It is a beast of stealth and
rapine; its great, velvet paws never make a sound, and it is always
on the watch whether for prey or for enemies, while it rarely leaves
shelter even when it thinks itself safe. Its soft, leisurely movements
and uniformity of color make it difficult to discover at best, and its
extreme watchfulness helps it; but it is the cougar's reluctance to
leave cover at any time, its habit of slinking off through the brush,
instead of running in the open, when startled, and the way in which it
lies motionless in its lair even when a man is within twenty yards, that
render it so difficult to still-hunt.
In fact it is next to impossible with any hope of success regularly to
hunt the cougar without dogs or bait. Most cougars that are killed by
still-hunters are shot by accident while the man is after other game.
This has been my own experience. Although not common, cougars are found
near my ranch, where the ground is peculiarly favorable for the solitary
rifleman; and for ten years I have, off and on, devoted a day or two to
their pursuit; but never successfully.
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