Re: Police kill mountain lion in California

19 May 2004, 11:49

Mountain lion attack

A couple of weeks ago I posted a link on national mountain lion attacks - Wildlife officials in most states seem to want to bury these stories as "freak accidents"

Toolmaker

19 May 2004, 12:02

Toolmaker

National Moutain Lion Attacks

This is the site I posted previously in the Varmint hunting forum on this subject

Toolmaker

18 May 2004, 15:16

mehulkamdar

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=5169703

18 May 2004, 15:37

B17G

But these animals are so wonderful and need to be protected.

The kill that the article mentions in January happened very near my folk's home in So California.

The lion attacked and killed one guy and had attacked another but was fought off, it was the one that fought it off, that reported it to the police, or they may not have found the one that had been killed earlier by it, and that was on the same day.

19 May 2004, 07:20

RogerK

When I lived in Sacramento, Fish and Game darted and removed a mountain lion from Alumni Park on the American River on the camous of California State University. That's miles from the city limits, almost in downtown. The lion was watching picnicers. At around the same time, they darted and removed another lion in a residential area. Then a lion killed and ate a woman up in the Sierra foothills. I saw her body. Not pretty. California needs a hunting season on lions.

19 May 2004, 09:59

Tom Harger

Arizona Game & Fish killed a moutain lion just N. of Tucson yesterday. Had stalked a couple of bike riders and was stalking them when they shot it.

19 May 2004, 10:22

Lawdog_Gary

In the article it said,

Quote:

Although mountain lions are very rare in California's residential areas, they have occasionally proved dangerous in less populated regions.

just goes to prove that Reuters hasn't done their research. Back when the animal rights nuts got the Mountain Lion hunting ban enacted they did so by showing so called studies/surveys that were supposed to prove that there were only ï¿½9ï¿½ Mountain Lions left in California. Thus the Mountain Lion was in need of protecting so as not to disappear from California. What surprised me at the time was the law makers actually believed the data the Mountain Lion Coalition and the Sierra Club presented. Now it is estimated that their are somewhere between 16,000 and 30,000 Mountain Lions in California. They regularly show up in large housing tracks and even on grammar school grounds(in San Jose 2002). They have darted lions in L. A., Sacramento and even in the hills above Oakland. Rural Californians have learned to keep small dogs and house cats indoors at night or loose them. If there is any state that needs a Mountain Lion hunting season itï¿½s California. We almost got the ban repealed the last time and many outdoors men and women are working to get it over turned. Maybe the next time it when we get it on the ballot we will succeed. Lawdog

19 May 2004, 12:31

prof242

Really what we need is to continue the ban on mountain lion hunting, introduce wolves from Yellowstone, and introduce brown bears from Alaska. Of course, there would be no hunting on the two latter species also.

Do ya suppose we could let them loose inside some city limits?

19 May 2004, 12:48

Toolmaker

Don't get me started on the shannigans going on with the Wolves at Yellowstone!

Toolmaker

19 May 2004, 13:19

DigitalDan

5# Feloin, cubed
1 cp Water Chestnuts
2 cp celery
2 cp carrots
1 tsp ginger
1 tbs grlic
1 sliced onion
4 chicken bullion cubes
1 cp red wine
Salt & Pepper to taste

Stew and serve over wild rice. Tastes like chicken.

Dan

Pres., TYGC

www.HotPussy.ToGo

19 May 2004, 13:51

Skinner

Quote:

they did so by showing so called studies/surveys that were supposed to prove that there were only ï¿½9ï¿½ Mountain Lions left in California

Actually the study they cited was done by Carl Koford, an ornithologist from UC Berkeley. He did a track survey on the roads in a 100 sq.mi. section of the North Kings Range back about 1971. He found 4 distinct sets of lion prints and using an old formula for habitat suitability came up with the figure of less than 600 for the entire state. It was that data which was used to argue for a moratorium on lion sport take in the legislature in 1972, which they got.

Odd thing is that a few years later the USFS and CADFG did a study on lions and deer in the same area using hounds to catch and collar lions. They caught 22 lions over the three year study.

Mountain Lions and the North Kings Deer Herd

And it's been pretty well established that track surveys are a very poor indicator for feline abundance.

Quote:

Now it is estimated that their are somewhere between 16,000 and 30,000 Mountain Lions in California.

That figure is not correct, the best estimate is about 6,000 lions in CA currently. Which is a hell of a lot. I think you've confused the lion numbers with that of the black bear population estimates which we're pretty certain exceeds 30,000 statewide.

Here's a pretty good series of articles on CA mountain lions from 1996 when we had Prop. 197 on the ballot to overturn the lion provisions of 1990's Prop. 117.

MOUNTAIN LIONS IN CALIFORNIA: EXPANDING THE DIALOGUE

Quote:

If there is any state that needs a Mountain Lion hunting season itï¿½s California.

Hunting needs to be a part of an overall management plan but it alone will not solve the problem. We need our snares back for control work and a lot more flexibility in removing lions from some areas whether they pose a threat or not.

And one of the things Prop. 117 did was to remove the ability for hounddoggers to pursue lions. Even though they didn't take any we think it served a valuable purpose in adversely conditioning the cats to humans. Be nice to have that occurring again.

Problem with sport take is that the vast majority of lions will be taken in areas far from suburbia or the parklands where lions pose a threat to people. Therefore we need a bit more than just a lion season.

There are other factors absent now in CA that served as a defacto lion management program but that's another ballot initiative and a changing land use issue.

I'm waaaaay too familiar with the CA mountain lion issue having spent far too much time sitting through F&G Commission, Assembly, Senate and court hearings and going through a couple ballot initiatives. Along with all the research and running around for the political BS. Aside from actually being in the field which I prefer.

We could overturn or modify 117 to allow for management, but it's a time consuming and expensive process.

One thing that's interesting is that Dateline NBC did an excellent piece on CA lions that made the case for management in 1996. It was shown the night AFTER the election where Prop. 197 would have overturned it. The reporter for Dateline was Maria Shriver, who is now CA's first lady.