The majority of cougars left when humans tried to approach and not one initiated an encounter or attacked a person. A mountain lion has been filmed taking down an elk on a Colorado highway in a brutal encounter lasting 15 minutes. Also in the news is that an undisclosed number of cougars, as well as black bears, have been killed (with more planned to be killed) as part of a $4 million multi-year, predator-killing program illegally supported with federal dollars. Most recent data released by Colorado Parks and Wildlife indicates that there may be as many as 7,000 in Colorado. But CPW does have tips in case you experience an encounter. Use the rule of thumb: If the animal is small enough to cover with your thumb, you're at a safe distance. Just over 100 of those cases contributed tothe most extensive and intensive studies ever done on the secretive predators. This figure does not include: Note: Since 2014, an additional 3,417 mountain lions were killed by hunters. When mountain lions were classified as a game spe-cies in 1970, 4,962 mountain lions were har-vested (* = 240/year, range = 120 to 316) from 1970 until 1988 (Phelps, 1989). There was a problem saving your notification. Occasionally they will be spotted passing through the outskirts of urban areas where . A couple notable mountain lion attacks in Colorado include a 1997 case in which a 10-year-old boy was killed while hiking ahead of his family in Rocky Mountain National Park, as well as a 2016 incident in which a mother fought a mountain lion off of her 5-year-old son. The human turns around and runs, and the lion sees something running and chases after it. What he found out bodes well for coexistence without lion hunting compared to 10 western states with cougars, California had the third lowest rate of per-capita attacks on people, with 0.4 attacks per million persons. With an average mortality density rate of 1.7 mountain lions killed by humans for every 100 square miles of habitat, MLFs study ranked DAU L-7 as Colorados highest mortality hotspot. While the Plott hound is the state dog of North Carolina, it is a very rare breed and not well-known in other states. The regulations governing trapping in Colorado do not list mountain lions as furbearing animals. If Massachusetts was supporting an actual popual tion . People have been surprised to find these massive felines only several feet behind them before finally noticing them. According to Colorados big game hunting regulations, the Parks and Wildlife Director or his/her designee may appoint licensed hunters, houndsmen, or trappers to remove a mountain lion by any legal means when the lion is frequenting areas of incompatibility with other users as may be necessary to protect public health, safety and welfare. Those appointed to head a mountain lion removal operation are drawn from a list of applicants judged by their ability to respond, skill, experience, location, and the ability as hunters, houndsmen, or trappers. This is one reason why theyre so effective at hunting. Cougars generally avoid people in pursuit of deer, but if a mountain lion in an area seems to pose a threat to people or livestock, CPW might intervene. They are much faster than you. One reason is the abundance of prey population in the area. Colorado residents who spot a mountain lion in or near a populated area should report the animal directly to Colorado Parks and Wildlife by calling CPW's Denver office at 303-291-7227. They vary in size and weight, with males reaching up to 200 pounds and eight feet in length (one-third of their length is the tail). "Exhausted, dehydrated, cramping I drew back my (bow) and sent a (broadhead arrow)through him,'' Wolfe wrote. A few particularly famous stories of mountain lion attacks in Colorado have come to light in recent years. Much of the state is described as prime country for . Any non-target animal caught in a trap must be immediately released with or without the assistance ofColorado Parks and Wildlife. Historic records show that rewards were paid for over 1,750 dead mountain lions during the bounty period. The footage was posted to Instagram by Hoyt Raffay and later reposted by the. The guy did everything right, aside from having his dogs off-leash. The last occurred in March 2020 when a Larimer County. Back slowly away first to avoid a possible encounter. The agency said male adult mountain lions on average weigh 150 pounds and can grow to more than 8 feet in length. Mountain lion fur is unspotted and tan-brown . The dogs got the attention of this cat and it backed the dogs and the hiker back down the trail. The best way to protect yourself is to keep your distance and not approach wildlife. They inhabit much of Colorado's foothills and mountains. Two-legged humans don't fit their prey search recognition image. The capture portionof the study will be taking place until March, CPW said. Hunters, many of them from outside state lines, get to keep the heads and the hides as trophies. Mountain lions occupy areas with rocky terrain throughout Nevada, especially where mule deer live. Colorado's terrain is perfect for mountain lions, offering them plenty of mountainous alcoves in which to hide. And given the research, it seems wasteful and possibly counterproductive that our state recently approved for hunters to kill lions well beyond a sound threshold up to 15 percent in our West Slope Mountain Lion Management Plan for the Northwest Region with higher killing limits on the eastern part of the state. The offending hunter(s) is fined twice the cost of Colorados most expensive mountain lion hunting license and receives 15 license suspension points. Here's what he said. The agency is currently spearheading a new population monitoring effort involving radio GPS collaring, ear tagging and trail cameras. Devin Booker sulked. A Colorado Parks and Wildlife study indicated the foothills of Boulder and Jefferson counties contain some of the highest concentrations of mountain lions reported in the U.S. Mountain lions have been spotted in Fort Collins periodically. Due to secretive nature typical of a mountain lion, their numbers can be difficult to track. You have permission to edit this article. The study was funded by a Multistate Conservation Grant from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. During the 2020-21 lion seasons, 526 mountain lions were harvested statewide, for a 20 percent success rate among 2,672 total hunters. In these circles, its considered OK to kill a lion at age 18, as a right of manly passage. Last month we heard one cougar was shot and killed with a .357 Magnum handgun at an undisclosed Colorado state park by Patrick Montgomery of Littleton, a professional hunting guide, who has been charged with 10 criminal counts, including assaulting a police officer during the Jan. 6 attack on our nations Capitol. Adult mountain lions can grow to more than 6-feet long. The governor or two-thirds of the members of each chamber may also call special sessions. Eventually another hiker came up, and the cat backed down.. Their fur helps them blend into the rocky forests and arid, sandy areas they roam. Due to secretive nature typical of a mountain lion, their numbers can be difficult to track. They prefer to avoid us and theres a study to prove it. The number of mountain lions killed for sport hunting has increased steadily over the years, averaging around 300-400 mountain lions per year in the early 2000s up to 443 per year from 2010-2015 to 499 per year from 2016-2021. This article from Deseret Magazine, originally published on May 23, 2021, explores how the relationship between humans and mountain lions could get worse. By the early 60s Colorados mountain lion population, once abundant in the state, had fallen to as low as 124 individuals. Be Nice. . Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Like most wild cats, they are solitary and tend to avoid areas with human disturbance. Females are typically smaller. Mountain Lions are the largest predators currently in Rocky Mountain National Park. While we hoped that Colorado senators would move forward with S.B. Other voices need to be heard, including the vast majority of Coloradans, who dont hunt lions, but who value knowing they exist and maybe are lucky enough to see one. While most understand we are living in mountain lion and bear country, it's still concerning for many homeowners to see a predator sniffing at their door. He was able to throw rocks and sticks. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. Much of the state is described as prime country for the animals. Living with Mountain Lions. Be loud when you walk. (I heard someone say recently that if you want to prove your manhood, go hike alone in grizzly bear country and without a gun.). The deer and other small prey, such as raccoons, are associated with human-dominated landscapes. It is rare for penalties to be sufficiently harsh to keep poachers from poaching again. Within a few years the bounty was abolished and a hunt was created. Add to the body count lions killed each year by Wildlife Services under the USDA in response to livestock depredation. We had an incident of a hiker in town (Durango) whose dogs, off-leash, stumbled either into kittens or a cache of food, Livingston said. Former Denver Broncos player and current Denver sports talk radio co-host Derek Wolfe not only legally killed a large mountain lion in Colorado, he did it in an unusual way with a bow. If people have a dead animal such as a deer in their backyard that just appeared or if theyve seen a mountain lion that day, we would like to know about it over the next few months. This plan for the next decade in western Colorado would leave in place current mountain lion hunting quotas as high as 28% across . SIGN UP: Free daily newsletter + 20% off in the OTC gear shop, Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. Even better, we should be halting the hunting period. Other wildlife:Wolf captured, collared in Northern Colorado for 1st time since predator delisted. In another CPW area that includes all of Boulder County plus parts of Larimer and Weld counties, reports increased from 62 in 2019 to 96 in 2020. 1. It sounds good the part about salty people wanting to keep lions around for all of us. All of these avenues toward death are human-caused, and I havent even mentioned fragmentation of habitat, which is the reason Southern California is on the verge of listing cougars as state-endangered. The highest concentration consists from Walsenburg to Trinidad, east of the San Luis . They view humans as a threat, and their natural response is tolook for apath to escape. The plan says no more than 22% of lions killed could be females. Maurice Hornockerconducted a 10-year study in New Mexico looking specifically at how pumas respond to approaching researchers and their findings indicate that cougars are not inclined to be aggressive toward humans. Mountain lions are large cats also known as cougars, pumas, and many other names. Mountain lions can be found throughout Arizona, and data suggests the populations are not only stable, but growing. 39% were found to have consumed domestic animals such as dogs, cats and hobby livestock. It turns out that trying to manage lions for both hunting and sustainability is not easy; what appears to be a simpler and less harmful path is not managing lions for hunting. racist or sexually-oriented language. When attacks do occur, lions generally target small humans that are alone. Reporting sightings helps CPW determine an animal's whereabouts and what, if anything, to do about it. There have been 25 known mountain lion attacks on humans in Colorado since 1990 with three fatalities and 22 resulting in injury. Colorado Parks and Wildlife is a nationally recognized leader in conservation, outdoor recreation and wildlife management. Most people do. / CBS Colorado. According to the plan, The harvest limit in the SMA will be established at a level high enough that this SMA harvest limit group offers maximum hunting opportunity throughout the regular and April lion seasons (>25% harvest mortality, no human-caused mortality threshold and no adult female threshold)., This style of management overkill isnt worth the long-term cost, according to Mark Hurley, who tried it in a 2011 study for Idaho Department of Fish and Game called Demographic Response of Mule Deer to Experimental Reduction of Coyotes and Mountain Lions.