Another Calif. Lion.........

[Lawdog]

Go to http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=5169703 for the story.

In the article it said,

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 “9” 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(or more) 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 it’s 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  We almost got the ban repealed the last time and many outdoors men and women are working to get it over turned.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
 

[oso45-70]

Lawdog,
Its pretty obvious the folks in Kalifornia had the patch on the wrong eye
when they passed this silly law. I have never for the life of me figgered
out where they thought there was a danger of killing all the mt.lions in a state as large and with all the area that they had to roam in. HYPE seems to motivate the masses into stupid actions. The mt. lion has found a haven
knowing its protected. Soon they will become more bold and make man its
first choice as the dinner menu. Its hard to see when you have been hoodwinked. I hope the next time this comes up for a vote the people has a chance to learn the facts and make a decision accardingly....Joe......

[Questor]

Larry King, the interviewer, had a woman on his show the other day who discussed how half of her face was removed by a mountain lion in southern California.

Things have evidently changed a lot with mountain lions during the past 20 years or so. When Peter Capstick wrote  his Maneaters book, he could find very few instances of attacks on humans by mountain lions.  He regarded them as overrated as maneaters because they seemed to be far more benign than their reputation made them out to be.

[Lawdog]

Questor,

When Peter Capstick wrote his Maneaters book, he could find very few instances of attacks on humans by mountain lions. He regarded them as overrated as maneaters because they seemed to be far more benign than their reputation made them out to be.

If Capstick had done his homework he would have found out that in a 30 year period, 1972 - 2002, alone there were 74 confirmed Mountain Lion attacks in North America.  Fourteen of which ended in death.  In California during the same time period there were 21 Mountain Lion attacks(in that time period the first one was reported in 1986), 6 of these ending in death.  If the Mountain Lion Coalition and the Sierra Club were right about there only being 9 lions left in the wild in California then and now there is an estimated 30,000, this has got to be one of the greatest examples of animals making a come back in recent history.  Small groups and tight lines to you.  Lawdog
 

[dangerranger]

I remember when the mtn lion bill was being pushed,where was almost no discussion of it outside of the main population centers.That way those hearing the message were unlikely to have ever seen a lion or a fresh kill.Thats when I realised that small towns dont count for much in Cal politics.

[michbob]

People assume that animal rights looneis CARE if humans get killed by the beasties.  This is a dangerous misconception.  Humans are (to them) no more significant than a prarie dog, turtle, or snail.

Remember that your average human is a pretty soft target for a preditory critter, and there are more and more of us running around out there.

Michbob.