Re: Montana: Man shoots mountain lion taking cat nap in front yard

Man shoots mountain lion taking cat nap in front yard

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20091112/NEWS01/911120305/Man+shoots+mountain+lion+taking+cat+nap+in+front+yard

Frank Weigand first spotted the lounging lion after his pet Pekingese alerted him to the animal outside his home in late October.
"I first thought it was a raccoon, but then I saw that long tail coming down," Weigand said.
Worried about the safety of his 14-year-old daughter and his 12-year-old niece, who frequently play in the front yard, Weigand fired a shot into the trees.
"The lion acted like it wasn't scared of nothing," Weigand said.

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

Its stomach was full of house cats. Yep, we eat our own kind!

Jim

What disturbs me is that there is no mention of trying to get animal control involved or even just hazing the animal.

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

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Frank Furter
What disturbs me is that there is no mention of trying to get animal control involved or even just hazing the animal.

Some people just want an excuse to shoot something.

I didn't post this elaboration of an earlier story (couple of months ago) because it seemed so senseless. but... now that you mention it.
It's called poaching, but seems almost worse. More like wildlife vandalism:

http://www.missoulian.com/news/local/article_5d434bce-ce82-11de-ac94-001cc4c002e0.html?print=1

Game wardens say poaching on increase...
By MICHAEL JAMISON of the Missoulian |
KALISPELL – The poacher who pulled the trigger on Maximus – one of Montana’s greatest grizzlies – left the big bear to waste.
So did the poacher who shot two wolves up near Glacier National Park. And the poacher who killed the big bull elk north of Columbia Falls. And the poacher who dropped the trophy bull moose down along the Jefferson.
Didn’t take the claws, or the skulls, or the antlers, or the meat. Just left them to rot.
“It’s sad,” said Mike Martin, game warden captain with the state Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks. “We’re seeing more and more people going after the biggest and the best. It’s driven by ego – wanting to kill the trophy.”
Maximus was a trophy, a behemoth bear towering 7 1/2 feet and tipping the scales at more than 800 pounds. He wasn’t a troublemaker, wasn’t killing cattle or raiding cabins. He was, in the words of the local bear biologist, just “a big, beautiful, wild bear.”....

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

So the trophy is nothing but bragging rights? I killed a bear! I killed a mountain lion! These people are sick.

Jim

as a small kid learning to hunt and being raised on a ranch i was taught only shot what you can eat don't have to go grab a record if a fatter deer is there to hunt instead of a bigger rack on a deer as a kid i was told if its human life or others are in danger by snakes or what ever and cant be helped better be tried by 12 then carried by 6 ihave been shot at few times in my life by scum poachers go to a ranch gate and have shots put next to you having to call game warden and local sheriffs out (San Benito-Monterrey County ) and had poachers take Beef and only takes parts of the animals and leave the rest

iam a Hunter believer in Hunting major part of fish and game budget comes from true hunters not the slim that has tv shows or hunt from their trucks my motto is if you want to hunt then you better be in shape to hike and carry it out for food

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yosemitecowboy
as a small kid learning to hunt and being raised on a ranch i was taught only shot what you can eat don't have to go grab a record if a fatter deer is there to hunt instead of a bigger rack on a deer as a kid i was told if its human life or others are in danger by snakes or what ever and cant be helped better be tried by 12 then carried by 6 ihave been shot at few times in my life by scum poachers go to a ranch gate and have shots put next to you having to call game warden and local sheriffs out (San Benito-Monterrey County ) and had poachers take Beef and only takes parts of the animals and leave the rest

iam a Hunter believer in Hunting major part of fish and game budget comes from true hunters not the slim that has tv shows or hunt from their trucks my motto is if you want to hunt then you better be in shape to hike and carry it out for food

Takes a little deciphering, but I agree with most of what you have to say. I worry that the concern with mountain lions is exaggerated and used to justify unnecessary destruction. I heard a lecture by a biologist who studied mountain lions in Montana and Wyoming. Interestingly, there are hunting seasons for these animals, yet little is known about the number of animals in the wild-- little or no way to do accurate population studies. Seems strange that quotas would be set for animals that cannot be accurately surveyed. The shootings, especially of mountain lions, for "self defense" often seem gratuitous and opportunistic. I have a healthy respect for rattlesnakes, bison, elk and deer in rut-- nevertheless it is wasteful and selfish shoot everything that produces anxiety.

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

Sometimes people kill off the snakes (as best they can) and then wonder why there as so many rodents to deal with.

Lots of cat sightings in Google news. Don't know if this is typical:


http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_13764670
San Jose Mercury News - ‎Nov 11, 2009‎
REDWOOD CITY — A mountain lion sighting was reported in Redwood City's Emerald Hills neighborhood this afternoon, according to the San Mateo County Office ...


http://www.contracostatimes.com/columns/ci_13773063
Contra Costa Times - Gary Bogue - ‎8 hours ago‎
My husband and I were taking our morning walk Tuesday by way of La Casa Via, behind John Muir Labs in Walnut Creek, and saw a mountain lion in ...


http://www.gilroydispatch.com/news/260894-mountain-lion-spotted-near-christmas-hill-park
Gilroy Dispatch - Sara Suddes - ‎16 hours ago‎
A family out for a stroll came face to face with a "huge" mountain lion Tuesday afternoon. Forging ahead of her husband - who has a broken ...

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

Quote
tomdisco
So the trophy is nothing but bragging rights? I killed a bear! I killed a mountain lion! These people are sick.

Jim

Hopefully they will do a lot of bragging in very public places.

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

Quote
Frank Furter
What disturbs me is that there is no mention of trying to get animal control involved or even just hazing the animal.

The report does note that he tried firing a warning shot into the trees. I think he then shot it when the noise didn't phase it.

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y_p_w
The report does note that he tried firing a warning shot into the trees. I think he then shot it when the noise didn't phase it.

Translation: his first shot missed and he fired off another.

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y_p_w

Quote
Frank Furter
What disturbs me is that there is no mention of trying to get animal control involved or even just hazing the animal.

The report does note that he tried firing a warning shot into the trees. I think he then shot it when the noise didn't phase it.

"...Weigand fired a shot into the trees.
"The lion acted like it wasn't scared of nothing," Weigand said.
The cat was injured, so Weigand fired again, killing it....."


As I read the article, he shot into the tree and the lion was noted to be injured (from the shot?? or other injury is not clear), a second shot dispatched the cat. If the first shot was a warning-- fine, but it sounds like he wounded the cat and required two shots to kill it. If, in fact, the cat was injured from something besides his shot-- that suggests the cat was less of a threat than a normally functional animal and could have been dealt with by some other method as it then would not be viewed as such a threat.

Here is another interesting situation:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-us-odd-unusual-hunt,0,2472513.story

“….Smith, who was unarmed, then saw the big cat about 25 yards away. He backed away slowly and went to call the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Officials said he had two choices — return with friends, making noise to scare the animal away, or purchase a mountain lion hunting license.......”
(This story reveals the true motive. If he had had a weapon, we would be reading a story of a mountain lion killed in self-defense because it was threatening!)

Many mountain lion stories suggest that someone went out of their way to kill the animals. Consider the following recent detailed report from Utah dealing with Bighorn sheep re-introduction:
http://www.sltrib.com/features/ci_13774318
.....That lion preyed on two bighorn. A third lion killed a bighorn in November 2008, but DWR officials are not sure why that animal was killed, as it appears to have preyed on only one sheep.
"To the best of my knowledge, the protocol was followed," said Kevin Bunnell, mammals program coordinator for the DWR. "It may have been a decision of pattern and history." ....

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2009 02:56PM by Frank Furter.