Mountain lion population can be useful - Herald and News: Forum. Posted: Monday, January 19, 2015 7:30 am Mountain lion population can be useful By SCOTT BECKSTEAD Guest Writer Herald and News Those silly cougars.
They sure have a bad sense of timing, at least when it comes to state politics. Before each legislative session, we’re told that there’s a cougar problem in Oregon. Suddenly, a swarm of cougars are prowling our neighborhoods, schoolyards and farms. Oregonians approved Measure 18 in 1994 to end the cruel and unsporting practice of hounding cougars. An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety. Login Or, use your linked account: Choose an online service. Need an account?
What Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife doesn’t tell the public is that cougars are killed in far greater numbers than before Measure 18 passed. In other words, killing cougars is counterproductive. And what of ODFW’s claim about Oregon’s “booming” cougar population? © 2015 Herald and News. Thanks for visiting the Herald and News. Witness the First Ever Successful Snow Leopard Kill Caught on Camera. This incredible set of photographs is, to my knowledge, the first snow leopard kill to be documented on camera.
These images were taken by Adam Riley deep in the Himalayas in the Hemis National Park while hosting a snow leopard tour through the area. Known as the “gray ghost of the Himalayas,” the snow leopard remains extremely rare to see. In the Hemis, only an estimated 50-60 individuals still live in the wild, making the park an important genetic reserve for this species. The photos below are a remarkable record, expertly captured in the midst of what must have been an exciting moment for Adam.
Here’s what happened: A snow leopard peers over a rocky outcrop in the Tarbung Valley. Ten blue sheep enter the scene and begin grazing their way toward the snow leopard’s hiding place. The snow leopard slinks into a fault line in the rocks above the grazing blue sheep. Three blue sheep unwittingly approach the rocky outcrop. The slope steepens and the young blue sheep begins to lose its lead. Official Website: The World's Most Versatile Camera. S6301252.jpg (936×602)
DNA tests shed light on cougar, wolf sightings. This content is archived JEFFERSON CITY–Analysis of DNA and other physical evidence is helping biologists learn more about unusual wildlife sightings that have occurred in Missouri in recent months.
The string of sightings began Nov. 13 with the shooting of what appeared to be an unusually large coyote in Carroll County. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) sought DNA tests to clarify the animal’s identity. Scientists sometimes can determine where an animal came from by comparing its DNA with DNA samples from animals of the same species from different areas.
The first round of testing compared DNA from the 104-pound canine to that of western timber wolves. “Coyotes seldom get bigger than 30 pounds in Missouri,” said MDC Resource Scientist Jeff Beringer. The second round of DNA tests compared the Carroll County canine’s DNA with samples from timber wolves from the Great Lake states of Minnesota, Wisconsin or Michigan. “We already knew that,” said Beringer. -Jim Low- Cougar policy in Calif. under review. A new state mountain lion policy that would give California wardens more options besides killing the animals was proposed Friday under pressure from legislators and residents who were outraged by several lethal encounters last year, including the shooting of two cubs.
The draft policy by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is the first state document focusing specifically on cougars. It creates a category for the lions, called "potential human conflict response," which gives wardens more discretion to use nonlethal methods. It also establishes a team of experts from around the state for wardens to consult when dealing with the predators. "We have seen an increase in mountain lion encounters or sightings, and we expect to see future increases in mountain lion/human encounters," said Jordan Traverso, spokeswoman for the Department Fish and Wildlife, who blamed the increase primarily on human encroachment and habitat destruction.