The Mountain Lion Dilemma : Why shooting them won’t make people any safer

For centuries, humans have spotted mountain lions in what is now California. In recent times, the sightings have been rare and in most cases the cougars have fled. But sometimes, usually when the animals were injured or young, they attacked. Last year, there were fatal attacks on people for the first time in 85 years--a jogger near Sacramento and a hiker in San Diego County were killed by the big cats.

The deaths provided an opening for hunters wanting to bag the predators. Today the state Senate Appropriations Committee is due to consider a bill repealing Proposition 117, which passed in 1990 and made permanent a 1972 ban on most hunting of mountain lions. If the bill passes the Legislature, it will go on the ballot next year.

The legislation is premature. There have been increasing contacts between the animals and human beings in the last few years, but wildlife biologists say the cause may be not an increase in the number of cougars but more human forays into their territory. Nor is there persuasive evidence that hunting would reduce their contacts with humans. Most mountain lion attacks on human beings in North America occur in British Columbia, where hunting is allowed.

The most recent major study of the animals in California was undertaken after separate attacks on two children in an Orange County wilderness park nine years ago. Researchers found that as development destroyed the animals’ habitat and cars became their killers, the mountain lion population began to leave the area.

More studies of mountain lion activity in the state are needed because proponents and foes of hunting cannot even agree on how many of the animals exist; the state Fish and Game Department estimates 5,000 to 6,000. Cougars can be killed legally if they destroy livestock or pose an imminent danger to humans. Last year 131 mountain lions were killed in California.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Tim Leslie (R-Carnelian Bay), says “ballot box management” of the animals, which are not an endangered or threatened species, is causing increasing problems for farmers, police officers and suburban homeowners who suddenly find cougars in their back yards. One beneficial aspect of the Senate bill would be having the department establish a management plan for mountain lions. But the Legislature can already do that, using part of the $30 million a year set aside under the terms of Proposition 117 to buy habitat for all wildlife.

More public education is needed: If a cougar confronts you, don’t run away; shout and try to appear as tall as possible. See that children in mountain lion territory always are with adults.