They can be pretty cold/bold I had one cross the road in front of me out in the Black Hills a few years back. I figured it would run off but it got to the side of the road stopped turned sideways and glared as I drove by unafraid it sure gets your attention.

I told this story before but first one I caught was late 70's in CO. Victor #2 longspring. Tied to the root of of some oak brush. Necked down spot at a spring. Hung a rabbit over the trail. Fenced it down some. Put a rock with a wad of grass ontop and another rock atop the grass. Some bobcat pee on the grass. Pretty popular cat set back then. First catch was a ringtail cat. Didnt know what it was. Had to show it to my dad to find out. That lion broke the root trap was tied to. Jaws didnt pop out. I tracked it about a mile into some rimrock and got nervous. Had grampas 22 h and r for a gun. Hoped it would tangle somewhere but didnt happen. Came back the next day with dogs. Started at the rimrock and caught up about a mile away. Trap was on the right front foot on the two outside pads.

…. Good story Danny … my only lion mounded up and twisted out

… which aggravated me as we can keep them here

… not many in East Texas

… did bust a juvenile male off a pipeline with 30-30 when I was 15 though

Absolutely

Problem is my Neanderthal brain takes over and Predators =bad, Big Predators where I live with family and animals = much more bad. I don't think the authorities would take it with them and it's not welcome at my farm. Best if is just not caught or seen for my integrity and law abiding reputation to stay intact. I suspect it won't be around the area long with their large range.

They’ll come in to a call pretty readily if there is one around that is close enough to hear the calling. I’ve called in 11 that I actually saw using barn cat in distress, bobcat and lion in heat sounds from Foxpro. Who knows how many watched me that I never saw…

Swatting at one of Gritguy’s squeaker gizmos.

They say the mountain lions are moving into Oklahoma by using rivers as travel corridors. West to east. Makes sense.

One was hit by a car about 50 miles east of me. It likely would have had to have used the river that runs a mile through my place.

I have never seen one in Oklahoma and I think 99% of the sightings are not legit. However, I know one may have crossed me.

I just need another one to walk through in December/January.

Cool topic.

We've had confirmed sightings of them here in Central KS. One a few years ago about miles east of me and it wasn't a juvenile. About 3 weeks ago there was one recorded on video in Ulysses Ks, sw part of the state. It was seen in town 2 different nights about 3 days apart. One recorded on video a few years ago in Wichita.

They are as dumb or dumber than a bobcat, they will stick their foot in a trap just to see what it is. They are not that much harder than a bobcat to release and generally much less aggressive. Much less likely to come after you, after you release them than a bobcat. Also they are very easy to choke out and kill, I have never done so, but I know from reliable sources that this is so. So before I had a trap release pole, when I was simply using a catch pole to release nontargets, I would not tighten the noose all the way down on one, I would just snug it up enough they couldn't slip it off and use the pull to hold the lion away while taking the trap off. Of course if you are trying to release it by yourself and it is a good sized lion this is easier said than done, in that case you may have to either get some help or choke it down some. Probably you and your boys, no problem, just your boy by himself trying to release it, may be to tough.

Heading out to hunt turkeys in the Black Hills one morning a few years back I spooked a good size lion off of this young bull kill stopped on the way back to look it over. It appeared the bull was on the road or shoulder when the lion attacked it pinning it along the fence the dragged it into the field to feed on it. It snowed after that and you could see where the lion came back to feed on it.

Spouse saw a dead mt lion on 287 in the OK panhandle years ago, he stopped to get a good look and I reported it to your Div. of Wildlife.
They had said none in that area until then, lol.