# Cats in ND...



## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

The apparent expansion of cougar here in ND got me thinking...

In the nearly 30 years I've hunted the Badlands and ND as a whole, I've never seen a bobcat or cougar. Saw cat tracks a few times, but never cougar. I've never seen a track of either east of the MIssouri.

Back in the early 90's I went to a seminar put on my the NRA in GF, and Bill Bynum spoke on predator calling. In the Q&A portion asked what he thought about cats being here. His response was was emphatic, he said just from what he saw from the plane flying in, he had absolutely no question we had at least bobcats in the eastern part of the state...

So my question of the critter gitters hanging out here are three:

1. Have you ever seen a cougar or bob in ND, and what side of the state was it?
2. Have you ever had one respond to calling?
3. Have you ever shot (not trapped) one?


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## bearhunter (Jan 30, 2009)

i've seen 2 bobcats in western n.d. once while coyote hunting, once while bowhunting. one was south of alexander 1 was south of watford city


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

1. I've seen several bobcats out in the badlands. I've seen them south of I94 and north of I94 all west river.

2. I've called in a couple, but not during legal harvest time so they were spared one of their 9 lives. I've called in 1 that a calling partner shot and kept.

3. But I've never killed one myself, to busy making noise.

Here is some info that kind of turns the tables a bit about east river cats/lions. In the past year there was a bobcat picked up as road kill by one of the wardens, I believe it was Mike, up in the Pembina gorge area. If you've never been up to look at the gorge it is very catty looking. I would have no problem believing there are a few floating around the area, either coming out of Canada or MN.

I was watching the News last night and i guess there was a large cougar in the norther suburbs on Minneapolis. It looked like a very heavy tom from the video.

I'm surprised that the other lion hasn't been taken yet with the opening of the use of dogs that started Dec 1st. The 7th was taken on the 5th by a caller.

xdeano


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

I know a guy who ranches south of Rhame who has killed two bobs that he saw from his truck in broad daylight. I told him he shouldn't waste that luck on varmints, he should buy lottery tickets...

I always figured there were bobs up in the Gorge, but never spent any time up there snooping around...


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Good thread! It will be interesting to see what everyone has to say.

The only thing I can offer is my uncle has a cast of a mountain lion track he found on his property in Wells Country from about 6 years ago. It was verified by a biologist at Bemidji State University.


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## AdamFisk (Jan 30, 2005)

I beleive there are both bobcats and cougars in the Gorge. In the last 2-3 years I've seen pics of 1 dead bobcat that come out of there, heard of a cougar sighting 10 miles E of Langdon right off Hwy 5, seen a trail cam pic of a cougar off a relatives camera, and, this year, heard of a rifle hunter missing a cougar in the Mountain-Edinburg area.....So, they are around. I'm sure there are many more encounters a guy doesn't hear about.

Oh, and I had 1 landowner, last year, tell me to watch my back as I was getting permission to hunt on some of his land, along the Gorge, N of 5. He claimed there were 2 different cougars in the area.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

There for sure around, probably in alot places where theyre "not supposed to be".

I dont think your average coyote caller/set is going to get or see a whole lot though, unless he's expecting a feline. Most coyote sets just dont last long enough. You either shoot a coyote or after 20-30 minutes of no response you leave. From what ive heard, cats are slow and sneaky to respond to the call.

How cool would it be to call in a Mt. Lion?!?!?


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

It would be an awesome time to call one in. I think it would be hairy though, have one sneak in from your backside and just sit and watch you.

I forgot I did call one in south of Mandan down by Solen too, but that was a long time ago. I didn't shoot that one either, another one of those out of season things. That doesn't stop most people though. It's crazy how they come in, they look kind of like there floating in. They're not like a coyote coming in, no bounce. They are so smooth.

BBJ, Your right, it isn't like calling coyotes, they don't tend to come in very fast. It's usually an hour of calling before you see one. It's also more of a constant calling, no stops. It's like a newbe calling coyotes with his new christmas toy (ecaller). Let it go on and on and on.

NDT, there have been a lot of coffee shop talk about people seeing cougars in the mountain/edinburg area. I do a lot of work in that area and that's all it is is talk. People see what they want to see. I even had a guy send me a picture of a trail camera pic of a critter chewing on a dead calf. It ended up being a coyote. The image was blurred enough to make the coyote look larger and more cat like. But you could easily pick out coyote characteristics. After he lost another calf he had me come over and take a look at the calf, it was all coyote, there was even a coyote footprint in some fresh cow patties.

I'm more of a see it to believe it kind of guy.

xdeano


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

xdeano said:


> People see what they want to see.
> xdeano


How come there's hardly any nude women walking around my house then?


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## bearhunter (Jan 30, 2009)

Fallguy said:


> xdeano said:
> 
> 
> > People see what they want to see.
> ...


 :bop: :bop: :bop: :beer:


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## Crazycowboy (Oct 31, 2009)

NDTerminator said:


> I know a guy who ranches south of Rhame who has killed two bobs that he saw from his truck in broad daylight. I told him he shouldn't waste that luck on varmints, he should buy lottery tickets...
> 
> I always figured there were bobs up in the Gorge, but never spent any time up there snooping around...


There's definatley bobkitty's out in this area between Rhame and Marmarth NDTerminator. My boss has a pretty nice one mounted in his house that he got in that area :lol: Think there's at least one lion running around the breaks/badlands area here too, couldn't prove it but the horse I seen sure looked like it had been jumped on by a lion, probably a young one this summer. (yes, the horse survived, the vet wasn't even sure if it was lion, but thought probably so).


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## Snowgooser (Mar 28, 2008)

Are cats typically in thicker stuff? I cut a set of tracks last week (the first ones that I can say were bobcat for certain) and they went into some rough country but not what I would call thick. I had high hopes and had decided to dedicate an hour to the stand, but as someone stated before a coyote showed up in a minute or two and I just couldn't help feeding him some buck shot! The snow is deeper now and I wouldn't mind trying that area again. Are they like coyotes and come better to the call when its colder? Do you typically set up like a coyote stand as far as wind direction or do they not circle as much? Will they cross open country or more cover orientated?


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## honkerslayr (Dec 14, 2006)

I've never seen a bobcat but hopefully someday I'll be lucky enough just to see one.....let alone shoot one. But anyways I was lucky enough to see a large cat last year the opener of bow season. I was out spotting some deer feeding in a hay field and looked below me in a tall grassy valley and to my surprise there it was laying down. Me and a buddy went back to get a rifle but came back 30 seconds later and he was never to be seen again. heck. he was only 175 yds away!!!But it sure left an eary feeling not knowing where he went. Someday maybe I'll get another shot at one. By the way this was in the badlands around the killdeer area. theres been cats around that are quite frequently.


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

If I were calling out in the Badlands these days or otherwise targets cats, even though I prefer to hunt alone, I think I would have to bring along a tailgunner to watch my back...

Yesterday morning over in the Twin Cities, a cougar was videoed walking down a street in a suburb...


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

NDT,
I definitely wouldn't call singly in the badlands before or after the lions started moving through. The badlands calling is one of those places in the state that you need another guy to watch your back side for those slippery little guys that like to circle down wind through all the cracks and crevices.

From what I've always seen it isn't as much how thick the cover is, but how rough it is, ledges, rock outcrops. Remember they are an ambush predator so anything that will elevate them for a quick kill. That is why a majority of the cats have been taken in the badlands. Then there were the other few freak ones taken out in the prairie, they were just moving through. I'd love for someone to pick one up in the Pembina Gorge area.

Fallguy,
I think you may be on the wrong site for what you seek....We're talking about bobcats and cougars, not the other type of cat. 

xdeano


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

Just found that video on the Star-Trib website. It was in Champlin on 12-05-09 at about 0500 in the morning, an officer responding to a call of a cougar in the area got it on his in car-video. It was a full grown cat, not a juvenile! 

I just issued a directive to the troops that if this happens here in DL, the Captain is to be notified immediately.


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

Yeah I saw that clip on the news the other night too. I knew right away that it was an adult, i'm guessing a tom. It looked a little big for an adult female. I'm guessing he was just scoping out some new territory. Good hunting ground, wild kids and friendly pets.

I hope they pick that cougar up. I have a brother that live in the champlin area.

xdeano


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## bearhunter (Jan 30, 2009)

i hope he camps out in Frankens yard.


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## texcl (Oct 6, 2007)

Adamfisk, I live in the area that you described and there are mountain lions in the area but I guess they move around quite a bit. I've haven't seen the 2 that were behind my farm since the snow fell but I did have another farmer tell me that he found big cat prints all around his tractor recently when he went to go move it and that was 10 miles from where I'm at, I imagion if these cats keep getting seen it'll only be a matter of time before someone shoots them, whether or not we get pics. is another story since most people think that they are illegal to shoot.


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