One Awesome Cat

[Missouri_Rebel]

This was on the news yesterday. Most everybody has probably already seen it, but if you didn't check this video out. Not a cat person myself, but this is one badass feline.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AzY3wkJpbFY

[wesy]

Nice to see the domestic house cat kick some doggy a** and save that poor kid from getting more hurt than he was. Pass the Catnip to her!

[vonRocko]

Cats Rule![8D] I see the video was removed and copyrighted so they can make some money off of it.[:(]

[Orm]

New working link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6FvHif8l0w

Thank you for sharing, Mo Reb. [:)]

[CGGrognard]

Who's making the money off the video now that it has commercials?

[rhondabrwn]

Speaking of "cats", a Cougar (Mountain Lion)killed Arwen (my first goat) a few days ago. Dragged her 200 pound body over 50 yards before eating her hindquarters. Came back for the next three nights to finish off the carcass while I sat up all night keeping watch on my herd armed with only my trusty practice Samurai sword (polycarbonate) for defense. That and my dogs who ran out to do confront the beast and successfully ran it off for three nights. No, I wasn't dumb enough to go out into the brush to confront it but I was damned if I would let it come kill another of my babies!

Last night was quiet, hoping the lion has moved on to quieter hunting grounds.

So glad I have the four dogs and glad that they could run it off without a bloody fight.

Spending another night on watch, hope it will also be peaceful.

Planning on a gun soon when my daughter comes to visit this summer. Former Navy Seal son in law is recommending a Glock .45

[Twotribes]

You want a rifle for cougar not handgun. All you will do is piss it off.

[rhondabrwn]

Son in law is a conservation officer, says a .45 in a holster is a better defense than a rifle sitting back at the house. Mark says that a .45 caliber slug will stop a 200 pound cat better than a smaller caliber assault rifle at close range. They want me to get in the habit of being armed when I go out walking in my woods. This was the second goat I've lost to predators this year. I think the drought is making critters more desperate. Seeing more rattlesnakes as well.

http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/urban_lion.shtml

[Missouri_Rebel]

Sorry to hear that. Nothing a .308 couldn't take care of.

That cat WILL be back.

[rhondabrwn]

ORIGINAL: Missouri_Rebel

Sorry to hear that. Nothing a .308 couldn't take care of.

That cat WILL be back.

Still hoping the dogs will discourage that I had gotten lazy (or they had gotten lazy) and were wanting to spend the night inside the house. They were all inside when Arwen was taken. Now I'm keeping the two biggest out all night and keeping lights burning around the house and barn where the goats sleep (right next to the house actually). I can sit here at my "ranch control center" and see them. Got energy efficient bulbs into the receptacles so the lights won't draw too much power out of my batteries. It had been totally black outside at night... no more. It's wearing me out sitting up till 4 am though and running outside when the dogs start barking.

[Orm]

Firing a hand gun against a aggressive predator at short range is a lot different than shooting at the firing range. Maybe there is some sort of course that could help you be prepared for that?

Edit: That cat will be back. No possibility that the community has a hunter that tracks down cougars that hunts close to human settlement and that kills livestock?

[Werewolf13]

ORIGINAL: Missouri_Rebel

Sorry to hear that. Nothing a .308 couldn't take care of.

That cat WILL be back.

That is absolutely correct.

Handguns are for close quarter combat. They're a last resort. Your son in law knows that. In the OP's situation carry a handgun but there is no reason he shouldn't also carry a rifle while on his ranch - especially in Arizona one of the most gun friendly states in the US.

Seriously OP - pick up the Glock but for putting down varmints on your ranch get a good rifle. Would you rather pick that mountain lion off at a hundred yards or take him on at 15 with that Glock?

[rhondabrwn]

Good advice, but I can assure you I won't catch a sight of it at any distance to use a rifle. They hunt at night and are very stealthy. Heck, I hear Coyote packs howling all around me at night and have never caught sight of one. The dogs chase after them when they get too close, but I've lost chickens when I forget to close up the coop at night. So they obviously come in close at night if the dogs aren't out. Maybe if I had a night vision scope...

Neighbors have been telling me since I moved in that we did have a resident lion in the area. The rancher west of me runs cattle and loses several calves each year but apparently tolerates it. I'm told that a lion who causes minimal livestock damage is preferable to an unknown lion that might move into the territory if the native lion is killed. A young lion would be more likely to attack humans and livestock as they haven't learned to fear humans and stay clear of them.

So deterrence is my primary objective... with dogs and lights and maybe just firing a few rounds in the air to frighten the beast. I'm not on a vendetta to take revenge... I support the right of predators to exist as long as they know their limits. There are plenty of deer and elk out there.

Anyway, it's been quiet the last couple of nights, and the coyotes are howling again at dusk (I think they had been scared off by the lion) then the night is quiet. I'm still sitting up and watching till past 2 am though. The danger time seems to be 11 pm to midnight, that's when the dogs have been going crazy when the lion came to feed on the corpse for three nights straight.

I've had the oath of the Night's Watch from Game of Thrones running through my head LOL

[rhondabrwn]

ORIGINAL: Orm

Firing a hand gun against a aggressive predator at short range is a lot different than shooting at the firing range. Maybe there is some sort of course that could help you be prepared for that?

Edit: That cat will be back. No possibility that the community has a hunter that tracks down cougars that hunts close to human settlement and that kills livestock?

The Fish and Game people said that they will trap a lion if it starts raiding livestock too heavily. The problem is that releasing a lion into a new hunting ground will probably result in a battle to the death with any lion already claiming that ground. They only hunt and kill them if they begin attacking humans, otherwise they prefer to let them live as a desired predator to keep the deer and elk populations down. They suggested lights and dogs to deter the animal from coming back again. Which is what I am doing.

[Jim D Burns]

I’d look into a few motion sensor spotlights mounted high up that can flood an area in bright light to deter big predators. As long as the entire perimeter is covered (the higher they are mounted the larger an area they can cover) the predators should learn that they can’t approach your inner ranch area soon enough and move on to new hunting grounds. Just make sure the sensitivity is set so that smaller creatures can’t set them off. A loud horn on a motion sensor set up near the pens to cover any possibility of one that sneaks through should work to save most of your stock, again sensitivity needs to be set so only very large animals set it off.

Big cats are dangerous foes and having a sidearm with you won’t help much if they stalk you and strike from cover. They go for a kill bite on the back of the neck which kills/incapacitates almost instantly, so you’d have little chance at reacting. A sidearm’s great though if you see it coming, so carry one for sure, just don’t let it give you a false sense of security. I’d rely on the dogs for protection from being stalked if you venture out into the brush, without them you’re cat food for sure.

As others have mentioned, the lion has had success hunting your ranch, so it will keep coming back until you can thwart any further hunting attempts it makes and it gets discouraged. Just remember you’re on the menu too, so watch your back and keep the dogs with you at all times until a long period of time goes by with no sign of it. I’d be leery for at a month or two at least. I’m not sure how big their hunting territories are, so it could be weeks before it makes its way back around to your place again. Then again if its den is nearby you may be plagued with lots of attacks, so be very vigilant and very careful.

Jim

[Aurelian]

I prefer this. Light, not much recoil for a .40 or even a .45. Can always get a sling. (The pic is the .40)

[rhondabrwn]

ORIGINAL: Jim D Burns

I’d look into a few motion sensor spotlights mounted high up that can flood an area in bright light to deter big predators. As long as the entire perimeter is covered (the higher they are mounted the larger an area they can cover) the predators should learn that they can’t approach your inner ranch area soon enough and move on to new hunting grounds. Just make sure the sensitivity is set so that smaller creatures can’t set them off. A loud horn on a motion sensor set up near the pens to cover any possibility of one that sneaks through should work to save most of your stock, again sensitivity needs to be set so only very large animals set it off.

Big cats are dangerous foes and having a sidearm with you won’t help much if they stalk you and strike from cover. They go for a kill bite on the back of the neck which kills/incapacitates almost instantly, so you’d have little chance at reacting. A sidearm’s great though if you see it coming, so carry one for sure, just don’t let it give you a false sense of security. I’d rely on the dogs for protection from being stalked if you venture out into the brush, without them you’re cat food for sure.

As others have mentioned, the lion has had success hunting your ranch, so it will keep coming back until you can thwart any further hunting attempts it makes and it gets discouraged. Just remember you’re on the menu too, so watch your back and keep the dogs with you at all times until a long period of time goes by with no sign of it. I’d be leery for at a month or two at least. I’m not sure how big their hunting territories are, so it could be weeks before it makes its way back around to your place again. Then again if its den is nearby you may be plagued with lots of attacks, so be very vigilant and very careful.

Jim

Good advice, Jim, thanks