Franklin teen unfazed by note condemning lion hunt

[Kayucian]

119. You mistake anecdotes for fact, using mere presence and possibility to justify killing for fun.

Holden's mother,

Thanks for clarifying that which you did not intend to. Although, the above article told me enough, "This will be Bruce's second mountain lion hunt. About three years ago, his mother organized a hunt in Arizona through the Hunt of a Lifetime Foundation"

It is possible, if perhaps a bit like winning the lottery, that you could have witnessed dispersing individuals. It happens. However, most sightings turn out to be cases of mistaken identity. Perhaps you wouldn't believe how many bobcats, coyotes, dogs, and even domestic cats are mistaken for puma. Of course, NG&Ps doesn't record a word-of-mouth sighting as evidence. In the past 22 years there have been 92 confirmations of puma presence outside of the Pine Ridge breeding population. Photographs, tracks, scats tested for DNA, a capture, and the dead puma themselves make up this collection. Nearly all of these recorded beyond the panhandle have been dispersing (non-resident) males seeking their own home ranges in the limited ideal habitat that Nebraska has left to offer. In fact, the first female puma east of Pine Ridge was just documented this very year back in January, along the Niobrora River Valley. Perhaps a sign of another nascent population. No evidence of breeding has yet been found. The appearance of a female is an encouraging sign, and I wish them well. With folks and their anecdotal tirades (the mere appearance of wildlife causing some to cry out for blood and succeeding), they are going to need all the luck they can get!

Crossing paths with a puma would be a remarkable, treasured moment. I keep an eye out, but have not yet been graced. I live in a state with a significant human and puma population. They use our largest local creek as a travel corridor. We sojourn into more likely meeting places, sharing space with black bear, coyote, bobcat and only taking pictures. It can be similar to hunting, but there is no needless bloodshed. The lack of respect and the unwillingness to coexist with fellow predators is beyond me. Anecdote for anecdote. Earlier this year, it became even more personal when I learned that one of the collared bears I'd known was shot to death by a thrill-killer. A bear who tended to stay out of trouble, and I know this because he was a tracked bear. The fate of many.

Your dishonest attempts to justify what your son is about to do for the second time are not new to me. There is no need, it is simply the desire to end another life. Fun. Excitement. Who might have nurtured such a thing? At least be honest, Michelle. Sustainability does not grant permission, otherwise a certain overpopulated hominid might be fair game.

Further, your lack of concern for the species you encourage your son to kill, is a given. You say the population will not decrease when that is NG&P's stated intent, and when you do not seem to have a lick of knowledge for puma population dynamics.

"hunting season has been proposed for the Pine Ridge with the objective of providing a harvest opportunity for mountain lions in Nebraska while allowing a slight to moderate reduction in the population." - Nebraska Game & Parks

"The revised proposal for taking four cats with a two-female sub quota (18% – 27% of the total population estimate) in the Pine Ridge National Forest with the goal of reducing the population, while instituting an unlimited year-round season for 85% of the rest of the state, is a recipe for increasing the very conflicts the proposal wishes to contain: conflicts with pets, livestock, people and mountain lions.

The Large Carnivore Lab at Washington State University has determined from fifteen years of research that taking more than 14% of a mountain lion population (greater than the average reproduction rate) disrupts mountain lion social order. The safest way to manage any mountain lion population is to leave it alone – mountain lions police themselves – taking problem individuals out at the source: the current Nebraska protocol." - Christopher Spatz, President Cougar Rewilding Foundation (http://cougarrewilding.org/CougarNews/?p=6218)