Opinion: Mountain lions belong in the Santa Monica Mountains. Alpacas don’t.

To the editor: I am writing in (horrified) response to the news that there is a bounty on the head of one of the most beautiful, resilient and inspiring members of the Santa Monica Mountains wildlife community: mountain lion P-45. Those of us familiar with his story know that he’s overcome incredible odds over the past five years and that his genetic profile offers real hope to the endangered local mountain lion population. (“Save P-45,” editorial, Nov. 30)

Here are my three suggestions to put an end to this tragic hunt: revoke, reason, restitution.

If at all possible, revoke the hunting permit from the ranchers.

Reason with the rancher whose alpacas were killed by P-45, starting with sending her The Times’ compelling editorial.

As for restitution, we should start a fund to compensate for the loss of the alpacas. The rancher would, in turn, have to forfeit the current hunting license and promise to refrain from seeking another “depredation permit” in the future. I’d be the first to contribute.

Teddi Lynn Chichester, Orange

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To the editor: Mountain lions are top predators that cannot be hunted. They are decimating the California deer population, and their growing numbers cause them to hunt in populated areas.

Lions are out of balance with their natural food source because of laws that overprotect them. Most certainly citizens should protect themselves and their animal property against this predator. Currently, a predation permit is the only legal way, and anyone criticizing such action is either naive to the ways of a lion predator or is physically or emotionally removed from people who must deal with them.

Better would be to allow the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to better manage their numbers by permitting limited hunting of mountain lions.

John Burk, Santa Barbara

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To the editor: One thing that residents in traditional lion country can do is stop introducing nonnative species. Cattle, sheep and goats pose enough problems for sane wildlife management. Domestic cats and dogs are best kept indoors lest they end up as morsels for a native carnivore’s meal.

Alpacas are an exotic species. If someone insists on raising here, he or she needs to take extraordinary precautions, which should not include killing local lions.

Organizations like the Mountain Lion Foundation have programs to help ranchers and others who husband nonnative species build pens that can keep a determined mountain lion out. Baiting, keeping guard dogs or shooting a lion might be quick solutions, but they are ultimately not more effective and certainly less ecologically wise and humane.

Kathryn A. Klar, Richmond

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