It was mountain lions around here. I haven't seen one, but I've seen tracks back in the late 90's. That was around Kansasidi's area
I have a picture of one that was around here, I think that’s on an old phone, I’d have to do some digging to find it, that was a few years ago.
I’ve seen it since then, pretty sure we still have them.
You can hear it scream every now and then. Their screams are louder and raspier than a bobcat’s. They have a deep menacing growl.
About a year and some months ago one out in the cornfield behind the house that big cat (I assume and hope it’s the same one) decided to attack a bobcat, holy hell did that ever wake up everyone in a four mile radius. I have a real bright 120v handheld spotlight that I keep in the house, I remember seeing them back there, the bobcat was dead and the big cat gone before I could get back with a boom stick.
Pretty sure that big menace of a cat has poached a few calves… and definitely once tore up a cow, scratched her up real bad, clearly not the work of coyotes…
And yes, sometimes at night, when outside, especially with the house lights off, especially when it’s cooler out, for the last several years, one feels very muchly so like they are being watched, and I would guess it’s that big cat. Wish that creep would pack up and leave, there aren’t too many deer round here… now about 30-40 miles north, there are, hell there’s elk up around Manhattan now…
There’s another one of those big cats up around Alta Vista that I have also seen, scared the ever living hell out of me, ran right past me through the brush while I was on an ATV.
Beavers flooded the farm pond and thus the lower 1/4 of the farm yard, a few months ago. They’ve been around awhile, but their damage got pretty bad and we had to intervene with a boom stick and excavator
We have bald eagles too
And plenty of varmints, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, possums, snakes, lots of snakes… and mice and frogs… and frickin bugs.
I haven’t seen them, but have heard there’s otters in the Council Grove lake.