A political contact in Pinellas, FL sent me this link, and he had no idea we had been discussing coyotes in FL! I think I should introduce him to CFP!

We are also having more frequent reports of sightings of the mountain lion, whom the “powers that be” tell us do not exist in this area. I am one who knows that to be a total fallacy of fact! Twice we have seen one loping across the road in the glare of our headlights late at night, and once, in broad open daylight. Steve and I were deep into the woods at an old abandoned mine. We were actually sort of “stalked” by this big cat, and I was getting pretty nervous about it. Yes, Steve had his trusty friend strapped to his waist, but, unless immediate and close danger was there, of course chose not to shoot it. When we were on the floor of the open mine and I finally got a good look at it standing up on the brim near the edge of the woods, I told him we were getting the “H” OUT of there! We slowly walked away, down the trail, back to the car. It did follow for a while, but kept a safe distance. My thought is that it was a female and she was simply making sure that we didn’t get too close to her babies.

Now, my niece had a mountain lion on her front porch, into the dog food bowls. She called the rangers station in Pisgah National Forest. They said none existed in this area, they were a protected species, she could not shoot it, and since there were none in this area, they would not even come out and set up a trap for it. HUH? Though several people on that mountain lost hunting dogs in the next few weeks, my niece never saw it again and it hasn’t been spotted for a while. The word spread, though, across the mountain, and I suspect that the big rogue cat is now peacefully sleeping in a grave on the mountainside somewhere. Would that be wrong? Not in my opinion! If one has livestock and/or little toddlers in harm’s way, they should be allowed to take whatever steps necessary to protect life and property. I do believe in protecting our wildlife, but I am in agreement with the former opinion that there has to be some common sense solutions for all concerned. Our local rangers added nothing in the way of common sense. My niece is now a little more peaceful when taking her toddlers out on the mountain to play. THAT is how it should be!

I am not in agreement at all with the awesome and all-powerful EPA and most of the decisions and mandates they come up with. It seems anything and everything takes priority over the good of mankind and the citizens these days. The insanity has to stop and the sooner the better. There has been thousands of acres of farmlands shut down because of some strange little critter being found on them. Well, DUH! Remove the critter, build it a little natural habitat somewhere to preserve it for future generations to see and marvel at, and LET THE FARMERS FARM! We are facing food shortages while the EPA protects every living thing that breathes EXCEPT human beings and OUR future.

And now, you see why I don’t comment often. I get wound up and don’t know when to SHUT up! ‘Nuff said! Have a great day, all!

As for the coyotes, I always thought they were native to Canada, so I had to go look it up. Sure enough, they are native to the long and short grass prairies, but have extended their range into the more heavily forested Eastern parts of the continent. I know there were sightings of them on the West Coast when we were living there, too.

When I was a kid, I remember going out into the yard at night, hunting fireflies, and hearing the yipping of coyotes coming from the bushes. The first time I actually saw one, though, wasn’t until I was well into my 30′s. I still remember it quite well, standing at the side of the highway, just outside of town, watching the traffic go by! It took me a moment to realize what I was even looking at, since I’d only ever seen them in pictures until then. They are extremely adaptable creatures.