Cougar season closures

[jrebel]

.

[jrebel]

.

[jrebel]

I could keep going......  

I have pics with cats less than 100 yards away from my cabin (cabin in the picture).  I have cats walking shortly after my kids and hunting friends have walked out of the woods or driven by on quads. 

I am one of many property owners that has numerous cats on camera proving the WDFW / Commission is full of crap with their estimates.  We have been trying to actively hunt them this year and have not connected.  Our area is very thick with brush and trees and finding cats is almost impossible.  We have seen two this year, but only as they were turning and going into the brush.  Was planning on giving it an honest effort this winter as it snowed.....but now I guess I will have to find another GMU allowing these cats to continue to breed and make more predators.  This state sucks with wildlife management.   

[rackattack]

Like what was stated earlier it will only drive people to take matters into their own hands and not report harvest properly or at all.  It's a shame the WDFW and biologist do not have final say on quota numbers and closing units with these new rules.

[hunter399]

I got a few cougar pics that aren't in my trail cam topic ,I might add later.
These people (commission) are so out of touch on what is happening in the field.
My theory on cat population in NE WASHINGTON is this.
Wait for it,it's gonna include some common sense.

Wolves in area has caused the cat population to increase higher then it was before wolves.
These species are in direct competition for food sources.
Cats being the dominant species for so long. It has caused cats to kill more ungulates,also reproduce more.
It's a Jurassic park evolution. Cats are trying to remain the dominant species,only way to do that is kill more, reproduce more.

Of course it's just a theory.

Got a pic the other day ,cat with a collar,seemed like a lot of black on its tail.
Was starting to wonder if we was getting transplanted cats.
This is a spot where I've got cat pics before,never with a collar.

I'm also getting wolf pics in places I've never had wolf pic.
They never have a collar.

[hunter399]

Here's a pic of the black tail cat.
Which is crazy strange for our area.
But whatever hard to say what's going on here.
Maybe someone shot it ,that's why huckleberry closed.

Maybe our cats will evolve to black Panthers,heck I don't know.
Wolf pic ,same spot,deer population is pretty poor in this area obviously.

[hunter399]

Like what was stated earlier it will only drive people to take matters into their own hands and not report harvest properly or at all.  It's a shame the WDFW and biologist do not have final say on quota numbers and closing units with these new rules.

Yup ,pretty much.
The old tree falls in the woods deal.

[jrebel]

Like what was stated earlier it will only drive people to take matters into their own hands and not report harvest properly or at all.  It's a shame the WDFW and biologist do not have final say on quota numbers and closing units with these new rules.

Yup ,pretty much.
The old tree falls in the woods deal.

It just sucks, because I want a late season cat with a nice coat to have full mounted for the cabin.  Now, if you don't shoot it in Sept., when the coats are thin....you won't have the chance to shoot one at all.  Just bums me out that our state sucks so bad!! 

[hunter399]

Like what was stated earlier it will only drive people to take matters into their own hands and not report harvest properly or at all.  It's a shame the WDFW and biologist do not have final say on quota numbers and closing units with these new rules.

Yup ,pretty much.
The old tree falls in the woods deal.

It just sucks, because I want a late season cat with a nice coat to have full mounted for the cabin.  Now, if you don't shoot it in Sept., when the coats are thin....you won't have the chance to shoot one at all.  Just bums me out that our state sucks so bad!!

I feel exactly the same. I went in September,you have to fight the bee now to cougar hunt. With the fact that cats are still feasting on fawns and what not. So getting them to come in to the call is harder. It's just fun to get out to do something in the winter,when the woods are a little quieter.

I think they could of kept a general season till January 1.
Then closed units that are over quota. They can count all the cats they want. But with no general season, fighting the bee this September. I'll be rethinking my big game package that I've bought for many many years in a row.

[Limhangerslayer]

I think a lot of people still don’t understand that the commission changed what counts towards the quota this year. Road kill and depredations now count in addition to hunters take. The quotas haven’t changed just what counts towards them. These early closures are the result.

The commission is effectively limiting hunting opportunity. The department isn’t responsible for this, their just living with the new rules like we are. End result is less cats killed, less opportunity for hunters, and more people drop out. The Commission wins.

As far as just choosing any open unit. They take dna samples when you check in your cat. Whether they do anything with it is another question. I won’t risk it. Not worth it.

i think a lot of people do.  If I had killed it legally vs self defense.  There was no difference.  I’m pretty sure they did move the goal posts back a little too.

[Roslyn Rambler]

In 2019  I sent a email message to the WDFW Big Horn Sheep biologist.
 
I asked a couple of questions... ( thought I'd share )
 
 
"Does WDFW have any statistics on sheep predation from lions?"
 
"Also, I noticed #33 with ear tag and gps collar? Is that individual a adolescent ram. I couldn't quite tell"
 
 
Answer
 
"There are currently 7 GPS-collared sheep in the Chelan Butte, only one of which is a ram. Cougars are a natural predator of bighorn sheep, and ewes and lambs are most susceptible to predation. While it’s a small sample size, of the 10 sheep we collared this year 2 of them have been cougar-related mortalities. Of all the herds we have in Washington excessive predation isn’t a cause for concern"

Uuuuuu...20%... TWENTY PERCENT! Isn't a cause for concern?

Like others, I could also add endless cougar trail cam videos to this thread, but we all know the explosion in the lion population

My closing comment is, TWENTY PERCENT!

[Ridgeratt]

105 and 113 are the only 2 units left open in the NE.

[Rainier10]

105 and 113 are the only 2 units left open in the NE.

I was just looking at that. Quota met, don’t want to harm that population with overharvest

[bearpaw]

105 and 113 are the only 2 units left open in the NE.

I was just looking at that. Quota met, don’t want to harm that population with overharvest

The Washington F&G Commission has gone full bore anti-hunting, this is only the beginning of how they will destroy hunting in WA.

[Ridgeratt]

105 and 113 are the only 2 units left open in the NE.

I was just looking at that. Quota met, don’t want to harm that population with overharvest

Would be helpful if they posted how many have been harvested so far.

The Washington F&G Commission has gone full bore anti-hunting, this is only the beginning of how they will destroy hunting in WA.