Splinter topic from our discussion on the SF Whistle Fest thread…
Rats! Now what’s going to keep those pesky little children in check?
Those guys musta been freaked out. They couldn’t wait for someone with a dart and the felt it was a threat.
There are many, many wildcats around these days but it’s still a shame.
I agree, it’s a shame. What’s wrong with these people? They couldn’t call animal control and get tranquilizers, they just had to shoot it!
J.
Apparently it was starting to run off, and they didn’t want to lose it. It is a shame, though.
I gotta admit, though, I was impressed that an 11-year-old black lab managed to tree it…
Steven
In fairness, multiple darts might have been required, and fired by sharpshooters to even hit the animal, which was moving. Unreliable formula.
Also, to relocate it, away from people, is not guaranteed success as the cats are territorial and it would have had to fight its way into some new ecosystem.
This is just going to happen more and more. Since ranchers lost the ability legally, to hunt, trap or poison cats and coyotes (unless there is demonstrable loss of livestock by bear or lion in which you can shoot it), those animals have come back in big numbers. They are everywhere.
And that cat, at 125 lbs, was a danger to children and small adults. In this situation, you are forced to take a position of the human or the lion, and common sense dictates the answer for those who are DIRECTLY affected by it, not armchair environmentalists or sentimentalists.
Though there is some ranching land and nature preserves nearby, Palo Alto is a suburb. If the lion hadn’t been shot, he might have been hit by a car, or committed some mayhem before getting out of that area. He was likely hunting outdoor pets to have gotten there. Much easier to catch than deer.
Agreed, Weeks. Also, I heard it was a couple of blocks from an elementary school, and I’m sure they didn’t want the lion finding that. It was unavoidable, but still sad.
Steven
Important safety tip from a recent Mark Steyn column:
Among my Christmas presents was a copy of Survive, a recent collection by Sports Afield magazine of helpful tips for the great outdoors. Most of the stuff was familiar - rub a raw potato on poison ivy, roast a wood bug before you eat it - but on page 70 I was surprised by this novel approach to mountain lions: “Do not approach one, especially if it is feeding or with its young. Most will avoid confrontation, so provide an escape. Do all you can to appear larger. Raise your anus, and open your jacket if you have one on.” I can’t say I did that the last time I saw a mountain lion, but maybe I had a lucky escape. And then I realised it’s meant to be “raise your arms” and that the item is a cautionary tale in the pitfalls of computer “scanning”.
One hopes the misprint doesn’t lead the less seasoned hiker into an awkward situation, and that any mountain lion confronted by city folks dutifully adopting the prescribed position will think “What the hell do they mean by that?” and wander off shaking his head rather than flying into a carnivorous rage.
