OT: Is this a mountain lion

[jtakeda]

Originally Posted by smead

Yep looks like a large adult bobcat to me. Cougar cubs have spots only when very young .. Beautiful animal - great shot!

I think the spots are light pixels from trying to push the photo using some sort of photoshop or post production program.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by texasbbq

I'm saying bobcat. A damn big bobcat though. Ear shape and spine to me say bobcat. I'd like to hear what authorities say.
Coo bike!

This is the exact email the Forest Service Biologist sent me after speaking with him and then sending him the pictures.

"Thank you very much. You were being watched by a mountain lion."

So he thinks it is a mountain lion.

Originally Posted by jtakeda

I think the spots are light pixels from trying to push the photo using some sort of photoshop or post production program.

I think those spots are a function of the filter. I really jammed the filters up for the shot to be lighter and more contrasted.

[texasbbq]

[QUOTE=joosttx;2396815]This is the exact email the Forest Service Biologist sent me after speaking with him and then sending him the pictures.

"Thank you very much. You were being watched by a mountain lion."

So he thinks it is a mountain lion.

Oohh, whole different vibe then. I'd get some pepper spray.

[joosttx]

[QUOTE=texasbbq;2396820]

Originally Posted by joosttx

This is the exact email the Forest Service Biologist sent me after speaking with him and then sending him the pictures.

"Thank you very much. You were being watched by a mountain lion."

So he thinks it is a mountain lion.

Oohh, whole different vibe then. I'd get some pepper spray.

agreed a whole different vibe.

[FlashUNC]

Well that's creepy. Totally mountain lion.

[sooshi]

I vote mt. lion. I ran into a juvenile mt. lion while mt. biking in Idyllwild and it had the same profile.

[merlinmurph]

Cool looking bike!

Wow, mt lion, huh? Wherever there are little mt lions, there are big mt lions. I would be scared sh*tless to ride there. Maybe take up knitting?

[Luwabra]

thats awesome. if I die by a mountain lion so be it. thats a rare rare thing to witness. you know your riding some BA terrain when you have time to snap a pic of a cougar. wow.

[soulspinner]

Niiiice Kittyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy…….

[sfghbiker]

I have certainly seen mountain lions (and bobcats) biking on Mt. Tam. I bet that thing is a mountain lion.

[bigbill]

I'm moving to NW Arizona and they have tons of deer and elk and mountain lion sightings. Maybe I'll clip a bell to my bike. I think if a mountain lion wants you, you'll never see it.

[heartattackride]

My worst nightmare and favorite dream (owning a 44) all in 1 post.

[jtbadge]

Nice bike tho

[C50]

I was going to say mountain lion when I saw the photos and happy to see it confirmed by the expert. Being in Florida we call them panthers and I got see one in the wild a few years ago. I was riding on a paved trail and I saw something big come walking out of the brush on the right side of the trail about 30 feet in front of me and walk very casually across the trail, pause for just a bit as it turned its head and looked then proceeded to keep walking into the brush on the left side of the trail. It was big, too big to be a bobcat but very "cat like" in shape so I knew it wasn't a coyote. I talked with one of the Rangers I saw later and told him that he might think I am crazy but I was pretty sure I saw a panther and he had no problem believing it. He explained that they roamed an area from 90 to 200 miles up and down the Hillsborough river and although rare to see one it wasn't out of the question. He also said that in the particular area where we were there was so much potential food that a cyclist wasn't high on the menu. Easy for him to say, he wasn't the one 30 feet from it! Beautiful animal in a powerful predator sort of way!

[Seramount]

while living in MT, saw a mt lion take down a deer once...the raw power they posess is seriously impressive.

apex predators are awesome. revere them, don't hate them.