Author Topic: Cougar in Ky. (Read 9634 times)

terryfcampbell · « **on:** January 17, 2007, 01:07:53 AM »

Been hearing some reports of cougar spotted in Ky. anyone else hearing this?

GregP42 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 17, 2007, 03:35:51 AM »

Quote from: terryfcampbell on January 17, 2007, 01:07:53 AM

Been hearing some reports of cougar spotted in Ky. anyone else hearing this?

Where are they saying they are seeing them? I have only seen one and that was almost 20 years ago. It was in Letcher Co. maybe 15 miles as the crow flies from Pound Gap.

Greg

terryfcampbell · « **Reply #2 on:** January 17, 2007, 03:07:06 PM »

Around Mammoth Cave, Jefferson co., Campbell co., Floyd co., Lyon co., Trigg co., Christian co., & Calloway co.

LEO · « **Reply #3 on:** January 17, 2007, 03:29:41 PM »

Although I haven't personally seen one, I have been told by people who 1. know what a cougar looks like, and 2. who I trust, to report seeing them in McCreary and Whitley Counties. It really wouldn't suprise me, after all you can buy cougar kittens from exotic pet breeders, not all of which pay a lot of attention to the law. People buy them thinking what a neat pet and then the cute little fur ball grows up and eats 20lbs of meat a day and is scary so they turn it loose. Obviously with the deer, other game, dogs, cats and livestock in the area cougar couild do okay for itself, after all except for bears they are the biggest predator around.

kyelkhunter3006 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 18, 2007, 08:25:05 AM »

I live in Campbell County. I live about 3 miles from where the cougar was "seen". I don't really know if there's one or not. I know a lot of guys that hunt around there, and they use game camera's, lots of scouting, etc. None of them has ever seen any sign of a cougar. I've spent tons of time in the woods in that area, and I've never seen or heard anyone finding anything either. No strange cases of pets disappearing that I know of, and there's a lot of livestock/horses there too.

I suppose it could happen, a couple of years ago there was a young male black bear roaming in Northern KY. Came up from Eastern Ky, as near as could be figured. Of course, after that, people were reporting black bears all over the area.

There was a cougar on the loose in Indiana, that escaped from a penned in area. I think that the same thing is happening like it did with the bear. Every body get on the bandwagon!!! One lady called on a radio program and said it killed a deer in her back yard, and then lived in the body cavity for 2 days to stay warm!!! Come on! It hasn't hardly been cold this year, and a cougar is more than capable of staying warm on it's own. Also, a grown cougar is at least as big as a grown deer (a nothern ky deer), so how would it do that anyway???

I will say that I would not be surprised if there were big bobcats in the area, and maybe someone saw one of those??? I've seen them all over in Lewis County, and a buddy says he sees them in Mason County too. That's only 50 miles (Mason County) to 80 miles (Lewis County) away.

lil_hunter12 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 18, 2007, 02:06:50 PM »

i live down in martin county and about a year ago there was a small horse killed by a cougar and a german shepherd dog was killed also. there is a few people around who report seeing cougars early in the mornings i know 1 guy personally who has pictures of cougars on game cameras and he also runs a drilling company so when on freshly made roads he see's signs all the time there are cougars around the martin county area and i have saw those over size bobcats people mistake for a cougar theres not alot of resemblance in them.

kyelkhunter3006 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 19, 2007, 06:07:54 AM »

You and I know that the cougars and bobcats don't look anything alike, but you and I also know what they look like too. If you've never seen one, and hear about one in the area, and see a big cat (much bigger than any you've seen before) eating a deer, I think that you'd just figure it was the cougar.

lil_hunter12 · « **Reply #7 on:** January 19, 2007, 03:13:43 PM »

i got your all's point now ive been in the woods all my life and just assumed everyone knew wat a bobcat looked like.

Encore_Shooter · « **Reply #8 on:** January 20, 2007, 03:11:09 PM »

My wife went on about seeing a hugh cat for at least 2-3 years said no way it could have been a bob cat, well one day i was looking through a predator mag. and she yells!!! that is what i saw. Guess what it was, a BOBCAT. 2-3 years thinking she had saw something that did not exist here, now she knows the truth. Nelson

KYBOY · « **Reply #9 on:** January 20, 2007, 10:47:02 PM »

Well I can say this. I live in floyd county about 10 miles from where the cougar kitten was killed on the highway. Yes a documented cougar kitten. Theres a pic of it on the eastern cougar foundations website. The guy that hit it said he saw a bigger one running up the hillside as he stopped to take a look. It was verified as a cougar by KDFWR biologist.

KYBOY · « **Reply #10 on:** January 20, 2007, 10:48:49 PM »

I went and dug up the pic. Here it is. Killed on route 850 in Floyd county.

kyelkhunter3006 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 21, 2007, 05:50:54 AM »

Oh, I think that they could definitely be in KY, just not sure about my area. I'm about 15 miles due south of Cincinnati. Are sure that picture's not a Leopard? Awful lot of spots.......Just kidding. Looks like a cougar cub to me.

KYBOY · « **Reply #12 on:** January 22, 2007, 04:56:24 PM »

Oh I wasnt argueing with you at all.

I just thought I would throw that bit of info in there for folks to see. I dont doubt it can happen but i do doubt a lot of the stories, you know what I mean.

kyelkhunter3006 · « **Reply #13 on:** January 23, 2007, 07:49:38 AM »

After talking to another guy at work about it, he said that he knows several guys in Missouri that have cougars on camera's, and a couple more in Western KY that have seen them too. His family leaves down by Cumberland, but he said he hasn't seen anything down there.

lil_hunter12 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 23, 2007, 03:56:27 PM »

i was talking to a my bus driver today who is a part time security gaurd he said he saw 2 cougars on the strip mine he gaurds. i asked him to describe wat he saw to me and he described a large cougar and said he saw several bears coyotes and bobcats also.

mzwosta943 · « **Reply #15 on:** August 16, 2008, 04:16:18 PM »

Wife & I had a cougar jump in front of us while we were driving home from Sun. evening church services last year.
We live in Fleming Co. but belong to a church 22 miles away in Lewis. Co. We drive all country backroads to & from & this cat jumped from the side of the road to the other. I just barely missed hitting his rear end. Definately know what a bobcat looks like & this certainly wasn't no bobcat. While talking to the local taxidermist, he asked the game warden if there were any cougar in KY. After hem-hawing around for a bit, the warden finally admitted that 2 roadkills were picked up in the area, they just didn't want to make it public so the folks around wouldn't be alarmed. Warden stated that many people buy these exotic animals from Washington Court House Trader Days across the river in Ohio & then when these cute fuzzy lil' critters grow up into wild animals they're turned loose out in the wild.

kyelkhunter3006 · « **Reply #16 on:** August 17, 2008, 08:29:10 AM »

Where's the church you go to in Lewis county? My wife's family owns about a 1000 acres near Vanceburg. I hunt there quite a bit (well, I used to anyway). Several people say that they've gotten bears on their game camera's, but they haven't shown them to us. I wouldn't be a bit surprised that cougars are down there.

Another person that I see occasionally at work (retail bread route, but he runs a chip route) has land down around Cumberland that backs up to the national forest, says that he sees them or their sign quite regularly when he's out hiking, especially around this big rocky outcrop area. He's shown me pics of their pad marks in the dust/dirt on the rocks, with his shoe in the picture for size reference. It definitely isn't a bobcat track.

benjaminw7528 · « **Reply #17 on:** August 18, 2008, 04:16:05 PM »

they've been seen around here in bell county alot

torpedoman · « **Reply #18 on:** August 18, 2008, 05:01:50 PM »

they were in pike co. in the early 50's i rember seeing one, running home and grabbing my 22 and headding out the old man asked why i was in a rush and i told him one was up on the ridge and i was going to shoot it needless to sat nether me or the gun got out of the house.

tdd4570 · « **Reply #19 on:** August 19, 2008, 12:10:35 PM »

Hi everyone. I just have to get in on this discussion. I haven't lived in KY in about 10 years, but, I lived there quite a wile and saw a lot of things. In 1988 in Lyon County I had a cougar cross the road in front of me. I asked the passenger to describe what she saw, just to see if there was an optical illusion or something and she described a cat a little larger than a german shepard with a long tail. Probably about 6' tip to tip, nose to tail. So we agreed on proportions and I told her what it was. Never did get any gamewardens to admit anything, but I have seen a bunch of bobcats and cougars since and that was definately a cougar.

dd

KYBOY · « **Reply #20 on:** September 10, 2008, 11:05:08 AM »

I cant count the sightings Ive heard from good honest outdoors man...Though I cant say Ive ever seen one I have a hard time calling these guys a liar..Their just to honest to outright lie about it..

mzwosta943 · « **Reply #21 on:** September 30, 2008, 01:59:10 PM »

kyelkhunter3006
We go to church in Petersville (Lewis Co.) on Rt. 344. I owned the farm directly across the road from it, it's approx. 20 mi; from V'burg.
I worked @ the Lewis Co. Courthouse in V'burg for a couple years as a deputy county clerk.
We sold our farm in Petersville & now live 22 miles away in Fleming Co. but still go to our church in Petersville.
Saw a lot of bear sign on my farm & found elk prints as well.

joebogey · « **Reply #22 on:** November 15, 2008, 07:47:25 AM »

Last Saturday, opening day of deer season, my 14 year old daughter and I were in a buddy stand in Bath County. As usual, my daughter, the eagle eyed huntress that she is, was taking a little cat nap while pretending to watch over the left side of the stand. That left me with the front, back and right side of the stand. Just as it was beginning to get daylight, I turned to the right and spotted 2 cats traveling up the hill maybe 25 yards from our stand.
The smallest one in the rear, looked to be about the size of a large housecat. The front one was much larger and both sported a very long tail. Because of the light, I can't honestly say what color they were, but they looked to be dark in color. Cougar? Panther? I don't know. But you can bet I'll be a litle more wary when I go back into the woods.

JonD. · « **Reply #23 on:** November 30, 2008, 12:48:37 PM »

I can tell you this, I live in southeast Marion County, and about 12 years ago I saw a large cat up close and it scared me to death. I also know several people that live close by and have told of seeing a large cat within a couple of miles of where I saw it.

I turned into the road that my grandparents and uncles live on(and where we used to hunt) and saw a pair of eyes in the headlights, and as I got closer, I thought it was my uncles German Sheperd dog. I rolled down the window to holler at him and tell him to git home and uh... let me just say it wasn't a dog. It eyes were a bright green, and it had a tail that curved down almost touching the ground and curled back up. I will guarantee you this, there is no automobile in the country that has a power window that can go up faster than when I started cranking the window handle in that old car. The thing made an effortless jump over the fence, and trotted away. I raced to my uncles house to get him to go back with a spotlight, but it was gone when we got back. Several other people that live close by reported seeing a large cat crossing the road, and one reported seeing it very close while bowhunting.

I can also tell you that back then, where I hunted was absolutely swamped with deer. You would see at least 10-12 deer everytime you went in the woods. The opening morning of gun season sounded like World War three, shots everywhere all day long(and this was when it was bucks only and one deer per hunter) but now if you see one or two deer a week you've done good. I went through a six year stretch when I saw 5 deer total (one of those happened to be a decent eight pointer I killed). I can't help but wonder if that cat I saw had/has something to do with it. I never heard of any livestock being killed though, and there are plenty of cows and calfs around. I just don't know. But I do know that whether it be due to the disease that we have nicknamed "blue tongue", or poaching, or the unlimited doe season for the last ten years that finally changed this year, or the infestation of coyotes we have, or the big cat/s like the one I saw, or a combination of all of them, or what, but our deer population has drastically diminished. I saw 7 deer this year total, but this is more than I've seen in the past 5 or six years combined. That used to be a slow mornings hunt.

littlecanoe · « **Reply #24 on:** December 02, 2008, 01:53:15 PM »

JonD,

If you're talking about the cat being in the Bradfordsville area I've heard other people report the same thing. As rough as some of that country is I can see them being there.

A friend of mine hunts southern Adair county which is very Rugged. He has seen the deer population decrease in that area over the last 5-10 years. He told me about bow season a few years ago. He had just gotten on the stand and heard something running his way. It was just light enough for him to see a young doe run by. Just a bit behind it was a coyote trotting. Just after good light he heard then saw the deer come back by with it's tongue hanging out. Here came the coyote trotting just enough to keep the deer running.

His observation is that he sees very few young deer in his area year to year.

kyelkhunter3006 · « **Reply #25 on:** December 03, 2008, 03:24:31 AM »

There was just a bit on the Cincinnati news last night about some women seeing a cougar locally. www.wcpo.com They've got a picture from a motion camera at night, and it looks like one to me. I can't see any spots that would make me think it's a bobcat or something else. The article is pretty interesting too. I'm convinced that they're in KY and Ohio, but they're few and far between.

BAP · « **Reply #26 on:** December 03, 2008, 11:39:26 AM »

3 or 4 years ago i was turkey scouting my farm and walked up behind one at 30yds we looked at each other for several seconds and he jumped off the side of the pipeline we were on....no doubt in my mind what i saw it was definitly a cougar.. i have taken a few bobcats and this was no bobcat..

JonD. · « **Reply #27 on:** December 03, 2008, 02:26:47 PM »

Quote from: littlecanoe on December 02, 2008, 01:53:15 PM

JonD,

If you're talking about the cat being in the Bradfordsville area I've heard other people report the same thing. As rough as some of that country is I can see them being there.

A friend of mine hunts southern Adair county which is very Rugged. He has seen the deer population decrease in that area over the last 5-10 years. He told me about bow season a few years ago. He had just gotten on the stand and heard something running his way. It was just light enough for him to see a young doe run by. Just a bit behind it was a coyote trotting. Just after good light he heard then saw the deer come back by with it's tongue hanging out. Here came the coyote trotting just enough to keep the deer running.

His observation is that he sees very few young deer in his area year to year.

Yeah, I'm from and was referring to Bradfordsville. You must almost be a neighbor?

littlecanoe · « **Reply #28 on:** December 03, 2008, 04:59:44 PM »

columbia

JonD. · « **Reply #29 on:** December 04, 2008, 12:36:37 PM »

Quote from: littlecanoe on December 03, 2008, 04:59:44 PM

columbia

I used to work close to Columbia at Cox Interior. Howdy neighbor!