Bluey, yes, I know. I was referring to Clanter’s post that she has pictures of jaguarundi. Any confirmed sightings since 1986 would likely be of interest to the agencies.
[QUOTE=Anne FS;8290790]
Your horse isn’t worried. All he has to do is run faster than you and he’s got that covered. Stick like glue![/QUOTE]
Ha, I know! That’s why I was worried! He’s kind of concerned about the woods generally anyway. When we are done riding in the arena, he is much better if I ride him out and back to the barn instead of lead him out. If I lead him out, with the woods behind him, he sometimes does that “ghost behind me on the basement stairs” scoot. Took me a while to figure this out, but I think the reason he’s better if I ride him out is that he thinks I’m “behind him” and therefore more likely to be picked off first if something attacks. Thanks so much, buddy. 
[QUOTE=Anne FS;8290796]
Oops, just read that you survived. THIS TIME.
Now for the crow: protect your eyes! They go for those first. (Actually, crows & ravens are pretty scary. Those beaks. Brrrrr.)[/QUOTE]
This horse actually HATES birds. Has always been spooky about them. Probably more afraid of them than a mountain lion, actually. We were within about 8 feet of a coyote one day when I was taking him to turnout and he was like, “What? Yeah, coyote, whatever…to the paddock!” But if a sparrow chirps he’s on high alert, flagging his tail and snorting.
Mountain Lions never bothered our horses. The dumb dog that chased after one? Well he came out pretty lucky with a broken tail and scratched up hind end.
[QUOTE=Pat9;8290304]
The barn where I boarded in California had a lion that came through the property every ten days or so. They have a territory that they travel, so they don’t use up all the prey in one area. I never had the privilege, but barn staff told me of seeing this lion stroll between the small paddocks, leaving the horses totally alone, just passing through. The horses were equally unconcerned.
In Central Oregon, a friend lost a mule to a cat attack, and various livestock were also taken in separate incidents. These were in winter range areas with plenty of game on hand.
I myself would be delighted by the prospect of seeing one, and if I felt menaced, I’d go on the attack. Predators are disconcerted when their prey charges, or at least that’s the theory. Cats are more inclined to ambush their prey, or run out for a quick swat and slaughter. If roles are reversed, that isn’t in their playbook.
Have your camera handy! The chances of a sighting are low, and of an interaction, even less. If you get eaten, get pictures for us.[/QUOTE]
That’s the theory anyway is right, the woman who was attacked by a lion in California (2004) riding a mountain bike fought hard but the cat was not giving up and she was only saved by the fact that she had a friend with her who came on the attack with her and stabbed the cat. If there are two cats at this time of year it is likely a youngster being taught to hunt. We had a horse killed in our area this year, an older horse who was not crippled. Go out with others if you can. Keep in mind that while rare the majority of the fatal attacks in the US occurred in California.
I know we’re in mountain lion territory. We’re on the outskirts of the Angeles Forest. I’ve seen a track on the trail above the barn. Definitely was not a dog or coyote or bear, but haven’t heard mention. I would both pee my pants and be really happy and excited to see a real mountain lion. This is the predator I would fear, not no stinking black bear. But I’m tall, so I’m sure I’ll be okay.
Jaguarundi!!! OMG! What amazing beautiful creatures! Hoping to see some photos shared!
[QUOTE=FineAlready;8290254]
Wisconsin - we do have a lot of deer and turkeys.[/QUOTE]
Around where, if you don’t mind my asking?
I take students to Central America every year to study ecology. We ride horses hours up into the cloud forest where we stay. Five species (?) of felines including jaguars, the largest, are native. Our colleagues there work with the local farmers to pay them for livestock lost to Jaguars to protect the cats from being killed.
And although livestock are taken by big cats where we go, the horses we ride up the mountain are simply untacked and turned out in the rain forest until we leave a few days later. And these horses are ranch horses belonging to the local farmers who make a little extra money leading tourists up the mountain. So the horses are important to the owners for their livelihood. My impression is even there where the threat is very real, the incidence of horses being taken, is relatively rare.
That said every time we go, when I get back, I remind our horses living here in the mid-Atlantic where we have few predators, they are slightly spoiled 
I live in mountain lion country, too, and attacks on full-sized, adult horses are pretty uncommon. I can only think of a couple of suspected cases over the last 15 years and only one was confirmed as a mountain lion.
We have a lot of horses here and a lot of mountain lions. If there was much of a risk, I would suspect we would see a whole lot more depredation.
Sheilah
[QUOTE=spaceagevalkyrie;8291747]
Around where, if you don’t mind my asking?[/QUOTE]
Near Milwaukee.
There was a case of two bikers killed by mt. lions in California years ago.
The prevailing wisdom was to have fake “eyes” painted onto the back of your bike helmet.
Back to the crows, they are very smart and do recognize and remember people … and will harass people they don’t like (a friend of mine was getting dive bombed by a crow on the way to work for days, he had no idea what he did to that bird).
Sounds to me like there’s not much you can do if a mountain lion wants to eat you. Good luck!
[QUOTE=Chall;8292166]
There was a case of two bikers killed by mt. lions in California years ago.
The prevailing wisdom was to have fake “eyes” painted onto the back of your bike helmet.[/QUOTE]
The truth with big predators is that they are looking for prey and anything and all, depending on the situation, is game to them.
Just not smart to go trying your luck in lion country, be aware, don’t just cruise along without keeping an eye on your surroundings.
I am a small human, mountain lions live in our canyons.
You bet I don’t go alone walking around there just for a lark.
It is called common sense.
Where I used to live in NorCal there was a mountain lion in the area. When I say “area” I mean that someone who lived a few miles away as the crow flies (but took me 30 minutes to drive there) got one on a night camera on her property, and her neighbor lost some goats to it as well. I think, unfortunately, that that cougar was killed when it came back for more goats one night.
We had a coyote who and bobcat who would regularly pass through and we gave them no thought, they never bothered the horses or dogs. I never saw a mountain lion there, but it was certainly prime country for it. I think they are rather shy.
I would trail ride alone all the time in the forest and did see a bear once, and a baby coyote who refused to budge from the trail, and other coyote. I did sometimes give myself the heebie-jeebies thinking lion could be out there, but I also would go out mid-day, which I don’t think is their prime hunting time. There were plenty of other things for them to eat - LOTS of deer around.
[QUOTE=clanter;8290234]
that noted, we had a very rare Jaguarundi living in/near our pastures (and we are in the middle of the city–millions of people)… it is a protected animal, we could not even attempt to trap it to remove it … but the horses never even paid any attention it. We have photos of the jaguarondi walking through the back pasture with the horses grazing fifty/sixty feet away and every one just minded their own business[/QUOTE]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguarundi
Oh it’s cute!!!
I’ll bet the chickens were nervous though.
[QUOTE=FineAlready;8292150]
Near Milwaukee.[/QUOTE]
Interesting! I’m an hour ish southwest and people have seen them around occasionally here for years but the dnr just implies the people who’ve seen them are hallucinating :lol:
I’m just North - in Ozaukee Co.
We had one on the other side of the state that the DNR had to acknowledge because someone had great trail cam pictures of. There were at least two attacks on horses in the area. I would exercise caution.
A mountain lion comes through our neighborhood periodically. Once, across the street, the neighbor’s little indoor dog would not stop barking, until the man finally opened his front door to see what was setting it off, only to find the lion laying on their front porch! There is a lot of wildlife around here, one of the things we enjoy about living here, but none of us like to see a cougar that at ease that close to people. I spoke to a state wildlife representative and was told that they have very large ranges and she thought she knew which one our neighborhood visitor would be.
I haven’t personally seen this one, although several neighbors have (and we get told when it’s in the area), but I did see one once while horse camping about 100 miles away. There was a bit of commotion in the barn around twilight one night, so I went to check and found all the horses staring fixedly out one side of the barn. When I looked out of a stall, I could see the mountain lion moving away through the tall grass. What struck me was how very long its tail was, in relation to its body length. That, and the tawny color. Beautiful!
I’ve been told that they prefer to eat feral hogs, with deer being the second choice.
If they prefer feral hogs, we should import some to Arkansas.
