What's with all the cats this spring?

[huntinnewbie]

I posted 4 weeks ago about seeing my first cougar in the wild. Crossed the road between Coalmont and Princeton. Well back at the cabin this past weekend and neighbors had to go into Princeton on Sunday morning. They see 3 cougars cross the road. Probably Mom and two juveniles.
Then we get home and Brother-in-Law phones to say he was fishing around Squamish on Sunday and he sees his first cougar cross the road in front of him.

[squamishhunter]

Saw a couple around gold river as well but thats not really a surprise.

[r106]

less cat hunters nowadays?

[SPEYMAN]

Rural deer feed rural cats.

[adriaticum]

It's the global warming... :mrgreen:

[Singleshotneeded]

Rural deer feed rural cats.

Seems there's more deer moving in closer to people than there used to be, and predators follow the prey animals.

[BigfishCanada]

Its actually due to the large amount of snow on the mountains. Deer move down, so do the cougars. Many of these trophies we are seeing on hear are a result of them coming down from the remote areas that they normally would reside in. Plus of course there are a lot of them!

[Mr. Dean]

Its actually due to the large amount of snow on the mountains. Deer move down, so do the cougars. Many of these trophies we are seeing on hear are a result of them coming down from the remote areas that they normally would reside in. Plus of course there are a lot of them!

Ditto.

I went out and played for 2 weeks hunting preds, Jan - Feb.
Once above 4000', the mountains were viod of game, except rabbit and lynx.

Moose were even pushed out of their normal wintering haunts - Everything moved to low ground.

[hunter1947]

I have never in my hunting years saw as much cougar kills and tracks in all my years hunting every zone areas I go to I see this and when I was on a 4 day shed hunt in a region far away from cranbrook I had two different cats scream at me ..

[Elkaholic]

I would like to know how you all decide there is "lots" of cats. What method are you using? Because in reality we have no f'in clue how many cats we have.

[GoatGuy]

They killed 170+ this year in R4 and there's still lots running around.

Think the wolves are wreaking havoc on the cats and most of them aren't leaving the trench cause it's risky business.

Seeing the same issues with problem cats across Regions 3,4 and 8 all the same places where wolves are taking off.

[chilcotin hillbilly]

Interesting, In my neck of the woods we have very little snow pack and for the first time I can remember a plie of deer wintered up to 7000 feet. Yet in my life I have only seen 3 cougars with out dogs until this year where i have seen 7 infact even had one try to eat me. It is definately a chas thing. Cougar populations are down in my area as are the deer. The increase in trapping has had a negative impact on the cougar population and can partially be blamed for the amount of problem cats in some areas. With indiscriminate killings of snares it is possible mature females are caught leaving behind young which inturn prey on domestic animals. These young cats endup in residential ares often preying on cats and dogs.

[BlacktailStalker]

I would like to know how you all decide there is "lots" of cats. What method are you using? Because in reality we have no f'in clue how many cats we have.

Yup.
Im hearing the cats are evolving into more of a super animal and there is concern they are becoming resilient to bullets. There will be a blurb in this years regs that all hunters should pack magnums and multiple clips.

[hunter1947]

I would like to know how you all decide there is "lots" of cats. What method are you using? Because in reality we have no f'in clue how many cats we have.


Being out in the bush tells me all what I hear what I see from past years..

[Elkaholic]

Personally I think the wolves are a bigger issue than more people think. I was talking with the bio here and they had a radio collared mature tom die from starvation. Why? Because two wolves would constantly run him off all his kills. Thus making him kill again and again. The cats will kill less when their kills are not continually contested by wolves. In the areas I have been hunting I have noticed the same amount of cat activity but a huge increase in the wolf activity. I cant drive a road with fresh snow from that morning in my deer area without the wolves beating me to everything. I see 1-2 cats tracks scattered throughout but wolves on every branch/spur what have you for over 20kms.

[hunter1947]

Yes Elkaholic I do agree with your thoughts there are big numbers of both species and the game department should do something to bring the numbers of these predators to a controllable number ,,,my opinion having a GOS seasons on wolfs all year around and allowing more cat numbers to be taken during the GOS...

[BlacktailStalker]

The wolves have it made. Safe from the govt, safe from hunters, safe from the majority of trapping activity. Talk to the boys down in Montana and get a feel for how it is going to be here. The future is grim. I guess one can only hope we are nearing a massive natural crash in ungulates to knock the wolves down a little bit, then in a few years we can enjoy less wolves, albeit less productive hunting and just a matter of time til they (the wolves) rebound again.

[hunter1947]

The wolves have it made. Safe from the govt, safe from hunters, safe from the majority of trapping activity. Talk to the boys down in Montana and get a feel for how it is going to be here. The future is grim. I guess one can only hope we are nearing a massive natural crash in ungulates to knock the wolves down a little bit, then in a few years we can enjoy less wolves, albeit less productive hunting and just a matter of time til they (the wolves) rebound again.


Very good wording Big Man I agree.

[hunter1947]

Montana ranchers never wanted the re induction of wolfs but the game department did ,BC gave Montana wildlife a number of wolves from BC years ago and they exploded in numbers and they have been coming across the border back into the EK ,,WK of BC with no passports .

Talk to any rancher about the wolf problems down there they are not very happy campers ,,my thoughts are why do we need any wolfs around ???? Montana was doing very fine without them for many years..

[Elkaholic]

There was over 350 cats shot in the last two years, I am pretty sure they have taken a beating. And that is not counting the number of kittens that have been abandoned because their mom was shot, most of them will die off. Now the dogs need to take a huge beating. BTS if you listen to what the BIO's around here say we have a 35% loss in numbers of elk from last year. So maybe we are already at the ungulate crash, who knows.

[hunter1947]

Elkacoholic regarding cat numbers that are being controlled if your right then our biologist have to do something about getting the numbers of wolves down to an acceptable number ,,makes me sick I have been a registerd trapper for 14 yeas now and I can't trap them wolfs :( ..

[Hunt-4-Life]

This has got away from the original question but about the wolves, I posted an idea this morning for trading a word to a CI for a garrenteed LEH draw. A liberal hunting season (NBL, no closed season) on wolves here in reg 5 has not done anything to reduce their numbers. A wolf-for-LEH swap would encourage guys to get out and bust some fur.