HomeMy Public PortalAboutWildlife: Cougars7: 71 Ida h o t54-a s r77 n ii%i97&
Crossing paths
It's becoming more with
commonplace as lions
increase in numbers
By Pete Zimowsky
The Idaho Statesman
f you're a cross-country skier or
I snowmobiler traversing Idaho's
winter trails, chances are good you
might run into a mountain lion or at
least see its tracks.
There are plenty of lions, also called
cougars, roaming around.
Mountain lion populations have
increased significantly in Idaho since
the days prior to the 1970s when there
were no controls on how many could be
shot.
Now, don't be surprised to hear of a
big cat walking down main street or
ending up in a school playground of a
rural town. Or even on the edge of a big
city.
Mountain lions have been seen as
close to Boise as Shafer Butte, Bogus
Basin, and Wilderness Ridge on the
-Boise Front.
Mountain lions are also increasing
across the West.
Last week a mountain lion killed a
woman in California and one of the big
cats was caught in Salt Lake City.
Experts can't recall a case in Idaho
where a mountain lion killed a human.
One thing they do know is that the
paths of humans and mountain lions
,will cross a lot more.
' - Mountain lions have increased over
the years because of several reasons:
■ They are classified as a game
animal and limits have been put on how
many can be shot each year.
■ There is more food for lions. Their
prey deer and elk are at record
levels because of good survival during
mild winters.
■ And, mountain lions are solitary
animals that tend to stay away from
humans.
They are so solitary, that Idaho Fish
and Game doesn't know how many are
out there. All biologists know is that
they are increasing. Depending on the
year and hunting conditions, hunters
shoot 175 to 450 annually in Idaho.
Although no Idaho numbers are
available, a story in November's
Audubon magazine reported that some
biologists believe there may be as many
as 50,000 mountain lions in the United
States. That compares with an estimate
of 6,500 in 1969.
"There is no question that we have a
good healthy, flourishing population,"
said Maurice Hornocker, a biologist
who has been studying mountain lions
Page, G f' Z PagPs
Maurice Hornocker/Special to The Idaho Statesman
Cougars are on the increase in Idaho. Some have been seen as close to Boise as
Shafer Butte, Bogus Basin, and Wilderness Ridge on the Boise Front.
in Idaho for 30 years.
Mike Schlegel, a regional wildlife
manager with Fish and Game in
McCall, agrees.
"We're getting more reports of lions
being sighted by people cutting wood,
hunting or just driving around,"
Schlegel said. "It appears we have an
increase in population."
The mountain lion is a very secretive
animal, which helps it survive even
though Idaho is becoming more
urbanized.
However, some cats, especially the
one- to two -year -olds who are sent out
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on their own by their mothers, end up
getting into trouble because of
inexperience.
Schlegel still remembers vividly
several years ago when a mountain lion
walked in the front door of a remote
store at Three Forks Resort at Lowell
and grabbed a pet dog by the head.
"The owner heard a crunch and the
lion had just bit the dog in the head and
was walking out the door with the dog,"
he said.
The lion, which was a young one, was
killed.
Schlegel's son-in-law had to shoot a
lion in November while deer hunting
near Kooskia.
He heard a grunting noise and it was
a lion that had just killed a deer. When
the lion made eye contact with
Schlegel's son-in-law, the animal
squatted down and inched its way
toward him.
He shot the lion when it came within
10 yards.
More hunters are reporting that
when they try to call bull elk with a call
that sounds like a cow elk, they will
have mountain lions stalking them.
"We probably have more lions now
than historically," Hornocker said.
Mountain lions are being seen in
areas of Idaho where they haven't been
seen in many years, like the Owyhees
and the mountains south of Twin Falls.
Hornocker, who lives in Bellevue,
started studying mountain lions in 1964
in the wilderness of the Big Creek
drainage of the Middle Fork of the
Salmon River.
Cougar conflicts
What should you do if you encoun-
ter a mountain lion in the wilds?
Here is some advice from Maurice
Hornocker, who has been conducting
research on mountain lions for about
30 years:
• Stand your ground. Running is
the worst thing you can do.
■ Shout. Take an aggressive
stance.
IN Wave your arms.
■ Grab something to wave like a
club. Use your ski pole as a weapon.
IN Fight off an attack. Don't as-
sume fetal position like what is sug-
gested for bear attacks.
• If you have a small child, pick it
up and hold it close to you.
A lion will go after a smaller im-
age. Most mountain lion attacks are
on children.
His passion for the big cats and
wildlife across the world caused him to
start the private, non-profit Hornocker
Wildlife Research Institute in Moscow
10 years ago. He has been a longtime
faculty member at the University of
Idaho.
Hornocker has studied big carnivores
worldwide, including the Siberian tiger
"The mountain lion is a real success
story when you look at big carnivores
around the world," he said.
"It has quietly come back on its own
without any congressional committees
and public funds," Hornocker said.
"The grizzly is hanging on and wolves
are getting tremendous amount of help