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Post by billcat on Apr 7, 2006 19:47:43 GMT -6
Joel,
When it ain't too h-h-hot.
This has been about the funnest thread I've participated in.
Bill
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Post by billcat on Apr 8, 2006 9:53:56 GMT -6
Willey told me (I'd guess most lion hunters do it, too) that he'd always cover up any lion scratches he found. Next time he checked, any scratchings were since the last he visited.
Bill
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Post by SteveCraig on Apr 8, 2006 10:10:25 GMT -6
"Willey told me (I'd guess most lion hunters do it, too) that he'd always cover up any lion scratches he found. Next time he checked, any scratchings were since the last he visited."
Bill, I do the same thing! Have for several years now.
Also.....do lions make scratches with their front feet or their back feet? ;D ;D ;D ;D Steve
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Post by Corey on Apr 8, 2006 10:21:31 GMT -6
Steve....Front feet?
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Post by billcat on Apr 8, 2006 15:21:59 GMT -6
I always assumed it was the front feet only until I read Wiley's lion book. Now I'm paying closer attention and it still looks like front feet. Just a dig, like house cats do before they take a crap. Sometimes the areas do seem more torn up around the dig - maybe that's the work of the back feet. I'll really look over any I find from here on out. I've noticed the same thing at bobcat scratches. Further research is required.
Willey always said a cat (both kinds) came to a scratch, dug the hole, did it's duty and continued out heading the same direction it was on when it entered the scratch area. Very seldom are lion and b'cat scratches covered over like a housecat does. As far as bobcats, when they are covered, it's usually a female doing a lot of advertizing. That's what I've caught, almost always the first trip back.
Bill
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Post by gunny on Apr 8, 2006 18:26:27 GMT -6
Bill, one thing I've noticed is that early in the year I find lots of activity at toilets (b-cat toilets). As the whelping season progresses the activity seems to diminish substantially.
Certainly the female is busy nursing the kits in a den. But even when the kits are big enough to travel with the female, she still seems to avoid marking the major toilets.
My prevailing theory is that the female reduces her visits (advertisements) to the toilets in order to protect her young from the larger Toms. It appears as if she is hiding from the Toms.
What are your thoughts?
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Post by billcat on Apr 9, 2006 8:06:15 GMT -6
Gunny,
I agree, once a she cat is knocked up she starts getting secretive and doesn't leave much sign. When she's not tied up with kittens, is the time she'll scratch a lot, trying to make it easy for the boys to find her. Sometimes you'll think you've hit the motherload of cats and it turns out to be one female. Usually the area isn't too big. If the big boys start visiting before you catch her, you can have a good tom catch there. The female is just too easy to catch in this situation though. I have thought about skinning the female right there and making a couple of burried bait sets with the carcass, in the hopes the boys will visit. Haven't tried it yet; too anxious to check the next trap. The toms seem to know as soon as she's gone.
Wish you would have stopped by, on your way to or from Klamath Falls, I'd like to meet you.
Bill
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