KTAB News has a Facebook Page. On this page, they asked today about the reported sightings of a mountain lion on base. Many commented, and the answers varied. I am here to give you the facts.
I live on base. At the end of my street are 2 parks. In the almost year and a half I have been here, I have had 3 coyote sightings, 1 rattlesnake sighting, about 3 deer sightings, 1 bobcat(lynx) sighting, and about 3 mountain lion sightings.
The military base also acts as a wildlife preserve with these animals along with turkey and countless others.
Before I had seen the mountain lion myself, I was hearing this strange noise late at night and early in the morning. Then I saw a paw print in my front and that was distinctively feline. I did research and found out that it was a cougar.
A month or so later, I saw 2 sets of eyes reflect back from the headlights of my car in between the two parks. One set was to the dog a person was jogging with. The second set was that of the mountain lion’s. It got spooked and ran away. I asked the woman if she realized she had just jogged past a cougar and she said she does so regularly, she just makes sure she has her dog with her. This is proof that there isn’t anything to worry about.
The next sighting happened the same way, more or less. Hubby was with me on our way home and we watched the cougar run from someone’s front yard over to the next street once my headlights hit it.
The last sighting, I was on my own for. I looked out the front window for no real reason and saw it walking directly across the street down the sidewalk towards the park.
People say it is posing a threat and needs to be gone. Now allow me to tell you what the real threats are.
So many of the world’s most magnificent creatures are being killed due to poaching and human development. The food chain keeps a natural balance about things. People say the cougar is a problem. Mountain lions in Texas mainly feed upon the White tail deer, which is not native to this country, but can be found all throughout it. Without something out there to hunt it, the deer would become over populated and die of starvation. Better for their deaths to be feeding something, right?
People claim their children’s safety is at risk. There are so many things in Texas that are a safety risk. Rattlesnakes, Scorpions, Africanized bees(killer bees), coyotes, mountain lions, and bobcats are just the beginning of that list. But on base, the biggest threat to children is how they are raised. Nothing bad can happen on base, right? Because military people are good people. Wrong. Just because the enlisted have a clean track record doesn’t mean their spouse does. There are sex offenders on base. This doesn’t bother me because, while what they did was wrong; they are people, too. Parents on base will let their young children run wild at all hours, unattended. I had a group of young children knock on my door, walk in my house, and say they wanted to play with my cat. None of them knew my name or even what my address was. There parents had no idea. I could have killed them or tied them up and locked them in my closet and their parents wouldn’t know the difference. If their child is out at an hour that they can get attacked by a cougar, who is really at fault? Not the cat. The cat is a opportunist.
The cougar is still afraid of humans and I don’t see it being a problem. There are countless turkey, deer, and rabbits around for it to feed on. If food were to become scarce, I believe the coyotes would be the biggest threat. Not the cats.
People are worried their dogs will get eaten. Again, there is plenty of food for them. While a cougar can easily clear our privacy fences, they stalk their prey and approach them slowly. There is nothing subtle or inconspicuous about jumping a gate to get to food. And again, it would only happen if you were a negligent owner. In this heat, it is nothing short of animal cruelty to leave your animal out permanently. In hot weather climates like this, it is best for people to have indoor animals.
If there are any points I neglected to touch on, please comment and let me know. My opinion is that people should be parents and watch their children, and all will be well. Even if they continue not to, I highly doubt there would be any issue.
Thank you for your time. Live on, big cats!
