1st lion of SD season taken

[Emily]

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/article ... 735070.txt

Final lion cub caught
Kitten orphaned in 2007 mountain lion season
By Ryan Woodard, Journal staff Thursday, November 29, 2007
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A South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks crew caught the second of a pair of cubs orphaned from the 2007 mountain lion season Wednesday morning, GF&P regional supervisor Mike Kintigh said.
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The cub was one of two that was left behind after the season's 10th female lion was killed. It is the last of four kittens to be captured by the GF&P since Saturday.

Kintigh said it was caught using some fresh meat in a live trap.

The kitten, estimated to be about 2 months old, was already on its way to South Dakota State University in Brookings by early Wednesday afternoon, Kintigh said. The kitten will remain at SDSU until it is placed in a properly accredited zoo.

The group had discovered two kittens that were left behind from the season's 10th kill after going out to retrieve cubs left behind from the 15th kill on Saturday.

Both cubs from the 15th kill and one of the cubs from the 10th kill were retrieved over the weekend. They were shipped to SDSU soon after being caught.

GF&P policy is to retrieve orphaned kittens if it is determined they are unable to survive on their own and there is a reasonable chance they can be found.

Kittens younger than 3 months are deemed unable to survive in the wild, according to the GF&P.

Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com

[Emily]

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/article ... 407520.txt

editors say its hypocritical
Manage mountain lions as species
By Journal Editorial Board Wednesday, November 28, 2007
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The 2007 mountain lion hunting season ended on Nov. 23 when hunters killed two more female lions, just 23 days and 19 animals after the season opened.
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The state Game, Fish and Parks Department set this third season to end at 35 total lions or 15 female lions, whichever was reached first. It’s unclear why the gender tally from 2007 was so lopsided: 3 males to 16 females.

What did not end on Nov. 23 was debate about the controversial hunting season and the “collateral damage” of orphaned mountain lion kittens that it inevitably produces.

In an area where deer are so plentiful that sharpshooters are needed to cull city herds, we question the need for a mountain-lion season. But we’ll defer to the GF&P experts, believing they are better equipped than journalists, sport hunters or animal activists to manage wildlife.

But we would remind GF&P that one of its stated goals in introducing a hunting season for lions back in 2005 was to reduce interactions between lions and humans. Its new policy of mounting a search and rescue mission for motherless lion kittens does exactly the opposite.

This year, GF&P rescued at least six kittens whose mothers were killed by hunters. We understand the public relations nightmare that led to that policy, but believe it is flawed as a component of wildlife management.

Mountain lions are not endangered species. A few individual animals are not crucial to the species as a whole. And it’s the species as a whole that responsible wildlife management seeks to conserve and protect.

A policy that “rescues” individual, non-endangered lion kittens, no matter how cute we think they are, is illogical. It is also harmful to long-standing GF&P efforts to educate the public on sound wildlife management principles.

Nature is wild and beautiful, and cruel. Death comes often there — sometimes swiftly at the hands of a predator or hunter, sometimes slowly through starvation or disease. But it comes for all wild animals, not just mountain lions. Deer fawns die every year when their mothers are killed by mountain lions or struck by passing vehicles. Coyote kits die when their mothers are trapped or shot. GF&P doesn’t “rescue” those orphans. Nor should it.

When trained wildlife biologists depart from big-picture mangement principles to intervene in nature on behalf of individual kittens, they do nothing to benefit the species. They only sentence a wild animal to a life of captivity.

Such flawed management policy smacks of politics rather than science. If GF&P is going to set a hunting season on mountain lions, it should accept the sometimes-controversial realities that come with it.

If not, perhaps the season should be eliminated.

[Emily]

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD= ... =461&rfi=9

Official weighs in on lion season



By Mark Watson, Black Hills Pioneer November 27, 2007



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BLACK HILLS - The 2007 mountain lion season closed Friday after an action-packed 23 days.
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Seven lions were killed in the first four days of the season, four being shot on opening day, Nov. 1, making it the fastest starting season yet. It also marked the first time the sub quota of females was exceeded. It was legal, however, as the 16th female was shot at approximately the same time the 15th female lion was being checked in, said John Kanta, regional wildlife manager with the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks.
"It is important to note that when we set these limits ... we anticipate that there could be additional harvests beyond the limits," he said.
This year the male to female ratio of lions killed was far from what it had been in the first two seasons.
This year 16 female lions were killed while only three males were shot.
"I am a bit surprised that we didn't harvest more lions," Kanta said. "Based on the last two years we saw almost ... 50 percent females, 50 percent males.
"A lot of people asked us 'are we worried, or does the number of females surprise us,' and the answer is 'no,'" he said. "We set this season fully anticipating to harvest 15 females. We expected that our harvest would be around 30 mountain lions based on the last two seasons. I think we need to step back as see what happened this year, whether it was a fluke, or is there a change in behavior in mountain lions out there. Are the sub-adult males dispersing from the area than they normally would, so they weren't available during the season."
However, Kanta said that the lion population is 60 percent female, 40 percent male which would make the random harvest with more females being killed.
This year also marked the first time a mountain lion outside the Black Hills, as determined by the GF&P as I-90, was killed. Two were shot north of the interstate. In the previous two season, these would have not counted toward the quota. A change in the regulations this year combined the state into one single unit.
The first, the eighth of the season, was a 2-year-old female killed one mile north of I-90 at Exit 17. The second, the 14th of the year, 1.5-to 2-year-old, male, shot five miles northeast of Camp Crook on the Little Missouri River on a walk-in area. Kanta said that mountain lions travel through the area, and may even spend a bit of time in the northwest corner of the state, but do not make it their home territory.
"We get a lot of reports, but very few if any verified reports," he said of lions in the area. "We get a lot of stuff that happens to cattle that is right away blamed on mountain lions. After our investigation we usually don't determine that lions are the cause. We certainly do acknowledge the fact that lions pass through the area. We know that based on the radio collar data that we have. We have some of the young males that go up there. We've tracked them right on through the Slim Buttes and down through Harding County. That is the same with this harvested lion."
The young lions use creek bottoms and draws to travel, he said.
"They travel the river drainages," he said. "We see that they follow the drainages here in the Hills. ... We don't think that there is enough area to hold a population of lions. It's certainly reasonable to think that a lion may hang up in that area for a small amount of time, maybe if he makes a kill."
Kanta said he did not expect a lion to be killed outside the Black Hills, but if there were one killed it would be in this area.
"People asked me before the season opened if we would have a prairie harvest. I said 'I don't think so, but if we did it would be up in that northwest corner of the state,'" he said.
Previously a lion had been killed well outside the Black Hills, but it was determined that it was not a wild lion as it had no front claws.
He said that the mountain lion population is still doing very well.
"I know we didn't decimate this lion population here," he said. "We have 32 females collared out there. I know we don't have all the females in the population collared. My guess is that we have 30 to 35 percent of them collared. The indication is that there are close to 100 females in this population. Harvesting 16 females isn't going to decimate the population."
A recommendation for the 2008 season, quotas, sub quotas and even if there will be a season, will be presented to the GF&P commission meeting May 1 and 2 in Pierre, and the commission will finalize that plan at its June meeting.
Below are a list of the lions killed, their age and location;
The first killed was a 2-year-old female killed near Galena.
Second was a 1.5-year-old female killed near Dalton Lake Road.
The third was 3-year-old female shot near Mt. Roosevelt, by Deadwood.
The fourth was a 2-year-old female killed in Williams Draw, south of Deerfield.
The fifth lion killed was a 4-year-old female shot by Cicero Peak, west of Custer State Park.
The sixth was a 1.5-year-old female, also shot west of Custer State Park, in Pleasant Valley.
The seventh was a 2-year-old female, killed at Beaver Creek, northwest of Pringle.
The eighth lion killed a 2-year-old female killed one mile north of I-90 at Exit 17.
The ninth was a 1.5-year-old male shot near Zimmer Ridge, west of Crazy Horse monument.
The 10th was a 8-year-old female shot northwest of Deerfield Lake.
The 11th was a 2-year-old female, killed near Iron Creek Lake.
The 12th was a 3-year-old female, killed on Bowman Ridge.
The 13th lion killed was a 4-year-old female, shot in Haven Canyon.
The 14th was a 1.5-to 2-year-old male, shot five miles northeast of Camp Crook on the Little Missouri River.
The 15th was a 6-year-old female killed in China Gulch.
The 16th was 3-year-old a female, killed near Dalton Lake.
The 17th lion shot was a 1.5-year-old male killed just outside a Black Hawk subdivision.
The 18th was a 3-year-old female killed near the Beaver Creek Campground.
The 19th, the 16th female, was a 4-year-old killed northwest of Pringle.


©The Black Hills Pioneer, Newspapers, South Dakota, SD 2007

[Emily]

have an early chase season for hound hunters. let us splash the females with paint pellets so the other slobs can tell the males from the females. after the houndsmen have marked the females so that any idiot can tell the difference, fine anyone heavily that comes in with a painted lion.

[Melanie Hampton]

Maybe they should do like CO did and have the test you have to take to get a lion permit..

[Emily]

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 7711280318

Data: population thriving in S.D.
Hunters helping state learn about cats
By Peter Harriman
pharrima@argusleader.com
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PUBLISHED: November 28, 2007

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Although hunters harvested more female mountain lions than expected in the 2007 season, data collected from both hunters and scientists now are confirming that the state's lion population is thriving.

The third annual season was set to run through the end of the year or until 35 lions or 15 females were taken. It ended Nov. 16 when the 16th female was killed.

"Friday at about 2 p.m., we checked in the last female and closed the season," said John Kanta, Game, Fish and Parks regional game manager in Rapid City. "A gentleman called an hour after that who had just gotten out of the field with another female. When we set harvest limits, we understand there is an opportunity for that to happen."

Three male lions also were killed this year by hunters. All but one of the lions - a young male killed in Harding County -- were shot in the Black Hills.

When the idea of a mountain lion season was presented to the GF&P commission several years ago, an accompanying biologists' estimate suggested young males would be most likely to encounter hunters, since they roam more. What might have happened this year is that hunters who found recent lion signs intercepted the female lions who made the signs rather than males passing through the area, said Tony Leif, GF&P Wildlife Division Director.

"That's a little different than we would have anticipated," he said. "The predominant harvest was subadult females. Those are the animals that tend to be a little more sedentary compared to their male counterparts."

Nonetheless, information gathered from hunters and an effort by scientists has created a clearer picture of mountain lions in South Dakota.

"The most important thing we've learned is we do have a sustainable population," Leif said. "We have a vibrant, breeding population of mountain lions in the Black Hills."

In three years of hunting, 48 lions have been killed. Thirteen were taken in 2005, including seven females and six males. In 2006, 16 were killed, including eight males and eight females.

Every animal killed by hunters is subsequently checked by GF&P personnel.

All of it adds up to an even more detailed picture of the Black Hills lion population. Besides hunting results, ongoing field studies headed by South Dakota State University aim to put radio collars on 50 adult lions annually and track their movements.

"We have learned and continue to learn more about lion populations in the Black Hills in South Dakota than any population that has ever been studied," Leif said.

Radio collars with global positioning satellite technology allow Kanta to track some young male lions in real time from a computer on his desk.

"We have so much known data. We're not assuming birth rate, we know it," he said. "We're not assuming survival rate. We know it."

"It's going to be landmark research when it comes to cougars and cougar management," Leif said.

Hunters play a role in the studies as well. They fill out surveys that include information such as whether they found tracks or other signs of mountain lions or saw an actual lion. Also, the age, size and exact location in which a lion is killed is recorded.

The first season, about 2,600 lion licenses were sold. That increased to about 3,300 last year. This year, the number was up to about 4,000, said Scott Simpson, licensing supervisor with GF&P.

The first season was accompanied by lively discussion whether South Dakota should hunt mountain lions at all. It included a lawsuit filed in Circuit Court in Hughes County by the Mountain Lion Foundation in late September 2005 as hunting was about to start. Judge Max Gors dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds the plaintiff failed to show that hunting would harm the lion population, and the season went off as planned.

"We still hear that," Leif said of concerns about the effect of hunting mountain lions. "As long as we have any type of mountain lion season, we will hear that.

"I can respect their position," he said.

However GF&P Commissioner Dick Brown, of Custer and formerly of Sioux Falls, said comment on the lion season that reaches him has fallen dramatically.

GF&P still is aiming to maintain the Black Hills mountain lion population at 80 to 85 percent of the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. It ensures the population remains healthy and does not become overcrowded, Kanta said.

All aspects of managing mountain lions are reviewed annually.

The commission is set to take up lion management at its May meeting, at which time GF&P biologists should have an assessment of the season that just ended.

Brown said he will be listening for information on the effect of hunting on lion numbers and on the age of that population, and he also wants to know how hunters are encountering lions.

"It's important to find out whether a number are being taken because people are hunting lions or because they run into them while hunting deer."

With the ongoing studies on Black Hills lions, the need to check in every animal hunters kill and a department commitment to try to rescue cubs orphaned by hunting, the seven members of the GF&P game staff in the Black Hills "are strung pretty thin. ...We get pretty darn busy," Kanta said.

GF&P expends far more in managing mountain lions than it takes in with license revenue, Leif said. "But it's not our goal to recover our costs with a hunting season. Our goal is to offer the people in the state the opportunity to have another form of hunting available."

After three years, he said, "there appears to be a great deal of interest in hunting mountain lions."

Reach reporter Peter Harriman at 575-3615.

[Emily]

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 13036/1001

outh Dakota man pays fine for lion kill
By Associated Press
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PUBLISHED: December 13, 2007

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JUNIUS – A Lake County man who was charged with illegally shooting a mountain lion last month said he has paid the fine rather than go through the expense and time of hiring a lawyer to defend him.

But Chuck McGillivray, 54, of Junius, said he did not break the law.

State officials alleged that McGillivray shot a female lion while the big cat was traveling with another lion. In order to protect lions with kittens, it is illegal to shoot lions traveling in groups.

McGillivray said he was not aware of the second lion until after he fired.

“It jumped up and took off,” he said. “I didn’t see the other one until I shot the first animal.”

McGillivray said he later told a game warden about seeing a second lion and was unaware that he’d done anything wrong. He dropped off his quarry with a biologist in Rapid City so researchers could collect information on the cat.

“When I left Rapid City, I thought I was free and clear to go,” McGillivray said.

When he went into a Hill City bar to phone in a report of his lion kill near Deerfield on Nov. 23, McGillivray said he mentioned seeing a second lion. He speculated that state officials later received a tip from someone who had overheard him talking in the bar.

Jim McCormick, a Game, Fish and Parks Department supervisor in Rapid City, said his office received information that more than one mountain lion was present when McGillivray fired his gun. Orphaned mountain lion kittens were later found in that area, McCormick said.

McGillivray said he sent the Pennington County clerk of courts $101 to pay the fine and court costs rather than plead not guilty and go to court on multiple dates and take time off work. He also said an illness in his family affected his decision to pay rather than contest the ticket.

“I haven’t got the money to do it or the time available,” McGillivray said.

[Emily]

if I am reading this correctly, F&G collared these 3-mo old orphan kittens and left them in the wild? Doesn't seem they have much chance of survival. This seems to be asking for trouble, with soft hearted souls feeding them and habituating them to humans.

http://areavoices.com/dougleier/

kittens in your backyard!
Baby kittens in your back yard wouldnt be that big of a deal...unless of course they are mountain lion kittens

PRINGLE, S.D. (AP) State game officials say three mountain lion kittens, believed to have been orphaned when the 16th female of the mountain lion-hunting season was shot, showed up in a Pringle resident's backyard shortly after the kill and still linger in the area.

The landowner did not want to be identified.

Mike Kintigh, state Game, Fish & Parks Department regional supervisor, says the kittens ate scraps the landowner had left for his pets.

The kittens, which are about 3 months old, were outfitted with radio collars.

Kintigh says the cubs may have returned to the Pringle house because it's near where their mother was killed.

He wants to give them a chance to survive in the wild but a Custer mountain lion advocate says she thinks there's little chance they will survive.

Posted by: Doug Leier on December 15, 2007 at 22:29 | Comments (0) |

[Emily]

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/article ... 400482.txt

Lion cubs show up in Pringle backyard
GF&P wants to give them a chance to survive on their own
By Ryan Woodard, Journal staff Saturday, December 15, 2007
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Mountain lion kittens believed to have been orphaned when the 16th female of the mountain lion-hunting season was shot showed up in a Pringle resident's backyard shortly after the kill and continue to linger in the area, according to a South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks official.

GF&P regional supervisor Mike Kintigh said the GF&P has put radio collars on and monitors the three kittens, which are estimated between 3 and 3-1/2 months old.

They showed up at the residence shortly after the 16th female was killed late in the afternoon of Nov. 23. The hunter was not penalized for exceeding the season's 15-female quota, because he was out in the field when the quota was met earlier that afternoon.?

The cubs showed up to feed on scraps of meat that the Pringle resident, who did not want to be identified, threw out for his own pets.

"They've got a ravine or draw behind their house. ... He observed these lion kittens there. They were getting a free meal out of the scraps that were thrown out," Kintigh said.

GF&P was notified of the situation, Kintigh said, and a crew came out to trap the kittens. They were radio-collared, moved about a mile and left with a deer carcass to feed on.

But a day later, the kittens came back to the residence and have since been seen in the area by the resident.

Kintigh believes the cubs may have come back to the residence instinctually, because it is near where their mother was killed.

"I think they returned more out of a natural instinct to go back to where mom last left them in that area, (to) wait for her to come back," he said.

Kintigh said the GF&P will continue to monitor the kittens daily by radio collar and will check on them in person, but the department has no plans to remove them.

He wants the kittens to have a chance to survive in the wild, and the only two options after capturing the kittens are to send them to a zoo or euthanize them.

"Best-case scenario ... is that they'd survive on their own out in the wild," he said. "If we go out there right now and bring them into captivity, we take that chance away from them. They'll be confined to basically a jail cell for the rest of their lives."

The kittens have not shown they are accustomed to humans and have not shown other characteristics that lead to typical problem-animal removals, according to Kintigh. He believes they may still be able to hunt and survive on their own.?

But Custer veterinarian and lion advocate Sharon Seneczko believes the GF&P should bring the kittens in and get them placed in a zoo.

She thinks the young lions are scavenging and said the fact they didn't attack turkeys that ran past them in the resident's yard shows their mother hadn't had time to sufficiently teach them to hunt.

"I'm very concerned that they are too accustomed to the comings and goings of human beings, and they are not hunting for themselves; they are scavenging," she said.?

She said the young lions have very little chance of survival. If they do survive, it could be because they are scavenging and using other tactics for food that could cause them to become problem animals in the future, she said.

"I sure don't want anyone to get hurt," she said. "It's a human-safety issue as well as being humane to the animals."

Kintigh said another reason he hesitates to bring the kittens in is because the GF&P hasn't found homes for all of the seven other kittens that were orphaned from the lion-hunting season.? ?

Also the landowner said the cats thus far are not bothering him, and he would like to give them a chance at survival, he said.

Kintigh said if it becomes obvious the cubs will not survive on their own, the GF&P will bring them in and bring them back to health.

Right now, the three have maintained their health since the GF&P began monitoring them, Kintigh said. He said one of them is in really good shape, weighing about 40 pounds, and the other two are somewhat thin at 23 pounds each.

Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com

[uncle Brisco]

Emily thanks for drawing atention to this rediculouse event,we fought for years to get a lion season,sent folks to Pierre to lobby and than Gov Rounds oks it they flat slap us houndsmen in the face and not let us run,and now you got uneducated meatheads blasting kittens because they are the only ones comeing into a cow call,and only 1 this year went over 100lbs,what a joke ,we are so over run with lion its crazy,i mean opening day of bobcat season we found 18lion tracks within 20mile radius of town,i've seen tracks that a dollarbill will touch the sides,comeing out of the golf course,am i the only one that thinks that is a little much??we have more sightings in city limets in towns around the Black Hills than all the rest of the nation,it goes on so much that even the news paper only coments on the ones that are sighted within a 1/4 mile of a school or playground,yea they shot one out of a tree across from Canyon Lake Elimentry in a frigen crabapple tree in the morning while kids are going to school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they are going to do nothing to control the pop. as long as they take kittens ,thanks for listening to me bitch

[Emily]

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/article ... 027079.txt

from the Rapid City Journal

Orphaned mountain lions sent to zoos
Seven cats go three ways
By Journal staff Saturday, January 19, 2008
11 comment(s) Normal Size Increase font Size

The seven mountain lion kittens orphaned in the 2007 hunting season have found new homes at zoos in Phoenix, Denver and Abilene, Texas.

"They've got a real beautiful exhibit, with lots of rock features for them to tuck in and hide," said Aimee Yamamori, spokeswoman for the Phoenix Zoo, where two of the cats, females believed to be siblings, now live. The cats will make their public debut later this month.

The state Game, Fish & Parks Department, under direction from Gov. Mike Rounds, began its policy of attempting to retrieve orphaned kittens in 2005 when a lion kill orphaned three. Those cats were rescued and now live in the Philadelphia Zoo.

The seven from the 2007 season were located after it was determined their mothers were nursing when shot. Sixteen female lions and three males were killed in the season, which ended Nov. 23.

The kittens' weights ranged from 10 pounds to 27 pounds while they were first cared for and studied at South Dakota State University's Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Department.

The university and Game, Fish & Parks worked with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to place the cats in AZA-accredited zoos, Tony Leif, wildlife division director for the department, said in a news release Friday.

"All appear to be doing well in their new surroundings," Leif said.

Caring for the kittens presents challenges, even when they are young, SDSU professor Johnathan Jenks said.

"You have to be careful, as they can be dangerous even as kittens," he said. He would know: He needed four stitches on his face after one slashed him with its claws.

"You also have to be careful of their diet, as they must receive very specific items to ensure their proper growth," he said.

It was not clear Friday how many kittens went to each zoo. The GF&P news release said one is in Denver, three are in Abilene and three are in Phoenix, but Yamamori in Phoenix said her zoo has just two.

The female kittens, about five months old now, appeared stressed when they arrived in Phoenix, although she said that's normal. Cats that are stressed will hiss and growl, huddle together and stay in the back of their habitat.

Now, they're more at home in their habitat on the zoo's "Arizona Trail" feature and are getting more accustomed to life on display. They eat a mixed-meat diet and have the chance to play with a "behavioral enrichment" zoo staff member who helps keep them from getting bored. They play with balls and are exposed to different scents.

Zoo staffers are excited about the cats' arrival because their formerly lone mountain lion died not long ago, at age 17.

The kittens have not yet been named, and the public will have the chance to help decide what to call them.

The zoo is tying in the naming with the fact that the Super Bowl is coming to the state. Visitors to www.azsuperbowl.com will have the chance to vote on the lions' names.

"Because they are a native species -- to your neck of the woods, but also to Arizona -- we thought it would be fun to tie it all in," Yamamori said.

She said it isn't the zoo's role to get involved with hunting policy decisions. She said the zoo is pleased to be able to provide a permanent home for animals that, as with these kittens, may not be able to survive in the wild.

[Emily]

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 3/business

GF&P defends cougar hunting
Agency disputes scientist's concern
MATTHEW GRUCHOW • MGRUCHOW@ARGUSLEADER.COM • MARCH 26, 2008
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South Dakota wildlife officials say mountain lion hunting has helped rid the state of "problem lions" despite a Washington researcher's claims that hunting aggravates issues between lions and people.

Ben Maletzke, a Washington biologist, says that killing male lions can destabilize lion populations and increase chances of human-lion contacts. He says it opens up territory to young lions that are more apt to take risks and are not used to living around people.

John Kanta, regional wildlife manager for the state Game, Fish and Parks department, says its preliminary data does not show that hunting is leading to more contact between lions and people. He admits his agency's data is largely anecdotal, but it is clear that troublesome animals are being eliminated, he said.



"We're able to say the hunting season is taking the place of some of the other mortality ... that it's reducing the number of problem lions," he said.

However, they can't tell yet whether younger lions are in turn causing problems, he said.

South Dakota's mountain lion population appears to be strong, and there have been recent incidents where lions have entered populated areas. Authorities on Monday killed a mountain lion in the Black Hills for that very reason.

governor's support

Hunters killed 19 mountain lions during the 2007 season. That was an increase from the 16 killed in 2006 and the 13 killed in 2005.

Gov. Mike Rounds has defended the hunting season.

"I do not agree that sport hunting disrupts important dynamics within the lion population and with other species such as deer," he wrote in a January letter to Sharon Seneczko, founder of the Black Hills Lion Foundation.

There also has been no observed increase in human conflicts with mountain lions, Rounds wrote, and many of the lions killed by hunters already had fit the definition of a "problem lion" and would have been removed by GF&P.

Seneczko disagrees. It oversimplifies the issue to look strictly at the number of lion-human contacts and harvest numbers, she said. A hunting season is acceptable, but it might create more problems than it solves, Seneczko said.

"When we're talking about hunting lions, we need to think not so much, 'Do we need to hunt these animals?' but 'Do we want to hunt these animals for recreation or sport?' " she said. "And realize that we aren't really solving any problems."

Seneczko, like Maletzke, said heavy hunting of a lion population can create two major problems. First, the hunting of adult males creates a vacancy that is filled by young lions more likely to take risks around humans. Second, the hunting of female lions creates orphans that do not "complete their education" and can therefore become problem animals.

"Young lions, because they don't have a number of years of life behind them, they take risks," Seneczko said. "They're animals that are intelligent enough to learn from life experiences."

encounters rare

GF&P officials will continue to collect data on the effects of hunting on the state's lion population, Kanta said.

What is clear is that encounters with a mountain lion remain rare because lions are secretive, he said.

"Chances are slim to see it and slimmer for a bad encounter," he said.

For Seneczko, there is a simpler way to manage the mountain lion population.

"I truly, truly believe the best solution is pick up problem animals only," she said.

If hunting continues, it should be accompanied by a reduced female harvest quota so as to make fewer orphans and high tag fees with some of the money allocated for conservation, Seneczko said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Matthew Gruchow at 331-2301.