack Station, Pack in deer hunt on August 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Fernando was one of our two packers. Randy was the other. They work for Kennedy Meadows Pack Station. The owner, Matt Bloom, is very accommodating. This was a very large bear and we saw him two days in a row. We observed about six bears in all. One bruin left his track near camp, but we [...]
When Lions are Near
Posted in Hunting, Mountain lions, mule deer, outdoors, wildlife, tagged cougars, Mountain lions on August 23, 2008 | 5 Comments »
Mountain lions are the most secretive of creatures. By nature, they are generally much more aware of what’s going on around them than other animals, especially people. However, there are couple major clues one should keep in mind that can warn you of their presence – deer vocalizations and cat sounds. Mountain lions scare the poop out of [...]
The Ecology of Fear
Posted in Big game hunting, Ecology, Hunting, Mountain lions, mule deer, outdoors, wildlife conservation, Wildlife habitat, wildlife management, Yosemite National Park, tagged Add new tag, Yosemite National Park on June 23, 2008 | 6 Comments »
Researchers in Oregon have concluded, after extensive research, that prey species have a fear of predators and that prey species move away from their mortal enemies in an effort to survive. They have also concluded that this natural system has an important relationship to the success of other plant and animal life. Impressive conclusion? Interesting how a [...]
