[s]Cougar[/s] bobcat calling.

[Kain]

Went out looking for a mountain lion today.  I really have no leads so I am just blind calling areas that look good to me.  Came across a few of these salamanders in the roads.  Not really near any water.    I think they were trying to warm up but were barely moving they were so cold.  So I had fun posing them and taken a few pics with my phone.  




I was behind a locked gate on some Weyerhauser land.  I think I made a total of five stands in about four miles.  The first two sets were only about 30 mins each.  I normally stay longer when Im calling for cats but I just wasnt feeling good about the stands.  The third stand was in an area I really thought looked good.  I got set up with my homemade e-caller and snuggled in with some moss covered boulders.  My back was to the road that I had walked down and the wind was more or less in my face.  I had put together a sequence that starts with some woodpecker distress and then goes into cottontail distress.  Then there is a few minutes of silence before Rainshadows Sub-adult cougar whistle.  About a minute of that and then some cougar purring sound I got off the internet.  The whole sequence is only about ten minutes long so I let it repeat.    Dont know if that is right but Im new to this.  On the third time through, in the silence before the the cougar whistles starts, I hear a noise behind me and to the right.  I am trying to stay calm and not jerk my head around to look.  I was not expecting anything to come up behind me and there is no way I can get my gun around that direction.  So I move my head slowly and just on the edge of my peripheral vision I see a bobcat.  It is a small one only about 15 feet away and it is staring towards the speaker.  The cougar whistles start and this bobcat hackles up and starts this growling sound like some kind of demon.  No way a sound like that should be able to come out of cat that size.  I am totally exposed and any movement will definitely get me busted.  The whistles turn into the purring and the bobcat had enough.  It turns and takes off.  I try to jump up and turn around but it is already gone.  It had come in on the road that I had just walk up.  Got some good pics of its tracks in the mud and one of its tracks in my boot print.


Didnt see anything else for the rest of the day but man was that exciting.

[littlebuf]

what cougar permit did you draw?

[Kain]

South Cascade boot

[stumprat]

Cool post Kain. Interesting reaction by the bobcat.

[littlebuf]

to bad you cant get into kapowsin, rasbo has a line on a couple in there but no permit

[Skyvalhunter]

Boy that is a nice boot track

[Kain]

Cool post Kain. Interesting reaction by the bobcat.

Im thinking it might have heard that sound before so I might be in the right place.    Cougar whistles dont sound threatening and even sound like kind of prey animal.  At least they do to me.

to bad you cant get into kapowsin, rasbo has a line on a couple in there but no permit

If I didnt have a permit and knew where some cats were I think I would hunt them with a video camera.  

[rasbo]

I pissed one off with my wife,growled and screamed, and ran off I called that cat back 5 times,missed everytime didnt know the handgun I was using.I was laughing so hard.Your gonna get hooked big time kain.thats the stuff that keeps ya going.great story

[stumprat]

I am just glad to hear what you witnessed.
Cougar sounds causing the bobcat to growl is great. I would have thought those sounds would have caused the bobcat to try and slip out silently on the sneak.

Last weekend I had a bobcat skirting me. It never would come out in the open for a clear shot. Now I am gonna try a few cougar whistles at the end of my bobcat stands. Hopefully it may flush them for a shot.

[carpsniperg2]

very intresting thanks for sharing

[Titan-1]

Good story. Thanks for sharing!

[Kain]

Thanks.  I went out again today to different area and didnt have any luck.  I have seen over thirty deer this weekend and not a single buck.  Weird

[bearpaw]

kain that was very interesting, glad you shared it....

[Cylvertip]

Great write up.  I'm going to have to go track down some cougar and bobby sounds on line so I know what to listen for. 

As a side note, those orange bellied salamanders are highly poisonous.

[Kain]

Great write up.  I'm going to have to go track down some cougar and bobby sounds on line so I know what to listen for. 

As a side note, those orange bellied salamanders are highly poisonous.

You wont find better cougar sounds than Rainshadows.  Are those salamanders poisonous just to eat or to touch?