Fw: Coyotes,Wolves,Cougars..forever!

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From: "Wolves, Wolf Facts, Cougars, Cougar Facts, Coyotes, Coyote Facts - Wolves, Cougars, Coyotes Forever" <rick.meril@gmail.com>
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Sent: Saturday, September 3, 2011 9:01 AM
Subject: Coyotes,Wolves,Cougars..forever!

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• There were 6 Mountain Lions(now 5) living in Los Angeles up until Thursday when a 15 month old male was killed crossing the 405 Freeway adjacent to the Getty Center(near the very human populated Wilshire Blvd UCLA area of town).............The National Park Service has been monitoring the Lions over the last 20 years making recommendations for wildlife road crossings so that our urban big cats can roam and spread their genes across the open space that rings our 2nd largest city(Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area)..............In the 20 years of research done on this remarkable urban Cougar population, there has not been one negative encounter with people.............This, in a City of 7 million who are active hikers, bicyclers and outdoor enthusiasts................Remember, California passed a law in the 70's outlawing the hunting and trapping of Cougars.................Compare the results of this decision when you read about cougar attacks on people in other regions where hunting is allowed(see British Columbia cougar attack article following Calif discussion)
• A revised Yukon Wolf Management Plan has been released(first updated mgmt plan since 1992) .........The Yukon Conservation Society is asking for a longer public comment period to debate the recommendations that include closer managing of wolves(culls) to reduce predation rates on caribou and moose................Very little if anything discussed about the health of the land when caribou and moose populations fall..................The mantra heard is always:" kill wolves, increase hoofed browsers"......It does not matter whether the discussion is taking place in the Yukon, Idaho or Minnesota..............Here is an analogy from our music listening habits that is apropos to our discussions on carnivore management: I feel we are stuck playing 33.3 long playing records,,,,,,,,cd's and downloads are not even in the discussion (see George Wuerthner' WOLF HUNTS MORALLY CORRUPT article in this blogs Friday, Sept 2 Post)
• As many of our readers know so well, Cape Breton, Novia Scotia was the location of the killing(by Coyotes) of the 19 year old folk singer in 2009 and wounding of another 16 year old girl in 2010.........Thankfully, there have not been any negative human/coyote encounters over the past two summers............Some feel that the bounty program(PELT-INCENTIVE PROGRAM) that paid trappers $20 per pelt during the 2010-11 trapping season is the reason for the quieting.........Others conclude that the educational program instituted to teach people how to coexist with coyotes as well as target-specific removal of aggressive coyotes has caused the quieting.............science doesn't support general culls, because coyotes can compensate. "The normal number of babies that a female coyote has is about five or six," said retired Nova Scotia biologist Bob Bancroft. "But what happens when the coyote population is dropped by trapping or hunting is they'll have up to 19 young."............. Advocates for a cull argue that the practice discourages coyotes from settling in more populated areas,............Bottom line is that targeting specific problem animals could well serve the same purpose, utilizing the proven science that has proven that bounties only end up increasing coyote populations and costing human taxpayers hard earned $$$$

There were 6 Mountain Lions(now 5) living in Los Angeles up until Thursday when a 15 month old male was killed crossing the 405 Freeway adjacent to the Getty Center(near the very human populated Wilshire Blvd UCLA area of town).............The National Park Service has been monitoring the Lions over the last 20 years making recommendations for wildlife road crossings so that our urban big cats can roam and spread their genes across the open space that rings our 2nd largest city(Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area)..............In the 20 years of research done on this remarkable urban Cougar population, there has not been one negative encounter with people.............This, in a City of 7 million who are active hikers, bicyclers and outdoor enthusiasts................Remember, California passed a law in the 70's outlawing the hunting and trapping of Cougars.................Compare the results of this decision when you read about cougar attacks on people in other regions where hunting is allowed(see British Columbia cougar attack article following Calif discussion) Posted: 02 Sep 2011 10:22 PM PDT Mountain Lion Killed on 405 Was Part of Long-Term StudyThe young male hit by a car Tuesday near Getty Center Drive may have been on a journey to claim his own territory, a wildlife official who had been tracking him says.   P-18 after being hit on I-405.Courtesy of National Park Service  The young mountain lion that was killed early Tuesday while trying to cross the 405 Freeway near Getty Center Drive was one of a small group in the Santa Monica Mountains(Los Angeles) being tracked by wildlife officials. The 15-month-old lion, called P-18 by researchers, was part of a litter of kittens born in the Santa Monica Mountains and had been tagged with radio telemetry equipment. "We have been studying these lions for the past 10 years," said Woody Smeck, superintendent of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.According to Officer Ed Jacobs of the California Highway Patrol, "It looks like they hit [the cat] and kept on trucking. It's pretty rare. ... I don't think I have ever heard of one [being hit] there."A few months ago, the lion left his mother's range within Malibu Creek State Park and began moving through the mountains."He was moving east," Smeck said. "He may have been trying to leave the territory of another dominant male in the area." Male lions need a large area to roam, Smeck said. In fact, in the whole Santa Monica Mountains range there have been only two males tagged throughout the course of research. As the males mature, they often seek out space away from other dominant males and "many get killed by dominant males," he said."The fact that they even exist here is remarkable," Smeck said. "It is a testament to the conservation efforts to save open space."P-18 had been tracked since he was 3 weeks old, according to the SMMNRA. The organization also said that scientists with the National Park Service have been studying the local lion population since 2002 and previous tracking records indicate that it's common for individual males to roam the entire range of the Santa Monica Mountains, stretching from Camarillo to the 405 freeway. In the last decade, 21 mountain lions have been fitted with GPS collars and tracked utilizing radio telemetry, including P-18's father, P-12, according to a release by the SMMNRA. P-12 made the only known successful crossing of a freeway, the 101, in 2009 and has since resided in the Santa Monica Mountains. Smeck estimates that in the past eight years, there have been about a half dozen mountain lions killed while attempting to cross freeways and interstates to travel outside the domain of the Santa Monica Mountains. In the past three years, he said there have been two documented cases of lions killed near the area where P-18 was struck.Manmade structures and roads, especially freeways, are known to impede the migrations and movements of a variety of wildlife, presenting barriers that inhibit the ability of mountain lions and other animals to breed and maintain genetic diversity.Caltrans and a number of organizations are working collaboratively to construct wildlife crossings that would allow animals the crucial ability to travel between different areas of protected parkland in the Santa Susana Mountains and Los Padres National Forest, according to a release from the SMMNRA. Freeways being considered for such projects include the 101, the 118 and the 405."Investing in connected pieces of parkland and constructing wildlife crossings along major freeways around Los Angeles is essential for long term mountain lion survival in the Santa Monica Mountains," Smeck said in the release. "Mountain lions must be able to move freely between large parklands with suitable habitat throughout the course of their daily movements, as well as exchange genetic material to prevent inbreeding in specific parkland areas like the Santa Monica Mountains." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cougar trackers still 'hopeful' they'll find cat that attacked boy  By Cindy E. Harnett Cougar trackers, using specially trained dogs, bushwhacked through dense, temperate rainforest Wednesday in search of the animal that attacked an 18-month old boy this week. "We've done an extensive search. Unfortunately, as yet, we haven't been able to find the cat," said Dani Thompson, one of the search leaders, said from Kennedy Lake in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. "But we're picking up various trails and we're still very hopeful."Through the thick foliage and on paths of wet sand, cobble, muck and rock, a dedicated team of highly trained cougar hounds, conservation officers, Parks Canada and B.C. Parks trackers, West Coast Inland Search and Rescue, tribal park officials and volunteers were searching, often just for a lingering scent or single paw print, tree scratch or leaf pile.The challenging environment is the biggest hurdle in the hunt, said Thompson, a Parks Canada resource manager and an expertise in cougar-human conflict prevention. "It's slow going," she said. In this challenging terrain, when trackers spot the nailless, stubby, four-toed print of a cougar, or when dogs catch a whiff of the predatory animal, it can be another kilometre or more until they pick up another sign, Thompson said.When searching for pack animals, such as wolves, the job is easier, but when searching for a solitary animal whose instinct is to hide in dense brush and covered areas, the task is much tougher."Looking for a single track, that in itself, can be very difficult," Thompson said.Dogs are the trackers' greatest asset. If they find the cougar it will cause the big cat to run up a tree. Trackers are also using snares, live traps and their own skills at spotting territorial cougar markings, or possibly a mound of earth where the cat urinated or a leaf pyramid covering feces.If caught, the animal will be sedated and killed, Thompson said. "This particular animal has definitely shown predatory behaviour and the risk to public safety is too great," Thompson said.Monday's attack is extremely rare in the national park and Parks Canada takes the incident very seriously, she said. Protection of the public is one of its key mandates.However, Paul Paquet, senior scientist for Raincoast Conservation Foundation, who has a doctorate in zoology, said protection of wildlife is also in the mandate.Paquet, who co-authored a major report on cougars for the B.C. government, said his research has shown that it is unlikely that trackers can reliably determine if they have caught the targeted cougar."They may track and find a cougar and kill it, but to determine definitively whether it's the animal responsible for the attack is next to impossible at this point," Paquet said.Officials will try to match the wound impressions in the child to the cougar's teeth. However, attempts by Paquet to match simulated impressions with skulls during his studies shows "there's so much overlap you couldn't tell reliably - unless there's something so distinctive in the tooth itself," he said.The kill "is effective in relieving public fear," but it may not bring Parks Canada any closer to protecting the public, he said.About 10,000 people have been killed by hunters in North America since 1950, Paquet added. Visit http://coyotes-wolves-cougars.blogspot.com

A revised Yukon Wolf Management Plan has been released(first updated mgmt plan since 1992) .........The Yukon Conservation Society is asking for a longer public comment period to debate the recommendations that include closer managing of wolves(culls) to reduce predation rates on caribou and moose................Very little if anything discussed about the health of the land when caribou and moose populations fall..................The mantra heard is always:" kill wolves, increase hoofed browsers"......It does not matter whether the discussion is taking place in the Yukon, Idaho or Minnesota..............Here is an analogy from our music listening habits that is apropos to our discussions on carnivore management: I feel we are stuck playing 33.3 long playing records,,,,,,,,cd's and downloads are not even in the discussion (see George Wuerthner' WOLF HUNTS MORALLY CORRUPT article in this blogs Friday, Sept 2 Post) Posted: 02 Sep 2011 10:30 PM PDT More input needed on Yukon wolf management plan   The Yukon Conservation Society wants the territorial government to extend the deadline for public input on its wolf management plan, saying the consultation period took place over the summer while many Yukoners were on vacation. This wolf was spotted on the Teslin River by Whitehorse resident Adam Skrutkowski on April 22. There are upwards of 4,500 wolves in Yukon, according to government estimates.Adam SkrutkowskiThe Recommended Yukon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan was released on Aug. 2 and comments are due by the end of Wednesday but environmentalists say more time is needed.Some of those recommendations include managing the wolf population to reduce predation rates among caribou and moose. The report also suggests eliminating aerial control operations.Karen Baltgailis, executive director of the Yukon Conservation Society, said a new plan was needed but few were paying attention to the issue over the summer."How many people even are aware that this plan has come out?" she said.Baltgailis said her organization is also concerned that the proposed recommendations allow officials to call for a wolf cull in cases of "emergency" without explaining what would constitute one.According to the Yukon government there are around 4,500 wolves in the territory and around 215 are trapped or hunted each year.The last wolf management plan was put in place in 1992. In April, rural Yukon hunters called on the government to loosen harvesting regulationsto protect moose, caribou and sheep populations.   Visit http://coyotes-wolves-cougars.blogspot.com

As many of our readers know so well, Cape Breton, Novia Scotia was the location of the killing(by Coyotes) of the 19 year old folk singer in 2009 and wounding of another 16 year old girl in 2010.........Thankfully, there have not been any negative human/coyote encounters over the past two summers............Some feel that the bounty program(PELT-INCENTIVE PROGRAM) that paid trappers $20 per pelt during the 2010-11 trapping season is the reason for the quieting.........Others conclude that the educational program instituted to teach people how to coexist with coyotes as well as target-specific removal of aggressive coyotes has caused the quieting.............science doesn't support general culls, because coyotes can compensate. "The normal number of babies that a female coyote has is about five or six," said retired Nova Scotia biologist Bob Bancroft. "But what happens when the coyote population is dropped by trapping or hunting is they'll have up to 19 young."............. Advocates for a cull argue that the practice discourages coyotes from settling in more populated areas,............Bottom line is that targeting specific problem animals could well serve the same purpose, utilizing the proven science that has proven that bounties only end up increasing coyote populations and costing human taxpayers hard earned $$$$ Posted: 02 Sep 2011 10:04 PM PDT Culling coyotes Derek Quann, a resource conservation manager with Parks Canada, said there were only two "coyote-human encounters" reported at the Cape Breton Highlands National Park this summer, neither of which involved aggression. "I would say on the coyote conflict front, it has been ... relatively quiet," Quann said. "Let's say an improvement over the past two summers or actually probably an improvement over the past several years."It also seems there are fewer anecdotal reports of individuals having run-ins with coyotes across the province. That's reassuring for those who enjoy the outdoors.But provincial officials could interpret that trend two ways as the October to March trapping season approaches. On one hand, Natural Resources Minister Charlie Parker could conclude that the reason there are seemingly fewer coyote-human encounters is because the province's coyote "pelt-incentive program" or cull during the 2010-11 trapping season worked and so should be offered again this season.On the other hand, he could reckon that the cull isn't needed simply because there have been fewer encounters.The cull was one aspect of the province's "four-part plan" to deal with aggressive coyotes, following two incidents in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park — a 19-year-old woman was fatally attacked by coyotes in 2009 and a 16-year-old girl was bitten on the head by a coyote in 2010 — as well as other reports of coyote encounters across the province.In addition to the cull (paying trappers a $20 incentive per coyote killed), the other aspects of the provincial plan were hiring a wildlife conflict biologist, distributing information on how to deal with coyotes, and training 13 trappers to target aggressive coyotes in specific areas.Take away the cull and the plan makes perfect sense. That's how officials at the Cape Breton Highlands National Park are dealing with the issue. They're posting safety messages, stepping up patrols and trying to kill specific problem animals. And it appears to be working.On the other hand, science doesn't support general culls, because coyotes can compensate. "The normal number of babies that a female coyote has is about five or six," said retired Nova Scotia biologist Bob Bancroft. "But what happens when the coyote population is dropped by trapping or hunting is they'll have up to 19 young."Advocates for a cull argue that the practice discourages coyotes from settling in more populated areas, but targeting specific animals could well serve the same purpose.Payments to trappers participating in last season's cull cost taxpayers $52,860 for 2,643 coyotes killed. The previous season, with no bounty, 1,736 coyotes were reported killed in Nova Scotia. And might there have been less incentive to report coyotes killed when no bounty was offered?Parker should consider converting his four-part plan to a three-part plan, sans cull. Visit http://coyotes-wolves-cougars.blogspot.com

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