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Los Lunas mother to testify on proposal to thin cougar population ( New Mexico )
News-Bulletin ^ | 28 August 2010 | Dana Bowley

Posted on 08/28/2010 5:51:19 PM PDT by george76

Salazar's 5-year-old son was attacked and severely mauled by a cougar that tried to drag the boy off a well-used hiking trail and into the woods in the Sandia Mountains outside of Albuquerque. The story was so frightening that it made national news.

"People would say that it was just an accident. That it was extremely rare, just a rare accident." ...Convinced that three attacks in three months didn't qualify as rare...

In 2006 and 2007, there were nine reported ... In 2008, there were 40 reported encounters before the attack on her son in May.

This led her into more research, where, she said, she discovered that both cougar and bear encounters, and attacks, were not as "rare" as people were being led to believe.

And, she found, there were encounters being reported in areas where there weren't supposed to be any of the predators, leading her to believe that population estimates weren't correct.

She began urging Game and Fish officials to take a hard look at predator populations, and their recent research has confirmed Salazar's suspicions. After discovering a flaw in its modeling, the department says there are 11 percent more bears and 72 percent more cougars than it had previously estimated.

This, Salazar said, explains why there have been an increasing number of reports of bears and cougars showing up inside cities looking for food, because despite good conditions the past few years their habitats are overpopulated. That forces younger animals out of established feeding areas that are dominated by older ones.

In the meantime, Salazar has formed an organization to support the Game and Fish proposal — New Mexicans for Proactive Wildlife Predator Management — which, she said, now has more than 450 members...

(Excerpt) Read more at news-bulletin.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; US: New Mexico
KEYWORDS: animalrights; ar; bear; bears; cougar; cougars; esa; farming; hunting; peta; predator; predators; ranching; wildlife
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1 posted on 08/28/2010 5:51:23 PM PDT by george76
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To: george76

thin cougar population?

skinny old ladies after young guys?


2 posted on 08/28/2010 5:53:43 PM PDT by mamelukesabre (Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum (If you want peace prepare for war))
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To: george76
Thin me?


3 posted on 08/28/2010 5:55:00 PM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: CedarDave; LegendHasIt; Rogle; leapfrog0202; Santa Fe_Conservative; DesertDreamer; ...

NM ping


4 posted on 08/28/2010 5:55:32 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar (*)
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To: CedarDave; jazusamo; GladesGuru; rellimpank; null and void; LucyT; Candor7; Carry_Okie; Concho; ...

Helping to restore balance to the ecosystem while proactively addressing public safety


5 posted on 08/28/2010 5:56:27 PM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: Still Thinking

I’ll testify to that population.


6 posted on 08/28/2010 5:57:12 PM PDT by mamelukesabre (Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum (If you want peace prepare for war))
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To: Still Thinking

Let me take her off your hands. Consider it Glenn Beck-inspired charity.


7 posted on 08/28/2010 5:57:57 PM PDT by REDWOOD99
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To: george76

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCahi92EY1k


8 posted on 08/28/2010 5:59:44 PM PDT by Krankor (What a field day for the heat. A thousand people in the street)
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To: george76

“She began urging Game and Fish officials to take a hard look at predator populations, and their recent research has confirmed Salazar’s suspicions. After discovering a flaw in its modeling, the department says there are 11 percent more bears and 72 percent more cougars than it had previously estimated.”

Slight bureaucratic discrepancy.


9 posted on 08/28/2010 6:01:11 PM PDT by headstamp 2 ("My Boss is a Jewish Carpenter")
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To: george76

I suspect this thread will go downhill fast!


10 posted on 08/28/2010 6:05:05 PM PDT by rahbert
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To: rahbert; Krankor; Still Thinking; mamelukesabre
I suspect this thread will go downhill fast!

Can't anyone be serious here?

How To Survive a Cougar Attack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VshBT5Ua4uo

11 posted on 08/28/2010 6:15:30 PM PDT by Screaming_Gerbil (...he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one... Luke 22:36)
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on Facebook : New Mexicans for Wildlife Predator Management.

Public comment on the proposed bear and cougar hunting rules can be emailed to nmdept.ofgameandfish@state.nm.us the public comment period ends Sept. 30, 2010.

http://www.currentargus.com/carlsbad-communitynews/ci_15895810


12 posted on 08/28/2010 6:16:45 PM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76
My first and only encounter with a cougar was safely behind a fence at a Colorado wild animal exhibit. Think of a huge, wild-eyed cat that does not purr like a housecat. No way could a cougar be tamed.

I was there at feeding time. The owner of the preserve got frozen outdated whole chickens for the cougars. He threw a couple into the cage. Each chicken was the size of a human head. I still shudder when I think of the crunching sound.

13 posted on 08/28/2010 6:24:45 PM PDT by Slyfox
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To: REDWOOD99
Let me take her off your hands. Consider it Glenn Beck-inspired charity.

Well, she's not actually ON my hands, although....

14 posted on 08/28/2010 6:24:52 PM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: mamelukesabre

Obammy will take care of thinning that population with death care, pronto!


15 posted on 08/28/2010 6:25:38 PM PDT by SaraJohnson
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To: Jet Jaguar; LegendHasIt; Rogle; leapfrog0202; Santa Fe_Conservative; DesertDreamer; ...

NM list PING!

(The NM list is available on my FR homepage for anyone to use. Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the list. For ABQ Journal articles requiring a subscription, scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the article for free after watching a short video commercial.)

16 posted on 08/28/2010 6:27:42 PM PDT by CedarDave (Ten-year anniversary - proudly Freeping since Aug 17, 2000)
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To: Screaming_Gerbil
How To Survive a Cougar Attack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VshBT5Ua4uo

LOL

17 posted on 08/28/2010 6:30:10 PM PDT by CedarDave (Ten-year anniversary - proudly Freeping since Aug 17, 2000)
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To: george76

Good article...Glad to see Game and Fish paid attention to Charlotte Salazar and admitted their errors.

Maybe CA and CO will reassess their methods and numbers after this finding by NM but am not holding my breath.


18 posted on 08/28/2010 6:58:42 PM PDT by jazusamo (But there really is no free lunch, except in the world of political rhetoric,.: Thomas Sowell)
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To: george76

Could we just re-home them down next to Mexico for border protection? The libs just love “Survival of the Fittest” scenarios, it’s part of their creed.


19 posted on 08/28/2010 7:02:03 PM PDT by GWMcClintock ("When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Ps. 11:3)
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To: Screaming_Gerbil

“Can’t anyone be serious here?”

ROFLMAO!!!


20 posted on 08/28/2010 7:04:45 PM PDT by REDWOOD99
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