Grayson County mountain lion

People keep telling me there are not mountain lions in this part of Texas, but without a doubt I saw one crossing the road near my property the other evening. Spoke to the game warden and was told that they have confirmed one on their game cameras in the area. I have also come across a hog kill with what appeared to be large cat tracks, but they were not good enough to identify with any certainty. My question is, if given the opportunity, would you shoot it?

I probably would not. I certainly would understand if livestock owners did. It ain't my bitness, it's their's.

If it was my land and I had animals, I'd shoot it.

If I was on someone else's land I would follow their standing rules on predators.

I've seen several in my life. The moment usually passes quicker than you could react.

Absolutely yes, without a doubt! I spent 11 days in Colorado chasing those rascals (unsuccessfully) and shooting one is still very much on my bucket list.

We do keep cattle, but have not lost any to predation.

There is confirmed cats in Denton, Tarrant and Parker county? Why not Grayson?

I don’t know if I would shot one here. I would in other areas though

I have let several big bobcats walk, I don't think I would shoot a lion. I love watching animals do animal things and usually don't shoot them unless I need to eat them. Hogs and usually coyotes are the exception to that for me...

They are in Fannin as well. I know that for a fact. Neighboring county to Grayson.

I see one on my land, or land I've got permission to hunt, it's getting shot.

Don't think i would kill one unless they get much more prevalent

JR

I found lion tracks south of Dorchester on Christmas Day about fifteen years ago. We do have them without a doubt.

I live in Grayson county and had one cross the road in front of me maybe 60 yards away. No mistake it was a cougar. It stopped in the road, gave me a quick look, and then gone. I also heard one howl one morning early when I was feeding and that will send chills up your spine. There are plenty of pigs around for them to feed on and good cover on corp property around Ray Roberts. Other neighbors have seen them as well.

If legal/allowable where I'm hunting, that sucker's gettin' shot.

I've seen two in my life. One crossed the highway in front of me in Jefferson Colorado in the day time. The other was while I was riding motorcycles on some property between Sherman and Denison.

Maybe seen one in person(at night and far away) but have cut tracks 3-4 times in N TX and NM.
Ya, I am probably pulling the trigger. IMO they are not that rare and have expanded same as the WT have over the last 30 yrs. However, to each his own.

Yes. Preferably by calling it in.

I have one on camera behind my old place west of Gunter, yep they are there.
I'm sure I caught one in a coyote trap set because the trap was gone and the mesquite tree it was set below was destroyed with limbs busted off 6' up in the tree and a wear pattern on the ground 10' in diameter.

Reagan Wells, Briscoe Ranch, Uvalde county.

ya!

GWB

100% getting shot.

Cat meat is great for General Tsao's Chicken.

There was a chinese buffet in Lubbock we always went to.

Could never figure out what meat they were using because it was so unusual.

Few months later they got busted for using cat meat in some of their dishes.

Tasted great though. Very tender.

From what I've read, the meat of the "painter" was prized by "moutain men"

ya!

GWB

I remember dissecting a cat. Reminded me of a rabbit. That would be a lot of cats.

The same urban legend has repeated in a lot of places.

100% shooting. I walk and still hunt sendero s and bush blinds without a light if I can I am trying to be the hunter I don’t need anything hunting me!

Hell yeah id shoot it

Spouse and I saw one in Cooke County few years back, right above the Red. We first saw tracks and were pretty sure of what they were but at the same time not sure because they were mt lion tracks. The cat then crossed the road in front of us next day so we knew then for sure.

We deal with them up here on the ranch, no fun since we can't trap them. They have to be taken free range or treed with dogs.
Lost a trap to one I'm pretty sure, it bent the stake in half and took the trap.
Shot one couple of years back that we jumped off a kill in the hay meadows.
They will affect your deer herd, ours moved on while the big cat was around and came back when it was taken out.
We get tracks all winter and have to adjust our trapping when one moves in.

Cool to hear of the confirmed sighting, they don't need protection though. Meaning shooting it wouldn't be bad for the population.

They are all wrong. We don't have a lot of them, but we do have them.




Do you have a link for the confirmed cat in Denton? All II can find is Denton, Nebraska...
https://journalstar.com/news/local/...b7996ff-6cd0-553e-8def-d1d9a5d27d30.html

Lol I did see it exactly where I did a turkey hunt this spring.

No it was a car video and also a picture of one in copper canyon, both were taken not far from COE properties. Could have been same cat.

I saw some tracks in my place South of Bowie that were dang sure big cats. I called the State Biologist who didn’t doubt it. He said that 2 years before a female had raised some kittens in the hills around Amon Carter reservoir. No signs since.

Probably 2 years ago or so I saw one cross fm 121 east of Van alstyne on the way home from work. It was fast took me a moment to register it.

3 or so years ago one was shot in Celeste. With the range they have no question that cat could have been shot in Grayson county just as easy.

In reality there is likely not a county in Texas that does not have a few big cats.

That place wasn't Anna's Asian buffet was it..?

Dang!
That’s my favorite Chinese dish.

Nope. Would love to see one though.

Yeah, they're all over the place.
So many think that if it's not on a game camera,
It doesn't exist
And yes, they'll eat whatever they find attractive and
too slow.

Maybe not tomorrow, but we'll eventually end up with
lions being a problem like other predator/ pests
I'll shoot a pest whenever allowed and legal whether
I'm hungry or not.
Don't want the game animals and game birds and livestock
and pets eaten, or my safety or that of my friends and loved ones
put at the slightest risk.
Yes, I'll make a big pile of dead coons and possums and
felines and canines if I think it necessary

hell yes

I’d pop it. Make a rug.

In my experience that's how they are usually seen, happens very fast.

There was one that ran the Flower Mound Lake Grapevine shoreline I know for sure.

In a NY Second I would!

Had some issues with a couple in and around Hawkins in Wood County 20 or so years ago.
There were several sightings of one a year or two ago on Ray Hubard between Rockwall and Rowlett.
Years ago I was hunting and camping with friends just out of Big Wells in Dimmit County. We saw a mama Cougar with a couple cubs several times.

Just curious. Where abouts in Denton county? Greenbelt area?

Depends on the region, but if I saw it in my area (North TX), I certainly would not. Most of Texas is tame enough as it is. If I were a rancher, I might be singing a different tune, but I highly doubt anyone has lost cattle to mountain lions in my county.

Most definitely would not.

fwiw - while doing bird surveys, I have found them and their kills inside of the city limits of Austin where they catch suburban deer in addition to seeing them in Big Bend NP.

Jeff bird are you part of the Texans for mountain lions group?

DRT

Wow, I didn't even know that was a thing. Next some idiot will want to reintroduce wolves into Texas.

There is a group wanting to regulate mountain lions in Texas. They want 5 tags State wide. They are extremely anti predator hunting. They are being paraded as a pro hunting group but they’re just a group of bha type hipsters.

shoot & eat

I am always leery of "confirmed" sightings when there is no corresponding public information available.

I get that people have doubts, but there was no time to get a pic. Saw one when I was 14 and now when I'm 45 plus game warden confirming one on their cameras in the area. Lol If I saw one every other week, I'd doubt me too!

MOUNTAIN LIONS

Mountain lions are classified as nongame animals; they are not protected and can be harvested at any time. Please report mountain lion sightings, harvests or mortalities to (512) 389-4505.

I understand about seeing the cat and it disappearing very quickly, but what about the cat tracks? You said you saw a hog kill with cat tracks around it. Surely there were time to take pics of mountain lion tracks.

Not everyone carries camera everywhere they go, and yes not everyone has a smart phone especially back in the day.
Saw mt lion tracks in the sleet along the Red that year then it crossed the road in front of us later. Tracks melted out long before we could go back with a cam.

Spouse once found a dead mt lion along 287 in the Oklahoma panhandle. When I called that in they were very skeptical but went out did some research and found the carcass.
Even up here folks from the state will tell you maybe what you saw is not what you thought, then they find out spouse worked in G&F then the say ok maybe you know what you're talking about.
Some folks will be wrong but some know what they see.

I know what a husky looks like and what a wolf looks like but some think they look the same, lol.

Sure, but he said he didn't have time to take a pic, so it sounds like a camera was present.



Some people here will argue for the presence of a dead mountain lion when it isn't one.
https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/7193908/2

I saw big cat tracks behind my subdivision when I lived in Trophy Club just South of Marshall Creek. They are there.

I stopped and thought about following it in to look for tracks, but I had my boys with me and didn't feel like letting them watch me get mauled. I was also unarmed and without a flashlight. As far as the hog kill, I never saw a cat at that time. The tracks I did find were not good enough to say what it was, but I did take pictures at the time.

A few years ago there was one that traveled from somewhere around Rowlett up through Collin County to Southern Fannin County or nothern Hunt county (I believe). Several camera pics of it and confirmed by GW.

That’s right, killed near Celeste, my co-workers brother shot it