A$$holes. Any thought to getting up a posse? You and some neighbors setting out to track the cat to its den and end it right there? Or maybe staking out some bait, taking turns on watch. To hell with the Game Commission. Get the damned cat, and then bury it without reporting it.

Matt, here's where the government shows its true colors. You see it is against the law to hunt the cougar but we are allowed to kill the cat if we catch him attacking our livestock. You have any idea how hard it is to catch a cougar during an attack? Anyway, I plan on putting one of my goats in a cage for a few nights just to see what happens. I will, of course, be keeping the goat company....me and my rifle.

That was nice of them driving the lion closer to the feast, aka your ranch!! ~nodding~ I mean, heck, they could have been bastards and drove it farther away!!

Good job Missouri!! EEK!

"I’m thinking that the lowest ranking member of the response team attempted to pet the animal and got mauled, "

Yep, exactly how they do it. "Nope, it wasn't a pet!! Damn, tore Bill's head right off!!!"

Bad kitty!! ~spritzes it in the face with a water bottle~ :D

~shaking head again~

This is horrifying as I allow my boys and their friends to take walks near the railroad tracks that lead to down town Parkville. There was one spotted in Parkville about a year ago, but I haven't heard where he is now. On one hand, I would rather not let the kids walk; on the other hand, it doesn't seem fair to curtail a healthy activity because of one lone cougar that may or may not be out there. I've also heard that cougars are afraid of people and would not attack them. I hope that's true.

I have heard they are coming back and have been seen as far east as PA. I'm in rural NJ and there are unconfirmed reports of sightings. First the bears, then the coyotes, now the mountain lions. As a friend of mine said: "Looks like nature is winning."

Be careful! You are baiting the largest landowner in the state. The Missouri Department of Conservation, thanks to a statewide sales tax that has no sunset, has more money than god, and more land than any other person or entity in the state. And remember, this is just land, NOT state parks, as those fall under the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (the department without the tax). So, be sure to get your FREE Missouri Conservationist magazine, because you're paying for it!

Doesn't there have to be a better way? I mean I understand why the ranchers want the cat dead and I understand why the cat needs to eat. I wish I had an answer but all I can say is good hunting....

You would think that if this animal is endangered to the area, that they would try to do their job of "conserving" it in a way that is healthy to all around - like in a conservatory or something - or finding a non urban territory to transport it to. That is just sad - for you, the animals, and the cougar.

We have a cougar mountain zoo close by - they would have loved to have him.

It's too bad that all the habitat for the big cats has disappeared. Nature needs its alpha predators, and they are truly majestic animals.

That said, I also feel where you are coming from as a rancher that has to live with them. We had mountain lions on our TX ranch as well (I wrote about it here: http://open.salon.com/blog/blue_in_tx/2011/01/11/me_and_my_shotgun). That feeling of being prey is truly awful, and I can't imagine finding a beloved animal in the condition in which you found your filly.

I am so sorry you are having to deal with this.

Awwwwww geesh. Gubmint at work. Sometimes the logic makes you wonder.

I am sorry to hear about this Dave....there's a total lack of vision with this agency, and the land owners need to organize, not only for this issue, but to form a citizen board to balance the errant decisions of the Govt. I hope you can find a solution...I just cannot understand the Govt's lack of common sense.

I'm sorry to hear you lost a filly to that cougar, and I empathize with anyone who's lost livestock to wild predators. Still, given that we ruthlessly eradicated them from vast swathes of the continent (along with much of the other wildlife), I can't help but be glad as I see mountain lions making a come-back in recent decades. I realize my position won't go over well with you or anyone else raising livestock in areas where cougars are, but it seems to me there should be room for both humans and wild things.

I think you should send this whole thing to your local papers..
I was in complete horror when I read this adn the pictures did me in.
Idiots
HUGGGGGGGGGGG

Pinheads.

David, if I may ask, what do you think should have been done with the animal? And I ask that without the slightest trace of snark.

I don't think they made a very wise decision, releasing it even closer to a ranching area, but I could never advocate for killing it either. Is there some other alternative?

Jeanette;yes,they can put him into a conservation area of almost extinct spezies.
The beautiful cat ...never mind my thoughts,David knows how I think about it.
David:Could you take action by bringing it to public attention via local newspaper?(like Linda suggested?)

Rated,and good luck!

Set a trap for it and then kill the dang killer and burn its carcass and scatter the ashes on your property.

Thanks for the laff, Tinkertink. You are one twisted puddy tat. ;)

uprated

you have just experienced a judicial outcome known as "takings" - that's when the government creates a policy which causes a specific citizen a loss, without compensation.

the most familiar "taking" is, of course, condemnation of real estate (and compensation at below market rates) for construction of a casino, luxury hotel, shopping mall, etc.

more recently, people have bought land on the open market for construction or farming, then told they CANNOT do that because an endangered specie was found on it, and the place has been re-zoned.

ranchers have been up in arms over wolf releases/range expansion for several decades, and have suffered sheep and cattle losses. i wasn't aware until your post that cougars could be as deadly.

good luck. does a barking dog scare them off? for how long?

Wow. I wonder if you could send this off to them somehow and if it would make a difference, send it to your state leaders perhaps. Amazing stupidity.

David - I'm hoping your penned up goat and you with your rifle work like a charm and you can be rid of this cougar. Not surprised at the governmental entity's approach to this - you know how I feel about the government in all its "glory and wisdom" - **sarcasm heavily entrenched**

Rated.

It's worth mentioning that the hunting range of an adult male cougar is 50 to 150 square miles, which translates, at the high end, to an area about 12 by 12 miles. That being the case, and given that this cougar was captured 50 miles from David's location, it's highly unlikely that it was the animal that preyed on his filly. Nor, for that matter, is there any evidence that the captured cougar had itself ever preyed on livestock, so I find some of the outrage here puzzling. Also, I lived in Missouri for over 15 years and I've seen at firsthand the excellent work done by the MO. Department of Conservation, so the ire directed at them in this comment thread leaves me bemused. They are one of the most forward-thinking and effective state conservation agencies in the country, and their programs and methods are used as a model by other states across the country. I realize many people have no use for wildlife or conservation, but as I said earlier, it seems to me that humans should be able to co-exist with wild things.

These are beautifrul animals and it should have been taken to a true wilderness, even if outside your state. That's my take.

The whole predator/prey rthing gives me the shivers. Too bad we can't all just get along.

If you are going to relocate a Mountain Lion, why put him close to people with ranches and animals. Idiots, all!

Stupid at its worst.

I'm so sorry you had to put that little filly down. It must have been painful for you.

Tink...LOL! Yes, I thought that idea was just too funny to pass up.

I Love Life....check the stats in Northern Calif. they have people attacked by cougars on an almost yearly basis.

Gerald...I think, in the end, Nature always wins.

Midwest Muse.....and I get that dang magazine every month too.

LL2.....I too wish there were a better way.

Sparking...I wish they would have considered zoos myself.

Laura Deurmyer.....I think part of the problem is that most people don't understand what it's like to see an animal you brought into this world mauled and killed like this. Sometimes I think we live too close to the land.

Walter....I haven't trusted Government "logic" since '68, this is no exception.

Gary Justis....I sometimes think that common sense and government is like an oxymoron....like Military Intellegence.

nanatehay....First of all, welcome to my blog. Now, if you will permit me, I will try to answer both your comments with one of my own just to save space. Believe it or not there is a part of my that is happy to see this magnificent creature make a come-back of sorts and I understand your position completely. As for your second comment....well that is where we differ a bit. I understand your use of mathamatics to show that this might not be the same cat and that it is not a threat to my ranch personally. The problem is that I don't have as much faith in the cougar's knowledge of math. Somehow I can't see him reaching that twelve mile limit and deciding he has to turn back because the experts all say he doesn't hunt any further. This is the same sort of blind faith in logic that gets a lot of conservationist in trouble....animals tend to not do what we expect them to do. Forget for a moment, if you will, my ranch. I can guareente you that there are a lot of OTHER ranches within that twelve mile fence you've put up that will have the same problems as I have had in the past.
As for coecisting with the cougar, in the intervening months since my own attack took place, I have not mounted any hunts for the cat but I have stayed alert to his presence on my land. My thinking has always been that he leaves me alone, I will leave him alone. Most ranchers feel that way but the problem is that when they release the cougar so close to existing ranches, they make conflict almost unavoidable. Oh and you might want to check your figures because our local Conservation officer whom I spoke to at length after learning the cat was released, felt that it was the same animal that attacked my horse....of course his math might have been off as well.

Linda...Not a bad idea, thanks.

Boanerges....Yeah, that's pretty much my thoughts too.

Jeanette...There are large areas of National Forest that are not inhabited, I would have hoped they chose to release the cat there.

Heidi....A few of my neighbors have been talking about meeting with the conservation department and that might be a way to start.

Belinda...If I do end up killing the animal I will do exactly what I told the local Conservation officer I would do with it: I will bring the body to his office and place it none too gently upon his desk....so he can "study" it.

baltimore aureole....Yes, barking dogs will discourage them. This is the reason why my filly was still alive when I found her; my two large dogs (both right at a hundred pounds each) raised a ruckus that alerted us and I believe drove the cougar off his kill before he could finish the job.

SheilaTGTG....I agree with you...really stupid.

Kim....Well it's worked on coyotes and bobcats so I'm hoping it works with this bigger game.

Patrick Frank...I agree, they truly are beautiful aren't they.

Sarah Cavanaugh....It would be a wonderful world if we could, I agree.

Scanner....See, now that's my thoughts, but what do I know.

Christine Geery.....If not the worst, at least in the top ten.

ccdarling...Yes it was, but that is the sort of pain all ranchers have to deal with sooner or later.

That's absolutely disgusting and totally thoughless towards those with livestock.

Sheesh. No wonder our world is in such a mess with politicians such as this.

Hope it's all soon resolved.

I've been to your blog before, David, but thanks for the welcome, even if it was accompanied by a large dose of condescension. I wasn't expecting that, but oh well. Regardless, and leaving your snark aside, I didn't suggest that cougars do math. What I was saying, and factually so, is that on the high end their hunting range is about 12 miles by 12 miles, which means that it's unlikely to have traveled 50 miles to attack your filly. I didn't say it's impossible, but it's unlikely. Which brings me to your Conservation officer. On the one hand you ridicule the Department of Conservation, then, when it suits your narrative, you're prepared to take what one of their agents says at face value. Which is it; are they incompetent fools or are they fully omniscient concerning the movements of wild animals? Apparently your view in that regard depends on whether it bolsters your position or not. Which brings me to another point; on the one hand you complain that they brought the animal 20 miles closer to you, yet you yourself admit that wherever it is, it's going to be near farms and ranches. So one has to ask, should they have killed the cougar? If that's your belief I respect your reasons for it even if I hold a differing view, which is more than I can say for how you treat those who don't agree with you on every particular.

Nanatehay...I have seen your exchanges on other blogs and I sometimes think you really look for reasons to be insulted. I am sorry you felt as if I were condesending or used snark...whatever that is. I was trying as hard as I could to be polite and present my contrary arguments. Granted, I'm not the sharpest tack in the box and my use of humor might be insulting but please believe me that was not my intent. If you read my other answers to comments you would have seen that it was my hope that they would have taken the cat to one of the large National Forests to release it. At lest there he would be a reasonable distance to any farm or ranch. Of course I could be wrong about that too. Again, I apoligize if you felt attacked, it was only my poor attempt to be civil and still disagree....My bad.

I look for reasons to be insulted? Really? My goodness, you certainly have me all figured out!

For future reference, the above sentences in this comment qualify as snark, as do your remarks concerning cougars and math and the alleged difficulties conservationists have regarding animal behavior. Now I'll let you get back to being all passive-agressive; have a good one, David.

Thanks for the education in Snark, nanatehay. It was interesting hearing from you and you have a good day too. Now I gotta go look up passive-aggressive and figure out what's wrong with me.

Perfect ending, David. :)

David,I hope you get started with it right away befor anyone gets harmed or eaten up by this hungry cat.
Scanner is right:Let the cat go to a place where he can find food.

There seems to be a couple of facts not yet established.
Was the mountain lion trapped in a much more sensitive area, say where there are small vulnerable animals?
Was there deliberation as to where it was released?
So you have a specific better place to release it, rather than some unnamed sanctuary.

If the release point was a reasonable pick, although it is closer to your ranch, perhaps that is the price society asks it citizens to pay in some way for helping to bring the species back?

Traveler....good questions. The area he was captured in was full of all sorts of game, but then again the entire state, with the possible exception of the St. Louis area is like that. Since the cougar is at the top of the food chain they feed on everything from field mice to full grown deer. Like any preditor they will go for game that are likely not to cause them phyical harm and this is where they come into conflict with ranchers. A young horse or a calf are easy prey for them and they take these whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Now the place the cat was released was much closer to ranches than other locations, such as the Mark Twain National forest. You are right though conflict with preditors is a price ranchers must pay to do what they do and under normal circumstances this price is accepted. He just hate to see the price inflicted on us by thoughtless government decisions. I hope I've answered your questions.

I think the traveler brings up an interesting and important point. Do we have any responsibility for these creatures, even though their needs or behaviors may cause us inconvenience or even harm?

You are not in the best of situations. Your bottom line is to protect your own and I think we all understand that. Good luck.

As the UK is basically sterile of anything that can hurt you like this I can only imagine the problem and anxiety it causes.
I do also see the alternative point of view like Nana mentioned.

Having said that our equiv of your Conservation Dept have been considering re-introducing Wolves. Yes Wolves, but only in Scotland which is a relief. I jest not, but in the Highlands where even Donald Trump doesnt want to build a golf course.

Good luck shooting the critter if it comes close to you and yours.

Since this continent began to be occupied by peoples other than the indigenous population, we have systematically deprived the wildlife of their habitats. Now we are surprised that the trend is being reversed. A Killer is Released. What do we think a cougar is. It kills to survive. Capturing and relocating in a place that will keep it from interaction with humans, and their livestock, is admirable, but not in the place you described. Some of the comments to your blog alarm me, and I would feel very nervous if I lived close to some of these people when walking my dog at dusk, and Dave, be very careful if you use a caged goat as bait. Cougars are not dumb, and if they see you as easier prey your rifle will not do you any good when it hits you from behind. I would suggest you leave this up to the experts. Where I live we do not yet have a problem with cougars, but do with coyotes. They take pets, and have been attacks on children and adults. I hate the thought of our citizens walking around with weapons to kill these animals that are doing what they are designed to do. So what are we supposed to do. Even within my local travel cougars are a problem, some are trapped others are killed. Is it the answer to trap, kill, or accept the influx of wild animals into our domain. The death of any of these animals is a tragedy especially when their kills are for survival, when man does it for all the worst reasons.