|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A celebration of a new law authored by state Sen. Jerry Hill that protects mountain lions is set for 11 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 1, at Mac Dutra Park in Half Moon Bay.
The law allows wardens from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife some flexibility in dealing with mountain lions found in areas populated by humans but that are not seen as a threat to human life. The shooting death of two cubs in Half Moon Bay in 2012 and another shooting in Redwood City in 2011 led to the legislation by Sen. Hill.
The law allows the DFW to contact wildlife groups and nonprofits for assistance, including in tranquilizing and capturing the animals.
By Dave Boyce
By Dave Boyce
By Dave Boyce
Mountain lions are a big problem especially to the locals were they are encountering them .They are losing there dogs and cats to them as mountain lion loves to snack on these animals and it is easy prey for them . Lets not forget some people have been killed by them .But also the mountain lions follow deer heard’s . a single mountain lion kills a deer every 9 to 14 days on average so you can see a lot of deer die .In some places, the mountain lion population has exploded were there traditionally was a lot of deer, there is none now and it is not due to human hunting but because there are a concentration of mountain lions in particular deer routes . I have seen my share of them especially at night .One must also remember like a cat , mountain lions like to kill more than they can eat .Many instances were multiple animals are killed by mountain lions but not even eaten or had a bite taken out of them .Unchecked as there population grows under protective status, there will be more lethal encounters to domestic animals and even human beings . DFG are clueless to the actual numbers they produce in terms of how many mountain lions are out there as they use data that is outdated and guestimated . By putting them on protected status they have exploded in populations and some local communities im aware of don’t have there kids or pets out at night because they roam the neighborhoods at night , especially foot hill communities . Even the local indian tribes say they are encountering more and more mountain lions on there land as well .
Of course the easy retort is, “the mountain lions have lived in these hills long before any humans”.
Your last sentence sums it up – adjust your habits and be smart about leaving yourself, your family or your pets exposed. You are living in the Mtn Lions’ habitat, not the other way around