FYI - Tonto Closure Starting July 2 (1 Viewer)

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I have 10 brand new GPS collars sitting here in a box that need to be deployed by December...
I'm not into wearing collars, thanks for the offer though... that ain't my bag, baby
 
I have 10 brand new GPS collars sitting here in a box that need to be deployed by December...

How does the above usually play out? What is the process? How long does it take? How do you decide where to start?
 
How does the above usually play out? What is the process? How long does it take? How do you decide where to start?

Step one is finding a willing partner, step two is establishing a safe word... beyond that? let it flow!
 
How does the above usually play out? What is the process? How long does it take? How do you decide where to start?
Look for fresh sign or until hounds catch a fresh scent, hounds get on the cat’s trail and chase until it’s treed or bayed, if in a tree then rig up rope in tree and climb up, dart the cat with an anesthetic, get noose around cat’s leg, lower cat to the ground, check and monitor vitals, strap on GPS collar, give cat reversal drug, watch it walk away.

The process to actually finding fresh sign or dogs hitting fresh scent is often lengthy. Lions generally have extraordinarily large home ranges and often don’t walk the same path more than once over a 2-4 week period. Thus, many more hours and days are spent searching than actually capturing and handling one. If luck is on our side, might capture 1 lion per week. If luck is not on our side, capture 1 lion per month...
 
Look for fresh sign or until hounds catch a fresh scent, hounds get on the cat’s trail and chase until it’s treed or bayed, if in a tree then rig up rope in tree and climb up, dart the cat with an anesthetic, get noose around cat’s leg, lower cat to the ground, check and monitor vitals, strap on GPS collar, give cat reversal drug, watch it walk away.

The process to actually finding fresh sign or dogs hitting fresh scent is often lengthy. Lions generally have extraordinarily large home ranges and often don’t walk the same path more than once over a 2-4 week period. Thus, many more hours and days are spent searching than actually capturing and handling one. If luck is on our side, might capture 1 lion per week. If luck is not on our side, capture 1 lion per month...

Other than scat what other fresh signs would you look for?

If luck is on our side, might capture 1 lion per week. If luck is not on our side, capture 1 lion per month...

How time is reflected above?
 
Other than scat what other fresh signs would you look for?

If luck is on our side, might capture 1 lion per week. If luck is not on our side, capture 1 lion per month...

How time is reflected above?
Tracks, scrapes, kill sites, etc. Males in particular will scrape the dirt to mark territory. Kills are generally unmistakable (buried under bushes, covered with leaves, etc). However, hounds are indispensable during summer and fall, given their extraordinary olfactory capabilities (~50x more receptors in their noses than ours) that can detect lion scent days after the lion passed through. Hounds don’t need to see tracks or anything, just smell what’s been there and they can track it. I used to run trap lines, but hounds can do in 2-3 days what takes me 2 weeks using traps.

Time reflected above is 3-4 days/week for consecutive weeks. Can typically work the hounds that long before they need a couple days off for R & R.
 
Tracks, scrapes, kill sites, etc. Males in particular will scrape the dirt to mark territory. Kills are generally unmistakable (buried under bushes, covered with leaves, etc). However, hounds are indispensable during summer and fall, given their extraordinary olfactory capabilities (~50x more receptors in their noses than ours) that can detect lion scent days after the lion passed through. Hounds don’t need to see tracks or anything, just smell what’s been there and they can track it. I used to run trap lines, but hounds can do in 2-3 days what takes me 2 weeks using traps.

Time reflected above is 3-4 days/week for consecutive weeks. Can typically work the hounds that long before they need a couple days off for R & R.
Truly fascinating. Would love to see some of your photos/videos.
 
You must cover an immense amount of ground in your travels / chase. What type of cool, random schit have you stumbled upon, truly out in the middle of nowhere? Thanks for your time and insight.
 

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