Big Cats

[Wentzl]

Unlike the wolves, about which I have a strong opinion, the Big Cat issue seems more complicated. Anyone here have an opinion that might help me decide how to vote on this ballot initiative?

https://www.coloradopolitics.com/electi ... 86fa0.html

Beastie.jpg

[Cygnus X1]

FAQs and information about CPW's management of mountain lion populations. Let the experts continue to determine how the cats should be managed, vote NO on 127.

https://cpw.widencollective.com/assets/ ... u2g44shvci

[HikerGuy]

NO on 127.

[JROSKA]

I say YES. I like cats. It’s in my profile here.

[cedica]

Beastie.jpg

That cat can neither read nor write, but in him broods already a taste for mindless violence.

[Monte Meals]

"Man in Colorado kills mountain lion with shovel at campground"

https://www.9news.com/article/life/anim ... 3732635081

[John619]

Vote NO. Let the Colorado Division of Wildlife continue to manage the animal population out in the wild.

[DaveLanders]

FAQs and information about CPW's management of mountain lion populations. Let the experts continue to determine how the cats should be managed, vote NO on 127.

https://cpw.widencollective.com/assets/ ... u2g44shvci

Vote NO. Let the Colorado Division of Wildlife continue to manage the animal population out in the wild.

Unfortunately it's not that simple. CPW policy is actually determined by a politically appointed commission. Sometimes they follow the advice of their scientists, and sometimes they don't. As an example, there is the spring bear hunt controversy from a few years ago. The scientists recommended some changes to the spring bear hunt regulations but the commission said no. So there was a ballot initiative to overrule the commission which passed.

[Dobsons]

I will definitely be voting no to this. Which means the yes will likely win by a landslide based on recent trends in Colorado lol

The main reasons I will be voting no is almost all the game wardens I have talked to (my father a retired one after 35 years included) are very much against this proposition. Also, lions seem to have an innate fear of humans, or at least they do not routinely attack humans. The concern is if we stop hunting them this fear would diminish over times and there would be more and more lion encounters. I guess I don't know if that is true or not, but I would rather not figure out. Finally, I understand the desire to bring back wolves (I voted no against it however) and have things be as natural in nature as possible but the reality is wildlife/urban interface is only going to increase not decrease as time continues to pass in Colorado. We can't continue to want the old but not accept that we have drastically changed wildlife habitat with sprawling development. We need to manage wildlife in this new habitat they live in. I think it would be a bad decision to limit our ability to manage wildlife for the long term without really knowing the impact especially considering most game wardens in Colorado I have talked to are not for this proposition.
Corey

[Cygnus X1]

https://coloradonewsline.com/2024/09/30 ... -colorado/

[Dave B]

Also, lions seem to have an innate fear of humans, or at least they do not routinely attack humans. The concern is if we stop hunting them this fear would diminish over times and there would be more and more lion encounters. I guess I don't know if that is true or not, but I would rather not figure out.

No, it's not true, and the idea that nature needs to be punished to behave according to our expectations reflects poorly on how some humans see the world.

Lions don't have the capacity to understand humans (on occasion) hunt them, so no they don't modify their behavior in the slightest because of it. I'd wager that in >99.99% of human-mountain lion interactions, the human is unaware of said interaction, and there's no way a lion could see or understand humans as a threat other than the fact that we're larger and in their territory.

Given their stealth and predatory abilities, if they did see us as a threat, there would be far more attacks. We are literally the dumbest and easiest prey having lost any semblance of survival instincts as a "civilized" species.

[sfreytag]

Lions don't have the capacity to understand humans (on occasion) hunt them, so no they don't modify their behavior in the slightest because of it.

How do you know that? Elk certainly change their behavior when they are hunted. Look at how elk act in Estes Park or Yellowstone vs any National Forest where there are hunted by people. The elk in Estes Park will let you pet them. As a hunter, I can tell you for a fact elk in the National Forests will not let you pet them.