cougar found dead in teanaway.

[bushmaster]

A hunter named "Joe P" found a dead cougar while out chasing elk. It had yellow tags, one marked (wdfw #186) and the other was illegible. He removed the tags and was going to take to e-burg. He also took some good pics. If he is on this site, he should post them! Very cool looking! Looked to be a mid-sized TOM, maybe 80-100lbs. He came across this dead cat right above bible rock.

Just thought I would pass that along!

[JackOfAllTrades]

Is that the correct thing to do if you find a tagged/dead animal? 

Remove the tags and take back to the WDFW regional office?  Or take the whole animal back? Or, just leave the tags and photograph/GPS mark it, then tell them?

-Steve

[Raul Duke]

I could be wrong. I've heard just leave the animal & tags. Take pics if you can. Get the GSP location and contact a game warden.
 

[bushmaster]

He did leave it, he took pics, he marked it in gps. I did see joe the very next day after this transpired and  I must say I was SHOCKED!! He told me he took them in to the regional, told them the whole story, and they (the wdfw) was like "BFD". They acted like no big deal and have a good day! I bet if it had a collar they wouldn't have acted that way!

[woodywsu]

Cougeyes, should have a pretty good response for this

[bushmaster]

My bad, the tag number was #178. please none the correction!!  

[mebco09]

He did leave it, he took pics, he marked it in gps. I did see joe the very next day after this transpired and  I must say I was SHOCKED!! He told me he took them in to the regional, told them the whole story, and they (the wdfw) was like "BFD". They acted like no big deal and have a good day! I bet if it had a collar they wouldn't have acted that way!

Kind of sucks that he went to all that effort, thinking he was doing the right thing, to be told to go pound sand.....

[BlackRidge]

Guess theres a fine line between what the WDFW folks will freak about and ignore alltogether...

Looking forward to some pics!!

[pods8]

He did leave it, he took pics, he marked it in gps. I did see joe the very next day after this transpired and  I must say I was SHOCKED!! He told me he took them in to the regional, told them the whole story, and they (the wdfw) was like "BFD". They acted like no big deal and have a good day! I bet if it had a collar they wouldn't have acted that way!

Why did you expect them to get worked up?  (Honest question).  I wouldn't expect them to really worry too much about a deer or elk w/ a tag in its ear that went down naturally.  Usually those tags just say to call and report if this animal was harvested, etc.

[Cougeyes]

The cougars that were tagged around cle elum during the project cat study were all tagged with red wdfw ear tags i believe so it would be interesting to see where this one came from, it could have come from quite a ways away which would be good info to have for the state.  Sucks they acted like they didn't give a damn. 

[jeepasaurusrex]

Should of told them it was a wolf. Then when they all got out there said "PSYCH!" 

[CAMPMEAT]

I would not of taken that tag off for anything. He might cause unwanted bullsh!t from the game dept.

[400out]

I would have put another tag on it and headed strait to see charlie! 

[ELKBURGER]

Poor kitty, I wonder how it died?...... maybe he got runned over by a quad or a bad case of lead poisoning?

[nontypical176]

Me and a buddy were cruizin down a logging road and see this dead elk.  Another guy drives by says "ya that elk was hit by a log truck this mornin."  Bout to pull away when we noticed the collar.  We cut it off and called the WDFW.  It was a thick leather caller.  They show up couple days later and my buddy took them to the elk about 10 miles down the road.  They said "Only reason we showed up was because those collars haven't been used in 10years and they wanted to be sure it wasn't from a bull they had tracked."  The elk was a cow so that whole trip was pointless.  They said If they truely believed it was a cow and hit by a log truck they wouldn't have bothered showing up to get the collar.  Didn't say why, they were too busy to chit chat.

Funny thing about that cow was her size.  She was pretty small in comparison to a lot of elk and over 10 years old.  The WDFW rep. said that happens a lot.  Elk are like people and some just don't get big.  I thought maybe that dang collar was choking the life out of her, but it really didn't seem too tite.  They didn't say we should have left the collar on the elk though.  Seemed like they didn't give a rip since it wasn't the bull.

I know a guy that works for the WDFW and hates them.  Only reason he stays is hoping to make it better.  Most of their studies are a joke especially when it comes to predators.  They don't have a clue and there is an endless need for money from hunters like me and you so they can have a better understanding of our wildlife.  Makes me want to puke.  Somebody finds a dead cougar that they took the time to catch and tag with our money and they don't seem to care about it.............Doesn't surprize me at all.

[elkslayer069]

yeah no kidding between fish and game dnr and queen christine no wonder this state is broke.

[AKBowman]

Good. One less predator.

[Little Dave]

Is that the correct thing to do if you find a tagged/dead animal? 
Remove the tags and take back to the WDFW regional office?  Or take the whole animal back? Or, just leave the tags and photograph/GPS mark it, then tell them?

When a hunter tags an animal lawfully, he owns the animal and any research "jewelry" it is wearing.  There is no obligation to return any of it, but it's a good idea.  The collars can run about $3000 so either passing on the animal or returning the collar can conserve state resources for other purposes.  Tags are cheap, but the biologist may have pictures and other information to share which might be interesting.

A word of warning about tagged animals: 
Sometimes the tag will read, "Do not consume if harvested before mm/dd/yy."  It might be reason enough to consider passing on the tagged or collared animals.  If you want to know why that warning is there, maybe have a chat with the biologist.

[canyelk48]

When a hunter tags an animal lawfully, he owns the animal and any research "jewelry" it is wearing.  There is no obligation to return any of it, but it's a good idea.  The collars can run about $3000 so either passing on the animal or returning the collar can conserve state resources for other purposes.  Tags are cheap, but the biologist may have pictures and other information to share which might be interesting.

A word of warning about tagged animals: 
Sometimes the tag will read, "Do not consume if harvested before mm/dd/yy."  It might be reason enough to consider passing on the tagged or collared animals.  If you want to know why that warning is there, maybe have a chat with the biologist.
[/quote]

I'm betting the reason for the consumption warning is that when they tagged the animal, it was vaccinated, given antibiotics, or just the residuals in the meat from the tranquilizers they used.  Most drugs given to livestock have a specific recommended time frame to wait prior to consumption.

[dreamunelk]

Actually the collar is the property of the owner, the state, feds. or ?.  Keep it and you could get charged with theft.  Tags are on because there is a do not consume period.  Usually 30 days for prophylactic meds and antagonist, if used. If you harvest a marked animal just call the phone number and give them the tag number.  You should know shortly if it is consumable.  If not then you can get a replacement tag.  This is all in the regs! Generally they do not capture within thirty days of a season.  But, with all the seasons this is not as easy as it sounds. 
I recommend the individual who found this cat go online and send an email to the main office. I bet someone wants to know more about this cat.  It may not be part of a project.  It could be a cat that was relocated after it got to close to a residential area.  What happened to it is good information.  Think about it this way.  Often the WDFW want to increase harvest on a species and people say why can't you just move them.  Well, it is not that easy and when it is done often they die.  I bet that this cat was relocated and starved to death.  Releasing an animal into an area that already has a component of the same animal just does not work as some bunny huggers would like to believe.  Data like this can aid in future arguments on increasing hunter opportunity.
To bad you guy's that attempted to return a collar or provide the information were treated so poorly.  In my experience they are always happy to get a collar and find out the information.  Often these old collar and ear tags provide great info.  For example, say a cow elk was collared in the 90's.  Project ends and years later the battery dies.  Years later a hunter harvests or finds the collar on a recently killed elk (car, predator, or ?).  If the animal was aged at time of capture then this info adds to the knowledge of how long this animal lived and age structure.  All good information.

[fly4fish]

Just to let you know, an 80 - 100 lb tom is quite small and not more than two years old. 150 lbs plus would be a decent tom.  Hope we see a picture!

[Little Dave]

Actually the collar is the property of the owner, the state, feds. or ?.  Keep it and you could get charged with theft.  Tags are on because there is a do not consume period.  Usually 30 days for prophylactic meds and antagonist, if used.

In cases where the animal is found dead, the equipment is still property of the state.

For lawfully tagged animals, one reason why researchers don't want it to be unlawful to keep the equipment is to increase the probability that it will be returned.  One such elk with a mud-stained collar was harvested in North Bend this year.  The collar was promptly returned by the hunter, refurbished, and has since been installed on another elk.

Do not rely on tags exclusively to identify animals which have been treated with the drugs.  The elk mentioned above was not tagged when it was drugged and collared, mainly because the collaring took place months before the hunting season.  Don't hunt out of season.    Tags are principly used to mark animals for population estimation.

[seth30]

Should of told them it was a wolf. Then when they all got out there said "PSYCH!" 

  you made me spit out my coffee with that

[CAMPMEAT]

.....................and don't forget, the WDFW works for us to enhance our hunting experience. The experience of screwing us on seasons, tag costs etc. Our best friend.

[400out]

If I shot a wall hanger with a collar it would be the coolest mount on the block