So I go out on this beautiful day to feed the critters and find a Mt. Lion killed 5 ewes

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

That is my entire flock of ewes. I still have the big ram and 3 yearling rams. My living lawn mowers are no more. Sure put a damper on my day. We had a lion come years ago killed a couple of goats and several sheep. I have made arrangements for someone to come and take them to a rendering facility. None of the animals had been eaten on. In the past only the hind leg of one of the goats had been eaten on. Usually the problem is coyote. putting up electric fence stopped that.

Just needed to vent my troubles.

Hope your day was a good one.
ADW

[Rorey]

1. I'm so sorry NT

[PoliticAverse]

2. Sorry to hear that. Why would it kill 5 and not eat a single one? n/t

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

6. I hear they just keep going after anything that runs.

and with the small pastures I have they are soon run into a fence.

[tavernier]

17. We have an American bulldog.

Tried to have chickens and a rooster twice. Killed every last one. Ate none.

[ShazzieB]

26. Reminds me of the way some cats will kill mice, birds, etc., but not eat them.

It's like the prey drive is somehow separated from the need for food in some animals. Domestic animals like your bulldog and my cat know that they don't need to hunt to eat, but some of them will still hunt if the opportunity presents itself, just because they can.

That behavior surprises me a lot more in a wild animal like a mountain lion that has to kill for food, but maybe I don't know as much about wild things as I thought I did!

[Irish_Dem]

3. Oh no, I am so sorry to hear this. Your entire small flock.

Have any of the other farmers had problems with the Mt Lion?
Can the Mt Lion be tracked?

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

8. A few weeks back a neighbor lost 2 sheep.

About a year ago a neighbor lost a goat, that lion was trapped and a collar put on it. It was shot by local ranchers not long after that. This one was trapped and collared and is known a P25. His collar pinged half a mile from me at 2AM.

ADW

[Irish_Dem]

9. Does the sheriff have a tracker/hunter or do the farmers do it themselves?

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

29. There are county trappers

Years ago we called him, he identified the kills as a mt. lion. We didn't ask the trapper to let his dogs loose.

Then about ten years ago we had a coyote problem, called the trapper and he set a wire snare. Caught the coyote and shot it. The electric fence has kept them away lately.

ADW

[Irish_Dem]

37. Thanks for the info!

[Effete Snob]

4. Would a Great Pyrenees help?

They are fearless and happy to live with the sheep.

[Tyche]

11. A Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD) would help.

I have an Akbash, the Turkish version of an LGD. She's gentle and sweet when out in public, but scary ferocious when guarding her property, flock, and family. I haven't lost a flock creature since I got her 4 years ago.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

25. I think that's what the neighbors have

They showed up in my goat pasture one night. Didn't cause any harm.

[hlthe2b]

5. I am sorry. What a traumatizing sight...

While I am an admirer of those big beautiful cats, I can certainly appreciate how horrible this can be when they go after small livestock that had to have been almost pets for a small operation like yours.

If there is a heaven for dogs and cats, then may there be one for sheep, goats, cows, horses, and (separate, of course) all our beloved wildlife.

[elleng]

7. SO sorry.

[blm]

10. 😢

[Hortensis]

12. Sorry, ADW. Sounds like P25 had too much fun but might return for more anyway.

[Tumbulu]

13. Oh how heartbreaking!!!!!

We have three mountain lions in our valley and a few years back one got inside the barn of my neighbor who was weaning the lambs….. the lion killed all 30+ of the lambs, and ate not one of them. Then a few nights later a mom and cub killed and left uneaten 16 young 100 lb pigs. On the cam it looked like mom was teaching the cub how to kill.

These things are not always something that we can recover from. I have a Maremma, but only one, as that is so much work taking care of even one dog. She barks all night long it seems. So it is a good thing the closet neighbor is about half a mile away. But that is her way of warning predators away. I think that is why I have only lost a few to this lion.

I am so sorry, and am glad that they were taken away. Burying so many is really rough.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

30. Years ago a guy in the neighborhood had geese he used keep his grass down.

he would lock them in a barn at night, but one night some critter got in the barn, killed all but one goose and left them in a pile.

Living in the wild has it's costs.

ADW

[housecat]

14. Must've been a republican lion

[Red Mountain]

15. How much land do you have to graze?

donkeys are easy keepers.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

31. 10-15 acres,

I have more I used to graze, but the fencing isn't good, so I keep them closer.

ADW

[Peregrine Took]

16. Why I could never live in the country.n/t

[PJMcK]

18. That's too bad, ADW

Such a profound loss. You have my regrets.

[markie]

19. so sorry...

when I kept sheep I lost a few to wild dogs... it is heartbreaking to lose those in your care

fox, fishers and bears are constant threats to my chickens and bees now

[EndlessWire]

20. Wow, that's bad.

I was watching a YouTube video where a woman biker was attacked by a mountain lion. She was rescued, but they found that a man previous to this attack was killed, partially eaten, and buried. It seems like an opportunity to kill can't be passed up.

My terrier finished off my flock of chickens before I realized what was going on. Didn't eat one. I want more chickens, but now I have to secure a pen that he can't get into. I have that, but I will not be having any free-range chickens. I worry about my two free-range goats, but I need them for brush control. I have been thinking about getting another dog to act as flock protector, but also maybe just pen them at night.

I hear the coyote pack again at night, which had stopped for awhile, but now seems to have made a come back. Never thought I'd hear them again, but there they are. Here it is fall, and maybe pups are out there doing their thing. The neighborhood gang in full throat.

I am so sorry this happened to you. Dang, a mountain lion...scary creatures...be careful...it'll come back. It'll come back for the rest of them. Are you sure it was a mountain lion and not dogs? Did you see it? Do you have a place up near your house that they could occupy at night? I have been thinking about getting a couple of horses, but I would have to move them up each night...hence, I am thinking about getting a herder style dog to help me. They wouldn't be able to stay out in the back of the lot alone.

[Marthe48]

21. So sad to hear

And something you never get used to.

[jcgoldie]

22. Get an LGD

Or better yet 2 if its mountain lions. They will do the job. Mine are Pyrenees X Anatolian we have 5.

[Sogo]

23. Mind if I ask what state?

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

27. Calif. West Sonoma County

I spoke with the 'Living with Lions' guy and lion P25 pinged half a mile from me at 2am, headed my way. He said this line moved into the range of one shot a while back. From the Russian River to Skaggs Springs Rd, and Cazadero to the coast is the range.

ADW

[calimary]

24. Damn. That's a shame.

Sorry to hear this. I hope you have a better day tomorrow and a much better weekend next week.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

28. Thank you, you have a good one too. nt

[moondust]

32. Are you sure it was a mt. lion?

Nothing eaten seems kind of strange.

Any radical neighbors?

Sorry for your loss.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

35. The 'Living with lions' guy follows a collared lion, known as P25.

He was within half a mile of my place at 2am when his collar pinged.

ADW

[albacore]

33. SO sorry... I know how it is...

I lost a couple of goats to a lion years back. I think the only thing that stopped him from killing more of the goats was the mean Hampshire sow I had. She wasn't afraid of ANYthing. Including me.

I started peeing around the perimeter of the place, and we didn't see the cat again.
My wife thought I was weird saving it, putting it in a garden sprayer, and spraying scent posts around the perimeter with it. Dunno if it works or not.

I live in town now, and a bear trashed our bird feeders. I did the pee routine, and found some battery-powered night motion-detector lights and put three of them around the area. Got the lights at the place named after the river in S. America.
Same place carries these Nite Guards, and I've heard some good reports.

https://www.niteguard.com/how-it-works/

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

34. Thanks for the link, will check it out. nt

[canetoad]

36. So sorry you lost your girls

I lost five chooks to the local fox, six months ago.

This won't bring your ewes back, but it's really interesting: All the time I'm reading (from overseas) how deadly the wildlife in Australia is - snakes, spiders, sharks etc. But we have no large carnivores!

No bears, mountain lions or any other sort of lion or tiger. It's down to an invisible boundary called the Wallace Line.


Map of Wallacea with the Wallace Line, the Lydekker Line and the Weber Line. Wallacea is the region between the Wallace Line and the Lydekker Line. As so often, at a closer look things become more complicated. The Wallace Line has two variations, including or excluding the Philippine Islands. The Philippines weren't travelled by Wallace. In the south there is another biogeographical border introduced in 1899/1900 by the scientist Max W.C. Weber as a result of the Siboga expedition. One has to consider that the borders do not only separate islands but also include maritim life.

This side of the Wallace line we have amazing lizards and spiders and NO BEARS!

Again, sorry about your animals.