Well I don't think the history of the bison or the passenger pigeon or the Chesapeake Bay ducks is the same as wolves. The former were killed for money or "sport" and the latter were killing people and livestock (and still do). Mountain lions in California kill pets, deer and occasionally people. Try hunting deer in California and see what your success rate is. Lions are "protected" and can't be killed without a credible threat to a human or a depredation permit. Their population has exploded and they have lost their fear of man. I wouldn't advocate wiping lions or wolves from the face of the earth but they need to be controlled.