Eye to Eye with the Ultimate Predator
(Mountain Lion Nevada 2008)
By
Eric Stanosheck
 One
of the hunts that I have always wanted to go on was a Mountain
Lion hunt. It seemed that every year I had spent my budget on
fall hunts and holidays and when the Mountain Lion season came
around I was always left wishing. Finally this last Fall I
decided it was time to quit dreaming about it and just do it. I
have a philosophy that life is about turning the things you
dream about doing into the things that you have done, and so my
outfitter search was on. I ended up booking with Mosquito
Valley Outfitters in Vya, Nevada on a cancellation hunt and
after communication with owner Ryan Schliesser, and his wife
Angie, I was convinced that I had booked with the right outfit.
They were passionate about hunting Mountain Lions and have a
track record to prove it.
My trip couldn’t come soon enough as I had
been preparing for this trip for months and had my open sights
.50 Caliber Hawken Muzzleloader driving tacks out to 50 yards
which I assumed would be the extent of my shooting range on a
Mountain Lion hunt. Little did I know how close my shot would
be. Days in advance I had my fully packed heavy duffle bag and
my gun case and 1 carry on plus all of my video equipment and
tripods. A few years ago I got into videoing my hunts and now I
am in the works of producing hunting DVD’s so I definitely
wanted to capture this dream hunt.
February 2nd I boarded my flight
from Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX to Reno, NV. Ryan picked me up at the
airport and we proceeded with our first task of buying a Nevada
hunting license and a mountain lion tag. What should have been
an easy task was further complicated as the big box hunting
stores in Reno were completely out of tags and waiting for the
ones that would be good after March 1st. After a few
quick calls Ryan had one located at a small store 2 hours away
(fortunately in the direction we were headed). That night I met
John Stevenson, the other hunter in camp, and we attended Ryan
an Angie’s youngest daughters B-Day. It was great to get to meet
all of the family members and hear some great hunting stories.
Unfortunately the blizzard would keep us from getting to the
ranch that night so we stayed in a hotel in Cedarville, CA.
Day 1 of the hunt didn’t happen as planned
due to weather. First we had to make it out to the ranch in Vya,
NV. After getting both trucks buried in snowdrifts and digging
them out we arrived at the ranch and found that both generators
had failed which meant no water AND no electricity. We got our
gear sorted out in the bunkhouse while Ryan remedied the
generator problems. Even though Ryan has dogs that can track on
dry ground or snow, the wind that day would have blown any good
scent off the snow and it would have been futile to go out that
day.
February 4th – we got up early
and found clear skies and wind that was barely blowing – today
was going to be the day, I just had a feeling about it. We
drove about 1 1/2 hours south of Vya, NV and started running
side roads. Ryan and John split off in one direction and Angie
and I went the other. Not 5 minutes up our road we cut a fresh
set of lion tracks! Angie and I both hoped out and looked at
them and I was excited that we found a track. Being the first
Mountain Lion track I’d ever laid eyes on, I wasn’t sure if it
was a Tom and didn’t have a comparison to know if it was big. I
wasn’t interested in chasing a female or a younger Tom so I
relied on Angie’s experience. She stepped off the length of the
walking stride and found it to be 44+” total and looked at me
and said “This is a good Tom”. No sooner had we let the 2 dogs
out on the track when Ryan radioed us to see how we were doing.
Angie told him about the track and what she thought and he said
he’d be right over to check it out. Sure enough Ryan was really
excited when he saw the size of the mountain lion track and in
turn my enthusiasm skyrocketed.
Ryan put out 2 more dogs to help on the
track since the Mountain Lion was obviously hunting Mustangs.
His tracks were right in the horse tracks in many places. Soon
we watched all of the dogs clear the top of the mountain after
they sorted out all of the tracks. John wanted to come along on
the chase and sacrificed his day of hunting so the 4 of us
geared up and started following dog tracks and sounds of distant
bellows. As we got up to 5000 feet or so the snow depth
increased substantially. At times we were waist deep in snow
which took a lot of time and energy to trudge through. Every
time we could hear dogs a couple hundred yards away they would
start moving again. It was like being on an emotional
rollercoaster, we were almost there and then the lion increased
the distance another quarter mile. This happened 4 or 5
different times before we even got our first glimpse of the
Tom.
We found out why he kept giving us the
slip, this big Tom wasn’t going to climb a tree. He would back
himself into a large Juniper trunk and turn and fight the dogs.
When I first made eye contact with the Mountain Lion I was
absolutely amazed, and truth be known that experience was worth
the trip right there. The lion could have disappeared into the
mountain side never to be seen again and I would have been
satisfied with the hunt. There is something majestic about
being eye to eye with the greatest hunter in the wild and not
seeing an ounce of fear in his eyes. Ryan worked hard to get a
few dogs called off and tied up before he would tell me to shoot
but as he was tying up the second dog the Tom was on the move
again in the waist deep snow that hampered us but somehow he
glided across it.
On to the next tree, and once we got close
again he would go another 200 yards. It seemed this process
would never end as we had been doing this for the last 4 hours.
In pure exhaustion I had to convince myself mentally to keep
going and just then we caught a break. The Mountain Lion had
found a huge old Juniper to hide under and the branches kept the
dogs far enough away that he was content with his position. The
base of the juniper was 8 feet around. This allowed Ryan and I
a stalk from his blind side while John and Angie videoed from 30
yards back. The plan was to get to the tree and lean around the
right side for the shot. After trying it I found that the lion
was concealed and I’d have to go around the left side which
meant I’d have to lie down on my side to shoot under the
branches.
 At
a distance of less than 2 feet I extended my Hawken rifle and
squeezed off the shot when the dogs in the background were clear
only to hear a “CRACK”!! The cap had gone off on the
muzzleloader and not the powder. Apparently the hours of
trudging through the snow, and the sun beating down on the
barrel had caused some condensation in the nipple. Ryan pulled
me by my ankles from under the tree and I placed another cap on
the gun. This time the shot would not be as easy and the
Mountain Lion knew where I was. I extended my gun and the
second cap repeated the action of the first one and the Mountain
Lion became more agitated. I prayed that the third time was the
charm as there was no turning back and I was committed to
harvesting him with my Black Powder Rifle. The Tom had nestled
himself deeper against the trunk so I had to crawl further
around the tree. As I lay down the Tom and I looked eye to eye
and his look told me to move out of the way quickly. In the
video you can see me moving back first and then the Lion lashing
out from under the tree and biting the neck of the dog that
jumped in between us. It was all reaction and instincts and
happened in a fraction of a second. This was my chance, the
vitals were open, no dogs in the path of the bullet, hammer
pulled back, KABOOM!
Smoke filled the air as I knew I had made a
fatal shot on the Monster tom at a distance of 1 ½ feet. In
reaction he grabbed, slashed, and bit into the neck of the
closest dog throwing him down the mountainside. The cat saw on
opening and took it running a mere 20 yards across the hill
before he expired under a tree. I was exhausted, elated,
saddened, and overjoyed all at the same moment. The flood of
emotions we all get when the hunt is a success poured into me as
I sat there in the snow, unable to move my cramped legs. I took
that moment to take in all of Mother Nature’s grandeur and
thanked her and the entire team of people and dogs for making a
dream come true for me.
When I approached the fallen predator I was
purely amazed at his size. Ryan estimated him at 180+ lbs and
said he was probably more than that. Amazingly as big and old
as this Lion was, he was in perfect physical condition and
really a prime example of the species. After a long photo
shoot, quick skinning job with my trusty Cutco knives and a
heavy pack down the mountains we arrived at the trucks just
before dark.
The trophy Tom has a short face which
affects the final score of his skull which is just under 15”.
Regardless, he is an absolute brute and is the new #13 in the
world in the Longhunter Muzzleloader Record Book as well as
qualifying for the Boone and Crockett Awards Book.
This mountain lion hunt will definitely go
down as one of my top hunting memories so far. Now that the
full length DVD is done I find myself watching it regularly just
to keep the great memories fresh in my mind. I can’t wait to
get the full body mount back from my master taxidermist next
March and I already have a spot in my trophy room reserved for
him.
More about Mountain Lion:
 Mountain
Lion Range
Cougar, mountain lion, puma, and
panther are all the same species, which is known to scientists as
Felis concolor. This
animal is one of only three wild felids (the general name for any
member of the cat family) native to Canada; it is larger than the
other two, the bobcat and the lynx, and has a much longer tail.
This animal has many names, in many languages. The Malecites of
New Brunswick called it "pi-twal," meaning "the long tailed one."
English settlers along the Atlantic coast called it "panther"
after the Old World panther, which they had seen in animal shows,
zoos, and works of art. The French explorers of southern Quebec
and New Brunswick called it the "carcajou," a name later given to
the wolverine farther west, which caused confusion in the
literature about the two animals. The English name "cougar" and
French "couguar," now widely used in Canada, were adapted from the
Brazilian native name "cuguacuarana." The name "mountain lion" is
widely accepted, especially in the western United States. "Puma"
is the native Peruvian name.
Cougar, Mt. Lion Range and subspecies
The cougar's range has decreased
since European settlement, but is still the most extensive of any
terrestrial mammal in the western hemisphere. It extends north to
the Yukon border at 60° N and south to Patagonia.
In Canada, where the cougar's range once mirrored that of its
chief food, the deer — extending from the west coast south of 60°
N, across the prairies, through the forests of southern Ontario to
the lower Ottawa valley, into the St. Lawrence valley of Quebec,
and into New Brunswick — this large predator is now common only in
the west.
There are four Canadian subspecies of the cougar. The subspecies
native to eastern Canada F.c.
cougar (Kerr) is listed as endangered by
both the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada
(COSEWIC) in Canada and the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna
(CITES) internationally. Some authorities think it is
extinct. (The eastern cougar found in southern
Florida is a different subspecies.) The other three Canadian
subspecies of the cougar occur in western Canada.
F.c. missoulensis
(Goldman) ranges through southwestern Alberta and in the interior
of British Columbia, F.c.
oregonensis (Rafinesque) is found along the Coast Range of
British Columbia, and F.c.
vancouverensis (Nelson and Goldman) is indigenous only on
Vancouver Island.
Although well established populations exist only in the forested
parts of British Columbia and western Alberta, cougars have been
occasionally reported in the last 10 years in every province
except Prince Edward Island. At least some of the sightings from
the eastern provinces (the range of the endangered
Kerr subspecies) have proven to be encounters with western cougars
that had escaped from captivity: other sightings are still
disputed. The last eastern cougar to be killed in Canada was shot
near the Quebec-Maine border in 1938, and its remains are at the
University of New Brunswick. Although there has been no undisputed
evidence since then of the existence of the Kerr subspecies,
nonetheless, cougars are so reclusive that scientific opinion
remains divided on whether the Kerr subspecies is
extinct.
Cougar, Mt. Lion Physical characteristics
The cougar is the second largest
cat in the New World. (The jaguar is the largest.) Like all cats,
it has a lithe, muscular, compact, and deep-chested body, with a
rounded and shortened head. Its whiskers are well developed and
its eyes are large. One of the cougar's distinctive
characteristics is its long tail, which is useful for balance.
Cougars vary considerably in size and weight throughout their
range. Among all races, adult males typically weigh 1.4 times more
than females. In southwestern Alberta, mean weights for adult
males and females are 71kg and 4lkg, respectively. Total body
lengths of adult male cougars in North America are slightly more
than 2m and of adult females, slightly less than 2m.
The North American cougar's normal colour is reddish tawny or
tawny grey to dark chocolate brown. The backs of the ears and the
tip of the tail are black, and there are black markings on the
face. The kittens are spotted at birth, but the spots disappear
before the end of their first year.
The cougar is well equipped for grasping and cutting up large
prey. Its forequarters and neck are exceptionally strong. Its
muscular jaws, wide gape, and long canine teeth are designed for
clamping down on and holding onto prey larger than itself. The
cougar has, in addition, teeth that are specially adapted for
cutting meat, tendons, and sinews.
Like all members of the cat family, cougars have five digits on
the forepaw and four on the hindpaw. Each digit is equipped with a
claw, which the cougar sheathes while walking, but which it uses
with deadly effectiveness when grasping its prey. The front feet
and claws are larger than their counterparts in the rear, again
adaptations for clutching large prey.
Cougar, Mt. Lion Populations and home ranges
Cougar populations are made up of
resident adults, dependent cubs, and transients. Transients most
often are independent young cougars who have not yet settled on
their own territory, or "home range," or begun to breed. In
western North America, population density of cougars ranges from
0.3 to 9.2 per 100km² and is limited by abundance of prey, the
availability of suitable hunting sites, and the cougar's social
structure. Because cougars reside at the top of the food chain,
healthy cougar populations are good indicators of healthy and
balanced ecosystems.
Male cougars usually have large home ranges that do not overlap
the territories of other males but overlap the ranges of several
females. The home ranges of female cougars may overlap a great
deal among themselves. Among females, those with large litters and
older kittens typically have the largest home ranges, because a
large cougar family needs more food. In areas where prey are
migratory, cougars may have more than one home range.
Even where their home ranges overlap, cougars avoid each other.
Adults of both sexes travel alone, except when mating or when
adult females are accompanied by their kittens.
Life history
Cougars are polygamous. A male with
a large home range is able to breed a large number of females, and
this increases his reproductive success. A resident male usually
attempts to maintain exclusive breeding rights with females within
his area.
The male visits all the females he can find, continually searching
for those in heat that will accept him, and marks out his
territory with scent posts called scrapes. He may travel many
kilometres in these searches; one male covered 50km in a day and a
night. Fighting may occur initially, but once individuals are
settled on a territory little strife occurs. This peaceful social
system helps to maintain stable cougar populations.
Normally a silent hunter, the cougar, like any cat, becomes vocal
when ready to breed. Female cougars in heat have been seen and
heard yowling. Cougars do not breed in any special season, and the
young may be born at any time of the year.
The females mate for the first time when they are two to three
years old, and the gestation period is about 90 days. The female
selects a sheltered spot, such as a cave or windfall, for her
litter. From one to six cubs may be born, although rarely are more
than three full-grown cubs found with the mother. The cubs are
born with closed eyes that are fully open by the end of the second
week. They are usually weaned at four to five weeks. Care of the
cubs rests solely with the female, who brings them food and
teaches them to hunt. She prevents the male from even approaching
the small cubs, by combat if necessary, as the adult male has been
known to eat them. The cubs stay with the female until they are
about one and a half years old, by which time the male kittens are
larger than their mother. In spite of her instructions in the
rudiments of survival, the cubs have a difficult time when they
are first on their own. Resident females usually produce litters
every 18-24 months. In the southwestern foothills of Alberta, the
rate at which kittens reached independence was close to two
kittens per female per year over a seven-year period.
In jurisdictions where cougar hunting with hounds is allowed,
hunting is the most common cause of death. (Cougars are normally
elusive, but can be treed by hounds.) Natural mortality occurs in
many ways. Because cougars frequently kill prey larger than
themselves, they are continually exposed to the risk of serious
injuries which eventually take their toll. Cougars have sustained
broken backs, massive chest injuries, and perforated abdomens
while trying to kill prey. When a female with a litter dies, the
cubs usually die also, unless they are over 9-12 months old and
can feed and defend themselves. The independent young subadult
cougars are more prone to starvation than their elders. Male
cougars occasionally kill kittens, young subadults, and other
adult males in territorial disputes.
Habitat and food
Cougars occupy a wide range of
vegetation types. In North America, they use habitat suitable for
white-tailed deer and mule deer. In western Canada, cougars are
found in forested parts of the foothills, mountains, and interior
plateaus. Cover, in the form of vegetation and broken topography,
is more important to cougars than any particular vegetation type.
Cougars hunt mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, and moose calves,
where they are available, although as opportunistic predators they
eat many other species of mammals and birds. In some areas,
cougars prey on bighorn sheep. Where different prey species are
available the diets of male and female cougars may be
significantly different. In winter in the Sheep River area of
southwestern Alberta, moose calves made up about 85% of the winter
prey of male cougars, whereas deer and elk represented 79% of the
diet of female cougars. When cougars hunt smaller mammals, they
take porcupine, beaver, coyote, snowshoe hare, and ground
squirrels most frequently. Cougars typically kill their own food;
scavenging is rare.
Like all cats, cougars hunt more by sight and hearing than by
scent. They stalk their prey to within two or three great leaps
and then launch a lightning-fast charge that ends with the cougar
striking the prey with the full impact of the charge and bearing
it to the ground.
Cougars kill most often by suffocating with a prolonged bite
across the throat, collapsing the victim's trachea, or by breaking
the victim's neck with a single bite. Large prey, such as moose
calves and elk, are usually suffocated. Small prey, like mule deer
fawns are more likely to die from broken necks. After a kill, a
cougar will cover its victim with debris between feedings to
reduce the likelihood of scavengers finding the carcass.
Relations with people
In the high Andes the cougar was
once hunted by the Incas in great "ring" hunts, in which the army
surrounded a large area, drove all the animals in it toward the
centre and, in the final ring, killed the predators, especially
the cougars, which they saw as dangerous predators on their herds
of guanacos and vicuñas, and allowed the other animals to escape.
When the first Europeans reached Canada they, too, began to view
the cougar as an enemy. Cougars earned this status by making raids
on settlers' livestock and by occasionally attacking human beings.
A no-quarter war was waged against the cougars with all means
available, from hounds to traps and poison, including bounties of
up to $50. The cougar virtually disappeared in the east.
Fortunately, sufficient wilderness remained to enable the western
cougar to survive. Bounties have been removed and today, with
enlightened management, cougars are repopulating former ranges.
Cougars are extremely elusive and usually avoid direct contact
with people. Masters of camouflage, they often remain hidden when
approached closely on foot. While tracking a cougar one winter
day, a researcher stepped within 1 m of its hiding place beneath a
large spruce tree, before the cat exploded from beneath it,
heading away. Tracks in the snow are usually the only sign of the
passage of the rarely seen cougar.
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