interesting day

[Flogrown450]

Went out to the woods yesterday to find a good place to setup a climbing tree stand for bow season, after about 15 min of looking in a particular area i liked i turned around to go back to a tree i was previously looking at and there was a cougar follwing about 50 yards behind me, first time ive seen one! im from florida, 2nd year hunting up here, so im curious has this happened to anyone? as soon as i turned around it took two leaps and was out of sight but freaked me out! haha this is why i carry .45 up here!

[nwwanderer]

Sneaky they are, pretty common, it probably did not go far.

[Flogrown450]

yeah it was sure graceful for its size, they usually hang around the same area for a while? havent put much thought into filling a cougar tag but if one were to stroll by i would be tempted. is it legal to kill one with a bow? season opens up the same day as deer season.

[fishnfur]

Yes, it has happened to me, prior to my first deer hunt when I was out flagging trails in some deep bush.  Scared the living poo out of me when he came tearing out of the ferns just 30 or so feet behind me after I turned around and backtracked.  I threw my hands in the air and charged him as he ran away.  How stupid is that??  My adrenaline was pumping for about a half-hour after the encounter.  I never told my wife, and I had a pretty tough time walking in the woods in the dark the rest of that season.

Yes, it is legal to take them with a bow.   Get one for me.  ( I prefer a machete to a sidearm - it is already in my hand ready to swing).

[Okanagan]

Cougars following humans is so common it would freak us if we knew how often.  The only unusual thing is that you saw it.  It seems to be a cat curiosity thing most of the time more than menace but who can read a cougar's mind?  It has happened several times when I found tracks close behind me when I reversed direction in snow, and one time my hunting partner shot at a cougar that was stalking me -- but I have never seen one following me.  You are lucky!

[DaveMonti]

They will follow out of curiosity.  They don't seem to "stalk" you as prey.  There are VERY few cougar attack fatalities recorded (I think only 10 in North America since 1980).  I don't know if I've ever heard of a non fatal attack, although I'm sure they exist. 

[theleo]

If that bugs you, never walk in fresh snow in the woods and then cut back over them the next morning or afternoon. I've had cat tracks in mine enough times it doesn't even phase me anymore. If he had been actively stalking you he wouldn't have been 50 yards back and you wouldn't have seen him.

[gaddy]

I had one come behind me while turkey hunting. I had my back against a small drop off, after calling & waiting a bit I stood up to head back to the truck.  When i turned around there it was, it saw me and i saw it, then it was gone. The spooky thing was it was between me and my truck, in the brush. It could have come right up behind me and been breathing down my neck and I never would have known it was there. I often wonder how close I have been to them in the woods with out knowing.

[Flogrown450]

yeah it was pretty cool to get a decent look at on. probably keep me on my toes walking in and out this season though!

[skagitsteel]

Yeah they can be sneaky... Last year I was hiking up to an alpine area in the dark and got stalked, I had been bent over my pack on one knee for a minute or two, when I glanced back my headlamp illuminated two eyes and a clearly  visible cat about 20' in full pounce position.  I reactively fired a round from my sidearm and missed...  This year I got one trailing my back trail past one of my trail cams in the same area. Here is the pic

[muleracks]

They do seem to be curious about pack strings.  We have had them follow our mules up the trail and once one even took a run the back mule, and then would not leave; went into the brush, crouch down, ears back and acted like it was ready to attack.  Usually they are so secretive and then they do things like this one in a while.  We were working a trail contract with another two weeks to go so we started carrying firearms but never saw that cougar again.

[cumminsbassguy]

Well, shootttt.  Looks like I'm for sure carrying an extra mag for the 45 this year

[Flogrown450]

Awesome picture, thats a big ole cat. Would love to get a chance to fill a tag on something like that. hopefully the one i seen will slip by the trail cam i put out here soon!

[fishnfur]

Good justification for keeping young ones close while out enjoying mother nature.