Bob Mount: Cougars, if there are any, protected here

Several years ago, a retired veterinarian and close friend of mine, Dr. Charles Branch, reported having seen a panther (a.k.a. cougar) on his property.

I said, “Charles, panthers don’t occur in Alabama, you must have mistaken some other critter you saw for a panther.”

Charles was adamant. “Bob, I know a panther when I see one, and the critter I saw was a panther.”

I have heard reports of other alleged sightings of cougars in Alabama, and wildlife authorities in Georgia state that they occasionally get reports from residents who say they’ve seen what appear to be wild cougars.

I had been skeptical of such reports until last Thursday week when Husky Kirkwood showed me a copy of the West Point Times-News featuring the killing of a cougar by a hunter, David Adams of Newnan, Ga., in Troup County near the Georgia-Alabama border. The 140-pound dead cougar was pictured on the front page. Adams shot the cougar from his perch on a tree stand.

The cougar had no collar, tattoos or other identifying marks, and the nearest facilities permitted to keep captive cougars are in Alabama, in Macon and Elmore counties, and all their cougars were accounted for. Yet, the Georgia authorities believe the cougar was captive-reared because it had a low parasite load, scuffed foot pads, and was fat. I would venture to say that as plentiful as deer, cougars’ primary food items, are in these parts, any wild cougar that isn’t fat must be awfully lazy.

The Georgia authorities state that because there are no known populations of wild cougars in the state, the species is not protected, and the killer was not breaking the law. If DNA tests should reveal that the animal is a “Florida panther,” which is on the federal list of endangered species, Adams could be in trouble, especially since he was hunting on land owned by the U.S. Corps of Engineers.

The anti-hunting crowd must be tickled pink over this latest episode of hunter irresponsibility. I’m sure they’re blogging it all over the country. The pictures on the Cougar News blog of the magnificent dead animal almost bring tears to my eyes. I assume hunters in Georgia can kill cougars any time and at any place they see one and take a notion. But not in Alabama. All cougars in Alabama, regardless of the origin, are protected species.

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I was beginning to think I was the only person who appreciated buzzards, the biologically incorrect term for vultures. But T. Edward Nickens shares my opinion. A lengthy article on buzzards appeared in the November-December edition of Audubon. My next column, if I can get over my depression over Auburn’s embarrassing loss to Alabama, will be about buzzards.

Auburn needs more 300-pounders on its offensive line. Maybe Coach Tommy Tuberville should send his recruiters to local buffet-style restaurants. Some of the massive young men I see at these establishments would make good offensive, or defensive, linemen.

Bob Mount is emeritus professor of zoology and entomology at Auburn University and writes a weekly column for the Opelika-Auburn News.