Mtn Lion and Bobcat

Poppies & cougars & shrooms, oh my!
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Vermenton
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Post by Vermenton »

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this is the work Cougarmagic and me try to do every week, capturing beautifull wildlife. keep watching for more interesting picture.
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tracker
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Post by tracker »

It almost looks like the back of an ear tag in the lion's right ear. I'd be real interested if it was.
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cougarmagic
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Post by cougarmagic »

tracker wrote: It almost looks like the back of an ear tag in the lion's right ear. I'd be real interested if it was.
No, we've zoomed in and checked. This is a female, middle of the San Gabes. Are there any with ear tags here aside from the male you got this spring in Glendale?
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tracker
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Post by tracker »

cougarmagic wrote:
tracker wrote: It almost looks like the back of an ear tag in the lion's right ear. I'd be real interested if it was.
No, we've zoomed in and checked. This is a female, middle of the San Gabes. Are there any with ear tags here aside from the male you got this spring in Glendale?
Yeah, as I looked at it more the head and neck looked more female. The tag I used was one of the round metal ones with a flat tab that goes around the outside. I tend to put the round side toward the rear. The female I moved from Lancaster went to Sierra Pelona, near Bouquet Reservoir. Her tag was a round, white plastic tab.
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ur2slo
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Post by ur2slo »

Great work and pics....I ran into a set of lion tracks on my last trip in. In two fairly displaced areas, made me think it was two different cats. Never saw them before, so that's a good part of the work done to preserve the beauty of them.

Question. I was just reading Mammals of the San Gabrials by Vaughn. A 1952 study, interesting, but obscure. It brought up something I've wondered about.

Any you run into grey or kit fox sign when you been out and about?
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Mike P
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Post by Mike P »

ur2slo wrote: Any you run into grey or kit fox sign when you been out and about?
Gray fox are reasonably common in the front range at lower altitudes. (I would say very common in the urban/wildland interface.) In fact, we have a pair that live around my house. They climb the Chinese elm in the front yard! This summer we were serenaded by a lot of their raspy barking.
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ur2slo
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Post by ur2slo »

Thx Mike.....stay curious.
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ur2slo
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Post by ur2slo »

tracker wrote:
cougarmagic wrote:
tracker wrote: It almost looks like the back of an ear tag in the lion's right ear. I'd be real interested if it was.
No, we've zoomed in and checked. This is a female, middle of the San Gabes. Are there any with ear tags here aside from the male you got this spring in Glendale?
Yeah, as I looked at it more the head and neck looked more female. The tag I used was one of the round metal ones with a flat tab that goes around the outside. I tend to put the round side toward the rear. The female I moved from Lancaster went to Sierra Pelona, near Bouquet Reservoir. Her tag was a round, white plastic tab.
Wow, Tagger. Your just the person I was looking for!
Wasn't aware of your work.

Have a question, more for my own knowledge and safety. When one of the in dubious television stars of the genus Ursidae, ie: bear, get relocated, in what area's are they normally released? How is that area determined?

Always wondered while listening to AM radio if it were to occur, would one be dropped of in the back yard of my camp or ? Curiousity more than anything, bear or not, I'll be there! With common sense in hand...
Thx
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tracker
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Post by tracker »

Have a question, more for my own knowledge and safety. When one of the in dubious television stars of the genus Ursidae, ie: bear, get relocated, in what area's are they normally released? How is that area determined?
I'm glad you asked. Too often the public relies on the Media for their education, then jumps to conclusions and fills in the rest from what Marlin Perkins and Jim taught us on Sunday evenings. Lots of factors come into play; and they aren't interesting enough to hold the general public's attention for very long.
What most people don't realize is that the only time an animal is chemically immobilized and moved is when it can't safely return to open space on its own. Animals aren't moved just because they are an inconvenience or someone thinks they should be relocated to "where they belong".
If we have to go "hands on", the animal's safety and future well-being is a big deciding factor. Ideally, the best place is the critter's most likely home range, which isn't going to be very far away. We like to do releases behind locked gates with little or no attention. It takes the animal a couple days to fully recover from the drugs and resume a normal routine.
Lately, there has been a huge push to allow releases to be filmed. I'm against it for many reasons; mainly because the usual drug we use causes a rough looking recovery. No matter how perfect a capture may have went, I'd get flack if people saw a dazed looking animal licking the dirt, then stumbling to escape as its brain recovers before its body does.

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So I guess the short answer is; once I survive the mob I'm looking for the nearest open space with a gated road. :)
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ur2slo
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Post by ur2slo »

That sounds like me after a good bender...... :lol:

But seriously, makes sense. The impact on the animal is prime importance, I've never had any encounter that I would term Life Threating, but had a few, that are always interesting.

No animal wants a confrontation, normally, but will fight to the death, if need be. The TV glorification of "the cute lil bear" will surely get someones hand bit, but stupidity should be painful.

Gal friend in Yellowstone years ago got treed by a bull moose for three days, while walking from work to home, we laughed hard at that one, but it was "that time of month" Thanks for the insight, this curiousity seeker shall have more questions as time progresses....glad to meet all on here as time allows, very imformative and interesting.

Always was the type to ask..."stupid questions make more sense than stupid mistakes"

be safe......
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cougarmagic
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Post by cougarmagic »

tracker wrote: the usual drug we use causes a rough looking recovery. No matter how perfect a capture may have went, I'd get flack if people saw a dazed looking animal licking the dirt, then stumbling to escape as its brain recovers before its body does.
People may understand this as the same reason the veterinarian doesn't want you in the back room when your pet wakes up from a procedure - the disorientation is rough. But like human anesthesia, probably other mammals don't remember much about it afterwards.
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tracker
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Post by tracker »

People may understand this as the same reason the veterinarian doesn't want you in the back room when your pet wakes up from a procedure
Exactly. Seeing an animal in distress is disturbing; especially if one doesn't understand what they are seeing.
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At this incident, (Meatball, chapter 1) a woman fainted and had to be transported for medical care.
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ur2slo
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Post by ur2slo »

Give you all the kudos! Ask me your protecting the animals from the "flat landers", not the opposite. Fainted and cost us what? Let alone the use of scare resources someone else REALLY may have needed.

You guys do a great job, glad to ugh.... "meet" ya!

Great group here, learning a lot good info.

Ole man was SBSO back in the day, father in law flew Forest Service heliwopers and most my experience with forest service was aircraft related. A great friend was forest service director of maint in Ogden Ut. Learned a lot from him.

Brother and me worked a spell at Rocky Mt Helicopters in Provo. Medivac. We'd grab our ski's, jump a test flight in an Alouette and get dropped back country...boy the good ole days..... Love the mountains...

As they say. I may die running the trees, or jumping a cornice, but I sure the hell aint dying falling off the couch.

As alway....Quaeritur Stultitiae
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