Meade County Lincoln Day Dinner and lions on the rise

By -
I had a note from reader Aaron Lorenzen who attended the Meade County Republican Lincoln Day dinner just the other night which was keynoted by new GFP Secretary Jeff Vonk who gave a talk on elk and mountain lions. Above, you see Senators Ken McNenny and Dennis Schmidt who were in attendance.

Speaking of mountain lions, I see from the Kevin Woster article in the Rapid City Journal that their numbers are going up, with lion deaths up 16 from the previous years.

While the "lion loonies" say it shows that the population is being pressured, GFP officials say it shows there's plenty of them out there:
Dr. Sharon Seneczko, a Custer veterinarian who heads the Black Hills Mountain Lion Foundation, said it was troubling to see such a substantial increase in the mortality outside the sport-hunting season — from 27 in 2005 to 40 in 2006.

“To me, it shows that we have much human-caused mortality — predominantly from traps, cars and the taking of lions (by GF&P) because of problems,” Seneczko said. “I think this problem will only increase as the hills become more populated, there’s more sprawl and more and more places for conflict.”

Nine lions died after being hit by vehicles last year, and seven were accidentally caught in snares or traps.

The increase in total mortality didn’t alarm George Vandel of Pierre, assistant director of GF&P’s Wildlife Division.

“I think it should be seen as a sign that we’ve got lots of lions,” he said. “We’ve had two hunting seasons, yet the number of lions we find (dead) through incidental causes continues to increase. That tells me the lion population is doing quite well.”
Read the whole article here.

Do you hear that? Two lion seasons, and the numbers are still going up, up and up. Here's a thought - remove protection status, and reinstate bounties. They aren't warm and fuzzy kitty cats. They are predators who look at people as food.

Are we forgetting that they menace people and livestock? I'm telling you as the lion population grows, so does the risk that someone's child is going to be badly mauled if not killed by one of these things.

Comments

Anonymous said…
PP, are you advocating the nanny state now? How many small children have been killed by lions in SD? I'm not sure why your afraid of them, they don't have them in Pierre do they? I live in mt. lion territory yet have never been threatened and my cat is 13 years old and spends most of his time outdoors. I think the threat level is a tad below that of children under 8 being killed in a car accident - even in a car seat!
11:13 AM
PP said…
Nanny state? I'm advocating wildlife management, not regulation on adults who can choose for themselves.

In fact, this would be de-regulation in favor of farmers, ranchers, and landowners.

And that's a good thing.
11:39 AM
Anonymous said…
PP, i agree the cats can attack and possibly kill humans. I do believe that people should stay out of their habitat. We are intruding and the cats will spread to find new area.
Yes, i agree if found on a farmers land they should have the right to kill, (and i know some will do it regardless) but we have to stop building and invading their domain for the all mighty buck. I am a conservative making this statement.
6:00 PM
Anonymous said…
Nice pic of Dennis by Aaron. I think Dennie will be an important member in the Senate in years to come. PP, how does your eco-buddy Tony Green feel about your comments.
11:59 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A note from Benedict Ar... Sorry. A note from Stan Adelstein why he thinks you should vote Democrat this year.

By -
Image
(Click on letter to enlarge) And while it may not be printed at taxpayer expense, I don't see a disclaimer, either. When they hold the special session (supposedly at the end of November) , since he's left them already, I think his colleagues should expel him from the caucus. Sure. At that point it's only going to be symbolic. But since he's already said he's running again in the near future, sometimes symbolism is enough.
Read more

Corson County information on Klaudt Rape Charges

By -
Here's some of the information on the Corson County Charges: COUNT I That on or about December of 2005, in the County of Corson, State of South Dakota, Ted Alvin Klaudt did commit the public offense of SECOND DEGREE RAPE (SDCL 22-22-1(2)) in that he did accomplish an act of sexual penetration with his foster daughter, A.M., through the use of force or coercion; and as to COUNT II That on or about July or August of 2006, in the County of Corson, State of South Dakota, Ted Alvin Klaudt did commit the public offense of SECOND DEGREE RAPE (SDCL 22-22-1(2)) in that he did accomplish an act of sexual penetration with his foster daughter, A.M., through the use of force or coercion; and as to COUNT III That on or about July or August of 2006, in the County of Corson, State of South Dakota, Ted Alvin Klaudt did commit the public offense of SECOND DEGREE RAPE (SDCL 22-22-1(2)) in that he did accomplish an act of sexual penetration, separate and distinct from the act alleged in Count II, with...
Read more

It's about health, not potential promiscuity.

By -
As the only South Dakota blogger out with 5 daughters, I feel I need to weigh in on the whole discussion that's occurring with regards to the HPV vaccine, and Governor Rounds' proposal to make it available. My family (including my three oldest girls) watched my mom, their grandmother, succumb slowly and painfully to cancer which spread throughout her body. If a similar fate from a different type of cancer was preventable through a simple shot, why wouldn't anyone advocate for it? At the age most of my kids are going to be getting it, they're still playing with barbies, and negative influences such as most of the programming on MTV, and other assorted trashy television is verboten in my house. All they're going to know about this vaccination is that it's a shot, just like for teatnus or measles. They'll go "Ow, I don't want a shot," and that will be it. Just another mark on their vaccination record. One check box for DPT, one for HPV, and so on...
Read more