Release the hounds!

[wawhitey]

So i checked a cam right behind my house today. Young lion was walking up my trail at 5am. Barely old enough to be on its own. My first thought was that its the type of cat to have trouble killing deer, and therefore apt to be a trouble maker. Just got a call from my neighbor that the people down the road had one of their pet cats killed by a cougar last night, and that the game department is heading this way with a pack of hounds right now to track down the vicious 80lb devil cat. I can see that kind of reaction over livestock depredation, but a damn house cat??? Anyway, theres no shortage of lions around here, so i passed the word that they can come over here to get a head start on tracking the dangerous beast. I figure even if they dont take me up on that offer, and start the chase at the scene of the crime, the hounds will end up rolling through here anyway. I think ill stay up to listen to the chase. Another exciting night in lion country.

[wawhitey]

Ive read a handful of old books about hound hunting lions and bears. They kind of make me nostalgic for a life i never knew, if that even makes sense. Born under a stump, the education of a bear hunter, hunting american lions, cougar killer etc. I should be in bed right now, getting up early to help a friend fill his spring bear permit, but i am staying up. I want to hear the hound chase with my own ears, see if it sounds the way ive imagined it reading those books.

[wawhitey]

Looking at the pic now, compared to me, its even smaller than i thought. Should still be riding mama lions coat tails.

[wawhitey]

Not a peep. I heard a huge crashing noise in the trees between my driveway and my pasture. Looked outside with the tam and saw nothing. Pretty disappointed. I guess its bed time.

[wawhitey]

Misheard my neighbor. The lion killed a calf, not a cat. Makes more sense now.

[Swede]

When I was a kid there was a bounty on cougars. If I remember right the State gave $75 for each dead cat and Douglas County in Oregon matched it with another $75. You could hunt with hounds if you had them.
I know of hunters that voted to make hound hunting illegal. Times change.
Whitey, please let us know if they get the kitty.

[wawhitey]

So im thinking now, the little one in the pic just looks too young and small. Maybe momma cougar was just out of the frame. I guess it was a 300lb calf that got killed. Little lion in the pic doesnt look old enough to tackle that. If i get an update ill post it. I guess they left the carcass, hoping to get the cat when it comes back. This is just maybe a quarter mile up the road from my house.