gutpyle

I went last saturday and looked at a piece of land so my wife and I can build a cabin. on our way into the property, we jumped two bucks and six does. then, while we were walking it, we jumped two more does. as we were walking, we found the lower part of a fawns leg that had been killed by a lion. after a little research, I have since found out theres an estimated 8000 lions in the mountain range. in my opinion, they need to be hunted before the deer herd gets slaughtered by them. I was told an adult lion kills 1 deer a week. then today, my mail man said not to worry, that they only catch the weak and old and an occasional fawn. do you agree? shouldnt they be hunted?

muley69

Mountain lions kill almost whatever they want. A 110 pound female has the capability of bringing down a 700 hundred pound bull elk. After a stalk they will jump thier prey, planting their teech around the spine in the neck, then hooking their claw into the animals nose. With tremedous force they rank snapping the preys neck, death is instant and the entire kill my take only seconds. Mountain lions have the highest pound for pound killing ratio of any cat in the world. To say they only kill the weak and old is inaccurate, they kill whatever animal presents them with the best opportunity, yes they should be hunted.

Georgetownboys

While a mountain lion may be capable of making a kill on a Deer each week, it is unlikely they really do so, many other small critters will be included in their diet, to perhaps include small doppy domestic animals. But regardless. . . IMO. . . .I think it is a good thing that the eco system is healthy enough to support such a grand animal. So perhaps in reality this animal with a range that could be in the 100s of miles may take 20/30 Weak, old and otherwise inferrior animals each year. Sounds like they may actaully be helping us the hunters and helping to insure only the biggest and best genes (sp?) continue on.

While I love to hunt, I do admit I struggle with shooting animals I wouldn't eat, I wonder what cats taste like. I do have a mountain lion that has left his signs all over the ranch I hunt, One of our guests even shot and missed last fall. We have lots of Deer and Feral pigs, I hope our cat perfers the taste of pork. I would love to see him but must admit I would struggle with taking the shot. Sure would look good with a full body mount.

zekeskar

A lot of my hunting friends disagree with me, but oh well. I don't hunt predators and probably never will. I don't agree with the folks who think predators should be eliminated to improve hunting for us sport hunters.

I would have absolutely no problem killing one that was in any way threatening me or my family (e.g. a nuisance bear or a cat that was near where I was living and was dangerous), but really have no desire to kill one for sport. I do whatever I can when in the wilderness to avoid this situation and am proud that having seen many dozens of grizzleys in the wild, have never had a dangerous encounter.

I definitely think the wilds are better and more valuable to me personally if there's predators out there. It's part of nature's balance and to me indicates a healthier wilderness. I do believe, as a human consumer of wild game, in managed balance, and respect the reduction of predators if the professionals think it's needed, but I'd personally rather see some of the balance of game animals maintained by wild predators rather than just by humans. Yes, from time to time, it just might mean a little less for the sport hunters to hunt, but I think the presence of wild predators is worth it. Just one guy's opinion.

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NVMIKE

The idea that predators only take the weak and old is TOTAL POLITICAL CORRECTNESS< NATURE BY DISNEY BS. whether they should be hunted in your area depends on the prey population and your (or the mailmans) picture perfect ideals of how they think nature is supposed to be is niether here nor there. In many areas the cats are truely rare and should not be hunted for that reason alone. But out west they are not rare(just rarely seen) and they do attack and kill mostly healthy animals, and lots of them. Here in nevada they kill wild horses quite often. My neighbor and I saw a lion attack a HUGE 5x5 bull elk that was fit as a fiddle. He missed this time, but I guarantee ANY deer would've been dead meat. As someone said before, lions are also extremely skilled hunters. SMall game will not keep a lion going or even interest them unless they are starving..

Askel

Being a Yooper I can tell you it makes me a bit nervous that they are having a significant come back in the U.P. and being spotted with more regularity than ever before. Talked to a friend of mine last week that was baiting his brother in laws bait pile for bear and would notice a bit of meat gone each time he came back. So he started to circle on out from the pile until he hit a deer trail and found a significant number of cat tracks to and from the pile.
He said no more baiting for him.
Wolves and bears don't bother me the same way a big cat does. They like to stalk their prey. The bears and wolves are something I run into on occasion in the woods and have always taken off in the other direction as soon as they noticed me.

North Texan

One of our hunters asked me which one of our neighbors has a 200 lbs. dog. They said the tracks were huge. They were not actually dog tracks, they were a big cat. It has been seen occassionally for the last couple of years. But we haven't had any problems. It has not affected our deer population and we have not lost any livestock. A big cat's effect on a deer herd is not as negative as some people might think. I have never seen ANY predator take a healthy animal, domestic or wild. Predators, especially cats, look for easy prey. Healthy animals are hard to chase and sharp hooves and horns can cause injury. Our hunters have seen it several times, and I have even called one up with a predator call, but everyone seems to be in agreement that it should be left alone. Cats just aren't the threat they are made out to be.

NEB.BuckHunter

We haven't had a major problem here in Nebraska. They are beginning to make a presence here in the state again. Last year, one was tranquilized in downtown Omaha....the middle of a metropolitan area!!! A lot of citizens were mentioning that they were missing their family pets, only to find out that it was the moutain lion that took take of them. So, it's not only sick or weak animals that they prey on, it's family pets too.

thecontractor

i for one would give my right well you know.......arm to even see mountain lions let alone be able to live among them. i think they are fantastic animals that deserve not only our respect but our help to preserve them. with that being said, i do think that they should be hunted to control the population just like any other animal on the planet. i also think that aggresive cats should be eradicated immidiately just like any other animal that could pose a threat to humans or demosticated animals.