Earlier this weeks a 126-pound Mountain Lion killed and ate a 7-pound Jack Russell Terrier near Rapid City, South Dakota. The Mountain Lion was hunted down with hounds and killed for his transgression.
Mountain Lions are slowly making their way east -- there are known Mountain Lions in Iowa, and evidence of cougar in Virginia and West Virginia has been found. Most of the lions moving east are young males, like the cougar found in South Dakota.
As far as I am concerned, a lion that kills an occasional small dog or cat in a rural area should be left alone.
The penalty for human stupidity should not be the death of a magnificent animal.
.
6 comments:
sounds great until its your dog or child.
Cougars are now fairly common in Illinois
Not according to the Illinois DNR which says the state does not have a breeding cougar population.
The first confirmed cougar in the state of Illinois in 135 years was found in 2000 when one was hit by a train. The second confirmed cougar in Illinois was in 2004. See >> http://media.www.dailyvidette.com/media/storage/paper420/news/2004/12/07/State/Cougar.Found.In.Midwest-823249.shtml
I believe the 2008 cat killed in Chicago was only the third confirmed cougar found in the state, and this cat was repeatedly seen and reported for weeks as he traveled east from Wisconsin.
Wisconsin does have a very, very small breeding population of cougar -- perhaps a half dozen animals or so.
P.
Well I agree. People continue to move in on mountain lion territory which forces the cats to either move out or stay. Then,some of these cats see little dogs on the outskirts of town, and a seven pound dog is a nice little snack for one of these cats. So they're going to go where the food is. People make it so easy for them.They're starting to become accustomed to urban areas. I am sorry for those people who've lost their dogs, but what other options do we give these mysterious cats.
Just today, I was out deer hunting and we came across a patch of blood in the snow with some fur around it. Soon we noticed mountain lion tracks and they were dragging a deer judging by the smooth plowed track through the snow. We ended up finding the carcass under a dead tree. It was really eerie. Talk about being on edge. It shows you how life and just survival out in the forest isn't always pretty.
But if we keep killing every cat that has a little meal(that happens to be your pet), what does that do for us? They're not domestic animals, they don't have any rules. They just have instinct.
I'm just saying that these magnificent cats are truly very interesting creatures. I believe they are to be respected and there is a point where you must draw the line on what is becoming too dangerous. But the killing of one dog(for survival), should not end in the death of a mountain lion.
Why do people kill it? Because as a society it seems we strive to remove what we fear. Mountain lions are a creature of the wild and thats the way they always will be.
I love the idea of lions and grizzlies and wolves, in wilderness areas. If I am in their backyard I will let them be if they let me be. If they are in my backyard, cats beware. I am a predator of nature too and I WILL protect my livestock, my pets, and my family. Man is part of nature too and it is my instinct to kill anything, animal OR human that threatens my loved ones.
There are so many examples of humans taking risks and living with fairly high levels of risk. Everytime you pass an oncoming vehicle at highway speed you are only 2-4 feet away from sudden death. But we manage that risk with technology, skill and experience. We can do the same for potentially dangerous animals. Removing them should be the last resort in our tool kit for managing that risk, just as we don't remove oncoming traffic just because there was an accident, etc, etc.
Tim
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