Staying on good terms with the wildlife

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Rayleigh_Scattering

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This fall I expect to have access to a nice parcel of forest near Pigeon Lake for hunting on.

One potential snag is that from the evidence I can see it looks like there's a cougar living there (mule deer bones and a freshly disassembled hare under a big pine tree).

My initial assumption is that humans make them strongly uncomfortable and his/her sneak skill is so much better than my monkey sensor package that I could spend a week there and never get line-of-sight on the animal.

I know that these animals are only weakly territorial (territorial control changes every couple of years as new animals move in and old ones die), meaning that every place with food and cover in the province is potential new territory every fall.

I also realize that statistically I'm more likely to be attacked and killed by one of my own children (vicious little buggers!) than by wildlife.

For those of you who spend time out there, what's the usual MO for such potential territory conflict issues? Live and let live?
 
Yup, live and let live. Just because a cougar lives where you want to hunt is no reason to feel threatened. Cougars live lots of places, few of them ever threaten people, and of those few, even fewer actually attack people. And you are hunting right? You will be carrying a means of self defence if it came to that. So enjoy the presence of a predator that makes you pay attention, it will add to your hunt. I know some of the most interesting hunts I was ever on was when I had a grizzly nearby, or was aware I was being followed by wolves. Adds a bit of spice.
 
What makes you think the cougar will still be there when hunting season rolls around?
Don't forget to looky up once in a while.
Or tern your head 180*.

Ohhh bouy, I can feel his jitters.............:cool:
 
Longwalker said:
Yup, live and let live. Just because a cougar lives where you want to hunt is no reason to feel threatened. Cougars live lots of places, few of them ever threaten people, and of those few, even fewer actually attack people. And you are hunting right? You will be carrying a means of self defence if it came to that. So enjoy the presence of a predator that makes you pay attention, it will add to your hunt. I know some of the most interesting hunts I was ever on was when I had a grizzly nearby, or was aware I was being followed by wolves. Adds a bit of spice.
Click to expand...

I like the way you think.
 
Is there a shop near you where you can take kids and they get to make their own teddy bears? Go get a pair of fake eyes an stick them on the back of your hat.
 
You will be fine. The cats really don't want to have much to do with you anyhow.
Have fun hunting in there!
 
Longwalker said:
Yup, live and let live. Just because a cougar lives where you want to hunt is no reason to feel threatened. Cougars live lots of places, few of them ever threaten people, and of those few, even fewer actually attack people. And you are hunting right? You will be carrying a means of self defence if it came to that. So enjoy the presence of a predator that makes you pay attention, it will add to your hunt. I know some of the most interesting hunts I was ever on was when I had a grizzly nearby, or was aware I was being followed by wolves. Adds a bit of spice.
Click to expand...

Very true, I enjoy seeing wildlife while I’m in the bush. Even the predators when you have the chance of seeing them, it’s interesting how little you see them considering how much time you spend sneaking in before dawn and sitting still till after dusk.
 
Do you have any trail cam pics of the supposed cougar in and around pigeon lake??? There are no cougars in Ontario according to the OMNR........except the ones at your local tavern. Id be more inclined to believe it was a black bear than a big cat.

Sorry I am assuming Pigeon Lake in Ontario. If elsewhere please disregard my comment above.
 
>Pigeon Lake in Ontario

Pigeon Lake Alberta. It could well have been a black bear I suppose, but the kill was fresh and it was mid January the last time I was there so I figured they would be catching their Zs.

There were some Bacardi bottles and Lulu Lemon receipts too, which made me suspicious.

>The cats really don't want to have much to do with you anyhow.

Sadly, the double entendre is equally applicable in that regard.

>pair of fake eyes

I had read about doing the same with a set of googly eyes and a Cheshire Cat evil grin decal underneath. It was amusingly referred to as the WTF Defence.

My "partner" is a second tier predator, and I know that I don't smell/look/sound like prey so things should stay neighbourly.

Thank you all for your input.
 
Cougars are the last thing I worry about in the bush. A coyote has far more fight in him than a cougar.
 
Cougars have no interest in fighting with you. One might consider eating you, but it will try to do that without you having a chance to fight.
 
Cougars have a fairly large territory so the odds of being there when it is would be slim. As said before, a healthy cat has no interest in you....the young ones that have been kicked out on their own but haven't mastered the hunt and are hungry or the old ones that can't cut the mustard anymore are the dangerous ones.
I see cat sign all the time where I shotgun for blacktails but rarely see the cat. Lots of remains of deer, had tracks on top of my tracks in the snow, even get that "being watched" feeling once in a while.
No big deal, I'm hunting his spot so I don't mind sharing.
 
We have at least one cougar living in the city limits here in Red Deer AB down by Kerrywood Nature Center since the early 90's.Thinning out the urban deer for sure.
 
We have, near as we can tell, 3 or more cougars living around here.

One, a couple years back, took a liking to lamb as a food source, and the CO's brought in their dog team and he is no longer with us.

They have culled out the unwary deer, when the food supply drops to the point where they need to work harder than they want for a meal, they will move on.
As long as they have no interest in the livestock, they get left alone.

Sightings have been limited to a couple road crossing encounters by my neighbors, a couple trail cam pics, and the odd paw print. Them and the very few local bobcats, tend to not like being around us noisy folks, at least, while we are moving about.

Sounds like a good opportunity to bury a couple trail cams out there and see what moves about the place.
 
If you meet a cougar:

Never approach a cougar. Although cougars will normally avoid a confrontation, all cougars are unpredictable. Cougars feeding on a kill may be dangerous.
Always give a cougar an avenue of escape.
Stay calm. Talk to the cougar in a confident voice.
Pick all children up off the ground immediately. Children frighten easily and their rapid movements may provoke an attack.
Do not run. Try to back away from the cougar slowly. Sudden movement or flight may trigger an instinctive attack.
Do not turn your back on the cougar. Face the cougar and remain upright.
Do all you can to enlarge your image. Don't crouch down or try to hide. Pick up sticks or branches and wave them about.

If a cougar behaves aggressively:

Arm yourself with a large stick, throw rocks, speak loudly and firmly. Convince the cougar that you are a threat not prey.
If a cougar attacks, fight back! Many people have survived cougar attacks by fighting back with anything, including rocks, sticks, bare fists, and fishing poles.
 
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Diablo7101 said:
Cougars have a fairly large territory so the odds of being there when it is would be slim. As said before, a healthy cat has no interest in you....the young ones that have been kicked out on their own but haven't mastered the hunt and are hungry or the old ones that can't cut the mustard anymore are the dangerous ones.
I see cat sign all the time where I shotgun for blacktails but rarely see the cat. Lots of remains of deer, had tracks on top of my tracks in the snow, even get that "being watched" feeling once in a while.
No big deal, I'm hunting his spot so I don't mind sharing.
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There you go, nothing to lose sleep over, just stay alert.

Grizz
 
I always presume when someone on here makes a regional reference without adding any more information they’re from Ontario. :p Hopefully this time it’s Alberta.

Go hunt and like Longwalker says enjoy that extra zest having a suspected apex predator around provides. A place is dead without its apex predators, be happy they're around.
 
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