Outdoors
Cougar killed in Troup County
Submitted by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources
FORT VALLEY — Hunters around West Point Lake might be led to believe that Georgia has a new predator roaming the woods - the cougar. A Sunday kill of a male cougar on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land at West Point Lake, south of Highway 109, seemed to verify that thought. However, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division, this simply is a one-time experience.
“Though cougar and panther sightings persist in Georgia, there are no known native populations of these animals roaming the woods,” advises Wildlife Resources Division Region Supervisor Kevin Kramer. “There is no reason to believe there are any more cougars out there. This likely is a unique experience and while exciting, is not something for which we should be concerned.”
The cougar, taken near the Abbottsford community west of LaGrange, was a male, 88 inches in length measured from the nose to the tip of the tail and weighed approximately 140 pounds. The hunter who took the animal was legally hunting deer from his tree stand at the time the cougar approached.
Initial external examination by Wildlife Resources Division biologists found no tattoos, tags or collars, and the cougar had not been declawed.
Further examination by the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens Monday afternoon confirmed the cougar to be healthy and well fed. Researchers determined the cougar had a very low parasite level and that the pads on all four feet were scuffed. According to SCWDS staff, these findings are consistent with a captive reared cougar, not a wild specimen.
Due to the fact that there are no known native populations of cougars in Georgia, no permitted cougars in this area and that the closest Alabama facilities permitted to house cougars (in Elmore and Macon counties) have accounted for all permitted cougars, the animal taken Sunday likely escaped or was released from a non-permitted individual.
There currently are no leads as to who may have most recently held the animal, but the Division will continue to look into all possibilities.
For more information on hunting in Georgia, visit www.georgiawildlife.com.
- Outdoors
-
-
Help reverse slide in tax checkoff funding for Georgia wildlife
A convenient but critical way to support Georgia’s wildlife needs your help this tax season.
-
New CRBI logo ushers in new paddle trip program, Web site
Ushering in a new era in its history, the nonprofit grassroots river protection group Coosa River Basin Initiative recently unveiled a new logo which coincides with the launching of a new Web site and the introduction of a new recreational outreach program.
-
Billy Jonas part of Waterfest weekend
The folk musician performs much of his music on found and recycled objects such as tin cans and 50-gallon drums.
-
Registration now open for Waterfest X
The free event includes an Environmental Fair featuring live animal shows, the world’s largest portable aquarium stocked with Oostanaula River fish, exhibits, children’s activities, food and a regional Environmental Quiz Bowl competition for area schools.
-
Canoe/kayak paddles on the Etowah River in March
The trips will allow local residents to explore more than 25 miles of the Etowah in Cherokee County, highlighted by the McGraw Ford Wildlife Management Area, several Native American fish weirs and other historic sites.
-
Registering your boat? What you need to know
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division is reminding boat owners to make sure that their vessels have a current registration.
-
Fire on the Mountain
Event at Sprewell Bluff State Outdoor Recreation Area celebrates role of fire in nature
-
Citizen of the Week: Caitlin Freeman
Must of us don’t know it, but Wednesday is a special day for anyone involved with Special Olympics.
- Conservation group signs agreement to recover Bobwhite quail habitat
- Appalachian trail celebration and backpacking clinic March 6-7
- More Outdoors Headlines
-
Help reverse slide in tax checkoff funding for Georgia wildlife
