We're the ones encroaching on the lions' territory, It doesn't bother me that they're here. What bothers me is these people who bring up hors d'oeuvres [dogs] on a leash. - Julie Edwards, Fallbrook, CA, 10/09/98

I think it depends on how much you linger [in lion territory]. If you're bird-watching, or hiking slowly, you can have trouble. But I'll be biking, and I don't see one attacking a man on a bike. - Dave Welsh, Hillcrest, CA, 10/09/98

A female mountain lion "attacks" a party of campers in the early morning hours of a summer day. It is more likely *the cat was innocently investigating the site, especially since the only casualties occurred after the camping party of four tackled the cat and killed it with a bread knife. Such an encounter should not be interpreted as a cougar attack, because the cougar was not attacking, nor was it in any way, other than its presence, threatening the campers. The cougar was the one attacked. - Ken Ely; President of Merry Cranksters Mountain Bike Club of Salem [Oregon]; 05/98 Newsletter
*See what you believe from the newspaper account of this incident.

An attack on a human is extremely unusual . . . I'd like to stress that this cougar was exhibiting highly unusual behaviour, and we may never know what caused this tragic attack - Banff National Park's Chief Warden, Ian Syme, 01/03/2001

As for animal management, biologist Paul Beier suggests, "It is unlikely that sport hunting will remove enough cougars to reduce the risk. The high aesthetic value of cougars may preclude reduction of cougar populations by other means (e.g., bounties, control programs)." Wildlife Encounters; 01/05/2001

Larrane Leach who had 2 encounters resulting in injuries approximately five years apart and had previously encountered one frightening her husky puppy for a total of three menacing situations said, "People ask me if I'm angry with these animals, and I'm not. Maybe the animals feel like they're being invaded. We have to respect this land and share it with the animals. The solution isn't to kill cougars, but to relocate them to more remote areas." - 07/96

Mary Jane Coder who managed to fight off a mountain lion that tried repeatedly to attack her young daughters did not believe the cat should be destroyed, saying, "he was doing what mountain lions do." 07/08/98

Mountain lions are part of our nation's natural heritage. We should be proud of them, but we must respect them. - Jim Gogek, editorial writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune, 12/26/94

The predation activity of mountain lions is actually beneficial to prey populations. The lions prey upon sick or weak animals, helping to remove abnormal genes and disease from the breeding populations. - Robert H. Busch, author of The Cougar Almanac: A Complete Natural History of the Mountain Lion

As one of the top predators in the food chain, the cougar has been persecuted unmercifully by man. A combination of guns, poisons, snares, traps, and hunting dogs have been used in this persecution, often under the guise of government sanctioned predator control (bounty) programs. As recently as 1988, almost 200 cougars were killed in a program run by the United States Department of Agriculture. Farmers and ranchers have had a running feud with these cats for decades, and land use and stock management practices must be changed before this situation can be improved. - International Society for the Preservation of Endangered Cats Canada, 12/10/2000

We are much more dangerous to mountain lions than they are to us in many ways (habitat loss, road construction, hunters, etc.). However, note that we humans are not a "cancer" on the earth. The proper comparison is that we are an extremely weedy and vigorous species, outcompeting other organisms to the extent that the other organisms are dying out rapidly. The odds are high that within a hundred years or so, our population will crash, just like happens to nearly all other species that grow exponentially in numbers for a while. A million years or so in the future, a mere 0.02% of the earth's history, it is highly likely that there will be few traces of the existence of homo sapiens at all. In fact, our only claim to fame at that point might be akin to the asteroid of 65 million years ago. That is, our time will mark the "sudden extinction" of many of the previous "strange" species and the "sudden radiation" of many new "beautiful" species. - E-mail from Tom Chester; Fallbrook, California; 03/21/2001

As recently as 1960, hunters were paid a $50 bounty on the hide of a mountain lion. Now, they are considered a beautiful, powerful predator that plays an important role in the ecosystem. - Dave Sutherland, City of Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks Department, 01/02/2001

There have been only 13 [updated to 18 confirmed as of 06/2003] of fatal mountain lion attacks in the last 100 years. In comparison, there have been over 15,000 people killed by lightning in those same 100 years! Over 9,700 people have been killed in deer-related automobile accidents, and over 14,000 were killed in hunting-related accidents during that same period. One could almost say that it would be safer to have the lions around, as deer are their favorite food, and hunting them appears to be more dangerous than leaving them alone! - Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest's "Living with Mountain Lions" online information

In the last 100 years, only 13 fatal cougar attacks occurred on the entire North American continent [updated to 18 confirmed as of 06/2003 -- but only in the United States and Canada and excluding Mexico and Central America]. In that time, more than 15,000 people were killed by lightning; 4,000 by bees; 10,000 by deer [see the comment above to realize the spin herein]; 1,300 by rattlesnakes. - The Mountain Lion Foundation, Sacramento, California as reported by Barrie Hartman in The Boulder Daily Camera; 07/30/2000

Currently, except for the Florida panther, cougar are not endangered, but loss of habitat is an increasing problem. In the U.S. the cougar is protected from hunting in only two states, Florida and California. Other states have laws regulating the hunting seasons, etc, except for Texas, who has NO laws to govern the slaughter of these beautiful mammals. - The Birmingham Zoo Cougar Fact Sheet, Birmingham, Alabama

The fundamental question we face is: do other species of the animal kingdom deserve a place to live? Or, as our population grows and we encroach on their historical homes, do we simply eliminate them? Because, if public safety is the only consideration, elimination will be the final result. According to experts, only a decimation of the mountain lion population would result in increased public safety. Attacks will continue as long as people live and recreate in mountain lion habitat. Great naturalists have often referred to the mountain lion as a symbol of the wilderness. Let's ensure they don't become a symbol of the vanishing wilderness. - Kelly Cowan, San Diego Earth Times, 03/96

I haven’t seen a mountain lion since that evening, but the experience remains shining in my memory. I want my children to have the opportunity for that kind of experience. I want my friends to have it. I want our enemies to have it-they need it most. And someday, possibly, one of our children’s children will discover how to get close enough to that mountain lion to shake paws with it, to embrace and caress it, maybe even teach it something, and to learn what the lion has to teach us. - Edward Abbey (Environmentalist author and cult figure) from Essay, "Freedom and Wilderness, Wilderness and Freedom"; 1977

Earlier in his career, apparently Abbey may have thought a bit more broadly: "A lion will never attack a man unless the lion is too old or too sick to catch decent game. Or unless the lion is cornered, or angry, or wounded, or bored, or curious, or very hungry, or just plain mean." ~ Edward Abbey, 1962. "Fire on the Mountain." Avon Books, New York, NY, p. 35.
Submitted by Superintendent & Extension Wildlife Specialist, Robert M. Timm of the University of California Hopland Research & Extension Center, Hopland CA, 06/23/2004.

Whether cougars have really returned to Kansas fascinates people. It's the most common question I get when I give a wildlife presentation, whether the audience is professors or Cub Scouts. Big cats are sexy. It's an adrenaline rush to see a mountain lion. - Thor Holmes, collection manager at the University of Kansas' Natural History Museum; 03/28/2000

After Linda helped her friend Jill defend herself from a cougar that had mauled her, and the lion was shot, she wrote this: "The day after the shooting I felt a great need to maintain a listening presence here on the cougar’s land. I wished the cat would stagger into camp and die in my arms, though I don’t know why in wildest hell it would come back to give me the gift of its death–except that I would take it tenderly and sing its song and ask forgiveness and in some very small way balance this tragedy, bridge the conflict with some act of compassion. We are all overwhelmed with the enormity of the injustice to the cougar, that our being here has unwittingly led to its greater suffering and ultimate demise." - Linda; Interspecies Communication, Inc. Member; Vancouver, B.C.; 1993

In recent studies indicating Americans are still consuming more fat and protein than optimum for a balanced diet, similar findings for mountain lions were reported. Long thought to require freshly killed meat, it was discovered that, like bears, they could eat only carrion and protein substitutes such as tofu and remain in excellent health. In an attempt to raise the awareness of lions regarding humane treatment of endangered prey such as bighorn sheep and porcupines, experiments rearing them with surrogate bear mothers has produced lions which treat fellow wildlife more fairly. Now volunteers are seeding the forests with tofu caches for increasing numbers of these alternatively raised cougars in hopes of preserving species now threatened by them. - E-mail from Adele Davis; San Diego, California; 04/01/2001

Though the above was obviously written on April Fools' Day, in truth, lion scat has been found with Purina Dog Chow in it. - David Brown; Wild in the suburbs; The Boston Globe Magazine 08/22/1999

Laura Frost finds comfort that if her daughter had to die, it was in the wild and not at the hands of a human. "We understand that there's risk when you go out in mountains -- there are so many things that can happen. City life is not that safe, either. There are just no guarantees. Fran was out in the woods doing something she absolutely loved and killed by nature rather than by a stranger. She wasn't murdered in some grotesque way by some psychopath or in a car accident with a drunk driver. This was fast and in a way that Fran would have found acceptable -- if she had to choose. I don't blame the animal. It was just a natural reaction -- this is what cougars do. They see something that will provide a meal and go for it."- Laura Frost as reported in The Calgary Sun; Nadia Moharib; 08/22/2004

Ed Frost, an Edmonton lawyer and father of Frances Frost mauled to death by a cougar blames the current cougar problems on humans encroaching on animal territory, rather than the reverse: "Until this thing happened, people assured us cougars wouldn't attack people, only sick and weak animals. The whole dynamic has changed. My wife, Laura, and I are part of the problem; the condo we bought in Canmore five years ago is in a wildlife corridor. - Ed Frost as reported in Kodiak Security Products; A Lesson Unlearned; Candis McLean; 02/05/2001

This is utterly ridiculous!! People who are afraid of mountain lion attacks are ill-informed. The consequences of removing large "dangerous" predators from eco systems far outweighs any risk of "being attacked". I live in lion country and the only lion I've seen on foot was running from me. The others were from a boat and from my truck. When hiking in lion country I feel more at risk of being mugged or killed by other people, (especially city people) than any lion. I usually carry a weapon not for lions, but to ward off robbers! - Email from Scott Novac, 12/05/2001

Lions have shaped the evolution of their prey species for the last few million years. In the process, they have become an integral thread in the fabric of our ecosystems, some commentators show an abysmal lack of understanding of the complexities of ecologyby stating or impling that lions do nothing but kill prey and make lion kittens. In my view, those lions and bears and wolves that kill humans, or are undeniably threatening humans, should be removed from the gene pool. Perhaps we can shape, by natural selection, a more reticent species. I don't regard the offending specimens as evil, but I recognize that they live at the sufferance of their human neighbors, as do all all other creatures. I regard the killed predators as martyrs to their species.

This is my advice to Americans; Keep lions in healthy populations (not merely "viable", which is code for vastly underpopulated but hanging on), for the health of the land. Give up on the idea that we need to make wild country safe. Lands should not be managed so that artificially bred livestock can be safely left without human protection. Protection of livestock and pets rests with the owners, and whole wildlife populations should not be managed for their sole benefit. Explore the possibility that lion-baiting with dogs actually does make the lions more timid. Explore any similar possibility of altering lion interactions with humans. Base all of this on good, peer-reviewed science (not anecdotes). Get on with your lives, and find something more serious to worry about. - E-mail from Tom Elder, Utah, 12/23/2001

Bounty hunting of mountain lions began as early as the 1600's in North America. Early settlers feared the mountain lions, and believed that the lions had a negative effect on game populations. These predators were killed in astonishing numbers, with a disastrous effect on the ecosystem in some areas. In the early 1900's, a massive effort to wipe out mountain lions was launched in the Kaibab Plateau area of Arizona. The absence of mountain lions caused deer populations to explode, resulting in severe overgrazing of the plateau. Many of the deer then starved to death, and some of the land has not recovered to this day. - Robert H.Busch; The Cougar Almanac: A Complete Natural History of the Mountain Lion; New York: Lyons and Burford, 1996

A few months later I was meditating on a cliff over-looking a large gorge in Arizona. It was a good 200 foot drop to the bottom, a wonderful view. Behind me I heard a noise, and turning, I saw a mountain lion poised in cat stance, ready to spring. I raised my hands up in benediction, & chanted, "OM" very loudly. The mountain lion sat down on her haunches, and we meditated together, eye to eye for awhile. Meditation is something that cats usually understand. They also know it is not polite to eat your meditation partner. After five minutes the mountain lion walked off in search of her next meal.... - JCL DRAGON; Delphi Forums; Sunken Civilizations; Cats of the World; 10/17/2002

PSYCH! you ranchers sons of b*tches. "boo hoo! cougars are dangerous and will kill me! boo hoo!" f*ckers. mountain lions are beautiful creatures not an animal that will think of me as beautiful meal. they are not endagering sh*t. u f*ckers are. they are native and cant do that, otherwise those animals would have already been extinct since columbus arrived in america. think about it you dam* hunters peaces of sh*t. are u seriously trying to make people think the cougars should be hunted to extincion, HA? you make me sick. PS: mountain lions should be protected by law PEACE OUT F*CKERS! - Scott Christopher O'connor; age 15, Minnesota; 08/24/2004; (only profanity/paragraphing edited)

I have personally seen mountain lions in Virginia, one near Smith Mountain Lake and another just 4 days ago near my mailbox where I live in the country. The mature and very large lion at Smith Mountain crossed right in front of my car. The one I saw at the mailbox looked young and not as large. I am concerned about my safety and I have reported this to the game wardens but no help. I think that our forefathers did the right thing by killing these lions off. I feel that they should not be permitted to live around people period. - E-mail from James, Virginia, 11/18/2000

The reason Banff, Alberta, has such a high density of cougars is because this is a national park. Hunting is not permitted. The local elk herds sought refuge in the townsite and surrounding area when wolves, which had been absent for many years, returned to the valley and began to hunt the elk. Area elk herds have lost all fear of man. In fact the elk frequently send people to the local emergency room. Today wolves and cougars circle our community preying on the elk. Both predators have been known to hunt in the townsite. Cougar attacks will increase unless we are successful in reinstalling the fear of man in our resident elk herds. - E-mail from Laird Elliott, Banff, Alberta, 01/03/2001

Living in the country I've found there are quite a few lion attacks that go un-reported. For example, somebody hunting deer in the mountains, that sees a cougar ready to attack them may kill the cougar, and be afraid to say anything in fear that a game warden will not believe them when they say it was self-defense. - E-mail from Jacob Hackford, Utah, 01/27/2001

When the amount of game one of these animals [cougars] killed in a year and its value to the country is taken into consideration, it must be admitted that even if a few thousand dollars has to be expended every year in their extermination, the money would be well invested. - British Columbia Game Commission (1906)

The fear and hatred that inspired early settlers to exterminate cougars wasn't entirely irrational. After all, cougars eat people, don't they? - Kevin MacDonell; "Do Cougars Eat People"; Outdoor Nova Scotia; 09/98

After state park officials found the lion at the site where it had menaced a 3-year-old boy and they did not shoot it, the officer called in the next day said, "They should have shot it then. Mountain lions only do two things. They reproduce and kill other animals. When they approach little kids like that, reproduction isn't on their mind. That little boy was food. - Bob Turner, 05/10/94 friends

It seems folks up here in the Pacific Northwest have a love-hate relationship with our growing population of cougars. I found there were pretty much two extremes: "let's hunt all the wild critters out there" to "aren't the lions and tigers and bears cute?!" We are playing with fire by tolerating the human "sacrifices" that continue to occur so that we can all marvel at the predators surrounding us. Isn't it rather ridiculous that we must be armed and on constant alert to walk around our own homes?! - E-mail from Catherine Winn, Winchester, OR, 08/26/2001

All states in the cougar's traditional Western ranges report sharp increases in mountain lion numbers. The rise is largely attributable to the combination of "Disneyesque," anthropomorphic depictions of animals in the entertainment media (e.g., The Lion King) and a modern pseudoscience masquerading as biology that preaches a live-and-let-live philosophy where the big predators are concerned. The general result has been the development of protectionist attitudes in the minds of most Americans -- especially those in urban areas. Mountain lions, wolves and bears have become the poster children of animal sentimentalists. Consequently, the ballot box regulates predator management these days. - Don Zaidle, Author of American Man-Killers

The idea that cougars are timid, shy, retiring wilderness animals that flee at the first sign of man's presence is absolute nonsense. They just don't do that. They stick around. - Fred Scott; wildlife biologist; Nova Scotia; 09/98

Contrary to frequent reports, animals have no "instinctive" or "natural" fear of humans just because they are human. Among predators, hazard avoidance and prey recognition are learned behaviors. Through repeated nonthreatening exposure to humans, a lion learns that some of the prey in its new territory is bipedal. The belief that animals prey on humans only in desperation due to age, starvation or other incapacitation is a myth. Young, healthy animals account for the vast majority of lions involved in human attacks. - Don Zaidle, Author of American Man-Killers

A common preservationist argument is that you are 43 times more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a cougar. It is an absurd comparison. People do not go out and stand under tall trees during a thunderstorm, but they do go out into cougar country without a second thought. In addition, the at-risk group is much smaller, and the risk more concentrated. It is sort of like comparing the chances of a CPA and an NFL quarterback getting their necks broken on Super Bowl Sunday. When you add in the fact that the lions are always there, and lightning comes and goes with the caprice of the weather, and that lightning does not come looking for you but cougars do, the odds tip most uncomfortably - Dave Fjelline, professional lion hunter for the State of California

Mr. Abbey, the notorious environmental author, seems to advocate that we all just live happily ever after with our cougar neighbors. In this Hindu-like nod to non-violence, I wonder if Mr. Cougar feels the same way while munching on some 3rd grader's thigh bone. - E-mail from Catherine Winn; Winchester, OR; 04/01/2001

I live in Kelowna, B.C., and I have seen Cougars walking down the street in Peachland, a community of 4,500 or so just southwest of Kelowna. I believe there is going to be a serious incident in the valley within the next few years. - E-mail from Lance Christensen, 03/10/2001

When I encountered a lion while elk hunting, it had no fear of me despite my yelling and trying to look big. Instead it charged me, and I was forced to shoot it. This experience still haunts me. I don't fault the lion, but the public NEEDS to know to watch their kids and themselves in lion and bear country. The Division of Wildlife is studying why deer herds are down in numbers in Colorado. One reason is that both lions and bears have increased lately, and bears prey on newborn deer and elk. So when I shot a lion, I just made more deer available for bears. I don't blame the Division of Wildfife, but until we can get the balance back, we will be among the hunted. - E-mails from Dave Enyeart, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 03/21/2001 & 03/25/2001

[A common] myth claims animals have a "natural fear" of people and will attack only with a special excuse— danger to their cubs, rabies, starvation. The idea that we arouse a universal fear implies we're fundamentally different from the rest of the animal kingdom— an arrogant assumption at best. - Gordon Grice, Discover Vol. 22 No. 6, June 2001

Everyone that I have talked to that has had an experience with a mountain lion indicates they have no fear of people at all. When they finally lose interest in the person, they just turn away and disappear. What I think is discerning is that cougars are appearing in groups lately. Usually a mother with kittens, sometimes large ones over 100 pounds. The game warden here tells me that the same sex kittens are staying together for an undetermined time. Not a situation I'd care to run into while fishing in a remote area." - E-mail from Jerry Stoddard, author of COUGAR HUNT, Washington, 05/06/2002.

The federal liberals and their animal-rights allies must be hating that a man defended his life with a knife against a cougar in August of 2002. They strictly forbid self-defense, especially with any kind of a weapon. They want us to be passive, non-violent, dead victims. Like someone said earlier in this forum, I hope they now don't pass some kind of moronic law that forbids the carrying of knives for self protection. It really wouldn't surprise me. They have made it next to impossible to carry a firearm for this purpose. When giving their gun control arguments, wasn't it they who said "if even one life can be saved" when it came to gun control then it will be worthwhile? Well, how about "if one life can be saved" by having a firearm? Lives are saved all the time by guns (like with the bear attack at Laird Hot springs), but this is kept hush-hush, as it is politically incorrect and against their pacifist, suicidal philosophy. Everyone has the right to defend themselves to the best of their ability, and those who would take this away from us are not good people. - Mark Goddard; Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada ; 08/04/2002; Soundoff post at Canada.com

In answer to the question, "Why do they always say 'Generally as a whole cougar attacks are fairly rare,' when they are actually quite common?" They say that because it's politically incorrect to suggest the noble, 'endangered' cougar actually likes to eat people. No doubt the environmentalists will wince and throw up their arms at that statement. I agree that certain conservation acts are needed...but make no mistake, we didn't crawl to the top of the food chain to lie down and be lunch for any hungry predator who takes a fancy to us. I take exception to the statement that humans are somehow "unnatural". We descended from the same original gene pool the cougars and bears and lions did. We survive because we have adapted well thanks to our larger brains. The cougar chose to attack another creature (the 61 year old man attacked 08/02/2002) and that creature was superior enough to kill the cougar. The same result may have happened if a cougar took on a black bear; but bleeding-hearts believe all of Nature's creatures live in perfect harmony, without evil man spoiling it! Darwinism at its best!

I've spent my life in the back country and I have learned that cougars are semi-specialized predators. A lack of deer is felt by them before bears, wolves, or other predators. They are paying the Darwinistic price of being unable to adapt to changing conditions. We ARE already protecting them; they are certainly NOT in danger of extinction for the next 100 years. Some seem to be suggesting that the old man [David Parker] should have checked to see if the cat was well fed before stabbing it. People who make statements like that are people who really haven't spent much time in our forests! Hats off to this brave man who fended off a desperate predator...morons who suggest they would be happier if the cougar had won, have never lost a friend or relative to a bear or cougar. - Canada.com; Soundoff post by Steve Dawson; Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada ; 08/04/2002; Soundoff post at Canada.com

A new study indicates there were as many cougar attacks on human beings in the past 10 years as in the previous 100. And some experienced naturalists warn that due to the recent "explosion" in the number of predators, combined with their growing fearlessness of man, we will see even more animal attacks on humans in 2001 than in all of the last 10 years together. On this topic, people who live in Banff's rarefied air speak in low voices. Certainly those who knew the sprightly and imaginative Ms. Frost are subdued with grief. Others are simply fearful. And there are others who dare to utter the concept of "Reclaim the World!"--animals are supposed to be subordinate to humans and should be reinstilled with a healthy fear of them. But first they glance over their shoulders; then, if they are near a door, they close it and finally, they drop their voices to a murmur before risking so breathtakingly heretical an opinion. -Candis McLean; Kodiak Security Products; A Lesson Unlearned; 02/05/2001

There was a time when treating a cougar attack like a mysterious anomaly made sense. For two decades after the bounty years, attacks were extraordinarily rare, and fatal attacks practically unheard of. In the 1950s, according to researcher Paul Beier, only five cougar attacks were reported in Canada and the U.S., none fatal. There simply weren't enough cougars encountering enough people enough times. That's no longer the situation. Yes, fatal attacks are rare, but not nearly as rare as they once were. Perhaps the highest tribute to Ms. Frost [killed by a cougar 01/02/2001] would be a serious community dialogue about the realities of life in mountain tourist towns, and the place of humans in the food chain.- Jo Deurbrouck and Dean Miller, Authors of Cat Attacks: True Stories and Hard Lessons from Cougar Country; Idaho Falls, Idaho

All we are left with are hopefully minimal impact solutions [to the deer-cougar-wolf debate] -- based on relevant evidence [not just numbers for predator-prey ratios] that must take in all factors, not just simplistic and idealistic, politically correct theories based on the fickle emotions of whatever happens to be popular at the moment -- or fodder for fundraising campaigns. - P.M. Clarke; Times Colonist (Victoria, BC); Some things wild just aren't "natural"; 08/16/2002

After his border collie came back from the vet with "a lot of stitches" from an attack by a mountain lion on his Glennville, California, property, Augusta Smithee said, "The state should pay the $403 bill because the lion is the state's protected animal. We're going to lose some kids here one of these days." Wildlife officials came by the next day to pick up the carcass of the lion that he shot "two steps from my house." Smithee said that was fine with him. "It's their lion." - Christina Vance; The Bakersfield Californian; Man kills cougar ready to pounce; 09/26/2002

It amazes me that some people would willingly sacrifice the lives of fellow human beings to satisfy the vicarious pleasure of knowing that some big cats are alive and well. Here is another thing that amazes me. The National Park Service will permit you to go off into lion country, by yourself, but only if you place yourself at a distinct disadvantage to the predator. The truth is that environmentalists and their agents in the Park Service would much prefer to lose the life of a human than the life of one of these "noble" beasts. Another amazing thing: Why all the hand wringing when an aggressive puma meets its necessary demise. Such misplaced sympathy is the result of mushy thinking or perhaps not much thinking at all. So the treehuggers want to protect these animals against extinction? Fine. But let the humans have the opportunity to adequately protect themselves in the wild. Let the people arm themselves! Let the people protect themselves and their loved ones. After all, that is only what people do. Sensible ones anyway. This should arouse some spirited debate.  Source:  E-mail from Dr. Ted Starkey; Wintersville, Ohio; 04/13/2004

No native animal disrupts the ecosystem more than a mountain lion, beaver, or otter in my humble opinion. Why are there so few deer for the lions to eat? Probably because there are lots of lions eating them. [There is] no mourning for the deer, or the goats, or the lost income of the rancher--only for the useless, dangerous cat. I wonder how much this "important" research [introducing cougars in the Malibu, California area] is costing tax payers. I bet a better autopsy was done on the cat than that performed on Leigh Ann [killed in Arkansas]. I doubt that [the director of the Mountain Lion Foundation] would be saddened if the lion killed a human, but if a human killed that cat, [that was killed by her mate] she would probably want the person sent to prison. - E-mail from Jane Williams; Arkansas; 09/03/2005