My sister-law and her husband spotted a Mt. Lion-you got it - a Mt. Lion west of Ft. Yukon about 18 miles. Has anyone actually gone out to hunt one here in the State. Are they becoming more predominate or seen and/or hunted. Kind of sparked up my concern hearing one so close to my village.

A friend had mentioned he'd read reports of mountain lions around Kachemak Bay (Homer area), but that ADF&G had discredited the reports. Then he mentioned he took a trip over to Seldovia and that he had one jump across the trail he was hiking on, and that it definately wasn't a lynx, but must have been a mountain lion.

I haven't heard any reports of them in the interior, but who knows?

It would be illegal to shoot in Alaska.

If an animal is not listed in the regs , you may not hunt it.

Mt lions are not in there. (yet)

tsk,tsk. would hate the first opportunity to miss out on a necklace.

I guess it depends on if it is considered "deletrious wildlife" or not. If dw, then I believe it is no limit, no closed season. If it is considered a legitimate big game animal, then true enough, it cannot be taken.

I suppose one could consider it a lynx with a bad coat just kidding

There are Cougars on the Canadadian side of the border in South East. Why couldn't they cross over?

How they would get to Homer though is an interesting thought.

Last winter two seperate, and reliable, witnesses spotted what they claimed to be mountain lions along the Steese hwy between Fbks and Central. that is not far from Ft Yukon.

I saw one at the white river in the yukon last fall crossing the road.I also saw deer 75 mile out of haines junction.There have been mule deer by summit lake.There was a cougar caught in a trap at Donnley dome a few years back.The tried to show it to fish and game but they took too long and it got away.I hope whitetails come with the global warming in Ak.Them maybe they would let us hunt them.A few year back a hog farmer released his hogs and they went nuts now you can shoot wild hogs as a result in ak.I am hoping for some elk to get allose from the elk farms also.I heard one bugle about 10 miles south of the farm.That would be awesome also.

One has been shot in Wrangell and one trapped on Kupreanof Island here is Southeast. Others have been seen near Petersburg. Jim

*** MT. LIONS ***

In Forestry School , for my Term Paper in Wildlife Mgmt. Class , we got to choose the critter of our choice , ( to research for the paper ) . -- I chose Felis Concolor .

This was many years ago , as I ain't a young duck , anymore . -- But I don't think the basics have changed much .

Don't worry about sightings near your village , -- the critters are very reclusive , normally , and although they do hunt and travel sometimes during the day , they are strongly Nocturnal .

Most people that live in the most heavily populated Cougar areas in entire lower 48 , -- have never cast eyes on one . They are very wary of Humans , and have unbelievable sences ; -- so they mostly disappear before you ever know they're there .

There's one exception , and that's because they are also very curious animals . They sometimes will parallel a human , or party , or pack animals , on a trail for miles . --- On those rare occasions when the people see the animal , it gives rise to the ( false ) myth that the Cougar is stalking the party , planning to attack .

I've seen two , in daylight , in my life , and I count myself lucky . ( One was hot after a Doe , which had just flushed out of heavy cover ; and the other WAS paralleling me on a trail , while solo-backpacking . -- way back in Wilderness country .

As of the early 60's when I wrote my paper , -- in the entire recorded history of the U.S. , there had only been about five documented attacks on human adults , and almost all of these were under unusual circumstances , like when the Cat was cornered . There were many more attacks on small children , who turned and ran and screamed , exciting the animals hunting instincts .

But when you think what things were like during the opening of the West , and earlier in the East starting in 1776 ; -- if Cougars attacked much it would have been in all the early newspapers , bigtime , -- not so .

In recent years , there have been many more attacks on Adults , because housing projects and sprawling towns have begun to trap the animals on all sides , and restrict their hunting activities . --- A hungry Cougar can cover 50 miles in a night looking for Deer .

But , in Alaska , I don't think you have that problem .

Rest easy , Friend , better to worry about Bears .

-- Best Regards , --- MMCOUGAR .

*** REPLY TO GRIZZ 007 ***

Note of interest : --- The Fur Trappers of the early 1800's thought that Mt. Lion meat was the best of any N. American game meat , -- bar none .

In all my years of interest in this elusive Animal , I've never heard of or talked to anyone that's tried it -- ??

Wonder what it really tastes like ? I'd give it a try , if I could .

---------- MMCOUGAR .

No doubt it tastes like chicken

You know what causes Mt. Lion attacks on humans don't you? It is the swish, swish noise from the fancy jogging togs they wear, drives lions crazy! Jim

Actually cougar is excellent. Sear the tenderloins in butter, garlic, salt/pepper. Pop in the oven at 350 for 20 miutes. Excellent!

It tastes just like you would think a cat tastes like. I dont like it. Stringy and pretty tough, but maybe I don't know how to prepare it.

I have ate lynx and taste like rabbit-pretty good actually. We have a radio station out of Ft. Yukon(I live further north by northwest approx. 60mi.) that broadcasted 3 days back that some fella trapped a cross-breed cat lynx/Mt.lion--go figure. We like to joke most of the time but this is different--I believe this to be true. Cats instictively are killers, numbering from 1-howmany, don't matter--worse than bears or wolves. I have bears around my camps many a times an am just on gaurd but them mt.lions seem to have a notoriety about them from what I gather-do not want to trust them period. Some can study them in class but I will study them from a fine set of cross hairs.

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Actually cougar is excellent. Sear the tenderloins in butter, garlic, salt/pepper. Pop in the oven at 350 for 20 miutes. Excellent!

Tastes like chicken, right?
Just kidding - heard it was good.

Now this was shot in oregon by me. I just wanted to add they tast awsome. a lot like pork.

Just to give you an idea of how reclusive these animals are I lived and worked outdoors in Southerm California in the Otay Mountain and Tecate Divide for 6 years and hunted the area on my time off for mule deer and coyote and birds. I saw the tracks of mountain lion almost every day. I filled my garage with mule deer skulls from lion kills. HOWEVER I never saw one with my own eyes in daylight. And I know of only 2 people who have seen them. One of which was hit by that person in a car.

HOWEVER.....I did see lions a-lot when we used infametric scopes up in the mountains at night.

I had some when I was a guide in Colorado back in the late 80's. My boss found a couple packages of it in the freezer one day and he said "lets take these to camp and have them for dinner". Nobody in camp wanted to try it, and he said good, I will eat it all myself. After that we had to give it a try, and like stated above it was much like pork. A very white meat and kinda corse textured but very good tasting. My boss has been in the outfitting business all his life and his father was also. I think they are on the 4th generation now.

Like he said the only thing they will eat is fresh meat, not like a bear or a turkey or even a chicken.

Joe

In answer to mmconcolor's question. I have hunted Mountain Lion for some 40 plus years, seen hundreds and shot a few and have eaten these. Cooked tenderloin sliced about 3/4" thick and fried just like you would fry a pork chop, tastes very much like a pork chop. The texture of the meat is close to that of the pork loin (just a slight bit tougher) and the color is also about the same. One of each cooked side by side in the same pan, are very hard to tell the difference. Usually the loin is what I cook and I make jerky out of the rest. It's great! To borrow the words from Rough Rider and past President Teddy Roosevelt, "There is no better wild game meat, than the loin of a young lion". My feeling exactly. Wildcat

Lynx taste like sweet pork chops to me.I usually sneek it into the barq and tell guest afterwards .I had a friend one time who made 4 different dishes at one meal and all the guest said each kind of meat was different.It was all lynx.Lynx and blue berry fed black bears are my favorite.It should be against the law to waste lynx.