Posted on 12/19/2014 5:41:58 AM PST by Scoutmaster
A Fish and Wildlife official near Paris, Kentucky responded to the call about a young male mountain lion in a tree and though it best to 'dispatch it.'
Once native to the state, cougars have not been spotted there since before the Civil War.
An agency spokesman said, 'it seemed to be in very healthy condition' and that shooting it was the proper course of action
An examination of a mountain lion killed by a Kentucky Fish and Wildlife official has found that it was a 125-pound male that appeared to be young and healthy.
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(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I think many park rangers must be brain damaged. Why would it be impossible for mt. lions to establish themselves in a state like Ky.?
They actually reintroduced elk in the area years ago which has been a huge success. Have been there during rut and they are pretty darn awesome. They are protected so not the least bit afraid of humans.
http://www.buffaloriverchamber.com/attraction_ponca_elk_ed.html#axzz3MMXo9IBv
Typical Southern male attitude, they see a cougar in their area, and the first thought that pops into their mind is to nail the thing.
That is incorrect, dozens have been killed by them.
Google "fatal mountain lion attacks" for a partial listing.
The one that was killed in CT was a young male. He must have been looking for a new territory to call his own.
The same thing happened in Chicago a couple years back. It made the national news. This cougar had been seen around the northern suburbs for months. The authorities told everyone they were mistaken. It could not be mountain lion. Finally it came right into the north part of the city. The Chicago cops cornered it in an alley and shot it dead with their handguns about 25 times. Again they said it must have been an escaped pet. Turned out it was a wild cat.
The Ivory Billed was 'highly endangered,' or 'extinct' in various degrees for about 60 years before they discovered one in Arkansas in the mid-2000s. Then researchers from Auburn found more near the the Choctawhatchee.
Before that, there was a grainy B&W photo from the late 60s or early 70s, dismissed by many as a fraud, and a few other 'yeah, right' sightings. There were even Ivory-billed Woodpecker expeditions.
There weren't as many sightings as those of bigfoot, but then again the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was 'extinct,' not just cryptozoological.
There's more wildlife out there than we know; just look at the number of 'new' insects catalogued each day.
Not an Ashley Judd ping?
It may be apples and oranges, but the 'Southern' bit doesn't 'splain to me why Pennsylvania and Michigan are among the top three states in total number of deer hunters, or why Michigan and Wisconsin are in the top three in deer harvest per year, or why the top three bowhunting states are all in the upper midwest, of why the hunter density in the US is highest in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New York, and Rhode Island.
If you want to shoot things, go to Pennsylvania.
My brother's in-laws are a big rural Pennsylvania family. When they take family photos, they don't have to tell the kids to stand still for the photographer. They kids know that if they move, they'll get shot by somebody 3/4 of a mile away.
I owe you a meal.
They’re official representatives of the NPS, Dept of the Interior and Federal Government. The expectation is that they’ll toe the gubmint line.
Look at it this way, official policy is to deny they’re there. So “Bob Johnson” goes up to “Ranger Smith” and mentions seeing one. Ranger Smith says “Suppose so” and then Bob cites Ranger Smith as validating the sighting (or at least the possbility of one) on his FB page.
Ranger Smith is going to be in a world of hurt for that.
In the last 20 years, I’ve seen two in PA. A guy down here hit one with his truck, reported it and was immediately shut up.
Mountain lions are not a threat.....You are absolutely correct. As long as he isn’t gnawing on your neck.
It was a joke, and it wasn’t about hunting.
As someone who likes to camp alone and hike alone at night, I would just as soon not have any Mountain Lions stalking me or lying in wait.
“As someone who likes to camp alone and hike alone at night, I would just as soon not have any Mountain Lions stalking me or lying in wait.”
As someone who, like my neighbours, regularly strolls unarmed through country populated by black bears and cougars, and visited by the occasional wolf and grizzly bear, I find the walk enhanced by the knowledge that there are animals in the forest that could possibly do me harm.
OTOH, I don’t hike alone at night!
Do research. Mountain lions kill deer. Deer kill people. The math is not debatable.
Your explanation makes sense for certain situations and circumstances, but I don't see how acknowledging the possibility that mt. lions may have returned to their former ranges represents a problem for the gov't. There's plenty of food, plenty of space and nothing in the world to prevent them from getting into Ky. A pointless denial just makes them look like the lying clowns they too frequently are.
Cougars kill as well, and they prefer to kill in circumstances that hikers and campers and trail bicyclists don’t like.
Deer feed us and are countless in number, Cougar are just a dangerous predator that the left wants to increase in number.
You need to stay out of the woods. Too scary for you.
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