The Mountain Lion Foundation

The "Cat of One Color," is called by many names: cougar, puma, mountain lion, catamount, and even panther.

Shy and elusive, cougars live solitary lives within a system of mutual avoidance. Males and females interact for breeding when females are about 2 1/2 years old. Giving birth throughout the year, females can have litters of up to four kittens, but only one or two survive. Born spotted, the kittens stay with their mothers for about 18 months, after which time they will leave in search of their own home range.

In a healthy ecosystem, cougars are a top predator, helping to balance wildlife populations. Deer are their primary food sources, and the presence of deer indicates likely presence of cougars. However, as opportunistic feeders, cougars can survive on a variety of prey including rodents, birds, porcupines, fish and raccoons, as well as livestock and domestic animals.

The Mountain Lion Foundation is a nonprofit conservation and education organization dedicated to protecting the mountain lion and their wild habitat to ensure that our wildlife heritage endures for future generations.
(photo credit)

Halloween Pictures

Here are the dogs dressed up for the holiday. Kelso is a hotdog and Rocco a spider.

Sort with whites or colors?

Charley belongs to Scribal Terror

Pig-sitter accused of abuse

A Winona woman wants charges pressed against an acquaintance for making her pig fat.

Michelle Schmitz said her pot-bellied pig, Alaina Templeton, weighed 50 pounds last spring when Schmitz left her with a co-worker. Nine months later, the pig was 150 pounds. It took veterinarians 4 1/2 hours to surgically remove the obese pig’s collar.

Now the one-eyed Alaina is the subject of a police investigation into whether her pig-sitter abused her by neglecting and over-feeding her.

Schmitz, 22, said she cried for three days after she discovered her pet’s weight problem.

“That pig is my life,” she said. Schmitz even has a tattoo of Alaina’s name. “Everyone in Winona knows I have this pig.”

More Stupid Animal Jokes

The Forest Service has issued a BEAR WARNING in the national forests for this summer. They're urging everyone to protect themselves by wearing bells and carrying pepper spray. Campers should be alert for signs of fresh bear activity, and they should be able to tell the difference between Black Bear dung and Grizzy Bear dung. Black Bear dung is rather small and round. Sometimes you can see fruit seeds and/or squirrel fur in it. Grizzly Bear dung has bells in it, and smells like pepper spray!

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Howard was feeling guilty all day long. No matter how he tried to forget about it, he couldn't. The guilt and sense of betrayal was overwhelming. Every once in a while he'd hear a soothing voice trying to reassure him - "Howard, don't worry about it. You aren't the first doctor to sleep with one of his patients and you won't be the last." But invariably the other voice would bring him back to reality -"Howard, you're a veterinarian."

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A man and his wife go out one evening. A few minutes before they leave, they let the cat outside. The taxi arrives. As they step outside, the cat runs back inside. The wife goes and sits in the taxi while the husband goes back inside to get the cat. Not wanting the driver to know that there will be nobody home, she says,"My husbaband went inside to say good-bye to his mother." A short while later, the husband returns and says "I'm sorry, the old thing hid under the bed, and I had to poke her with a coathanger to get her to come out."

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Q: What do you get when you cross an elephant with an ant? A: A dead ant.

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