Lion habitat

[Beimel]

When going to a new area, what do you look for in areas to hunt? Rocky ledges, tops of ridges, bottoms of canyons? Any info would be great. I am new to this. I'm planning a hunt for October and am looking for some starting points when I get there. Thanks

[Grzyadms4x4]

This is a great question and I hope some of the "old timers" will chime in. I started without much help too and I am not the best for advice but you are correct, check all the areas that you listed. Also check around water sources and in saddles of mountains. Lions are where they are. Probably more importantly is where are the deer or prey species. Find them, then look for lion signs in those areas. As for which areas are better than others for sign, I wish I knew. Get ready to wear out some boot leather and have some fun!! Good luck.

[Beimel]

Thanks for the tips!! It is greatly appreciated. I need all the help I can get!

[houndnem]

just look for the shittiest place you can see, that's where they will be. deer and water helps too, but I have seen lions in the winter living where there are no deer, eating porky pines and rabbits

[Idcurs]

where out west are you going to hunt?Lions are where you find them,and many are not tied to deer.Many mnts out west have little or no deer but have lions that move thru.Many times they kill whats there,fox,yotes,rabbits,burros,sheep,they will kill whatever is in front of them!!!!Tom lions will scratch in a saddle ,on a rim under a big tree,by a boulder in a draw,around kills.young toms scratch a lot more than older toms and their scratch will be smaller.In areas that don't have lots of game lions will cover a lot of country.One tom that I hunted would go thru 3 mnt ranges,covering 150 miles easy!

[Beimel]

Thanks for the tips guys! Keep em comin! Heading to eastern Wy.

[brantpalmer]

I was fortunate enough to get to help out on a mountain lion gps collaring project. Looking at the gps points gathered over a couple of years was really interesting. Females, of course, had smaller home ranges then males. Their boundaries butted tight together, leaving no unoccupied space, and almost always on ridge lines. Although gps points were found throughout their home ranges, there was a much higher concentration along the borders on the ridges. Males ranged through many female territories and didn't have as clear of borders. I'm not sure if that helps, but I thought it was cool.