Big Cats

I am on a Mission (don't know if it's from God, but it's a Mission). IYKYK.

My blogs for the next few weeks are going to be about education. What do you need to know about Mountain Lions/Cougars/Pumas/Catamounts?

For those of you who live in Colorado, I hope this education will encourage you to vote YES on Proposition 127, which will halt the trophy hunting of Mountain Lions, as they're called here, and also protect Bobcat from being hunted for their pelts. Who needs a fur coat these days, anyway?

Let's start with the females. Here in Colorado, in 2023, almost 47% of the Mountain Lions killed for trophy hunting were female. That's up from past years, where it was around 40%.

Mountain Lions breed all year around.

Kittens stay with their mom up to 2 years, learning the ropes (one of which is - don't trust humans!). If kittens are orphaned at any time during the first six months of their life (SIX months!), they will most likely not survive. Survival has been estimated at 4%. That's a lot of death for a head and a pelt to put on the back of someone's couch. 

If they stay with their mom, survival is more like 60% - it's a tough world out there in Mountain Lion Land. They learn about things like territories, and how to hunt their primary prey, mule deer, and how to stay away from human civilization. Without that information, they are helpless, and will make decisions that are detrimental to everyone.

Here's an excellent radio interview conducted on October 10 by Public Radio to help educate individuals about Mountain Lions. https://aa.kgnu.net/audioarchives/APublicAffair/2024/APublicAffair_2024-10-10.mp3

When I was living in Washington state, we volunteered at a place called Cougar Mountain Zoo (Cougarmountainzoo.org), which is a home for endangered animals. Amongst the macaws and other animals, there were Mountain Lions. At the time, they had two, Nashi, who was a youngster, and an older one whose name I just can't remember. (If any of my Washington state friends remember the name of that fellow, please share!) My favorite place to be a docent (a purveyor of information about the animal to the visitors) was with the big cats. I heard so many stories from people who had had close encounters, all of them obviously non-lethal, since the person was standing there telling me about it. To a person, despite whatever kind of encounter they had, the human was grateful for the interaction, and in awe of the majesty of the cat. It wasn't about power over. It was about mutual respect. 

The big cats are very like house cats, but because they're big it can be dangerous. Remember, though, that they startle easily, just like our domestic friends, and they like to take the easy way out - if food A is easier to get at than food B, they're going after A. That's why Mountain Lions will take down a deer who is old, infirm, injured, suffering from chronic wasting disease (listen to the radio show). Food A. If there's a choice between a deer that's moving slowly and a big fat cow with a surly expression, they're going after the deer. Food A. 

We took over their habitat. We are not the kings and queens. We're the interlopers, the virus. Let's learn how to live with our wild friends so we can all thrive. And vote YES on Proposition 127 this November.