Fall topic. Loss of ALL wild life on my property. Anyone else ?

[WRB]

Over populated since hunting them has been outlawed for a decade. Our friend has 3 adult lions walking down their driveway. A young lion was tagged and collared about 500’ from my front door a month ago, so yes they are around.

Being nocturnal hunters you don’t see them often, but see want the remains of what is killed occasionally. We have a lot of posters about missing pets, they aren’t missing they were eaten.

Tom

[TnRiver46]

33 minutes ago, WRB said:

We can send you an abundance of mountain lions to thin out the deer and coyotes.

?Tom

There are mountain lions in TN. Game and fish wouldn’t admit it for the longest time until people started getting a lot of photos 

 

[Tennessee Boy]

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

There are mountain lions in TN. Game and fish wouldn’t admit it for the longest time until people started getting a lot of photos 

 

I’m glad they’re here.  I’m more afraid of deer ticks than I am of cougars.

[PressuredFishing]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

Over populated since hunting them has been outlawed for a decade. Our friend has 3 adult lions walking down their driveway. A young lion was tagged and collared about 500’ from my front door a month ago, so yes they are around.

Being nocturnal hunters you don’t see them often, but see want the remains of what is killed occasionally. We have a lot of posters about missing pets, they aren’t missing they were eaten.

Tom

very interesting, did not know they where making a comeback.

[gim]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

There are mountain lions in TN. Game and fish wouldn’t admit it for the longest time until people started getting a lot of photos 

The DNR initially denied any evidence of them being here too. Random photos on trail camera doesn’t mean there is an established, reproducing population. There have been random sightings on camera here too over the years and they are roaming young males looking to establish a new territory just passing through. They finally admitted this when they were seen on camera. Until there is concrete evidence of a litter, there is not an established population of them though. The nearest reproducing population from here is in the Black Hills.

 

Wolves are the apex predator here. Minnesota has more wolves than any other state besides Alaska. I’ve heard some howling while deer hunting real early in the morning once and I’ve seen tracks in the snow, but I’ve never seen one in the wild. I heard them howling in the distance when I was walking to my stand in the dark. I’ve never climbed into my stand faster LOL

[Way north bass guy]

I’ve noticed a bit of an uptick in game populations around my neck of the woods the last couple years. We’ve had a couple winters that weren’t so harsh for cold or snow depth, which helps the deer and turkeys out big time. Last year the deer trails in the big woods that I hunt looked like cattle trails in a pasture field, beat right to mud. Tons of turkeys in the fields and hardwoods around here too. Couple weeks ago I saw about 30 two fields over from my place. I hope to get my field cut down next year, as it’s been grown in quite a bit the last few years. Hopefully they’ll be hanging around here then and I can get into a few birds come spring. 

[OldManLure]

21 hours ago, cyclops2 said:

Loads before Covid hit. Had 13 does & 2 bucks. Now i buck and 3 does. Had + 20 turkeys. 0 now. No small game at all. No birds. No Turkey Vultures. Not even wild dogs calling.  Anyone else seeing a huge loss ?

I’m curious.  Are you wondering (suggesting?) if disappearance of wildlife in your area may be associated with the appearance and spread of COVID?   

[Sphynx]

23 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I see rabbits but I don't know how they survive with all the coyotes.

The saying "breeding like rabbits" was chosen for a reason, they tend to be very prolific breeders, it's not terribly probable that any individual rabbit is living for more than a year or two, but they have a bunch of litters in that time.

[gim]

It can be a bit controversial on these predators, but the presence of them is generally a good sign that the ecosystem is doing well. They need food and a lot of it. Wolves and mountain lions need massive territories to roam. So the game they generally prey on must be relatively plentiful right now.

 

The success story of wolves up here has been highly controversial. Some people want them all gone and eradicated. Some want them left alone to proliferate. I am in the crowd of having them as a part of nature, but they need to be managed just like any other game species. A lottery-drawn, quota based system will work. Trapping is generally more effective than hunting too.

[softwateronly]

15 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

There are mountain lions in TN. Game and fish wouldn’t admit it for the longest time until people started getting a lot of photos 

 

 

 

 

 

13 hours ago, gimruis said:

The DNR initially denied any evidence of them being here too. Random photos on trail camera doesn’t mean there is an established, reproducing population. There have been random sightings on camera here too over the years and they are roaming young males looking to establish a new territory just passing through. They finally admitted this when they were seen on camera. Until there is concrete evidence of a litter, there is not an established population of them though. The nearest reproducing population from here is in the Black Hills.

 

Wolves are the apex predator here. Minnesota has more wolves than any other state besides Alaska. I’ve heard some howling while deer hunting real early in the morning once and I’ve seen tracks in the snow, but I’ve never seen one in the wild. I heard them howling in the distance when I was walking to my stand in the dark. I’ve never climbed into my stand faster LOL

 

 

Being in a large city, this was an anomaly for sure but impossible to deny......I also think he came down from your neck of the woods gimruis.....

 

scott

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuB0Koi0OvU

[bigbassin']

On 10/29/2021 at 9:55 AM, gimruis said:

Coyotes...I don't see many but that means nothing.  They are clever, smart, and can adapt.  There's probably a lot more than we think there are, even in a suburban setting.  Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there.

I’ve never once came across a coyote in the woods.
 

Working nightshift in cities across the Southeast I’ve lost count of how many I’ve seen, typically between the hours of midnight and 4:00 AM. Always seem to see them more frequently if it was rainy.
 

I think there’s quite a good population in most urban areas, they just don’t get seen because their schedule doesn’t align with 95% of people. On top of that, a good number of folks, especially in the city, probably can’t tell the difference between a coyote and a stray dog.

 

 

[gim]

5 hours ago, bigbassin' said:

I think there’s quite a good population in most urban areas, they just don’t get seen because their schedule doesn’t align with 95% of people.

Completely agree. They probably thrive in a many suburban areas. Better keep fluffy the cat inside.

[cyclops2]

Surprise 

 I have a new group of deer.  4 BIG adult females' with 4 yearlings All look excellent health.  I still have the 1 lonesome doe. She travels alone always.. 

This is a group I have never seen before. So maybe I lost my 13 herd of smaller does & calves.

[cyclops2]

Bigger surprise.

 

Look at a tabby cat resting at edge of woods. It gets up and is a Red Fox.  Who is restocking wildlife on my property ?     

[Tennessee Boy]

1 hour ago, cyclops2 said:

Who is restocking wildlife on my property ?     

Momma Nature

[ironbjorn]

On 10/30/2021 at 6:29 AM, OldManLure said:

I’m curious.  Are you wondering (suggesting?) if disappearance of wildlife in your area may be associated with the appearance and spread of COVID?   

Covid has been known to sicken animals and there have been many recent reports about deer being found to be infected with Covid. It doesn't appear to impact them the same way it does humans with the hundreds of thousands of US deaths and millions of world wide deaths though. 

[Catt]

On 10/29/2021 at 5:44 PM, TnRiver46 said:

TN. Game and fish wouldn’t admit it for the longest time until people started getting a lot of photos 

 

We have had the same thing here in Louisiana except with Florida Panthers (also known as mountain lion, cougar, or puma). I don't understand why Wildlife & Fisheries biologist will not admit it. We've even had Game Wardens saying they seen em. 

 

After back to back hurricanes, a historic freeze, & flood we experienced a massive relocation of wildlife. These back to back extreme weather events took out all available food sources. 

[Bluebasser86]

No shortage of wildlife around here. Fell asleep listening to coyotes howling every night we were camping last weekend. Deer were everywhere walking around the campgrounds. Saw a fox bolt by the side of the road a couple days ago. The waterfowl have been everywhere with the cold weather. There was a really nice buck by the side of the road on my drive home from work one morning last week. 

[cyclops2]

At 83 I have never seen such huge swings of animals & plants in any part of my county. 1 or 2 dead deer from car hits.  There should be loads of them by now.  The bucks are active after the does.  HUGE CLIMBING vines suffocating big trees.  I kill the fast growing vines.

 

River weeds disappearing. EVEN the invasive ones.  WE lost ALL the massive normal weed areas.  Just those slmy & fine strands types. Did not support normal shallow water baitfish at all.  Not even the Gobies or carp.

 

Looked more like a desert underwater.

[geo g]

South Florida we have it all now with panthers, exploding coyote population, pythons, green anacondas,  even Nile crocks have been found in a few spots.  Some believe the crocks escaped  from the zoo during Andrew.  So much swamp to hide in!