Things that don't happen every day

[alfreda89]

I went to a local semi-regular gathering Friday night, with a few others, and friends who live maybe four long blocks south and two long blocks west asked me if I'd heard about the cougar.

"What cougar?" or something of that ilk was my response.

"The cougar spotted stalking a deer around...what's the street that north of XXX?"

"YYY."

That street! We're talking two blocks south of my house. Apparently TX Parks and Wildlife have found tracks and a seriously gnawed deer carcass.

This is not the first time I've heard about a cougar. There has been one northeast of here in the suburbs. And cougars do appear in the hill country.

I don't want anyone to get hurt. But the poor cougar will be lucky if they can tranquilize him and relocate him quickly.

Apparently it's rather big. I do not have a confirmed size, but let's say bigger than I want in my back yard.

Welcome to Texas, where the Old West is only a block away....

Comments

[cabin77.livejournal.com]

Yikes!!!!

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Please count all children and pets hourly.

I was thinking about possibly needed weapons. How about emergency flares?

(mutter mutter) I knew I needed a shotgun in this state.

[bevhale.livejournal.com]

Keep kitties inside. No getting eaten by a cougar. I need you in my life.

[jacardie.livejournal.com]

Yikes! I wouldn't want one in my backyard either. The skunks and moles around here don't sound quite so bad now. *g*

There have been a rash of cougar/mountain lion sightings lately.

[dragonherder1.livejournal.com]

I remember hearing about a couple in New Mexico and Colorado within the past week (though perhaps they happened longer ago than that and the news just trickled down...)

Sorry I missed seeing you and W!

David

Re: There have been a rash of cougar/mountain lion sightings lately.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Sorry I missed seeing you and W!

We missed you, too! Next time I hope you'll schedule long enough to take a deep breath -- and there's another place to scope out for gelato, too.

[moon-happy.livejournal.com]

A block from my house, my friend got a call from his neighbor asking if he knew Jasper, his golden lab, was out front in the neighbor's driveway. My friend said, no, Jasper is right here with me, and he looked out the front window while still on the phone. It was a cougar, sized very much like Jasper, just sitting in the sun. Folks stayed inside that day.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I still haven't found out if it was spotted during the day or the night! We saw a deer watching a jogger go by on our way out for dinner -- well before sundown.

So, do they shoo the cougars back into the mountain, or do they zap them and take them back miles from where they were found?

[moon-happy.livejournal.com]

They do nothing. Of their own accord, critters wander back down the arroyo to the mountains from whence they came...maybe snacking on puppies or kitties along the way. I don't know why but around here folks are pretty calm about predators, even though we have the normal compliment of children and runners.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Perhaps your fellow homeowners have more of the pioneer blood than many -- there is a price to pay for everything, and we teach our children how to deal with wildlife, etc.

Or maybe they are convinced "It won't happen to my child/pet."

Or maybe it's because the cats have always gone back to the high country, and not taken up permanent residence. Not sure how ours got here, so not sure it could return the same route!