Panthers/Mountain Lions in Southern Indiana (Multiple sightings)

[Hkindiana]

I think he means at autopsy...

He says; "if you see a Couger or TRACKS without front claws. . . . .". How do you do an autopsy on tracks?

 

[Irukanji]

From what I understand, a Mountain Lion and a Panther are the same animal, or at least very very similar. Over the past 2 years or so, the amounts of sightings in the area around me (Floyd, Clark, Washington, Harrison County), has grown every year. I have a friend who said his neighbor has a picture on his trail cam of a black panther on his property. I am trying to get a copy of this to share. I have talked to other guys I somewhat know in the area that hunt, and they all have said they know someone who has seen one. One of the sightings was behind an elementary school in a pretty populated area in Floyd County. I also have heard that the DNR won't confirm them, but have said there appears to be some in Harrison County that were purposely put there to cut down the coyote population. These are all stories I have heard, so I do not know how truthful they are. Anyone else heard anything?

I have a buddy who swears he saw a black panther at the Warrick and Spencer county line a couple of years ago. I have also personally seen trail camera footage from a cam in Monroe county that appeared to be a mountain lion...

 

[Roadie]

Yep, Couger pad looks like a nose, with central lobe and two nostrils, and shows NO INDICATION of any claws

Sometimes people release there exotic pet out. If you see a cougar or tracks and they have no front claws they are former pets. If they have them they are the real thing...

Not reading previous Posts, Priceless.

 

[OWGEM]

I heard the DNR have released grizzly bear to control the black panthers they secretly released some time back. Evidently the panthers have been attacking too many deer and the DNR are concerned the deer hunters will revolt. However the DNR have not considered that grizzly bear like fish, so fisherman beware your prize fish are in danger!


I heard this from my father's son's nephew's uncle so I think it must be true. He read it on the Internet!

 

[Hkindiana]

I heard the DNR have released grizzly bear to control the black panthers they secretly released some time back. Evidently the panthers have been attacking too many deer and the DNR are concerned the deer hunters will revolt. However the DNR have not considered that grizzly bear like fish, so fisherman beware your prize fish are in danger!


I heard this from my father's son's nephew's uncle so I think it must be true. He read it on the Internet!

Poor attempt at humor/sarcasm, priceless

 

[Justus]

I have a buddy who has pics from his tree stand in brown county of a mt lion last deer season. Also my dad lives in miami county and the three farmers that live around him all reported seeing a mt lion last year and two of his neighbors say they also seen it.

Yes, there was a sighting in southern St Joe county by a deputy, I actually heard the radio call. My brother found mt lion tracks on his property near the sighting. A couple weeks later, the Niles, MI newspaper just north of us reported a few sightings on the IN/MI line.

Not sure if it was the same cat.
An earlier post suggested that these may be escapees from private land and I think that's very possible.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

This is the report in the local paper back in 2010 when several lions were spotted in the Bedford area: Mountain Lion Sightings Prompt Warning From Sheriff - TheIndyChannel.com

One was less than a mile from my house at the junction of Hwy 37 and Washboard Road - that's the one they said was eating a deer carcass. I've sinced talked to DNR and they said this was an "unconfirmed" sighting because there were no pictures and no DNR follow-up to confirm. Adult cougars do not eat carrion, they only eat what they kill and/or cashe'. The one witnessed by the sherrif eating a deer carcass - road kill - must have been a juvenile.

The picture in the article:

Is not from these sightings, but rather from a confirmed DNR sighting (via trail cam) in Greene County.

 

[ghitch75]

This is the report in the local paper back in 2010 when several lions were spotted in the Bedford area: Mountain Lion Sightings Prompt Warning From Sheriff - TheIndyChannel.com

One was less than a mile from my house at the junction of Hwy 37 and Washboard Road - that's the one they said was eating a deer carcass. I've sinced talked to DNR and they said this was an "unconfirmed" sighting because there were no pictures and no DNR follow-up to confirm. Adult cougars do not eat carrion, they only eat what they kill and/or cashe'. The one witnessed by the sherrif eating a deer carcass - road kill - must have been a juvenile.

The picture in the article:

Is not from these sightings, but rather from a confirmed DNR sighting (via trail cam) in Greene County.

that was taken 9 miles from me as the crow flies......my neighbor 1/2 mile away has a trailcam pick of one......buddy of mine seen one on the back side of my place 2 years ago in turkey season....

there around....

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

I'd love to see the trail cam pic! DNR says the greene county sighting is the only "confirmed" sighting. These trail cam pic's need to be forwarded to DNR. PM me if you have a copy of one. I have a buddy here that says he can get hold of a local trail cam pic too, but haven't seen it yet.

 

[ghitch75]

I'd love to see the trail cam pic! DNR says the greene county sighting is the only "confirmed" sighting. These trail cam pic's need to be forwarded to DNR. PM me if you have a copy of one. I have a buddy here that says he can get hold of a local trail cam pic too, but haven't seen it yet.

i'll get it from him this weekend and i'll post it....

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

i'll get it from him this weekend and i'll post it....

Awesome - thanks.

Why can't this be a mountain lion? The "experts" say it's not, really? Why not: California community stumped by mystery animal caught on videotape

 

[singlestacksig]

Mountain lion spotted roaming in southeast Ohio by wildlife officer | cleveland.com

 

[pathfinder317]

Had a friend of mine who lives in Bedford tell me this past week , someone in the Mitchell area lost a dog to a mountain lion attack, I haven't seen anything else about it though, has anyone else heard this ?

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Had a friend of mine who lives in Bedford tell me this past week , someone in the Mitchell area lost a dog to a mountain lion attack, I haven't seen anything else about it though, has anyone else heard this ?

I live east of Mitchell and haven't read or heard anything about this. Happened this week?

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

Don't know about a dog lost in Mitchell, but just heard this morning there have been multiple cub sightings on the NW corner of NSWC Crane - past two weeks. Good friend of mine saw one of the cubs yesterday. Stopped his car within 20 feet of the cub and got a good look. No camera/no phone/no pictures, but a good description of somthing he's never seen before - sounds exactly like a mountain lion cub. He's seen bobcats and said he immediately knew this was no bobcat.

 

[CountryBoy19]

This is the report in the local paper back in 2010 when several lions were spotted in the Bedford area: Mountain Lion Sightings Prompt Warning From Sheriff - TheIndyChannel.com

One was less than a mile from my house at the junction of Hwy 37 and Washboard Road - that's the one they said was eating a deer carcass. I've sinced talked to DNR and they said this was an "unconfirmed" sighting because there were no pictures and no DNR follow-up to confirm. Adult cougars do not eat carrion, they only eat what they kill and/or cashe'. The one witnessed by the sherrif eating a deer carcass - road kill - must have been a juvenile.

You know what is even more eery about that? You know roughly where I live, within 1 mile of the sighting mentioned in that article. Another deputy's wife saw it a few months after that reported sighting in the field by my house when she came home late one night. She couldn't positively ID it; she said it was definitely some sort of cat but seemed too large to be a bobcat. She caught a very brief glimpse before it vanished. She was totally freaked out and she is quite certain it was a cougar. FWIW, she isn't one to stretch the truth; a very honest and respected woman in the community. Fast forward another month later and I'm driving north on 37, just a hundred or so yards south of washboard a large, roadkill animal catches my eye on the shoulder of the left-hand lane (NB 37). It's dark so it's hard to see but every single feature I could make out looked like cougar/mountain lion to me. Definitely wasn't a bobcat that i could tell because the color was just wrong, size was off etc. Color looked more like a deer but body proportions (neck length especially) were off. It had to be a cougar. It was dark, no good place to pull off, too risky to get a closer look at that time. I went back very first thing the next morning (literally, first good light) and it was completely gone and nothing was ever said about it. Normal roadkill deer don't get swept out of public view that quickly; it only reaffirms that I'm certain I saw what I think I saw.

Don't know about a dog lost in Mitchell, but just heard this morning there have been multiple cub sightings on the NW corner of NSWC Crane - past two weeks. Good friend of mine saw one of the cubs yesterday. Stopped his car within 20 feet of the cub and got a good look. No camera/no phone/no pictures, but a good description of somthing he's never seen before - sounds exactly like a mountain lion cub. He's seen bobcats and said he immediately knew this was no bobcat.

That's pretty cool!!!

 

[jstaug]

My wife has had 2 cougar sitings within 100' of our house in Floyd Co near Corydon Ridge. 1 last fall 50' from our front door and 1 last night crossing our driveway at dusk. Wife claims the cougar was slinking after rabbits in our yard both times. Our house sits on a ridge backed up to 100+ acres of untouched woods. A neighbor also captured 1 on a trail camera last fall. Reported the 1st siting to the DNR and the local sheriff. Of course it's not an official siting without a picture.

 

[WhatTheHill]

Indiana DNR did get trail cam pictures in 2010 of a mountain lion in Greene county.

My uncle did have an experience with one where he lives in Greene county, while he was hunting. Wasn't a comfirmed sighting but he had no other explanation. This was in western Greene county a few years before DNR got ahold of the trail cam pics.

 

[SigFan07]

If mountain lions eat raccoons then I hope mountain lions spread throughout the whole state! lol. If I still had a dog though and a mountain lion got a hold of him/her I would definitely get the guns and aim for the mountain lion.

I watched a program on PBS a few months ago that talked about Florida having a problem with wild pigs and to take care of that problem they re-introduced mountain lions. I guess this has been going on now for some time and no person has been killed yet by a mountain lion. From the wiki page there does not seem to be too many fatal attacks: List of fatal cougar attacks in North America - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[chato]

I caught a bobcat on camera in newalbany/floyds knobs area 2yrs ago. looked to be pretty good size.