Trapping Mt. Lion

Marty Lester · Post by **Marty Lester** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 1:03 pm

I have found a lot of info on trapping bobcat but how about lion? Anyone have any experience?

liontracker · Post by **liontracker** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 1:56 pm

It's pretty tough and illegal in most areas. They rarely come to bait and you need to make a blind set in a travelway.Thats why we use hounds.

Marty Lester · Post by **Marty Lester** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 3:15 pm

Thanks Liontracker, I have lost some cattle the past few years and at this point I have a couple of blue dogs that I think will do the job.(after it cools off this fall)
But as far as I can tell here in Okla., if they are killing livestock you can pretty much dispose of them any way you see fit. I had heard of trapping them but never any specific directions on how it was done.

Shorty · Post by **Shorty** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 5:03 pm

When I was in California the fish cops were trying to trap a lion with a live trap. It looked just like a coon trap only much bigger. It was like nine feet long or so. They used a live goat in the back of the cage. They didn't catch this lion but they told me they had cought many in it before. I also seen one being built at a welding shop in south texas. Looked the same as the other one.

liontracker · Post by **liontracker** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 5:13 pm

Check into your state trespass laws. Here, if your dog trees on private land you have to get a game warden to go with you to retrieve your hounds. Also, it might be legal for a gamewarden, or anyone else for that matter, to legally shoot your dogs for harassing wildlife in your state. I bet that a good hound can outcatch a trap 10 to 1 on Lion.

Marty Lester · Post by **Marty Lester** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 5:14 pm

Thanks Shorty, Sounds like it might work, I had thought of using beaver for bait but didnt know if it would work very well.

liontracker · Post by **liontracker** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 5:28 pm

The Government trappers out here used catnip for lure.

Shorty · Post by **Shorty** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 5:32 pm

I'm with you liontracker I'd stick with the dogs any day.

Marty Lester · Post by **Marty Lester** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 6:10 pm

Here if your dogs go on someone elses property you have the right to go get your dogs but not to kill the game. Unless the other property owner has specifically told you not to come onto his property. Then you have to get a game warden to get your dogs back. Most land owners dont want either hogs or big cats on them. lol

Marty Lester · Post by **Marty Lester** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 6:20 pm

Two years ago I had a female lion raise either 3 cubs on my place and on my neighbors. She killed a few calves and at the time we didnt have any dogs that would run her. I had thought about trapping her but wound up getting some bluetick pups and starting them on cats and coon. The dogs like to run hogs too and the cats seem to be feeding on the hogs about as much as the deer in this area. I am in the process of breaking the dogs off of hogs and just running cats with them. lol I think I will have a good time this fall.

TRACKER · Post by **TRACKER** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 12:31 am

Sticking 2 the question.. a ground or neck snare attached 2 a log or tree, preferably under a rock ledge where a cat frequents. Thats a good way 2 target a specific animal.

Jake Bell · Post by **Jake Bell** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 8:47 pm

um the hole neck snare thing isnt really advisable in places where dogs and kids are present. Any kill trap should NEVER be placed on the ground ive seen dogs with 220's wraped around their head and have to be put down. I trap and hunt, if i were trying to catch your cat a leg hold or foot snare may work but i think the safest way for everyone is the live trap or just set up some kind of bait ( a deer hung in a tree with a blaze on the tree and catnip in the bark so the sap carries it down the tree) and let your hounds run it off the bait. I hope i didnt ruffle your feathers Tracker but kill traps on the ground make me shiver with the exception of snaring wolves in northeren ontario where nobody has hounds because of the HUGE blocks, they think we are nuts when the guys pull up in august with a truck full of dogs ready to tackle a bruin.

TRACKER · Post by **TRACKER** » Sun Sep 21, 2008 3:03 pm

I'm just giving a personal opinion of what works THE BEST for me. 1st of all i cant imagine kids being around where i trap. 2nd who the heck would waste a whole deer for bait and just have one on hand, plus its illegal here 2 waste wildlife and run off a bait. not 2 mention lions dont prefer kills they dont catch plus the meat would get putred in a couple of days.

3rd i think he was wanting advice on trapping not on investing in hounds 4rth i love how you call it a kill trap, its a snare dude and i have yet 2 see a dead animal in a ground snare. of course i actually check my snares.

a live trap would take a lot of time or energy 2 construct. I've snared most of my life and if you know how 2 use them their very effective on all game. Every trapper i know wants as many traps at a cheap cost so 2 catch lots of game and up the odds. So i hate 2 ruffel your feathers dude but you probably arent a very effective trapper. And if theirs cattle invovled you cant by snares that will break with a certain tention.

Bridger Petrini · Post by **Bridger Petrini** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 4:06 pm

I have hunted in west texas where lion are considered a big varmint. They are activly trapping them there with good success. The sets that I saw personally were like giant cubby sets with a Javalina as the attractant. I think t's the curiosity thing as much as anything. They use big leg hold traps to do it and just funnel them down tight and make em step in that spot. Pretty slick.

Arkansas Frog · Post by **Arkansas Frog** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 4:40 pm

I have trapped with snares [relaxing] in pastures, caught Fawns,dogs
and never hurt a one, you just got to know how to do it, and the right equipment. some people are scared to death of a snare that is good don't use it.