# Catoosa county cougar report



## BuckNasty83 (Dec 18, 2020)

Sorry if it's been posted.  I'm sure most of us locals have seen this already,  but just incase you haven't.
Domestic cat or cougar? ?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/newsch...tdoors/catoosa-county-cougar-is-it-or-isnt-it


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## Para Bellum (Dec 18, 2020)

It’s a cat.  Every year with this mess.


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## Mike 65 (Dec 18, 2020)

And always a poor picture.
Bigfoot's and panthers are always a blur.


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## lukeclem4901 (Dec 18, 2020)

Probably is a cougar. They live in TN and FL and were once native to GA so it makes sense for them to be here. Plus the DNR lies and does shady things without telling the public anyways. I know I've seen and heard things in the woods, that according to the DNR, are fairy tales. I don't need some "professional" green jeans telling me what is and isn't out in the woods when they stay in an office or a truck all day.


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## Nicodemus (Dec 18, 2020)

lukeclem4901 said:


> Probably is a cougar. They live in TN and FL and were once native to GA so it makes sense for them to be here. Plus the DNR lies and does shady things without telling the public anyways. I know I've seen and heard things in the woods, that according to the DNR, are fairy tales. I don't need some "professional" green jeans telling me what is and isn't out in the woods when they stay in an office or a truck all day.




What did you hear?


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## lukeclem4901 (Dec 18, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> What did you hear?


Wolves. Most likely red wolves. I've heard coyotes/coywolves/coydogs countless times and this was different. I had found a track earlier the same day and thought it was way to big for a coyote. My dog weighs between 50-60 pounds and it the paw print was over twice the size of her paws.


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## westcobbdog (Dec 19, 2020)

Posted this before but def big cats in s ga, prolly come up from Fla.
My brother went up a tree in the dark and a big cat was in a nearby tree and jumped down growling as it slinked off. Also one was spotted by car and it literally cleard a country dirt rd in a leap. Ain’t saying anything about the color, either.


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## Joe Brandon (Dec 19, 2020)

lukeclem4901 said:


> Wolves. Most likely red wolves. I've heard coyotes/coywolves/coydogs countless times and this was different. I had found a track earlier the same day and thought it was way to big for a coyote. My dog weighs between 50-60 pounds and it the paw print was over twice the size of her paws.


You did not mention the werewolf sir.


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## NCHillbilly (Dec 19, 2020)

Good Lord. That's pretty plainly a cat.


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## Jimmypop (Dec 19, 2020)

I live in Catoosa co. I went over there to check the track for myself. It weighed just over 2  lb.    lol


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## kmckinnie (Dec 19, 2020)

Looks like it to me. 
Y’all be safe.


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## jiminbogart (Dec 19, 2020)

With all the trail cams you knuckleheads have out there why aren't there 100's of Georgia cougar and big feets pictures?

I would think the cougars would stay around feeders to catch their prey eating lunch.

How about a good pic of a foot print?


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## Nicodemus (Dec 19, 2020)

jiminbogart said:


> With all the trail cams you knuckleheads have out there why aren't there 100's of Georgia cougar and big feets pictures?
> 
> I would think the cougars would stay around feeders to catch their prey eating lunch.
> 
> How about a good pic of a foot print?




Foot print won`t tell you a whole lot, but two footprints will, with a ruler between the front and back showing the stride length.


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## lukeclem4901 (Dec 19, 2020)

westcobbdog said:


> Posted this before but def big cats in s ga, prolly come up from Fla.
> My brother went up a tree in the dark and a big cat was in a nearby tree and jumped down growling as it slinked off. Also one was spotted by car and it literally cleard a country dirt rd in a leap. Ain’t saying anything about the color, either.





Joe Brandon said:


> You did not mention the werewolf sir.



I was waiting for the troll comments to roll in


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## Jim Thompson (Dec 19, 2020)

No reason it couldnt be a cougar...unless its being claimed to be a black one


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## lukeclem4901 (Dec 19, 2020)




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## lukeclem4901 (Dec 19, 2020)




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## tr21 (Dec 19, 2020)

that's most definitely a cougar. i had a 67 with a 289 and it could fly !


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## jiminbogart (Dec 19, 2020)

Doboy Dawg said:


> I really don’t give a crap if you Flat Earthers believe me or not.



I was referring to the cat in Catoosa there Karen.



Doboy Dawg said:


> I spent 28 years as a law enforcement officer before retiring.



Good deal. We'll call you when we need a donut recommendation.


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## jiminbogart (Dec 19, 2020)

Speaking of cats, didn't someone kill a panther with a collar on it in the Okefenokee about 30 years ago? IIRC there was something in GON about it back then.


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## Nicodemus (Dec 19, 2020)

jiminbogart said:


> Speaking of cats, didn't someone kill a panther with a collar on it in the Okefenokee about 30 years ago? IIRC there was something in GON about it back then.




One was killed by a bowhunter in the old Paulk`s Pasture WMA back in the 90`s. It was one of the tagged panthers that was released in the Osceola National Forest when Florida was doing the test to see if they could support themselves in north Florida. Several moved up into Georgia during that time.


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## Joe Brandon (Dec 19, 2020)

This is probably the most notable Ga encounter. I remember when this happened. At that time we were hunting pretty close to Merriweather in Lutherville.

https://www.gon.com/news/cougar-shot-by-hunter-in-troup-co


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## lukeclem4901 (Dec 19, 2020)

"The cat had no tattoos, tags or a collar, and it had not been declawed, which are signs of captivity"

Another reason you shouldn't listen to a word the DNR says


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## Nicodemus (Dec 19, 2020)

lukeclem4901 said:


> "The cat had no tattoos, tags or a collar, and it had not been declawed, which are signs of captivity"
> 
> Another reason you shouldn't listen to a word the DNR says




That particular panther was a verified Florida panther. DNA sample proved that. Young Tom that was looking for new territory.


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## C.Killmaster (Dec 19, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> That particular panther was a verified Florida panther. DNA sample proved that. Young Tom that was looking for new territory.



I skinned that cat.


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## Nicodemus (Dec 19, 2020)

C.Killmaster said:


> I skinned that cat.



You could have saved me a claw!  


Here`s my Cuz with T43.


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## C.Killmaster (Dec 19, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> You could have saved me a claw!
> 
> 
> Here`s my Cuz with T43.



I couldn't save anything at all once we found out it was a Florida Panther, you know the whole endangered species thing.  I had to turn over the hide and skull to the USFWS.


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## jiminbogart (Dec 19, 2020)

C.Killmaster said:


> I skinned that cat.



I there really more than one way?


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## Dutch (Dec 19, 2020)

I got attacked by a cougar in '98.  They are quite prevalent in many parts of Georgia.


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## C.Killmaster (Dec 19, 2020)

jiminbogart said:


> I there really more than one way?



Absolutely, but I stayed traditional and skinned him like a bear rug.


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## jiminbogart (Dec 19, 2020)

Dutch said:


> I got attacked by a cougar in '98.  They are quite prevalent in many parts of Georgia.



I've got one in the kitchen right now.


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## lukeclem4901 (Dec 19, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> That particular panther was a verified Florida panther. DNA sample proved that. Young Tom that was looking for new territory.



Well it wasn't really a "Florida" panther if it was shot in Georgia was it... DNR might want to put up signs on the GA/FL border telling them no panthers allowed here


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## C.Killmaster (Dec 19, 2020)

lukeclem4901 said:


> Well it wasn't really a "Florida" panther if it was shot in Georgia was it... DNR might want to put up signs on the GA/FL border telling them no panthers allowed here



So you're not a Georgian when you travel out of state?


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## Nicodemus (Dec 19, 2020)

lukeclem4901 said:


> Well it wasn't really a "Florida" panther if it was shot in Georgia was it... DNR might want to put up signs on the GA/FL border telling them no panthers allowed here





Now you`re trying to get all technical on me.


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## Wifeshusband (Dec 19, 2020)

Can't tell from the picture, but I knew a forester who spent his entire life in the woods and sometime in the 70's he saw a cougar (with kits) crossing a dirt road in Marion County. The man probably knew more about nature and animals than all the desk jockeys in the DNR. He reported it. Said he felt like reporting a UFO to the Air Force.  The guy was as honest as they come.


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## lukeclem4901 (Dec 19, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> Now you`re trying to get all technical on me.



No I was making an obvious point. Just because it has florida in the name doesn't mean the subspecies can't live outside of the state. There are western cougars residing in tennessee. You get the picture?


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## lukeclem4901 (Dec 19, 2020)

C.Killmaster said:


> So you're not a Georgian when you travel out of state?



If I moved to Florida, would you say that I'm a Florida resident or just a Georgian looking for new territory?


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## C.Killmaster (Dec 19, 2020)

lukeclem4901 said:


> If I moved to Florida, would you say that I'm a Florida resident or just a Georgian looking for new territory?



Georgian looking for new territory.  That cat was born and raised in Florida.  Doesn't really matter what you prefer though, the Florida panther is the official name for a distinct subspecies of cougar (_Puma concolor coryi_).  Their historic range prior to extirpation did occupy parts of south Georgia though.


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## Nicodemus (Dec 19, 2020)

lukeclem4901 said:


> No I was making an obvious point. Just because it has florida in the name doesn't mean the subspecies can't live outside of the state. There are western cougars residing in tennessee. You get the picture?




I`ll do my best and try. Who knows, I might learn something.


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## ucfireman (Dec 19, 2020)

Jimmypop said:


> I live in Catoosa co. I went over there to check the track for myself. It weighed just over 2  lb.    lol



Would you care to explain how you weighed the track?


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## jicard3 (Dec 19, 2020)

Wifeshusband said:


> Can't tell from the picture, but I knew a forester who spent his entire life in the woods and sometime in the 70's he saw a cougar (with kits) crossing a dirt road in Marion County. The man probably knew more about nature and animals than all the desk jockeys in the DNR. He reported it. Said he felt like reporting a UFO to the Air Force.  The guy was as honest as they come.


My family has property in Marion county. The folks around there still talk about “big cats”.


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## Para Bellum (Dec 19, 2020)

lukeclem4901 said:


> Probably is a cougar. They live in TN and FL and were once native to GA so it makes sense for them to be here. Plus the DNR lies and does shady things without telling the public anyways. I know I've seen and heard things in the woods, that according to the DNR, are fairy tales. I don't need some "professional" green jeans telling me what is and isn't out in the woods when they stay in an office or a truck all day.



I spent 13 years of my life in the woods from VA to TX and never saw one track.  Believe me?


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## lukeclem4901 (Dec 19, 2020)

Metro Trout said:


> I spent 13 years of my life in the woods from VA to TX and never saw one track.  Believe me?


Were you even looking for tracks lol


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## Para Bellum (Dec 19, 2020)

C.Killmaster said:


> So you're not a Georgian when you travel out of state?



Obviously no reasoning with him.


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## C.Killmaster (Dec 19, 2020)

We don't have a population of mountain lions in Georgia or anywhere in the Southeast except south Florida.  When a cat wanders away from a known population they get shot, hit by a car, or at the very least show up clearly on trail camera photos.


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## Para Bellum (Dec 19, 2020)

C.Killmaster said:


> We don't have a population of mountain lions in Georgia or anywhere in the Southeast except south Florida.  When a cat wanders away from a known population they get shot, hit by a car, or at the very least show up clearly on trail camera photos.



This.  What’s with the TN population talk??


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## jiminbogart (Dec 19, 2020)

Did that Florida panther vote while he was up here in Georgia? 

Wonder if he's still voting.


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## jiminbogart (Dec 19, 2020)

C.Killmaster said:


> We don't have a population of mountain lions in Georgia or anywhere in the Southeast except south Florida.  When a cat wanders away from a known population they get shot, hit by a car, or at the very least show up clearly on trail camera photos.




I know for a fact that there are panthers in North Carolina.

There was one there last year that moved to Boston. 

The sub species was _Camuma concolornewton coryi._

_His litter mates are still in NC. _


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## jiminbogart (Dec 19, 2020)

One in the black color phase and white color phase.


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## Para Bellum (Dec 19, 2020)

jiminbogart said:


> I know for a fact that there are panthers in North Carolina.
> 
> There was one there last year that moved to Boston.
> 
> ...



I DESPISE that particular panther (Patriot).


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## jiminbogart (Dec 19, 2020)

lukeclem4901 said:


> If I moved to Florida, would you say that I'm a Florida resident or just a Georgian looking for new territory?



My wife was born and raised in Florida, she has lived in Georgia 36 years and she's still a yankee.


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## C.Killmaster (Dec 19, 2020)

Metro Trout said:


> This.  What’s with the TN population talk??



There were a number of confirmed sightings from what they think were two individual western cougars in TN.  They showed up on a bunch of different trail cameras for months and then apparently went back to where they came from.  After years of persecution, cougar populations are expanding and we are seeing more excursions into new areas.  With GPS collars they've been able to document some crazy treks by large predators like cougars and bears, some going 500 to nearly 1000 miles.  The Florida panther that was shot in Georgia was 600 miles as the crow flies from the south Florida population it came from.  Both parents of that cat had been captured and DNA sampled, so it was pretty definitive where it came from.


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## C.Killmaster (Dec 19, 2020)

jiminbogart said:


> My wife was born and raised in Florida, she has lived in Georgia 36 years and she's still a yankee.



My wife is a Florida cracker transplanted to GA.  I guess I'm more yankee than she is. 1st generation GA on my father's side, but many southern generations on my mother's side (south AL).


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## lukeclem4901 (Dec 20, 2020)

C.Killmaster said:


> There were a number of confirmed sightings from what they think were two individual western cougars in TN.  They showed up on a bunch of different trail cameras for months and then apparently went back to where they came from.  After years of persecution, cougar populations are expanding and we are seeing more excursions into new areas.  With GPS collars they've been able to document some crazy treks by large predators like cougars and bears, some going 500 to nearly 1000 miles.  The Florida panther that was shot in Georgia was 600 miles as the crow flies from the south Florida population it came from.  Both parents of that cat had been captured and DNA sampled, so it was pretty definitive where it came from.



Actually the TWRA themselves said that the panthers are there to stay in tennessee. So, you're wrong


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## lukeclem4901 (Dec 20, 2020)

jiminbogart said:


> My wife was born and raised in Florida, she has lived in Georgia 36 years and she's still a yankee.


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## Thunder Head (Dec 20, 2020)

Oh just do a little search on the ole web,

Lets say trail cam pics of Florida panthers.
 Theres 100s of them. There not blurry. There not house cats or bob cats.

Or go to hunting forums just like this one, for western states.
 Theres 1000s of trail cam pics of cougars walking down the same game trails the deer and elk do. Even more at the same water holes there prey uses. Not blurry house cat or bobcat pics.

Or lets take the cat that Killmaster skinned. The hunter has a trail camera in front of his stand. He starts getting pictures of a cougar. Theres no denying it. There not fuzzy or anything. Its a cougar. And whatd you know. Hes sitting in his deer stand and here comes the cat. BOOM!

Now before you get your undies in a wad at me. I wont call you a liar. Its completely possible you saw what you say. Satellite tracking studys show big predators are liable to just start walking.

But, If there was a breeding resident population of cougars in Ga. They would show up on trail cameras period.


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## NCHillbilly (Dec 20, 2020)

lukeclem4901 said:


> "The cat had no tattoos, tags or a collar, and it had not been declawed, which are signs of captivity"
> 
> Another reason you shouldn't listen to a word the DNR says


People have a hard time understanding the difference between a transient young male cougar passing through and a breeding population. A young male dispersing cougar is likely to show up anywhere, any time. The one killed in Troup County was an example. There have been young male cougars from South Dakota killed and verified in Connecticut, Illinois, Wisconsin, and other places. 

One cougar wandering around doesn't equal a population. Until you have verified resident females. That young male wanderer may be here today and a hundred miles away day after tomorrow, and back where he started a couple months later. There is absolutely no verifiable evidence of a breeding population of cougars in Georgia, or anywhere else in the southeast except Florida. And it's not hard to get that evidence if they actually live there.


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## NCHillbilly (Dec 20, 2020)

Thunder Head said:


> Oh just do a little search on the ole web,
> 
> Lets say trail cam pics of Florida panthers.
> Theres 100s of them. There not blurry. There not house cats or bob cats.
> ...


And flat on the roads.


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## C.Killmaster (Dec 20, 2020)

lukeclem4901 said:


> Actually the TWRA themselves said that the panthers are there to stay in tennessee. So, you're wrong



I guess those cougars have been on vacation away from their TN home since 2016 then.  No confirmed sightings since then.

https://www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife/mammals/large/cougars.html


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## jiminbogart (Dec 20, 2020)

So, lets say I'm hunting in Oconee County and a big old panther walks up.

Can I blast him?

If so, is there a panther tag?

Who processes panthers around here?


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## C.Killmaster (Dec 20, 2020)

jiminbogart said:


> So, lets say I'. hunting in Oconee County and a big old panther walks up.
> 
> Can I blast him?
> 
> ...



I wouldn't, the last guy got fined pretty heavily by the Feds since it was an endangered species.  In state law it is a game animal with a closed season.


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## Throwback (Dec 20, 2020)

C.Killmaster said:


> In state law it is a game animal with a closed season.


“Proof” that the DNR knows they’re here ?


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## NCHillbilly (Dec 20, 2020)

Throwback said:


> “Proof” that the DNR knows they’re here ?


I heard they're stocking them by helicopter and parachute.


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## Throwback (Dec 20, 2020)

NCHillbilly said:


> I heard they're stocking them by helicopter and parachute.


Paid for by the insurance companies


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## jiminbogart (Dec 20, 2020)

Throwback said:


> “Proof” that the DNR knows they’re here ?



I might have shot one this season.

I ain't sayin' though.

Just sayin'...


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## lukeclem4901 (Dec 20, 2020)

C.Killmaster said:


> I guess those cougars have been on vacation away from their TN home since 2016 then.  No confirmed sightings since then.
> 
> https://www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife/mammals/large/cougars.html



But the DNR is never wrong!


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## gma1320 (Dec 20, 2020)

I don't care what is said.  My wife and I have been chased by a large black cat. It was about 2006 over in jacks hills in Douglasville.  It now property that is owned by Tyler perry and Sweetwater creek state park. Many years ago that was farmland that belonged toy family.  I asked my greT uncle about when we saw it. He said they had been seeing them.sonce the 60's around there. But he did also have a reasonable explanation.  Apparently at one time a fella kept exotic animals captive down off of lower river road, which is now called riverside parkway.  Don't care if you don't believe me,  my wife and I will be glad to take a polygraph to prove it. They are around,  whether anyone want to believe it or acknowledge it. Maybe not naturally, I've seen one with a witness.


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## Thunder Head (Dec 20, 2020)

Like ive said i wont call you a liar. The troup county cat proved it could happen.

Why do you think there are no trail camera pics?


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## mguthrie (Dec 20, 2020)

Joe Brandon said:


> This is probably the most notable Ga encounter. I remember when this happened. At that time we were hunting pretty close to Merriweather in Lutherville.
> 
> https://www.gon.com/news/cougar-shot-by-hunter-in-troup-co


I remember when they posted the trail cam pic on here. Everybody said it was a house cat


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## gma1320 (Dec 20, 2020)

Thunder Head said:


> Like ive said i wont call you a liar. The troup county cat proved it could happen.
> 
> Why do you think there are no trail camera pics?


My guess is since most people get laughed at and told it isn't real they keep them.to themselves.


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## Nicodemus (Dec 20, 2020)

Those of you who are throwing insults, abbreviated profanity, or anything of the the above, if this continues, you will be banned as soon as you make the post. All of you are adults, so act like it. This is a family friendly site. Treat it as such. 

This is the only warning I will post. Take it for what it is worth.


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## tr21 (Dec 20, 2020)

ucfireman said:


> Would you care to explain how you weighed the track?


well duh  ! with a bathroon scale......man


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## C.Killmaster (Dec 20, 2020)

lukeclem4901 said:


> But the DNR is never wrong!



Correct, DNR is never wrong!  But TWRA sure is


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## kmckinnie (Dec 21, 2020)

lukeclem4901 said:


> But the DNR is never wrong!


They do a pretty good job all in all ! It’s not easy the job they do.


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## JustUs4All (Dec 21, 2020)

jiminbogart said:


> So, lets say I'm hunting in Oconee County and a big old panther walks up.
> Who processes panthers around here?



Nicodemus will if it is black.  He doesn't cotton to diversity much.


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## jiminbogart (Dec 21, 2020)

mguthrie said:


> I remember when they posted the trail cam pic on here. Everybody said it was a house cat



It was a house cat. It got loose or was released.

Did they ever find out who owned it? It was seem tough to keep that a secret.


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## mguthrie (Dec 21, 2020)

jiminbogart said:


> It was a house cat. It got loose or was released.
> 
> Did they ever find out who owned it? It was seem tough to keep that a secret.


It’s dead. I was referring to the one in troup county


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## jiminbogart (Dec 21, 2020)

mguthrie said:


> It’s dead. I was referring to the one in troup county



So was I. I guess my joke is dead too.


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## nmurph (Dec 21, 2020)

How did I miss this scrum? What's not to like- panthers, werewolves, and bans!!!!


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## Nicodemus (Dec 21, 2020)

So many folks hear a barn owl sounding off, or a red fox squalling, and think it`s a panther out there. Panthers "chirp" more than just about any other sound they make.


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## NCHillbilly (Dec 21, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> So many folks hear a barn owl sounding off, or a red fox squalling, and think it`s a panther out there. Panthers "chirp" more than just about any other sound they make.


They purr like the dickens, too. They've got a couple over at the WNC nature center that you can get pretty close to, just behind a glass wall on their enclosure. One interesting thing I saw once when I was over there was a school group walking by the panther pen. They ignored the kids completely until one kid came by hopping on crutches. The female jumped up and started following that kid in full stalk mode. It was both cool and disconcerting. It scared the kid pretty bad.


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## Nicodemus (Dec 21, 2020)

NCHillbilly said:


> They purr like the dickens, too. They've got a couple over at the WNC nature center that you can get pretty close to, just behind a glass wall on their enclosure. One interesting thing I saw once when I was over there was a school group walking by the panther pen. They ignored the kids completely until one kid came by hopping on crutches. The female jumped up and started following that kid in full stalk mode. It was both cool and disconcerting. It scared the kid pretty bad.




Even in captivity, they know how Nature works. Take out the weak.


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## NCHillbilly (Dec 21, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> Even in captivity, they know how Nature works. Take out the weak.


Yep. I could sit and watch those things all day. They're fascinating critters. Same with bobcats.


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## Nicodemus (Dec 21, 2020)

NCHillbilly said:


> Yep. I could sit and watch those things all day. They're fascinating critters. Same with bobcats.




The one I saw in Putnam County Florida back in 1976 is imprinted in my vision. That was one of the major highlights of my time in the outdoors. I love bobcats, and see a lot of them, but this one really was on steroids.


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## NCHillbilly (Dec 21, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> The one I saw in Putnam County Florida back in 1976 is imprinted in my vision. That was one of the major highlights of my time in the outdoors. I love bobcats, and see a lot of them, but this one really was on steroids.


I sat for over an hour early one morning near here watching a bobcat catching field mice. He would stalk, then jump straight up in the air and come straight down with all four feet. And he usually came up with one. He finally got full, I guess, and wandered back into the woods.


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## Resica (Dec 21, 2020)

NCHillbilly said:


> I sat for over an hour early one morning near here watching a bobcat catching field mice. He would stalk, then jump straight up in the air and come straight down with all four feet. And he usually came up with one. He finally got full, I guess, and wandered back into the woods.


Similar to foxes I've seen in the snow.


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## Nicodemus (Dec 21, 2020)

Resica said:


> Similar to foxes I've seen in the snow.




I see red foxes and bobcats do it.Strangely, never seen a gray fox hunt like this.


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## NCHillbilly (Dec 21, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> I see red foxes and bobcats do it.Strangely, never seen a gray fox hunt like this.


Same here.


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## Thunder Head (Dec 21, 2020)

I was up on the Tenn. river this summer something was coming down the bluff making a crazy noise id never heard before. When it got real close to us. I lit it up with a spot light. It was a red fox. Squalling would be a accurate description of what it was doing.


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## 1982ace (Dec 21, 2020)

I’ve seen one in Lowndes County on 2 separate occasions about 5 miles apart


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## caughtinarut (Dec 21, 2020)

C.Killmaster said:


> There were a number of confirmed sightings from what they think were two individual western cougars in TN.  They showed up on a bunch of different trail cameras for months and then apparently went back to where they came from.  After years of persecution, cougar populations are expanding and we are seeing more excursions into new areas.  With GPS collars they've been able to document some crazy treks by large predators like cougars and bears, some going 500 to nearly 1000 miles.  The Florida panther that was shot in Georgia was 600 miles as the crow flies from the south Florida population it came from.  Both parents of that cat had been captured and DNA sampled, so it was pretty definitive where it came from.


Wasn't there a few cats from south Florida released 15 or so years ago in north florida and by tracking them (1 up to around fitzgerald, the other to Jesup) the florida folks saw that they went up into south GA. too many people were noticing them so they recaptured them and took them back south. I am pretty sure I read an article about that.


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## C.Killmaster (Dec 21, 2020)

caughtinarut said:


> Wasn't there a few cats from south Florida released 15 or so years ago in north florida and by tracking them (1 up to around fitzgerald, the other to Jesup) the florida folks saw that they went up into south GA. too many people were noticing them so they recaptured them and took them back south. I am pretty sure I read an article about that.



Yep, they were actually western cougars in a pilot project to see if it would be viable to move Florida panthers north.  @Nicodemus alluded to it earlier in the thread.  They were all eventually removed and the project was canned.  If memory serves, I think 2 of the 19 cats were actually released in deep south GA.  If you google around you can find the final report on the project.


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## cowhornedspike (Dec 22, 2020)

Nicodemus said:


> So many folks hear a barn owl sounding off, or a red fox squalling, and think it`s a panther out there. Panthers "chirp" more than just about any other sound they make.



But...but... everyone knows they sound like a woman being murdered...


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