By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter
Texas farmers, ranchers and landowners may continue to use traps and other approved hunting techniques to protect their livestock from mountain lions.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) recently denied a petition by Texans for Mountain Lions that asked for bag limits, mandatory harvest reporting, required 36-hour trap checks and additional research on the elusive wildcats.
“Agency staff have reviewed the petition and recommended a denial of the specific regulatory actions to allow time for adequate stakeholder engagement and input,” Jonah Evans, TPWD non-game and rare species program leader, told the Parks and Wildlife Commission. “There were concerns the mandated deadlines that accompany the petition would be too restrictive considering the complexity of mountain lion policy and the need to fully engage most impacted stakeholders. We recommend including affected landowners, land managers, academics, subject matter specialists and representatives of key stakeholder groups.”
Texans for Mountain Lions asked the department to conduct a statewide study to identify the abundance, status and distribution of mountain lions in Texas.
The commission did approve creation of the stakeholder working group at its Aug. 25 meeting.
The group is expected to include representatives from hunting, wildlife conservation, livestock, outdoor recreation and animal welfare organizations, along with independent biologists and other experts.
Evans noted there’s still a lot not known about mountain lions in Texas.
“There’s limited research on mountain lions in Texas, as studies on elusive animals with large territories that range across multiple private lands can be difficult and costly,” Evans said. “Also, competing priorities from more imperiled species limits the amount of available research funding.”
In 2011, a PhD project at Texas A&M University-Kingsville compared historic and modern mountain lion genetic samples.
“They found that historic samples revealed a 10-20% decline in genetic diversity for South Texas,” Evans said. “The authors state that the effective size of the southern Texas population declined greater than 50%, whereas the size of the western Texas population remained large and stable over time.”
The findings suggest the South Texas population of mountain lions is relatively isolated with little inflow of mountain lions from other areas. So, they lack in genetic diversity.
“Genetic data indicates there is some reason to be concerned about the South Texas population,” he said. “Low genetic diversity suggests a declining population with little immigration from other areas.”
A study from the Borderlands Research Institute in 2012 revealed South Texas averaged 1.1 mountain lions per 100,000 acres. West Texas averaged 1.7 per 100,000 acres.
“The Trans-Pecos population appears to be persisting with harvest rates varying by landowner,” Evans said. “While research in Big Bend Ranch State Park and the Davis Mountains reports heavy harvest and low annual rates of survival, the continued persistence of these populations suggests they are supported by immigration from neighboring source populations.”
In Texas, mountain lions were labeled a non-game species by the legislature, meaning there is no closed season, bag limit or possession limit.
They can be hunted at any time by any lawful means or methods.
Texas Farm Bureau supports classifying the mountain lion as a predator rather than a game animal.
I have one roaming around my ranch.
One on camera hays county I think Sept 2021
Compare the high fenced acres in South Texas vs. West Texas and maybe you will find the reason there is less inflow of mountain lions in South Texas.
Two here in Post TX. Between lubbock and Justice berg Tx
I live in a semi rural area just outside of kilgore tx & a short distance from tiawichi creek bottoms area……we are literally covered up by big cats……one was caught on game camera right in between 2 houses stealing goats at night …..my parents have had numerous dogs maimed & killed by them…..im fairly certain one stole a small calf out of my back yard ……another neighbor had a small mule killed by one……everyone you ask has seen them in our area as well……I wished someone would take action to thin out their population in out area……a couple years ago I had a black one run out in front of me on a small hill on stone rd about a quarter mile from loop bridge & this is less than 3 miles from Walmart & for all practical purposes as barely out of town as possible
From Texas Parks & Wildlife: “Contrary to popular belief, there are no black panthers in North America; no one has ever captured or killed a black Mountain Lion. Mountain Lions are also called cougars, pumas, panthers, painters, and catamounts. For more information see: Mountain Lions of Texas (PDF 235.5 Kb)”
Wow, we live in Liberty City and haven’t seen any yet.
There is one around deerwood subdvision hempstead,tx my brother in law saw it walking one morning chasing feral hogs alot of them too.
My name is Ron Helm. I’ve lived and worked on ranches in far west Texas all my life. In the 60’s and 70’s if someone killed a mountain lion, it was so unusual that they took it to town to show everyone. People would travel to town just to get to see the lion and many times get their picture taken with it.
Fast forward 50 years… Mountain lion sightings are no longer all that unusual. With the advent of trail cameras and cell phones, there have how been many confirmed sightings of mountain lions in all 254 counties of Texas. Many of these sightings (pictures) are in areas that have never been considered ” mountain lion habitat”. This proves that the population of mountain lions in Texas are doing quite alright without the help of animal rights activists or even TPWD regulation.
Mountain lions are very much opportunist predators. They go where the game is and they go where it is most easily apprehended. They also are very solitary and do not like “crowded” mountain lion territories. When their home range becomes overcrowded (by mountain lion standards), or the young are looking to establish their own, they migrate to areas of less population and more game. That is why they are now dispersed throughout the state of Texas.
How do people think these mountain lions have gotten dispersed across Texas? Did someone trap them out of the Trans Pecos mountain region and relocate them to these other areas? No. Did they drop down out of the sky? No. They have, and are, naturally dispersing when/where they are most comfortable.
The activists would have you believe we need more research and data to better “manage” the mountain lions in Texas. This is the same tactics of phases and stages that they have used in California and other public lands western states to ultimately get the taking of mountain lions stopped. Consequently the land owners and agriculture producers of those states now despise their own Fish and Game Departments.
If/when that scenario plays out here in Texas, we will return to the days of 20 years ago when the landowners and agricultural producers of our state had an antagonistic relationship with our own TPWD. The department was viewed as an enemy to be aware of, rather than a friend of cooperation.
I would caution all landowners and agriculture producers to be very wary of any “cooperation” of stakeholder involvement in this issue when we know what the ultimate end goal is of these groups. They are not truthful to or really concerned about private property rights or the rights of an individual to manage his/her own resources. They want to dictate by law how one manages a resource.
Ron Helm
Van Horn, TX
Very well put Ron. I live on my ranch in-between Farmersville and Blue Ridge. We have heard and seen a couple of Cats near us, they have been here for many years. I have cattle and haven’t had a problem so far but, if I were having issues, I definently do not want some group dictating to me what I can and cannot do to protect my property. A VERY slippery slope indeed! i agree with you 100%. I’ll add, all these newcommers coming to Texas to get away from all of their old State problems need to either embrace Texas as we are or go back to where you came from if it was so great there.
They are a killer of livestock and mature buck deer they kill for pleasure
I have seen one at Sandy creek and Hwy 71 in Llano county. Others have seen one in Horseshoe Bay Area. Deer have been killed. No livestock reported.
Leave the Mountain Lion regulations alone. In South Texas, our experience has been that they have large ranges and when they do come through & make kill, they quickly move on and are not a common predator threat like the Coyote. If that is not your experience and you wish to remove a nuisance big cat, you should have the right to do so!
I agree 100% with Ron Helm of Van Horn, Texas.
Leave as a predator
Not sure what the answer is, However we have learned That taking a top predator out of an ecosystem Can absolutely be devastating. I know that’s hard to understand right after they have taken something you love or killed your livestock.
Southeast of Austin, we have experienced multiple exotic animal losses due to the depredations of mountain lion within our high fence. Sometimes, even multiple losses in one night with none eaten, because the cubs are being trained to hunt. Mountain lion are definitely a challenge for Texas ranchers and can cause significant monetary damages.
People need to listen to Ron Helm.
He knows what he is talking about.
I am on a ranch north of Kerrville, Texas, that has a mountain lion come through occasionally. Then it moves on. We have cattle, exotics, and native deer. The ranch would like to maintain the option of working to take out a big cat if it were to become a nuisance animal. Please leave the mountain lion as a non-game predator.
The whole mountain lion discussion today is based on a false premise. The false premise is that there is concern for the population of lions in Texas. As a matter of fact mountain lions are at historic highs in terms of their population. This is not just from the evidence of sightings all across the state with many in areas where lions were never seen before. With excellent wildlife management, including the introduction of white tailed deer into my area by TP&W 50 years ago, the natural prey base is also at a historic high. Additionally livestock are a readily available source of food for lions as well and inhabit all of Texas. The only “stakeholders” that have anything to lose from these high and expanding lion populations are the landowners. This is nothing more than animal rights activists persuading the TP&W to further diminish our private property rights in Texas.
Regards,
Philip Glass
On my small hunting property of 156 acres 1 hour south of ozona tx I have 4 different mountains lions and several pictures of them and have not had the opportunity to harvest one in the 3 years that I have owned it. Pictures are on trail cams during day light and night time. With the amount of feral hogs I’m sure mountain lion population is thriving.
Saw a mountain lion in the city of Austin about a month ago(Springdale Rd/51st street going down into the creek area.
Leave as predator
My son swears he saw one in the pasture behind our house in Glenn Heights. I don’t know him to fabricate stories, so I have to say I believe him.
I see one from time to time, normally late afternoons here in Bowie County.
I’ve seen them in Bowie county. I live in Northern part of county about 3 miles from Red River and I have seen a few of them. About 5 miles away on Red River Army Depot in what used to be a restricted area with bunkers housing Ammunition and such I seen many of them when I worked there from 2005-2011. I’m not talking about bobcats as these were huge cougars with long tails and they are beautiful. Until then I had only heard stories. In this area they have plenty of deer, coyotes, and small game. Some people call them panthers, pumas, mountain lions and cougars but they all are the same species from my understanding.
I live in the Panhandle halfway between Lubbock and Amarillo. We have one that comes through on a regular basis, but travels on. I’m sure it has claimed livestock and other food sources, but I’ve not heard of a large amount. We usually don’t see it, just hear it or see it’s tracks. They are a predator and we have many dairies in our area. They also frequent our area as we have mule deer here. Not making a point for either side just what I’ve observed in our area.
We have them occasionally here in Leon County, about halfway between Dallas and Houston. I have photo of a newborn calf it killed. Usual sightings are during drought conditions, so I assume they are traveling further then. When they are active here in East Texas, the deer and cows won’t go into the woods.
Mountain lions are predators not game animals. Game animals don’t kill our livestock!
We have one if not more mountain lions roaming around our urban neighborhood in League City TX. My wife and I saw one about two blocks from our house next to Magnolia Creek Golf Course. I also have a picture of it just walking around in broad day light. I also saw one that had been hit and killed by a vehicle at the intersection of State Highway 288 and Beltway 8 by the Bass Pro Shop.
We live I. East texas around the Laje Striker area (Henderson Texas)my wife recently saw one cross the road on cr4255 one morning as she was going to work,they are very real and in all areas of Texas
The week of 10/18/22 a large Tom was seen in broad daylight in central Real County. The week before a smaller lion was spotted after dark just north of where the Tom was seen. We all know they cover quite a bit country. 2009 saw one that we could definitively say was killing On a Boer goat herd in western Real county. He was taken out and the goat killing stopped! But to see two in span of 12 days leads me to believe that there are more than we see with their pattern being nocturnal! (Just replace the word goats with deer, sheep, calves, house cats, pet dogs). With that in mind I am convinced they are thriving and breeding successfully! These lions need to remain as a “predator” . THAT is what they are , and they will continue to predate game and livestock.
I’m not sure what it was, but a black cat the size of a coyote just exited my shed and walked into the wooded area behind my property line. I just moved into this house last month. I told my son he was crazy 2 weeks ago when he said some big cat just came out of a tree…I’m not sure what it is, but I’ll be putting up cameras outdoors soon. Hopefully it will come back and I can update then .
Saw a big black one yesterday (11/18/22) on FM1452 between SH190 and SH39 near Iron Creek.
My wife and I are elderly retirees living in a subdivision in the hills north of Wimberley. When we came here in 1998 there were some accounts of a mountain lion family to our north. We have had our share of coyotes, small foxes, deer and rarely a really big feral hog. About 4 years ago I followed our pet black cat Buddy (a husky guy) down our property, which descends to Lone Man Creek in a more or less North-South valley. There is a flat area with dry grass about 40 yards down the slope from our home. When I got down to Buddy’s level, I saw him sitting motionless. Then I saw what had him frozen. There was a full-grown cougar walking South on a path about 15 yards past our boy. I judged the lion to be a male about 200 lbs, with a long tail extending North in a slight curve. He continued steadily South in the valley and was finally out of my sight in small trees and brush. I was glad he was not interested in us, and Buddy is not too keen on going back to this location.
2017 Caught on game camera in Young County. Recent sightings within the last month as well. Missing barn cat now.
I have a picture of cougar and cub on my game camera taken in 2016, Bastrop county——3 miles from Rosanky Texas. Found 3 large hair balls and knew a cat was in the area. My son has also witnessed one about 20 feet from him while replenishing game feeder.