[Ford-ferguson] Protection from big cats

[David]

cwi813 at mchsi.com wrote:

> Hi.  I need your creative help.  My local DNR says I need a golf cart 
> with a bench seat so if/when a cougar comes my way (they are 
> everywhere in my farming area, have "taken" a dog from between two 
> adult men coming out of their kitchen during the day directly across 
> the road from me, etc.) I can simply slide over on the seat in the 
> other direction so it won't bother me. (And the moon does not exist 
> out there either according to them.) Not practical, I've got a 60-acre 
> CRP with waist-high to shoulder-high grass and will sell it if the 
> wildlife gets even a sliver more bold.  A golf cart isdesigned for 
> mown grass.
>
> What options are there for me to be on my Ford-Ferguson 9N (a metal 
> "cage" over me and my tractor seat") so I can get home safetly at the 
> end of my day? It's top speed is about 8 MPH, I'm always by myself and 
> home is 200 miles away (one way).  This last Fall was the first year 
> in Iowa's history that there has been a Bobcat season, too.
>
> Thanks.
>
> CJ Wilhelmi

This is a pretty bizarre coincidence, because just last week I saw my 
first "I'm sure it was a" cougar around here, in the woods in central 
Minnesota. We're in a pretty isolated spot, a barely-traveled road -- 
and there it was,  just standing in the middle of the road, looking 
surprised.

I'd love to hear more about your local DNR's "ideas" here. Around here, 
from what I can tell, they're trying to decide whether they're really 
here or not, so that if they are, they can... well, list them as 
endangered and forbid anyone from harming them of course. Uh, thanks, 
guys.

If a predator of this sort wants you, from reading all the nature books 
the impression I get is, you ain't gonna see it coming. I would guess 
they'd not be interested in somebody on top of a tractor, though -- my 
guess is that spectacle looks to a wild animal like one honkin' big 
loud smoky elephant-sized monster, and not just your edible little 
self. My advice? "Never get off the boat!" (okay, tractor)

(I carry a 9mm Glock with 18 bullets in it when I go out a mile blowing 
snow. I'm just saying.)