A Case of To Believe or Not To Believe Ones Eyes---Mountain Lions
Posted: Thursday, May 21, 2009
by Sandra E. Graham
My Books and Articles
Living in the 'outback' as we do (Arkansas , not Australia) one shouldn't find it hard to believe that we sometimes see strange animals wandering up out of the woods off and on. About two years ago I saw a huge forty or fifty pound rat swimming across our pond-it turned out to be a beaver. Oh, well, I had been living in the city (Dallas) for many years so I'm entitled to one mistake at misidentifying a wild animal, right? We realized it was a beaver when it slapped the water with its large flat tail - I've seen that much on TV.
Then just last year, my husband saw a small alligator lying on the bank of our pond. When I say small, I mean probably just over a foot long, tail and all. When he approached it, he said it dove into the water and disappeared. He called the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission who promptly sent out a biologist. But to our consternation, nothing could be found that would reinforce our belief that we had seen a baby alligator.
To soothe our ruffled feathers, the biologist compromised and said it could have been someone's pet Caiman that had been set free. We never saw it again, so I guess we'll never know.
This brings us to our present perplexity. Two days ago my husband was on our back porch drinking his daily cup of coffee (I was still in bed - I never get up before eight), when he saw what he thought was a deer. Upon closer inspection he decided it wasn't a deer, but could be a very large dog. However, when the animal got up and quickly ran across the pasture and entered the woods, my husband realized by the way it moved and its build, it was no dog. He is positive that he had just seen a mountain lion. The animal was enormous with a small head, large long body, long thick round tail that turned up slightly at the end. And was tan colored with a lighter coloring on its underbelly. Definitely sounded like a mountain lion to me.
Now, my husband is far from being a brave man-when we first moved out here twenty years ago and had no outside lights as we do now, he went out one night to put some trash in the burning barrel. Suddenly a loud and gruff grunt from the nearby woods sent him running back to the house as though the devil were on his heels. He came in the back door slamming it so that it rattled on its hinges.
"What's wrong?" I exclaimed.
"There is something big and black out in the backyard by the trees!" He stammered, pale as a ghost.
I tell you this because, when he told me about seeing the Mountain Lion', I told him he should go down into the woods by the creek and look for tracks. That way he could tell the Game and Fish biologist when he came out.
"Are you crazy?! I'm not going into those woods! That's their job." I think he meant No.
And, I'm certainly not going cause I'm the girl.
He called the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and they stated flatly that they had turned NO mountain lions loose in Arkansas and that there was no such animal in the state. He politely gave us another number (a biologist) to call-it was his job to answer any calls about wild animals.
We haven't seen the animal again, so we're hoping he has moved on or it was my husband's eyes playing tricks on him-although he doesn't believe that.
Today I looked up information about the chances of this animal being in Arkansas and found out that there definitely ARE, but the AGAFC deny this because it would cause too much paperwork, manpower, and expense to track these animals down and fill out reports and monitor their movements.
Some reports, however, say that drug manufacturers (especially in the hills of Missouri and Oklahoma) use mountain lions to guard their property and keep the revenuers busy while they get rid of the evidence. Now I can believe that as there have been numerous cases of methamphetamines being manufactured in our county. There have also been reports of people having these animals as exotic pets and turning them loose when they can no longer handle them. The Game and Fish Commission in Oklahoma swore there were no mountain lions in their state also-at least, until one was hit and killed on a highway. Then they just said, "well, we had one, but not anymore." Then another was killed on another highway and they said, "well, we had two, but not anymore."
At any rate, we have warned all the neighbors-especially those with small children-what we may have lurking in our neck of the woods, just to be on the safe side. And we may spend another year or two wondering whether to believe or not believe our eyes.
To soothe our ruffled feathers, the biologist compromised and said it could have been someone's pet Caiman that had been set free. We never saw it again, so I guess we'll never know.
This brings us to our present perplexity. Two days ago my husband was on our back porch drinking his daily cup of coffee (I was still in bed - I never get up before eight), when he saw what he thought was a deer. Upon closer inspection he decided it wasn't a deer, but could be a very large dog. However, when the animal got up and quickly ran across the pasture and entered the woods, my husband realized by the way it moved and its build, it was no dog. He is positive that he had just seen a mountain lion. The animal was enormous with a small head, large long body, long thick round tail that turned up slightly at the end. And was tan colored with a lighter coloring on its underbelly. Definitely sounded like a mountain lion to me.
Now, my husband is far from being a brave man-when we first moved out here twenty years ago and had no outside lights as we do now, he went out one night to put some trash in the burning barrel. Suddenly a loud and gruff grunt from the nearby woods sent him running back to the house as though the devil were on his heels. He came in the back door slamming it so that it rattled on its hinges.
"What's wrong?" I exclaimed.
"There is something big and black out in the backyard by the trees!" He stammered, pale as a ghost.
I tell you this because, when he told me about seeing the Mountain Lion', I told him he should go down into the woods by the creek and look for tracks. That way he could tell the Game and Fish biologist when he came out.
"Are you crazy?! I'm not going into those woods! That's their job." I think he meant No.
And, I'm certainly not going cause I'm the girl.
He called the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and they stated flatly that they had turned NO mountain lions loose in Arkansas and that there was no such animal in the state. He politely gave us another number (a biologist) to call-it was his job to answer any calls about wild animals.
We haven't seen the animal again, so we're hoping he has moved on or it was my husband's eyes playing tricks on him-although he doesn't believe that.
Today I looked up information about the chances of this animal being in Arkansas and found out that there definitely ARE, but the AGAFC deny this because it would cause too much paperwork, manpower, and expense to track these animals down and fill out reports and monitor their movements.
Some reports, however, say that drug manufacturers (especially in the hills of Missouri and Oklahoma) use mountain lions to guard their property and keep the revenuers busy while they get rid of the evidence. Now I can believe that as there have been numerous cases of methamphetamines being manufactured in our county. There have also been reports of people having these animals as exotic pets and turning them loose when they can no longer handle them. The Game and Fish Commission in Oklahoma swore there were no mountain lions in their state also-at least, until one was hit and killed on a highway. Then they just said, "well, we had one, but not anymore." Then another was killed on another highway and they said, "well, we had two, but not anymore."
At any rate, we have warned all the neighbors-especially those with small children-what we may have lurking in our neck of the woods, just to be on the safe side. And we may spend another year or two wondering whether to believe or not believe our eyes.
Several days after the posting of this article, I was told that a man living in our area who has since moved away had two mountain lions that he could no longer feed, so when he moved, he turned them lose. How's that for adult responsibility?!!
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Top-level comments on this article: (9 total)Thank you Sandra once again. Believe it or not, I read it twice to feel in it with you. That means, yes, I have been into the same hilarious moments in time. Thanks for jollying my inside.Thank you, Dr. Clarence, for reading, enjoying, and commenting.Sandra
It's true, Arkansas does have these animals weather they are let loose or actually wild. The Ozarks are full of bear and mountain lions. even here in Russellville there"s a place people go fishing even though they know there are alligators in the water. they say just don't go to close to the water, It's true. The agafc don't want to have to deal with something their not use to. cause these are animals they cant just go out and shoot.... Bob...Thanks for reading and commenting, Bob. We haven't seen this animal again so hopefully it has moved on.Sandra
My brother lives in Arkansas and he said there are bear and mountain lions also in the Ozarks. I just hope no one gets hurt becaus of the agafc denial system. Thanks for an interesting article.Thank you Linda, we finally were told by another man in our neighborhood that a man did own two mountain lions that he released just recently because he couldn't feed them any more and he moved away. I suppose he feels there are enough small animals and children around the area to keep them fed!Sandra
Whether they have mountain lions is a recurring question in Massachusetts, as well. Many credible people claim to have seen them over the last six decades, while the Fish, Game and Wildlife say no. I saw one crossing a highway early in the morning. No pictures.As for the loud grunting at night, probably a black bear. I ran into one at 1:00 am, after closing down my garage for the night. I lived in a log cabin on a mountain in the Berkshires. We both ran as fast as we could, but in opposite directions. The tracks through my garden the next morning confirmed the bear. Since then I had the pleasure of many bear visits to my house, in broad daylight, evening and night. They always skiddaddled when I made my presence known.I guess if a mountain lion could go so long unproven, why not bigfoot?Apparently the Game and Fish commissions are the same all over--some type of mental epidemic, I suppose. But at least now we know that there really are at least two cats out here and I'm not really happy about that. We have small children in three different families back in this area and we have always allowed them to play outside without much worry. Now we don't allow them out without an adult with them. I still haven't received an answer from our 'biologist' that is supposed to come out and check the area--I suppose they feel there's no rush, especially since this had been a holiday week-end.Thanks for reading and commenting.Sandra
Great article. Well done.Sadly, Britain is a small country so has very few areas which you could call outback.Also, all the unusual animals that lived in Britain no longer here- I can't remember the last time I saw a fox or dear and I have only ever seen a badger once in my life. But an alligator is something that if we found it in Britain it would get the probably get the treatment we gave the bears that once lived in BritainThank you, Connor, for reading and commenting. I love all animals and wild life--I just feel there is a place for those who would consider humans as prey and that isn't someone's backyard. Laws should be enforced when it comes to people keeping dangerous exotic pets and then turning them loose when they become too much to handle or feed. I just have problems with people who seem to have no consciense when it comes to community responsibilities.Thanks again and have a great day--and I'm sorry to hear about the deer in your area. We do love to watch our wild deer, birds of all kinds, cute little squirrels, wild turkey and even an occassion fox is not a problem.Sandra
Sandra, I am laughing because I can't tell if this is a tall-tale, or truth, or maybe both? I suppose I shouldn't be laughing because the truth is, someone could be seriously hurt. But really, letting a mountain lion loose?Great story, and I am glad to know your hubby is not losing it :-)Thanks, Teresa. I assure you, that he is too. It is true though, or at least we have been told by several different people now that they too have seen a mountain in the last few days. The AGFC are finally coming out to look around and see if they can find out just who turned them loose.Thanks for reading and commenting.Sandra
Wow, Sandra! Hey, I believe you. If you had called in a report of Sasquatch or a Chupacabra you would have gotten more of a response.Your descriptive account took me back to having coffee early while camping. I could feel the cold morning air and smell the fresh new day, stirring my instant coffee as the lake stirs with life.Oh! See what you started? LOL!!Oh, wow, Ken and you too stir memories--I love a fresh cup of hot coffee made in an old black granite pot over a wood fire on the river bank or on the lake. The taste of food and coffee cooked out doors is incredible! But the bears and mountain lions---well, I can pass on that experience.Thanks for reading and commenting.Sandra
Ms. Sandra,I'm like: "WOW!" At first, I had a small giggle bubbling up from your calling AK, the "outback". But, after reading further, I began to see why you chose that name (smile). Thanks for sharing such great information with us; nice picture, too.Thanks, Ronyae--and yes, we do really have some 'outback' in Arkansas. Actually, I think it is even more 'outback' than Australia. Ha.SandraHa! I'm imagining this, and LOL, Ms. Sandra.
Wow, Sandra! I think I will stay in the 'burbs. Although, we have seen more wildlife in the Houston area than we did living in Colorado (in a city) - and it is different fauna as well. I enjoyed reading about your outback.Thanks, Lorrie, for reading and commenting--glad you enjoyed it.Sandra
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