BSK
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Ha! Gotta admit, suburbia takes some getting used to.
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Tennessee bucks
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BSK
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BSK
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Many forms of deer censuses have been developed over the years. However, the question always arises, how accurate is the census? A statistical process was developed (and tested for accuracy) that will give a very good indication of a census' accuracy, and that process is called "Mark-Recapture." How it works is when a group of deer are captured (using any number of capture procedures) they are physically marked (ear tag or whatever). Then when the census is run a second and third and fourth time, the percentage of deer captured in each succeeding capture process that were previously captured and marked give an excellent indication of the percent of the total population that was captured the first time. For example, if a first capture process collected and marked 30 deer, and in a second capture process, 40% of the captured deer had been previously marked, then those original 30 deer made up around 40% of the total population. By running this process over and over, a very accurate picture can be gained of how effective the census process is.
I describe this statistical process because it can be used to test how accurate a photo census is. By looking at the percent of killed bucks that were NOT captured on camera previously, you can get some idea of how many bucks are being missed by the photo census. For example, if 20% of killed bucks have not been previously photographed, the photo census is capturing around 80% of the bucks using the property. Keeping and analyzing this data for years will produce a very good picture of how accurate the photo census process is.
On properties where I place and run the cameras, over many years of collecting data, I find my photo census accuracy rate is 96%. Basically, 96% of harvested bucks were previously photographed. In fact, the only bucks not previously photographed are always killed just before peak breeding, and probably just showed up on the property in the last 48 hours before being killed, hence had not had time to be photographed.
On my own property, we have not killed a buck that hadn't been photographed since 2007.
I remember BSK posting this buck several years ago. I have always loved the rack on this deer. The shape and color is just awesome
One thing I've noticed (it seems like anyway) that all the really big bucks I've seen here the past couple years have been middle Tennessee and to the east, not many of the biggest ones out in west TN.
The West TN Deer Hunters Facebook page says otherwise. They are killing some great bucks over there.
BSK
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Another picture of him stickler.
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BSK
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I remember that. That is the craziest thing I have seen.
I don't think I mentioned TWRA. The release of cougars in GSMNP by Conservationists might have been a hoax. But, interestingly on WBIR 2004 The Heartland Seies feautured a program about cougars in the Smokies. Two Park Rangers stated they saw a cougar,, and a third claims to have heard one. There's also several pics that tourists took that claim were a cougar. And, quite a few people that say they have saw them over the years.
BSK
Well-Known Member
People see Bigfoot too. By the thousands. And Bigfoot is a biological impossibility. People see what they want to see.
This state (and country) is COVERED with trail-cameras - by the millions, literally. If it's alive in the wild, it gets photographed. At that's exactly what happened when two wandering mountain lions drifted into the state briefly (2015-16). They were photographed repeatedly by trail-cameras. Then they left. Resident mountain lions in TN? None. Haven't been in in over 100 years.
I have owned my property 25 years. We never thought there were bears on it. Then, 15 years ago we got a pic of one on a trail cam. Since then we've had pics of 4, or 5 bears every year. But... this deer season is the first time I actually saw one in the flesh in 25 years. I've only saw a bobcat twice, and have never got a pic on trailcam. Not sure there are Lions here, but I think they are smart enough to avoid people if they want.
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Dean Parisian
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About 15 years ago the President of the Georgia Trappers Association trapped a mountain lion very close to the TN border in Georgia. Released unharmed.
BSK
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You just made my point. You picked up bears on trail-cams long before you ever saw one. I would have to talk to the TWRA guys/gals involved, but I don't think anyone saw the mountain lions that were actually documented on trail-camera in Humphreys County in 2015-16, or Obion County the same time. If they exist, trail-cams pick them up, and usually long before anyone sees them in person. Yet mention mountain lions in just about any setting and you'll hear of dozens of people who have supposedly seen them. Heck, I've gotten into arguments with people here in my neighborhood in Nashville who swear they've seen them. What did they actually see? No idea. But it wasn't mountain lions.
DoubleRidge
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I heard a quote one time from an older gentleman while hunting in Colorado....he stated "for every one mountain lion you see...ten have seen you"....of course this man hunted in lion country of Western Colorado.
As for Tennessee....I agree that if there were lions then pictures would be captured often....like they were a few years back in West Tennessee when those two cats passed through.... several pictures were captured, confirmed to be real and circulated....since then...nothing.
We found out that a family about 5 miles from us has been keeping exotic big cats in enclosures at their home. Would never have known, if the news hadn't reported they were cited for not having proper permits. Don't know about cougar, but they had lions, tigers. Wonder how many people keep cougars in pens that have escaped, or let go because they were too much trouble?
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Sorry BSK, you're a wealth of knowledge but you nor anyone else know if their is mountain lions, panthers, cougars, or whatever you want to call them in Tennessee especially these mountains where I'm from. I understand the statement that no one has had them on camera. But I can argue that I plus three other people have seen a 160 plus buck in an area that they don't exist and none of us have got him on trail cam nor do we know anyone or have heard of anyone else seeing or having him on camera. He's a 160 mountain buck because he's smart. He doesn't go where people are and when he smells a trace of them he vanishes. Now I would imagine that a Cat especially a big cat is the wisest of all creatures. I'm not going to tell certain things because I don't want to be criticized from some on here that are ready to pounce. But no one actually knows for fact whether we have resident big cats. I for one believe it and nobody will ever change my mind.
I also believe there are big cats in East Tennessee. I've seen too many tracks in the snow on a mountain on the Anderson-Morgan county border. My oldest son actually saw one back in 2000 while deer hunting there.
This year near where I hunt on the southern plateau area a well known resident had trail cam videos of three cougars. I have many trail cam pics of bears but have never seen one while hunting. I too believe cougars are here, can't prove it tho.
PickettSFHunter
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You didn't get pics of bears because they weren't reintroduced until 1996. A lot of people that aren't natives don't understand that. We didn't have to deal with the pests because Bears were practically removed from the area until 1996.TWRA/NPS illegally reintroduced bears in 1996 and that was not in Cumberland County, just a neighboring county, and not the Cumberland County side of that adjoining County. It took them quite a few years to really start leaving the reintroduction area in the Big South Fork and to head into adjoining counties. The NPS was at least public about the illegal reintroduction, of course without mentioning the violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.
