How to size up new country?

[BEAR HUNTER]

This may be a closely guarded secret but figured someone may be willing to share. When finding lions in new country where do you all start. Obviosly look for the food and water but what else do you guys look for to narrow down your area. For example I bear hunt pine covered mountains with deep valleys and manzanita. Never seen a lion track. A few miles away though where there were less pine more oak and rocky outcroppings I have seen several tracks. Is this due to the rocky outcroppings or is it because the acorns draw in the deer which draw in the lions?

[TomJr]

Could also be that the ground where you are not seeing tracks just don't take lion tracks well... I know here its very very rare to see lion tracks. Manzanita, Oak and Pine mixed, ground is either covered with leaves and needles or rocky gravel. Bear tend to walk heavier and have claws so leave more tracks, as do dogs. Cats, even big cats tend to walk very lite unless they are running and usualy don't break through the crust even if on dirt.

Other stuff to look for would be scat and kills... look in shaded areas on hill sides for kills. Thick bushy areas are good too. Scat up along travel-ways, hill tops and passes, but not right in the pass usualy off to one side where you have a good view of the pass itself often under a big shady tree. Another good place to find scat is big lone trees up on hill sides and big spreading trees just up from water and creek bottems.

[COUESAZ]

I have always looked at cats as an ambush expert. so they like to travle along edges of the places they hunt so they can hide fast and be ready for there ambush on the game they will eat. so if it is a Wash, mountain pass, canyon wall, or ridgeline. I seem to find there tracks in those places.