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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

bobf wrote:
> Is the "predator hunter" a state sanctioned job?

Varmit hunters are licensed by the state, I believe.


I thought wild cats
> were protected everywhere.

Nope.  I can shoot a bobcat as easily as a skunk, should I run across
one.  I saw one once as it came flying in for the kill on my kitten.  It
grabbed the kitten off the porch, made a brief stop under my truck, then
took off down the hill to the woods.  I clearly saw the bob tail and
pointy ears, and yet, this cat wasn't much larger than a big housecat.
It all happened in about 5-7 seconds of time, so there was no time for a
gun.


 I know that a farmer or shareholder must
> protect his livestock / food supply.  But, they are not often seen 
> outside of cages.  I spent most of my youth in the woods and have 
> seen almost everything that could be seen, animal wise, that lived in
>  the area where I was raised.  I saw very few cats.  I would hate to
>  shoot a wild cat .........................

I'd been missing some ducks and geese a few years ago, so I looked out
my back door one night just to check on the few geese I had left.  I
could see them out by the barn, but they were moving around more than
usual-something did not look right, so I grabbed my pistol and
highpowered flashlight and went out to investigate.  About halfway to
the barn, I heard what I can only describe as a big cat vocalizing, and
he was very, very close.  It sounded like he was 10 feet away, so I
froze and shined the light around.  I was near the greenhouse and garden
fence, meaning that at the closest the cat was probably 75 feet away on
the other side of the garden, but it sounded like he was right next to
me.  I never saw the cat, but he did 'yell' at me once more to show his
dissatisfaction with my presence.    I had a gun in hand, but was so
scared I backed all the way to the house, remembering that they attack
from behind.  I spent the rest of that night listening to wave files of
wildlife, and I can tell you that I heard the 'impossible'.  I heard a
mountain lion, not a bobcat.  There are not supposed to be any
cougars/panthers/mountain lions around here, according to the DNR.
However, locals believe there is one or more in the area.  There have
been sightings of large black and brown cats with long tails.  Just a
week prior to my encounter, one was seen crossing the road two miles
from my house.  The day prior to my encounter, the guy across the road
claims he saw it when it walked close to his 'campfire'.  He drinks a
good bit out by the fire, so I am less inclined to believe him, but
enough people around here claim to have seen a mountain lion for me to
believe that they do pass through these woods occasionally.  Whatever
it was that yelled at me was a silent mover..must have walked on the
fallen trees because I saw no tracks the next day.  I never heard steps
sticks breaking or anything like that, either. Stealthy stalker...
Trust me, had I seen a cat that night-any wild cat-even a feral
housecat, I would have shot it in a second.  I was SCARED.

Bev

--
"The world is my country, all mankind are my
 brethren, and to do good is my religion."
 Thomas Paine (1737 - 1809)