Comments on: Cougars, and coyotes, and bears, oh my! http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/ I'm Ellen Smith, member of the Oak Ridge City Council. Thank you for visiting my blog and reading my views on public and private life in and around Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This website is my own; content here does not represent the official policies or views of the City of Oak Ridge. To add your own comments, click on the topic title to open a comment box. To read posts about a particular topic, scroll down to "Categories" (in the sidebar) or use the "Search" box in the sidebar. Look under "Archives" to see collections of past posts organized by date. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:38:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Rachel Carlson http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/comment-page-1/#comment-37672 Rachel Carlson Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:30:28 +0000 http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/#comment-37672 I saw a coyote standing in the cul-de-sac of Indian Lane in Oak Ridge this morning (11/10/2008) at 6:50 a.m. It ran into the Greenway between Indian Lane and Robertsville Road when I stepped out of the house. It was much larger and healthier looking than coyotes I've seen elsewhere in the wild. I saw a coyote standing in the cul-de-sac of Indian Lane in Oak Ridge this morning (11/10/2008) at 6:50 a.m. It ran into the Greenway between Indian Lane and Robertsville Road when I stepped out of the house. It was much larger and healthier looking than coyotes I’ve seen elsewhere in the wild.

]]> By: Ellen Smith http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/comment-page-1/#comment-37151 Ellen Smith Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:28:09 +0000 http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/#comment-37151 Yikes! Contact the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency about the animal you saw -- they are better equipped than the police to deal with wild-animal issues. If you have not gotten a call back from the number you called, try their toll-free number at (800) 332-0900 -- hopefully you will reach a human. If I were you, I would be driving my child to school for now. Yikes! Contact the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency about the animal you saw — they are better equipped than the police to deal with wild-animal issues. If you have not gotten a call back from the number you called, try their toll-free number at (800) 332-0900 — hopefully you will reach a human.

If I were you, I would be driving my child to school for now.

]]> By: Deborah L. Cochran http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/comment-page-1/#comment-37147 Deborah L. Cochran Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:26:18 +0000 http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/#comment-37147 I am feeling a little giddy about now. Never expected to get this response when googling panther sightings in O.R. I have started riding my bike to work in the last month leaving the house at 0545. I have heard this bizarre scream. One week ago my daughter and I witnessed a ?panther/cougar sighting. It was not a bobcat. I notified the ORPD and they said, "We are not going to do anything." I notified the anderson cty wildlife agency by leaving a msg. I currently am literally begging the bus system to not make my daughter walk thru this area in pre-dawn hours to catch the bus. Please help. I am feeling a little giddy about now. Never expected to get this response when googling panther sightings in O.R. I have started riding my bike to work in the last month leaving the house at 0545. I have heard this bizarre scream.
One week ago my daughter and I witnessed a ?panther/cougar sighting. It was not a bobcat. I notified the ORPD and they said, “We are not going to do anything.” I notified the anderson cty wildlife agency by leaving a msg. I currently am literally begging the bus system to not make my daughter walk thru this area in pre-dawn hours to catch the bus. Please help.

]]> By: Wendy http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/comment-page-1/#comment-36592 Wendy Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:03:56 +0000 http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/#comment-36592 my daughter is staying in Knoxville in Bearden. She was playing outside when she came running into the house crying hysterically. She claims to have seen a huge cat with a long tail. We checked a few minutes later and it had left. This sighting was in a neighborhood, not woods. There seems to be several reports in knoxville. my daughter is staying in Knoxville in Bearden. She was playing outside when she came running into the house crying hysterically. She claims to have seen a huge cat with a long tail. We checked a few minutes later and it had left. This sighting was in a neighborhood, not woods. There seems to be several reports in knoxville.

]]> By: Ray Kircher http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/comment-page-1/#comment-35603 Ray Kircher Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:09:20 +0000 http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/#comment-35603 Waking up to a Mountain Lion howling in the morning is bone chilling. Someone would have reported that. I do believe proper management of property is why these animals are increasing their domain, not only DOE land but home sites within Oak Ridge seem to attract many songbirds and wildlife. I would say entitlement has its boredom in the wilderness also. Thank you for the top class info from ORNL. It only shows we have more than we think when we have questions about what is happening. Waking up to a Mountain Lion howling in the morning is bone chilling. Someone would have reported that. I do believe proper management of property is why these animals are increasing their domain, not only DOE land but home sites within Oak Ridge seem to attract many songbirds and wildlife. I would say entitlement has its boredom in the wilderness also.

Thank you for the top class info from ORNL. It only shows we have more than we think when we have questions about what is happening.

]]> By: Ray Kircher http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/comment-page-1/#comment-35592 Ray Kircher Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:29:54 +0000 http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/#comment-35592 I questioned this letter and asked my friends who do raise Mountain Lion cubs. He did say it was possible one escaped, but the howling would be prominent early in the morning. I haven't heard about this howling in Oak Ridge. One point he made out was that a zoologist would check for paw prints. Did she look for paw prints? Coloring and markings is not a definite source for identifying. So I looked around for other reports of other animals since a Mountain Lion (Cougar) is out of its habitat in Oak Ridge. <a href="http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-541X%28198407%2948%3A3%3C957%3AMADOBI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-B&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage" rel="nofollow">Movements and Dispersal of Bobcats in East Tennessee</a>, J. Thomas Kitchings, Jay D. Story, <em>The Journal of Wildlife Management</em>, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Jul., 1984), pp. 957-961 By its size, I would say it was a Bobcat. I questioned this letter and asked my friends who do raise Mountain Lion cubs. He did say it was possible one escaped, but the howling would be prominent early in the morning. I haven’t heard about this howling in Oak Ridge. One point he made out was that a zoologist would check for paw prints. Did she look for paw prints? Coloring and markings is not a definite source for identifying. So I looked around for other reports of other animals since a Mountain Lion (Cougar) is out of its habitat in Oak Ridge.

Movements and Dispersal of Bobcats in East Tennessee, J. Thomas Kitchings, Jay D. Story, The Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Jul., 1984), pp. 957-961

By its size, I would say it was a Bobcat.

]]> By: Oak Ridge: where the high school students are smarter, the Unitarians are more populous, and the feral cats grow strangely huge : KnoxvilleTalks.com http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/comment-page-1/#comment-35583 Oak Ridge: where the high school students are smarter, the Unitarians are more populous, and the feral cats grow strangely huge : KnoxvilleTalks.com Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:33:38 +0000 http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/03/11/cougars-and-coyotes-and-bears-oh-my/#comment-35583 [...] Smith notes there have been cougar sightings in Oak Ridge lately: It’s romantic to think that native cougars have somehow managed to survive in [...] [...] Smith notes there have been cougar sightings in Oak Ridge lately: It’s romantic to think that native cougars have somehow managed to survive in [...]

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