Lion Sighting Last Thursday

[Gary Roberson]

About an hour before dark last Thursday evening, I was sitting at the house when I received a call from a good friend and hunter claiming he had seen a lion cross the highway about two miles west of Menard. He said that he had tied a red flag on the mesquite where the lion had crossed into the brush. I was hesitant to take my dogs as the lion was going to the river where tracts are chopped up into smaller parcels and many owners and many netwire fences. Steve and I ran out to see if we could cut any tracks and get an idea where he was going and size of the critter.
I parked along the highway and jumped the fence at the flagging. Unfortunately, the tract of land had no livestock on it and the ground was packed very hard and crusted. I was familiar place and knew there was a pasture road that fell off into the river bottom in the direction where the lion was going. I was hoping that there had been some traffic on this road to break up the crust so that we might be able to find a track. Unfortunately, no such luck as no vehicles had been over the road in a couple of months.
Now here is my question for all of you lion hunters...what vocalizations have you heard lions make? I have a recording a of a female lion in heat and am familiar with this sound. While looking for sign, Steve and I heard a sound very similar to this coming from the heavy cover along the river bottom. We heard the sound five different times over approximately 45 minutes. Any ideas?
Thanks and Adios,
Gary

P.S. When I talked to the owners of the tract of land where the lion was seen, I found that they had seen a lion cross in the same place over a year ago.

[tomtom]

Played "Mountain Lion in Heat" during a trip outside of Ozona. After it got too dark we heard the exact sound of "Mountain Lion Call". Almost like a bark. Talk them boys into sharing thier lighting setup and that won't happen again.

[Gary Roberson]

Yesterday, a rancher a couple of miles north of where the lion was spotted told me about finding a big set of tracks. The tracks were going down a new road and headed directly to where the lion was spotted. He found the tracks Friday morning and the lion was seen Thurs. evening. The lion came from where I expected him to come from and headed to an area where I have seen lion sign in the past.
I am going to get the "Night Crew" out west before too long. I am going further west to Sierra Blanca and Alpine areas.
Anyone hear any vocalizations similar to what I am describing?
Adios,
Gary

[Mike Leonard]

Gary,

I have heard lions make several diffeent sounds from the sqwall sound or yowl but not often. Most of the vocalizations I have heard have been chirps a sort of fluttering airy type trills.

I am sure many have watched nature shows where they showed Cheetahs in Africa. They are very vocal and the sounds they make sound a good deal like those of the mountain lions I have heard.

One day I was hunting horseback and came down a southern exposed slope to a gentile canyon bottom that had a spring in it. The dogs fired up at the spring and lined out heading up the other side going at a good clip. the ground around the spring was powdery type dust and had been chewed up with game tracks as well as those of wild horses. I got off and i observed the tracks of three lions which I presumed to be a female and two large kittens. I got back on and headed in the direction the dogs had taken. I hadn't gone very far when I heard the dogs locate and start treeing. When I got to the tree I found 3 of the dogs there treeing with about a 45 pound kitten on the first limb of a Ponderosa Pine. I had 6 dogs that day and the other 3 dogs had gone on . I gathered those 3 dogs up and got them off the tree and had them come on with me and I headed after the other dogs who were out of hearing by that time but I used my tracker. soon the other dogs joined in on that track and led me to the other dogs who were treeing on the female in the next canyon. I went to those dogs and after letting them tree for awhile i got them off the tree and decided we would head back in the direction I had come. As I was over the top and dropping down in the area where the dogs had treed the kitten I kept the dogs back and wouldn't let them go on and hunt. I started hearing short calls from both sides of the header i was going down. It almost sounded like calf elk chirps but shorter and it really carried. I figured the treed kitten had come out of the tree and was trying to locate it's mother and the other kitten and they were getting together by calling to each other. They called a lot and i could tell by the sound that they were moving thru the oak brush just below the crest under the first shelf of rocks. Noting the calls I beleive there have been other times I have heard it and just took for granted it was elk calling becasue as I said the sound was quite similar.

[bowtech36]

Thanks mike, that's an interesting story and good info never woulda imagined a lion making that noise.

[Gary Roberson]

Thanks Mike. From the description of the track, I am assuming it was a youngster...according to the rancher approx. 3" to 3.5" across. I did not hear a chirping or whistling but know what you are saying. We did hear the "yowl" which was the first time I ever heard in the wild. I sure wish the lion had crossed the highway going north as it would have put him on bigger tracts of land that I have permission to hunt.
Adios,
Gary

[Mike Leonard]

That would have been good Gary. I kind of know that country a little as is not too far from the Schmidts Menard camp where I hunted a few years ago. Nice country but as you said it is broke up a lot and a lot of high fence areas too. a lion could sure make a good living in there tons of deer!

Lions are amazing survivors if they have plenty to eat. One of our members told me yesterday of a female lion who had lost a front leg at the shoulder(most likley due to a snare as a youngster) and also was missing one eye and was still fat and in good shape and had nursed kittens. she was staying right in some hay fields that were full of deer and finally had to be taken out because she was staying too close to dwellings where children played.

[Gary Roberson]

High fences have cost me more races than anything else I know. Thank goodness, there are not that many in Menard County as there are in South Texas. What is really a bummer is when you get one dog across the fence and nothing else. I struck a track just yesterday morning and the dogs took the back end for about 50 yards before turning around and going back east. They were steady trailing and went nearly half a mile before piling up on a high fence. That is another really great things about the Garmin with the Birdseye imagry, I could see what was happening and got to them before one of them dug under the fence.
Adios,
Gary

[TomJr]

I have heard that locate call too. I sorta thought it sounded like a raven or some other bird, no elk here so didn't think of that. I saw the mother and she was calling her two cubs into a kill, other wise I would never have thought that sound came from a cat.

I have heard some strange calls at night and some were likly lion but others were foxes and possoms sure make a loud call during breeding season.

[Buddyw]

I have a short video of a lion that was vocal while visiting the colo springs zoo, there was 4 cats in captivity and they were pretty active. Its on my phone ill try and upload it. I never heard a lion before so i used my phone to record it.

Buddy

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

[bowtech36]

Hey Buddy you still going to post that video of the lions?