The Great Outdoors

[TDub]

I would be more surprised if there werent mountain lions in KS

[KUTradition]

I would be more surprised if there werent mountain lions in KS

^^^^

the consensus i’ve heard, and tend to agree with, is that they’re most likely “rogue” males from the Dakotas

[TDub]

I would be more surprised if there werent mountain lions in KS

^^^^

the consensus i’ve heard, and tend to agree with, is that they’re most likely “rogue” males from the Dakotas

Colorado is next door too. Lots and lots of deer to pursue across state lines.

[KUTradition]

I'd love to see one too. My next door neighbor in Orlando saw one come out of the conservation area behind our houses-she saw something out of the corner of her eye and did a double take, and there it was. She wanted to snap a picture and knew I was home and would be interested, but didn't have her phone on her and decided to watch it instead of getting the phone. (Wise choice, as a former birder.)

Her husband was skeptical, as was I, but when he got home from work (From "Woke" Disney), he showed her a picture of a panther and she said "that's it". She had told me it had a long body and a long tail, which increased the possibility.


Having built and ridden lots of mt bike trails around KC on Park Dept., county, and Corps of Engineer land, mt bikers, among a slew of others, have occasionally reported seeing mt lions/pumas/cougars around Ks (and Mo) for decades. The state wildlife dept always said people were mistaken, and it was likely a bob cat or a coyote. And in the unlikely event it was really a cougar, it was probably a young nomadic male out looking for a territory who was essentially lost. I still don't think the Ks Dept of Wildlife think there are any mating pairs in the state. (An adult male mt lion's territory can be ~ 100 sq. miles!)

lol…shoulda read your post before responding to TDub

i have it on pretty good authority (KU biologists that live nearby) that there may very well be a “resident” male just north of Lawrence, making use of the Fitch Reserve and Nelson Environmental Study Area

[Shirley]

I was under the impression that the state had finally accepted that cougars live and don't merely pass thru Kansas and was about to "say" that, but decided to look it up and see they haven't.

(See that Randy, I factchecked myself before posting, because I don't want to be thought of as a fool...)

And while I was looking that up, learned that they are the most wide-ranging mammal in the Americas, and live in all kinds of habitat, from deserts, to swamps, to mountains, forests, and everything in-between. The determining factor is food availability, not habitat.

[Shirley]

Of course, now that I opened a Florida Panther video, I'm getting more.

March 4, 2021 Photographer Snaps Video Of Four Endangered Florida Panthers At Same Time

[KUTradition]

so, Escobar’s cocaine hippos?

[KUTradition]

sad

https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment ... ear-round/

i don’t have an issue with regulated hunting, but this?

and allowing for the use of snares? i’m not sure if there’s anything less humane

[Shirley]

[Shirley]

[Shirley]

Mainly for Trad:

[KUTradition]

sorry, Feral

https://time.com/6275373/giant-yangtze- ... %20weekend.

[randylahey]

I'm all for reintroduction of wolves. We desperately need their biological niche in the ecosystem restored

Also, fuck cattle farming. It tends to be very destruction to the biological production of the land it takes place on.

Id love to see the bison herds be eventually built back up and replace cattle farming. Bison have a natural niche in the ecosystems and their behavior actually benefits the ecosytem

[TDub]

cattle and bison could all positively impact the ecosystems if they were managed in a way that was more natural. They need tons of land and constant roaming. They clear undergrowth, they fertilize and they create millions of hoofprints that catch water and allow water to penetrate the hard earthen crust and promote plant growth in their wake. They take room. lots of it. Any herd of cattle, bison or any ungulate for that matter cant be held in one area long term without destroying the ecosystem. Fences helped destroyed the west.

If the ranchers and farmers could work together and see the light they could create a mutually beneficial model that allowed co use of land and woukd reduce both herbicide use, and fertilizer use.

[Shirley]

sorry, Feral

https://time.com/6275373/giant-yangtze- ... %20weekend.

Very sad!

[KUTradition]

cattle and bison could all positively impact the ecosystems if they were managed in a way that was more natural. They need tons of land and constant roaming. They clear undergrowth, they fertilize and they create millions of hoofprints that catch water and allow water to penetrate the hard earthen crust and promote plant growth in their wake. They take room. lots of it. Any herd of cattle, bison or any ungulate for that matter cant be held in one area long term without destroying the ecosystem. Fences helped destroyed the west.

If the ranchers and farmers could work together and see the light they could create a mutually beneficial model that allowed co use of land and woukd reduce both herbicide use, and fertilizer use.

KU alum and evolutionary biologist (now at ut) David Hillis has a cattle ranch down in the texas hill country (aptly named the Double Helix). he practices what i consider the only real, sustainable way to ranch. google it if you’re curious.

he recently gave an interview where he talked about an interaction he had with a neighbor, who had commented on how clean his property was (minimal cow shit). he replied to his neighbor with a question about is use of pesticides/herbicides on his property. not surprising, the chemicals had killed off the naturally occurring mitigators of shit…dung beetles

complete tangent, but Hillis was an early pioneer in the use of DNA in criminal trials. he almost left ut for KU a few years ago, but alas…

[randylahey]

Dung beetles are a keystone species to a healthy thriving ranch

[KUTradition]

https://rewildingeurope.com/news/first- ... l-grazing/

[KUTradition]

https://moneyweb.co.za/news-fast-news/f ... this-week/

[ousdahl]

Pending new world record laker outta CO!