Saw this on craigslist. Wish I was closer. Someone take advantage of this!
http://houston.craigslist.org/spo/1272690850.html

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black Puma/Panther large cat

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Tbar

Yeah who knows, someone should head out there and take advantage either way and do some predator hunting.

I am in San Antonio. I just emailed them for further inf. That is only a couple hours away from me. That would be an exciting experience!

We checked with the game warden and there are no restrictions on shooting these big cats. Bring your own rifles, guns, shotguns, live traps. NO FOOT TRAPS---there are other animals/livestock here. We know where it shows up at almost daily.
LOL...

I think its a scam...

there going to say send me your info and credit card numbers so we can start the hunt

my grandpa wounldnt hunt it himself, he just doesnt like hunting and hes a ranchre. this is believable, and ii might be contacting them. its not so rare, well maybe the black cat is lol, but ive seen a cougar down here. seems like one person will see it then others will.


last time i saw one, it was about 4 miles from my house, and then 4 days later i get a call from a neighbor i hadnt talked to in like 2 yrs lol saying that he had seen one and i needed to be careful if i was out hunting!!!!!


someone on here should go hunting out there!
LOL...

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Why so quick to jump when someone may just want to have a mntn lion taken out if they don't hunt. It's hard for me to believe there is a cattle rancher that wouldn't take care of the problem themselves, but you never know.

However, you could be totally right. That's why I just asked for further info.

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I finally got a reply form the craigslist poster.

"Hi;
I am sending out the same email to all who have inquired:

One hunter has been coming over the last 3-4 weeks after the cat sightings. I'm
very appreciative of the effort he has made. Only my 10 yr old boy was
face to face with the cat, so only he knows what it looked like.

When my son described it: One hunter told me it's a cougar. One hunter
said it was a bobcat. One hunter said it was a raccoon. Hardly,
LOL---my son did not come face to face with a large brown raccoon the
size of our dog.

Yesterday 2 hunters came who's opinion is there is no cat here. They decided not
to try their luck at it, and suggested I set live traps for coons. We
had just added 2 more livestock guardian dogs 2 weeks ago, they are
very good at taking care of predators at night (coons etc, chasing off
coyotes). We now have 3 LGDogs and maybe that has scared the cat off.

However, a lone coyote was spotted 2x in the daytime on the same day
(7/16/09) Once in the AM by the hunter who couldn't get a clear shot
before it bolted, and later toward evening as it charged my fence
around the ducks, the dogs chased it off. We saw it again last night
before sunset, it came down to our duck fence again. The dogs chased
it off. I do not have a gun to shoot it.

2 yrs ago one large black cat was shot about 3 miles from me.

Also spotted within a 10 mile radius of me: I've spoken with many owners
here who have spotted on occassion: a large black cat and a large brown cat
(not a bobcat) during daylight. A 100lb lynx was shot
down the road from me about 6 months ago, and a few months after that
a neighbor came 'round his barn during the day and was smack in front
of a black cat about the size of a Great Dane. It grabbed a 20lb goose
& jumped his 6' fence with ease. So the big cats are here. It just
appears, according to the opinion of 2
hunters here yesterday, they are not here at my place ( right now.)

With all that said, I'm not sure what is still here or is not still
here except for the coyote we began seeing 4 days ago. We have not personally
seen with our eyes the large brown cat for about 3-4 weeks, but
my poultry/ducks have still been dissappearing regularly during daylight. It
may have moved on... it may be returning sporadically. Or we might
have more than one large predator.

Fact remains---something is still feeding on my cats, ducks and
chickens (without a footprint, a feather or on most occassions---no
sound) during the time between sun-up and sunset. We have had no rain
during the time the cat was here so there would be no tracks. I have
heard the screams of chickens during the day, and we come up missing a
bird when we count them at night before putting them up.

I did hear before dawn ( 5am) what sounded like a woman screaming for
help (2x). This was about 2-3 months ago. At the time of the noise,
the LGD barked in the direction we have seen the large brown cat run
off to.

I'm sending this out to all who have inquired so to be honest and
give you all the information I have gotten so far from 3 hunters
opinions and the current sightings/attacks.

We have 2 fenced acres, my neighbor has the fenced 16acres where both
the cat(s) and the coyote have been and he has given permission to
hunt there. Remains of our birds were found on several locations
within that 16 acres. The other 2 neigbors have not given permission
...they have 100's of acres. So we are limited to a small area. I do
have a few male ducks that can be used as lure if necessary,. We are
willing to turn-out or leave the LGDogs in as necessary but they must
remain out at night to protect.

Since our pond has dried up completely in the last 2 weeks, I assume
the cat may have left because it fed there...next to the pond fence
because the ducks were there. The ducks have left the pond area for
the most part, and birds are also avoiding that area where the attacks
were. The chickens used to free-range-roost in the shade trees where
the cat was face-to-face with my son, but most of them have become
wary because of the attacks there and have moved to higher/safer
ground near the house.

With all this information possibly you can make a decision. In the
meantime, we have pulled the ad. One hunter has said he feels the
predator is still here, and a team of 2 didn't want to stay. It's a
50/50 opinion right now.

Thanks for taking the time to read all this. If you need more info, let us know.
We were thinking possibly we would just create pens for the animals
and only free-range a few hours a day. and if you would like to be
contacted in the future if we have more sightings, we can do that.

Or if you'd still like to try your hand at it now, let us know."

What do y'all think???

I think this guy is worried for his families safety and just need some good blood thirsty hunters (that's us) tehe to go and check everything out. The guy may be a little frightened by all this and does not want to go alone with a gun which he may have never shot before and try and kill this thing. I live to far away but I know what this guy is wanting. Don't do it really for enjoyment but for the kid. Heck that kid was lucky he was not killed if he was close to it.

My grandfather trapped for a living before my time, but when I was a kid he taught me how to trap. I made some good money for a short time starting around 6 years old. I did go through a trapping phase later in adult life mostly for sport. I had a friend line me up with a landowner in McCouloch county several years ago who had lost several Barbados sheep over two or three years time. He thought he had a serious cat and coyote problem. A deal was struck where I came out to trap for free and in turn was provided his company truck to get there, free use of atvs, mobile home to stay in, open cupboard and bar, and all you can eat steak dinner at the local steakhouse. And I of course had to have my friend as a helper. It was a hoot with locals hearing about it and coming by to visit during my stay and telling old time ranch stories around the kitchen table at night. One of my more memorable adventures.

After touring the ranch, I covered the ranch with traps and snares. I gang set the place avoiding only the river area as I was not targeting raccoons. But after making the rounds that first day, I informed the landowner that I saw no Coyote sign. No cat sign, but expected there were certainly a bobcat or two around, but nothing unusual.

The first night I trapped an enormous amount of raccoons. Nothing like I had ever seen before. Something like 30 of them if I remember. Most of the dirt hole sets and snares had coons in them. Some fox and other off target, but mostly coons. As expected, no Coyotes. The landowner went along with us on the second morning. He became a bit squeamish and had me turning loose most of the coons with me respectively protesting.

I felt the number of raccoons unusual enough that I called to get an opinion from a biologist ombudsman who I had met previously at Angelo State University. He told me Raccoons had been a major problem with them before with family groups pulling down sheep and killing them. One would grab on to a sheep like a catch dog and the others would pile on until it was brought down. After my phone call, I was certain this man's problems were a combination of poaching over the fence, escaped animals, and an over population of raccoons. Mostly the latter. But the landowner was skeptical and I think he still believed he had a coyote problem at that point.

That third night a neighbor rancher came by. Unknowing about my earlier conversation with the biologist and then landowner earlier, the neighbor told a story about when he was riding with the previous owner on the "back 40". They witnessed a Barbados walking with a big raccoon hanging onto one leg and 4 or 5 more including babies following in single file behind it. And he told of the coyote eradication in the area both helicopter shooting and poison. That they no longer had coyotes of any sizable numbers in that area.

Guess what, that second week I came back to trap, the landowner was not squeamish anymore. KILL THEM ALL he said.

IMHO, The gentleman in that craigslist post also has a Raccoon problem. Most people do not realize how much of a predator they can be.

I think 10 yr old boy's can have a big imagination. But if someone wants to spend an evening or two hunting Bobcats and coons on 16 acre tract.. best of luck to you. Owner would probably be better served setting out some live traps.

sniper john, that is exactly what i thought, a racoon problem....

It may be more serious than any of us previously thought. Mammoth hamsters have been known to ravage countrysides. All you need to do is find a good Peruvian flute band to keep them at bay.

I think this whole thing is or this guy on craiglist doesn't know his butt from a hole in the ground.

If he is a farmer/rancher it's been in the last six months since he moved to the country from downtown Houston, DFW, etc. and wouldn't know a bull from a steer.

"I do not have a gun to shoot it". A farmer/rancher who doesn't have a gun handy?!! Especially when he's supposedly having predator problems??!!!

I've been farming/ranching my whole life. A gun is just like a pair of sidecutters or bailing wire...you always have one handy!!!

Bill

if yall think it good go out there an mess around some and prove all the bs'ers out there

Man I really want to kill one of them big black cats that everyone but me has seen!!!