Mountain Lions in Omaha: How to catch the pesky cats

Modern Lion Catcher

Seems I forgot to mention George Leonard Herter's very curious tips for catching mountain lions as teased in the Feedlot post: How to get out of the rat race and live on $10 a month. Even though I have never been plagued by consistency, this is too rich to pass up. The big white hunter George Herter advises going after cats of the cougar class with Glue Traps. Otherwise known as fly paper.

They are easily taken with fly paper or homemade fly paper made by putting mixed resin and grease on bark or paper. Place the resin-covered paper or bark in a circle around several staked-out live rabbits or a pile of fish. The lion will come in for the bait, get its paws stuck on the resin-covered paper or bark. The lion will then lay down within twenty yards of the bait and try to lick off the resin. The resin just will not lick off. Sneak up on the spot at daybreak and you will get an easy, sure shot at the mountain lion. Mountain lions are just like house cats, they will not leave an area with anything sticky stuck to their paws.

This seems pretty straightforward, but I'm sure the animal rights freaks will not like the thought of the poor critter being so dismayed and inconvenienced before being dispatched. As if the suffering weren't enough for the PETA folks to squeak about, the technique does not lend itself to the 'catch and release' of extirpation. I wouldn't want to try getting sticky glue boards off of an annoyed mountain lion. Like George says, go for that "easy, sure shot".

Another, more entertaining way to rid Omaha of the Puma problem would be for the city to get a few packs of trained Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs. These dogs, also known as "Lion Dogs", were bred by the African Boers to rid their ranges of lions and the occasional poacher. If their reputation is deserved, these big dogs should be able to make short work of our light-weight cougars. Individual homeowners with more specific mountain lion worries could get their own Ridgebacks, but they might be as dangerous as the lions if not properly trained.

Traditional Lion Catchers