[Paleo Conservative]

I wonder how many letters of support the mountain lion will receive,

[Gunrunner2]

Countless.

The real question is how many of those letters will be from people willing to sacrifice their own lives, limbs or children for the poor ol mountain lion.

[76834]

Not from here but something to think about:
Apparently the mountain lion was starving and there is a great chance that she had cubs to feed.
The woman in question represented an answer to both problems.
I would have suggested that the hiking party be armed but that wouldnt have worked either. The cat would have been on them before they could have drawn a weapon.

[FITZ]

We probably have to decide if there should be any wild places in this country --- kill all the wild animals and be done with it. Urban sprawl is going on at such a rapid rate that there is not much room for wilderness areas and it's always going to be dangerous for people to hike where the wild animals are.