ORIGINAL: cayugad
ORIGINAL: lungbuster12point06
Ok so your point is that because cougars can and will attack humans they should be exterpated from the area? What about bears? The can and will attack humans or rutting bucks they can and will attack humans or the farmer's 2000lb bull it can and will attack humans............see my point? I don't think Wi. will ever be in danger of having too many cougars.........wolves yes, cougars probably not in my or my grandchildrens lifetimes.
What about bears you ask. I think any wildlife biologist (other then the DNR's) will admit while a bear has a prey instinct drive, it is much different then that found in a mountain lion. If you ask anyone who spends time or lives in bear country, bear while dangerous, are not the aggressive hunter of people as a mountain lion is. Normally a face to face confrontation of human VS black bear has underlying reasons. Let me ask you... If you had a choice of which one you would have to face with, which would it be. 99% of the people would pick the bear. You yell and wave your arms and bears run off. Will a cougar? Lets hope so. Cougars hunt people as a food source. Bears normally do not.
Rutting Bucks.. here again, you are listing special circumstances. The animal is in mating mode, and see you as a rival or threat. NOT A FOOD SOURCE. Would you not agree with that statement. The rutting buck is not hunting you down to eat you. And if given the chance, would probably run the other way. Yes, or no?
The farmers 2000 pound bull... first off that creature is not running loose among untrained personal is it? No of course not. Its fenced in. But let me ask you. If that creature is suddenly loose in the city and can not be captured or cornered.. do you know what the police sometimes do to it, to protect the public? That's right.. they shoot it. Also those people that are normally injured by one are interacting with that animal because it is part of their profession. They are not walking in the woods or waiting for the school bus. Also to the best of my knowledge, bulls are not HUNTING humans as a source of food. Their attacks are based on a totally different set of values.. Yes, or No?
Even Timber Wolves.. the ones I have seen in the wild (while a PITA) have fled from the sight of humans. Although that is not always the case. And I suspect that if the future you will see incidents involving them As they too are a Class A predator.
See my point. You basically say it is all right to have a class A predator among the population because there are not many of them. And my point falls back to.. this predator
HUNTS humans as a food source, not encounters humans as an outside occurrence.
If you knew a cougar was in your area, would you want your child waiting outside by the side of the road for a school bus, or walking home from school alone? Yes or No?
And while Wisconsin might not ever have too many cougars... How many is too many? How many attacks on livestock and heaven forbid humans, or children will it take before there are too many? Also, the DNR said the same thing about wolves. That they would never be a threat or problem to Wisconsin. What they forgot to add is.. by who's standards. If there is only ONE (like I believe that) then it would be pretty easy to solve the whole problem right now. I think a 30-06 would do it real well.