I'm failing to see how letting them flourish benefits South Dakotans

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From today's Argus:
A Ramona boy said he encountered a mountain lion in his yard in northwest Lake County, officials said Tuesday.

Kurt Clark, 16, was playing fetch with his yellow lab, Bo, Sunday night when he said he saw a mountain lion in nearby trees. Clark said he went into his house, got his deer rifle and fired a warning shot outside.

"When I turned around, that's when it knocked me down," Clark said.
Bees pollinate. Mice and other things are food for slightly larger predators, etc. And then we get to mountain lions.

In South Dakota, they compete with people for food, such as deer and domestic livestock. And now they're starting to look at us as food. Sorry, Snagglepuss. Time for eradication efforts to begin, and advocating for that hunting season to be blown wide open.

(This message brought to you by a person who has an unreasonable fear of mountain lions. And flying. And Spiders.)

Comments

Anonymous said…
24 human fatalities in 116 years due to mountain lion attacks.

Bill Janklow getting his drivers license back is a bigger threat to public safety.
11:32 AM
Douglas said…
And if the May-June 2006 American Scientist magazine is correct, alcohol consumption is probably more likely to kill than Mountain lions.

On the other hand, even hearing a coyote howl when working in the half dark of early evening will curl the hair on the back of my neck.

I don't really know what the answer is to the Mt. Lion "problem", but suspect there are bigger problems in SD that might warrant a lot of attention first.
12:21 PM
Anonymous said…
There is no problem...media created issue, thanks PP.

Brock Greenfield is more of a threat the health of SD citizens than Mountain Lines will ever be.
12:36 PM
Anonymous said…
Janklow's only had one fatality in his 50 years of driving. And he didn't eat the guy...
12:36 PM
Anonymous said…
The mountain lion ran from an unarmed teenager. Teenager got his gun and pursued it. Lion managed to scare the hell out of the kid without getting shot. Sounds strictly like self defense by the lion. Let's kill all mammals that run from humans, have ourselves a real kill-fest. If they try to defend themselves then it's just proof we did the right thing.
2:14 PM
Anonymous said…
As usual it will take a fatality, like that woman jogger in California, before people will take this seriously. That boy is lucky.
2:29 PM
Anonymous said…
How many people in this state have been killed by dogs or rabid cats, this is silly. It's an animal, respect it and be smart, we can't just kill what we don't understand unless they live in a far off land and then it's appears to be OK.
2:40 PM
Anonymous said…
Well Planned Parenthood kills about 800 a year so legislate them not Mountain Lions.
2:49 PM
Anonymous said…
Douglas has it right.

There will be more high school kids killed as a result of alcohol consumption in the next week than by mountain lions in the next 50 years.

PP, are you proposing to kill all spiders, too?
4:22 PM
Anonymous said…
I fail to see the logic in destroying any life that simply "gets in the way", lacks a mature, human mind to be able to reason the consequences of their actions or is unable to defend itself. Perhaps we would be wise to address more important issues such as our State's horrendous drug problem, or our kids dying as a result of underage consumption of alcohol?
4:31 PM
Anonymous said…
Rabid cats??? My kids and I were all bitten by a rabid cat, had the shots, and last I checked were still alive.

The Ramona lad wasn't pursuing the lion, he was firing a shot to scare it away. If it knocked him down, it wasn't necessarily running away from him and certainly was close enough to have done him great harm.

I was suprised to hear of one in this area of the state though.

I think it will take someone getting mauled or killed, probably in the Hills, before the bleeding hearts will stop saying "don't kill the kitty." I have cats, and mountain lions are definitely not cats.

By the way, I would LOVE it if spiders were eliminated from the face of the earth. Know they must serve some purpose, but for the life of me, I don't know what and frankly don't care!
4:34 PM
PP said…
Anon 4:22, just the big ones.

And this is a food chain issue. As, it's not in ours, but we're apparently in its.

And anon 4:31, I think those parents and adults who supply alcohol to their underage kids need much more severe penalties than they tend to get.

But I still think we need to significantly trim back the number of mountain lions.
5:09 PM
Anonymous said…
"I'm failing to see how letting them flourish benefits South Dakotans"

Sounds like Planned Parenthood's viewpoint on babies!
6:18 PM
Publisher said…
Too bad we gotta wait until October to do them in, eh!
6:33 PM
Anonymous said…
I agree. Do a Planned Parenthood on them.
8:18 PM
Anonymous said…
ahhh, you're all on the wrong track... Let em flourish... In fact, why don't we reintroduce bears while were at it.

seriously, extend the hunting season.

Oh, BTW... PP you should stop allowing anonymous posts... just one anonymous man's opinion
9:10 PM
Anonymous said…
The enviros covert program to reintroduce cougars in So Dak has been successful. We'll be subjected to calls for protection. "They were here first" we'll be told. Fed and state land managers will fall all over each other to comply "with the public's demand" and champion legislation that will further erode private property rights.

Next, bears will start to appear with the same calls for protection and further restrictions and a hunting $$$$eason. End result? Loss of property rights, loss of civil liberties for all. That's the goal!
12:05 AM
Anonymous said…
Loss of Property Rights? Only a W. River rancher would argue that they should be compensated, by the same government they hate, for the damage done by animals, while also have the ability to sell to the highest bidder hunting permits issued by the state for wild animals which are no ones property while locking out citizen's and gfp. Gimme, Gimme, Gimme. You can call it loss of property rights but this falls far short of constitutional taking that warrants compensation. What about airline fly overs? Jim Lintz, want the governement to pay you for those property takings as well?
8:31 AM
Anonymous said…
"And anon 4:31, I think those parents and adults who supply alcohol to their underage kids need much more severe penalties than they tend to get." PP

I agree -- and how curious that our kids are speaking out publically, literally asking for the help and direction of their parents? I refer to the quotes of Sioux Falls teenagers regarding the underage drinking issue.

"These students say when it comes to keeping kids sober, the ultimate responsibility lies with parents."

Check it out: http://www.keloland.com/NewsDetail2817.cfm?Id=0,47666
9:39 AM
Anonymous said…
Yes
8:07 AM
Anonymous said…
God Bless J.L.
12:01 PM
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