Franklin teen unfazed by note condemning lion hunt

[Omaha Steve]

128. ARE MOUNTAIN LIONS DANGEROUS?

I am sorry some DUers have been less than kind to your son. We have members that will insult ANYONE for any reason. Usually trolls that want democrats to look bad.

Omaha has had several lions killed in the last few years. All were killed. One was shot by an Omaha police officer by accident. None attacked a human or pet btw.

http://mountainlion.org/FAQfrequentlyaskedquestions.asp#Risk



To deer, yes! To people, not so much. Human encounters with mountain lions are rare and the risk of an attack is infinitely small. You are more likely to drown in your bathtub, be killed by a pet dog, or hit by lightning. If lions had any natural urge to hunt people, there would be attacks every single day. Instead, they avoid us.

But if you live, work, or play in cat country, be alert! Avoid walking alone between dusk and dawn when lions are most active. Keep your children and pets close to you. Never approach or corner a mountain lion (or any wild animal). If you do encounter a mountain lion, STOP. DO NOT RUN. Unlike safety advice for encountering bears, do not act timid or play dead in front of a cat.

Instead: Maintain eye contact. Stand tall. Look bigger by opening your coat or raising your arms. Slowly wave your arms and speak firmly. Throw items at the lion if necessary. Give the cat room and time to move on.

In the rare event of an attack, fight back. Most people succeed in driving the mountain lion away.

AND from the same link...

WILL SPORT HUNTING OF LIONS IMPROVE THE SAFETY OF PEOPLE, PETS AND LIVESTOCK?

No. The assertion that sport hunting is a necessary and effective strategy for reducing mountain lion attacks on people remains widespread in the mainstream media and in the popular literature. While some state wildlife agencies, such as in California and Wyoming, state that sport hunting cannot be expected to increase public safety, other state agencies have claimed the opposite, apparently to garner public support for sport hunting. For example, without any scientific research to back their theory, in 2005 the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks offered as the primary justification for their state's first-ever sport hunting season on mountain lions that it "may be a more effective solution [than removal of individual lions] for dealing with problems caused by mountain lions." This would be like the police department saying their new plan to reduce crime is to start randomly arresting innocent people on the street.

Annually killing off thousands of lions in wilderness areas that avoid people does not make the remaining lion population fearful of humans.

An overwhelming number of studies have clearly demonstrated that sport hunting of lions not only does not increase the public's safety, it also does not reduce depredation on livestock or other domestic animals, and in fact appears to be responsible for the increase in human/lion conflicts in regions where lion mortality is excessive. For more information see MLF's 2006 report Effects of Sport Hunting Mountain Lions on Safety and Livestock and the latest research on what happens when adult lions are excessively hunted: Troubled Teens.

WHAT IS THE MOUNTAIN LION FOUNDATION?

Founded in 1986 to stop the trophy hunting of mountain lions in California, the Mountain Lion Foundation (MLF) has grown into a national, non-profit conservation and education organization dedicated to protecting mountain lions and their habitat. MLF has inspired citizens across the nation to act on behalf of lions and their habitat by presenting practical solutions to complex problems, providing unbiased information to media, aiding local activists, promoting lion research, influencing regulation and changing laws.

Your membership, at any level, makes you part of a nationwide network of individuals who commit dollars and energy to the cause of Saving America's Lion. For more information on who we are and what we have accomplished visit MLF's ABOUT page.