ARE "COUGERS" REALLY A THREAT TO HUMANS?????????

OK imagine the Geico cave man...

Uhhhhh....
WHAT?


They have killed/attcked humans in several states in just the last few years,they have drug off and killed small children in my state,they have killed grown men in several states,if you dont think lions are a threat you are sadly mistaken. :222

well i voted no. although there are cases where it happens there are also cases where people just walking through the woods have a tree fall on them and other freik accidents. i guided for mt.lions for a few yrs and also have ran into quite a few while just out hunting, although you would be crazy to think it is impossible, the odds of one attacking you vs. running off are VERY slim. if your walking around in the woods worried about every lion, bear, snake, or animals that COULD be of danger to you, you are missing alot while your out there.

i agree with ya killerbee. couldnt of said it better myself

I voted no. I mean, I don't fear getting hit by a car every time I venture out my front door. Can/does it happen?...sure it does. However, I don't think you need to preoccupy yourself with it. If you're careful, know your surroundings, and respect the cougar then you'll do just fine. 99.9% of the time the cougar doesn't want to have any more to do with you than you do with it.

Cougars attacks are fairly rare but they do happen. But people get bit by snakes every year, get attacked by thier nieghbor's dog every year, and get bit by black widow spiders every year.

I'll take my chances in the great outdoors with the bears and cats any day.

:222 I just tried to reply to my original post and the F!%#$!@##%^&$*in thing didnt post again after writing for the last ten MINUTES goooooooooooooooooooddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

doeslayer, it sounds like you wrote for too long. If your going to write a long post then make sure you copy it before you post. That way, if the post doesn't work because it timed out then you can paste the original answer and repost.

also what has worked for me is when i type a long post, hit PREVEIW first then submit it. or if you submit one and it doesn't go through, click your back button and then PREVEIW then SUBMIT. it works usually everytime i do it.

any animal that "occasionally" kills humans is a threat,cougars have killed more people in the last 5 years in lower 48 than GRIZZLY bears,do you consider a grizzly a threat?

Well, the Cougar populates a MUCH MUCH larger portion of the lower 48 than the Grizzly does (Many more Cougar than Grizzly) so I wouldn't expect anything less as far as the number of attacks are concerned.

This doesn't change my answer regarding Cougars at all.

there have been "occasional" attacks on people by elk, deer, moose and these animals to during the rut. i dont fear them either. and yes the population of lions is way more than grizzly populations so that would explain the higher attacks on humans.
i always figure you hear about at 80% of all the animal attacks on humans[, be it cats, bear, moose or what ever] if you think about how many millions of people take hiking trips or hunting trips the odds of getting attacked are so slim it's not even worth worrying about.even grizzlies for that matter, they are the most feared animal of the woods in north america. think of all the people who go into the woods where they live and how FEW stories you really do hear about them attacking humans. 99% are from someone just being STUPID. so when you go out into the woods just dont be STUPID and there isn't to much to worry about.

Here's some more interesting facts regarding "attacks".

Each year in the U.S. there are about 12 human deaths resulting from over 5,000 bites by rattlesnakes, 40 deaths due to bee stings, and 3 deaths due to bites of black widow spiders. Dogs annually kill 18-20 people and inflict suture-requiring injuries on 200,000 US. residents.

Meanwhile, here's some numbers regarding Cougar attacks:

1970's 17 total attacks found 4 fatalities
1980's 20 total attacks found 2 fatalities
1990's 37 total attacks found 8 fatalities

For those that are interested, I got most of this info from a study written by Paul Beier, Wildlife Ecology Professor, Northern Arizona University. You can google his study but it only covers 1890-1990. The following link covers through the 2000's. http://users.frii.com/mytymyk/lions/intro.htm#stats

Mr. Beier's study is really well done and worth reading. Also check out the site (link) and make up your own mind. Folks have gotten into trouble listenin to guys like Killer and me...LOL

I'll see what I have on Grizzly attacks and will post that also.

AGC your the man!!!! :thumb :thumb great info, thanks for checking it out and sharing! =D> :thumb

LOL...thanks Killer.

I was thinkin' about this and I doubt very highly that any of us are really thinkin' any different. The word "threat" is what's key. I think we can all agree that a cougar can certainly be a threat to a human...but what is the level of the threat, chance of being attacked, etc?

Are they a threat? Sure they are.
What are your chances of being attacked? VERY slim at best...unless you get between a a mom and cubs, run into a sick or injured one, or hike the high country with a big T-bone tied to your neck.

By the way, the best I can come up with thus far on Gizz attacks is 15 since 1967. I have not found an actual varifiable study on this though so I am not 100% on the number. That number comes from a site on surviving animal attacks, camping in the wild, etc.

i couldn't agree more. by all means they are a threat of some sorts to humans but the extent of it is what is in question. and i just really dont feel it is enough to where i even give it a second thought while i'm out in the woods.
a story that once happend to me: [ and it was video taped for proof, although i dont have it so a lot of good it does ](*,) ] any way,i was guiding for mt lion in New Mexico , it was are first hunter of the year. any way the first morning i had the hunter and my buddies would follow the dogs while me and the hunter would take the horses around and try to get closer so he wouldn't have to walk so far. anyway the dogs treed so off we went. after finally getting to the cat we looked and looked in these thickets of juniper and could not spot the cat. well, soon enough we spotted it and it was about a 60 yearling. the hunter had no desire to shoot it. [oh by the way the dogs jumped trackes along the way, we released them on a lot better cat.] note: all of us guides had mt.lion tags cause later in the year we were going to all get are own cats. any way,,, we decided it would be a great learning experiance for the younger dogs to hold on to them and get the cat down, wait a little bit then release the young ones to run the cat and try to tree it again.

Now move back to a conversation: in the months prior to this story me and the outfitter would get into these little arguments about what would happen if his dogs got into it with a cat. he would swear up and down that this 1 dog had so much experiance that it could kill a cat by itself. and if the 2 top dogs were together the cat would have no chance. i called B.S. a million times to no avail.
back to the story: the guys held onto the dogs while i climbed the tree a ways and threw a stick at the cat to get it to jump. ---- worked like a charm! the cat jumped and as soon as it hit the ground the outfitter himself couldn't hold his 2 dogs and the attacked the cat![ just happend to be the two top dogs i refered to earlier.] this little 60 lb. cat was tearing the $#^$ out of them! the outfitter was screaming "release the other dog"
so we did, it did not a bit of good that cat was tearing dogs like mad!! so the outfitter was still screaming "we got to shoot that cat, it's killing my dogs!!" the hunter wasn't about to shoot it cause he didn't want to have to tag this little cat, and i was the only one with my pistol that day! so i head in the middle of the dog fight and it was total madhouse . i litteraly get to within a foot of the cat/dogs fighting and all of the sudden everything just kinda parted ways and the cat turned and hissed at me. i literally stuck the berrel of my pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger. if he would have bit down he would have been bighting metal! it was by far the most adrenaline rush i ever had in my life! the rest of the day we were all just sitting around camp saying" i cant beleive what just happend"!
so i finally got my point across to the outfitter that no dogs are going to whoop a mt.lion. and to this day when i tell the story i get a little shaky just remembering that moment!

It has nothing to do with fearing them,its about recognizing they can be a threat and taking precautions,i NEVER enter the woods without a handgun,at the very least.If those people in Kalifornia had been packin a gun on their hikes or bike rides they may be alive today.BTW white tail deer kill more people in the lower 48 than lions,grizz and B bears combined,dont underestimate Bambi! :222

Thanks ACGHAWK for the very informational link just read all the incidents and the does and donts very intersting stuff never realized how little the cats fear humans makes me kind of nervous but hey I will have my 270WSM ready to kill at all times and my 12" bowie on my side and maybe even some pepper spray wouldnt be a bad idea I probably wouldnt even be as concerned as I am about this topic, but my future TWINS are going to need a daddy in december and my wife and I have only been married for a year in october so I'm just getting my life started

as for killerbees guide story I would have to give this a ten for excitement wow that is just nuts

nonya the last post you placed is very intrigueing about the numbers of cat attacks where can I see this info firsthand


to everyone on this subject since I'm new here can u tell me when I make a reply do I need to include a subject or not???
and how do you post a link in general so people can just click on it and be directed to that site???

Thanks for all your help and confidence NO OFFENSE but most of my confidence in the woods comes from the man upstairs.

Doeslayer, if you're just replying to an existing thread then you do not need to enter a subject. If you're starting a new thread then you do have to put something in the subject line.

NONYA, you're right there! Those dang Whitetail are going to be the downfall of humankind! I was going to post some numbers regarding deer vs human interactions but I couldn't seperate Whitetail, Mule Deer, and Black-tail . I KNOW that the vast majority of hte incidents are Whitetail though (Again, a function of numbers. There are many more whities than the others).

Great story Killer!!!!!

well i put depends on the state.... i think you are in more of a thereat in california than anywhere becuase from what i understand they are way to over populated from lack of hunting so due to the terrible management i think its a much great threat there than say here in utah because of the lack of food there it will put a hiker or biker on the menu. i dont feel to threatened around here but i am weary of it. i think there is a very small threat here but a threat none the less.but i dont worry to much when i am out hiking.

hey OX I think this is the most accurate answer on this subject maybe I should word it different

i said no. if we timp them then maby

timp? :-k

i cant spell good. "push them in to a corrner"

You are more likley to be attacked by a lion that is REAL hungry than one who is cornered,they will flee before they attack. :222

Last year in Idaho I was sleeping in the pines up above 10000 ft during the midday. I woke up to my buddy screaming my name and I sat up to see a cougar 3 yards away. He said he woke up with a strange feeling and opened his eyes to see a cougar face just feet from me. When I sat up the cougar slowly walked away. It was a smaller female but I still think she could have done some serious damage if she grabbed my throat while I was asleep. I don't know what she was doing but it apeared she came from down wind and was not very scared of us. I truly believe she was hungry and looking for an easy meal. But who knows. I never thought they were a threat before and I still don't wander around scared of them but they are great hunters and I hike in the dark a lot and it crosses my mind often when it is dark and I am alone on a scouting trip with no weapon

Hey MTquiver I guess I dont know what to say to that besides HOLY SHAT that just goes to show that they arent out to kill humans cause I think if they intentionally hunted us there would be alot more humans dying in california and the other west states I here you about the dark thing I still am that way up in northern minnesota since where we hunt up north there are alot of big bears in the area we hunt not to mention wolves and believe it or not 2 confirmed cougers have been sighted by a local farmer here in minnesota just east of mille lacs lake area kinda nuts what tricks your mind play with you when your walking in the dark or in very thick woods period so is this the only encounter you have ever had with one in your life??? are they moving alot normally during midday I think mostly towards dusk and dawn