#1940691 - 05/27/10 12:56 PM
Re: Why don't people believe that it happens??????
[Re: Bigg'un4214]
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Winchester
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Registered: 12/05/03
Posts: 25229
Loc: TN
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Stik probably hunts near Tiger Haven. They have numerous big cats. One is African lion that was being kept behind a 6' board fence less that 1/4 mile from a school.
I'd say your right, that or a Bobcat 'screaming' which can be pretty impressive at times. Does that guy still have the big cats out there at tiger haven? A friend of mine used to own the farm that joined that property, when driving down the driveway you were literall 20 feet away from the big cats. I wasnt impressed at all with his enclosures either, pretty shabby imo! I also think these type places are where 99% of the big cat sightings originate from here in TN. somebodys pet that has gotten loose or was abandoned when they could no longer take care of it!
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#1940713 - 05/27/10 01:23 PM
Re: Why don't people believe that it happens??????
[Re: Winchester]
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bowriter
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Registered: 08/31/02
Posts: 40299
Loc: Lebanon,TN USA
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Just thought of something. I have a friend in CO. Makes his living guiding cat hunters. He told me a few years ago he had never heard one scream until the dogs treed it.
And I'll tell you one other thing. Don't run a marathon with that dude.
_________________________
Constipation has ruined many a good day. Not as many as stupidity, though.
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#1941240 - 05/27/10 07:01 PM
Re: Why don't people believe that it happens??????
[Re: Winchester]
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huntwriter
4 Point
Registered: 10/10/05
Posts: 354
Loc: BC, Canada
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I also think these type places are where 99% of the big cat sightings originate from here in TN. somebodys pet that has gotten loose or was abandoned when they could no longer take care of it!
It's possible but escaped big cats have a very short live span, unlike a feral house cat they need more to eat than mice and grasshoppers. To get large game like deer that would fill a big-cats belly it has to hunt. The problem escaped big-cats face is that they never learned to hunt in captivity. As I stated in an earlier post, hunting does not come natural to a tiger, lion, or cougar, it has to be learned. By the time a escaped big-cat figures out how to stalk deer and how to kill them it has starved to death.
Then there is another often overlooked factor. Big cats, as most wild animals, that have grown up around humans will ALWAYS seek to stay close to humans. This means that escaped big-cats sooner or later would be seen near human dwellings.
_________________________
"Wouldn’t it be wise for us to be more tolerant of each other and pick our battles with the ones that really threaten our way of life?"
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#1941270 - 05/27/10 07:23 PM
Re: Why don't people believe that it happens??????
[Re: huntwriter]
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JCDEERMAN
14 Point
Registered: 07/19/08
Posts: 7633
Loc: NASHVILLE, TN
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That makes perfect sense to me huntwriter!
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Be nervous, but fear no one
In God we trust
God bless the USA!
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#1941622 - 05/27/10 10:38 PM
Re: Why don't people believe that it happens??????
[Re: JCDEERMAN]
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MRUTVOL
6 Point
Registered: 12/16/02
Posts: 868
Loc: Goodlettsville,Tennessee,USA
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I think until somebody actually kills one or one is trapped by the Game and Fish people here in Tennessee then it will be a myth that they are here. Personally I do believe there could be some on the cumberland plateau or in some remote areas of the state. Now whether they are wild or just released pets is another delima. I have a friend that I will not mention his name who is in his 70s who is a fishing guide and fishes the Caney Fork regularly and he swears that years ago he was floating down the river striper fishing by himself when he saw a cougar come down to the waters edge not 30 feet away and get a drink of water. He said he mentioned it to some one at the TWRA but they just shrugged him off so he just figured it was just a special moment that he got to have with nature that most have never seen around here. He was a taxidermist and he knew a mountain lion when he seen one for sure.
_________________________
"That's my Opinion and should be yours too!"
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#1941716 - 05/28/10 01:05 AM
Re: Why don't people believe that it happens??????
[Re: farmin68]
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bowriter
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Registered: 08/31/02
Posts: 40299
Loc: Lebanon,TN USA
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To add to Huntwriter's post, and escaped bi cat will take the target of opportuntiy. That includes hikers and bikers etc. They are much easier to get than wild game. The same is true of some bears.
Now Othmar is a professional in animal behaviour. I am not. But I am also not stupid in a general sense. I have spent a great portion of my lfe studying animals, albeit not big cats as has Othmar. But I do understand natural and learned traits. I know that any predator is going to take the target of most opportunity,
_________________________
Constipation has ruined many a good day. Not as many as stupidity, though.
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#1941778 - 05/28/10 06:50 AM
Re: Why don't people believe that it happens??????
[Re: bowriter]
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Bigg'un4214
8 Point
Registered: 05/10/04
Posts: 2394
Loc: east tn
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When the reports from the man that was losing his calves hit the news, I had people calling from 300 miles away saying they had saw a cat that was probably the same one. I even had a woman from New Mexico call wanting to do an interview concerning alien cattle mutation. Easy to be skeptical.
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Tennessee roots over 200 years deep and growing.....
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#1941780 - 05/28/10 06:52 AM
Re: Why don't people believe that it happens??????
[Re: Bigg'un4214]
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Bigg'un4214
8 Point
Registered: 05/10/04
Posts: 2394
Loc: east tn
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She was serious. I have saw her on The History Channel several times.
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Tennessee roots over 200 years deep and growing.....
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#1941805 - 05/28/10 07:35 AM
Re: Why don't people believe that it happens??????
[Re: Bigg'un4214]
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huntwriter
4 Point
Registered: 10/10/05
Posts: 354
Loc: BC, Canada
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Bowriter is right. Big cats will go for the easiest target and a escaped cat is very likely to seek out humans as food source. This was the downfall of Joy and George Adams program in Africa. The couple made famous through the movie "Born Free" was not murdered by poachers as often reported but outraged farmers. No matter how hard Joy and George tried to re-introduce captive lions into the wild, they always would come back and create havoc on the surrounding farms, killing livestock and humans alike.
_________________________
"Wouldn’t it be wise for us to be more tolerant of each other and pick our battles with the ones that really threaten our way of life?"
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