Just heard on the 6:00 news in Atlanta,Ga. ...That a Deer hunter Killed a couger in Troup County,Georgia close to Lake west Point today!!! Anyone else hear anything or have any details?Thats Wild!

I live in the N. Atlanta area and had not heard that. About 20yrs ago when hunting in the N. Georgia mountain in Rabun County, I saw a cougar. I reported it to a biologist who said that it was nearly impossible, that a confirmed cougar sighting had not been made in Georgia in years. He said that a biologist himself would have to see it to confirm the sighting.
I've been around and know what a cougar looks like, and this was a cougar.
Don

Found a link

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/11/...st_point_cougar.html

Found some Pics...

quote:

Originally posted by Don B:
I live in the N. Atlanta area and had not heard that. About 20yrs ago when hunting in the N. Georgia mountain in Rabun County, I saw a cougar. I reported it to a biologist who said that it was nearly impossible, that a confirmed cougar sighting had not been made in Georgia in years. He said that a biologist himself would have to see it to confirm the sighting.
I've been around and know what a cougar looks like, and this was a cougar.
Don

Don,

Some people have to live in denial. We have the same situation here with our DNR's denial about cougars living in Michigan. Someone sees one, tells the DNR about it, and the DNR's respose is that same as you got; that can't be..

Yes indeed, big cats all over the Southeast.

Don't you love it when people tell you that you didn't see what "you" saw.

If it had been Black, it could have roamed over from S.C. Getting more Panthers in S.C. all the time.

quote:

Originally posted by DMB:

quote:

Originally posted by Don B:
I live in the N. Atlanta area and had not heard that. About 20yrs ago when hunting in the N. Georgia mountain in Rabun County, I saw a cougar. I reported it to a biologist who said that it was nearly impossible, that a confirmed cougar sighting had not been made in Georgia in years. He said that a biologist himself would have to see it to confirm the sighting.
I've been around and know what a cougar looks like, and this was a cougar.
Don

Don,

Some people have to live in denial. We have the same situation here with our DNR's denial about cougars living in Michigan. Someone sees one, tells the DNR about it, and the DNR's respose is that same as you got; that can't be..

Actually, the DNR doesn't say that there aren't any cougars in Mi., they just keep saying that there's NOT breeding numbers of them, and the ones in Mi. are ones that were someones "pet" and was turned loose...

I saw a cougar in Mi. myself, so i know there ARE cougars in Mi...

DM

I grew up in LaGrange (Troup Co.) and my parents house is on West Point Lake. I can remember many reported sighting of cougars/panthers around the lake, especially at the northern end of the lake. I kind of dismissed them all until I saw a black panther for myself back in 91 or 92. My father, Mr. Joe Walston, and I were hunting quail on Joe's farm in Heard Co. Part of his farm backs up to Brush Creek which a feeder to West Point and a mile or two from the northern most part of the lake. We had finished hunting one field and headed thru a small stretch of woods that led to a big clear cut up and over a hill. When we crested the hill I saw what I thought was someone black lab dog off to my left and at the bottom of the hill; 50 yards or so away. I turned to ask Mr. Joe whose dog it was when it spotted us and took off running. It ran from our left to right so we got a good look at it until it was out of sight over the hill. It was clearly a large black cat and I would say over 100lbs. It was a long lean body, long tail and boxy head and it made almost no sound as it ran thru the leaves; which was kind of spooky. A few minutes later my setter caught up with us and she was clearly shaken because she hunted very close for the rest of the day. My guess was that she either saw or caught the scent of the cat. A few days later Mr. Joe told Dad that the cat had run across the road in front of his wife as she was driving home from work. A week or so after his wife saw it, he told us that it killed one of his calfs and that several of his neighbors had seen it in the area too.
I've told this story to a lot of poeple who doubt that there are panther/cougars in GA. Some believe it, some don't. Even though Mr. Joe passed away a few years ago, I've still got Dad as a witness to any nay sayers. I told a game warden friend of ours about it once and he basically thought I was full of it. When I saw him again on a dove shoot, I called Dad over had him tell him the story. Definetly gave him food for thought.

Cougar Killed in Troup County
Fort Valley, Ga. (11/18/2008)

Hunters around West Point Lake might be led to believe that Georgia has
a new predator roaming the woods - the cougar. A Sunday kill of a male
cougar on U.S. Army Corps of Engineer land at West Point Lake, south of
Hwy. 109 seemed to verify that thought. However, according to the
Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division,
this simply is a one-time experience.
“Though cougar and panther sightings persist in Georgia, there are no
known native populations of these animals roaming the woods,†advises
Wildlife Resources Division Region Supervisor Kevin Kramer. “There is
no reason to believe there are any more cougars out there. This likely
is a unique experience and while exciting, is not something for which we
should be concerned.â€
The cougar, taken near the Abbottsford community west of LaGrange, was
a male, 88 inches in length measured from the nose to the tip of the
tail and weighed approximately 140 pounds. The hunter who took the
animal was legally hunting deer from his tree stand at the time the
cougar approached.
Initial external examination by Wildlife Resources Division biologists
found no tattoos, tags or collars, and the cougar had not been
declawed.
Further examination by The Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease
Study in Athens Monday afternoon confirmed the cougar to be healthy and
well fed. Researchers determined the cougar had a very low parasite
level and that the pads on all four feet were scuffed. According to
SCWDS staff, these findings are consistent with a captive reared cougar,
not a wild specimen.
Due to the fact that there are no known native populations of cougars
in Georgia, no permitted cougars in this area and that the closest
Alabama facilities permitted to house cougars (in Elmore and Macon
Counties) have accounted for all permitted animals, the cougar taken
Sunday likely escaped or was released from a non-permitted individual.
There currently are no leads as to who may have most recently held the
animal, but the Division will continue to look into all possibilities.

For more information on hunting in Georgia, visit
www.georgiawildlife.com .

The preceding is from Georgia DNR. Just FYI