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Action Alert: Your comments needed for South Dakota cats! January 15th 2015

January 13, 2015/in News

SOUTH DAKOTA

The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission is considering whether to expand hound hunting to the Prairie Region. Currently, hound hunting is only permitted in Custer State Park. This comes in response to a petition put forward by members of the South Dakota Houndsmen Association, who claim mountain lions are becoming a nuisance for landowners and livestock producers. A formal rule change proposal will be presented and given a public hearing at the next GF&P Commission meeting on January 15 in Fort Pierre.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We want to keep this simple! Please help cougars to avoid the horror of the scenario below (see: What does hound hunting really look like?).

Click here to express your opposition to hound hunting in the Prairie Region in South Dakota. The link will open a pre-addressed blank email where you can either:

Just write that you are against the rule change that would allow hound hunting, then type your name and send the email

OR

If you would like to send a more informed comment, use these talking points to convey your message:

– There is no justification for this expansion of hound hunting, as there have been no confirmed depredations by mountain lions of pets or livestock outside of the Black Hills area.

-Expanding the rule to include hound hunting is redundant as there is an existing policy of aggressive response to potential conflict by SDGFP. Recreational hound hunting is not conflict management.

– Departmental Policies MUST be based on fact, not fear if the integrity of the Commission is to be maintained.

– SDGFP has always denied the presence of breeding populations in the Prairie Region because of marginal or inhospitable habitat. Lions naturally disperse from their source populations and spend little time in territory that cannot support them.  SDGFP’s must conduct further research to support their position that there is no possibility of resident lions and breeding on the prairie.

– Fear of conflict should be addressed proactively by non-lethal deterrents and other conflict prevention measures.

Please remember to be polite in your communications with all public servants. Comments should be submitted by January 15th.

WHAT DOES HOUND HUNTING REALLY LOOK LIKE?

 

Cougars are chased by dogs until, totally exhausted – and perhaps far from their kittens – they take refuge in a tree or a cave or are driven to the edge of a cliff. Their tentative safe haven is soon undermined when the baying, snarling dogs besiege the base of the tree and the hunter strolls in to finish the ‘game’. Most cougars are shot from as little as ten feet away as they stare, helpless and unable to escape, into the dark eye of the barrel of a gun.


https://cougarfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CougarFundBlack.png 0 0 Penny https://cougarfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CougarFundBlack.png Penny2015-01-13 08:00:582015-01-13 08:00:58Action Alert: Your comments needed for South Dakota cats! January 15th 2015

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An important new study adds to the body of evidence being amassed by researchers that supports the important ecological contributions of cougars as a keystone species. A direct quote in the article from Panthera's Puma Program Director Mark Elbroch as follows, "To those who care for the well-being of wildlife and the wild habitats sustaining all living beings, these findings yet again demonstrate the value and need to conserve the Americas' pumas." ... See MoreSee Less

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Study suggests pumas utilize sly strategy of fertilizing plants that recruit prey to hunting grounds

phys.org

A new Panthera study published today in Landscape Ecology has found that pumas might utilize a sly hunting strategy known as 'garden to hunt,' by which puma kills fertilize or deposit nutrients in soi...
4 days ago
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Remember all the things you did before they went into the den?BEAR SPRAY, MAKE NOISE, RECREATE IN GROUPS, FOOD STORAGE PRECAUTIONS, and be aware that energy out is very expensive for a bear after not eating for a few months so if there is a trail or winter track, that is probably the route the bear will choose...
Lets protect them by minding our own behaviour!

Remember all the things you did before they went into the den?BEAR SPRAY, MAKE NOISE, RECREATE IN GROUPS, FOOD STORAGE PRECAUTIONS, and be aware that energy out is very expensive for a bear after not eating for a few months so if there is a trail or winter track, that is probably the route the bear will choose...
Let's protect them by minding our own behaviour!(News Release) On Tuesday, March 7, a Yellowstone National Park wildlife biologist on a radio telemetry flight observed the first grizzly bear of 2023 to emerge from hibernation. The adult bear, estimated at 300-350 pounds, was seen near the remains of a bison carcass in Pelican Valley, in the central-eastern part of the park.

The first bear sighting of 2022 also occurred on March 7.

Male grizzlies come out of hibernation in early March. Females with cubs emerge in April and early May. When bears emerge from hibernation, they look for food and often feed on elk and bison that died over the winter. Sometimes, bears will react aggressively to encounters with people when feeding on carcasses.

“Spring visitors skiing, snowshoeing, or hiking in Yellowstone National Park are reminded to carry bear spray and be especially alert for bears near carcasses and areas with early spring green-up. These are the first foods sought out by grizzlies after emerging from hibernations,” said Kerry Gunther, the park's bear management biologist.

All of Yellowstone National Park is bear country: from the deepest backcountry to the boardwalks around Old Faithful. The park restricts certain visitor activities in locations where there is a high density of bears, along with elk and bison carcasses. Restrictions will begin in some bear management areas on March 10.

Learn more about how to protect yourself and the bears that people come here to enjoy: go.nps.gov/23006
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3 weeks ago
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I'm in the Southern Sangre de Cristo mountains. It's been a mild winter, very little snow, so I'm betting the Black Bears will be popping out soon.

I would love to see a bear. (From a safe distance for both of us, of course).

Better yet, don't stop being responsible in the wilderness under a false sense of security provided by pop-media ideas that they're in comas underground. Bears experience wakefulness during their supposed hibernation, and especially during periods of warmer weather they will come out for snacks.

Please protect our bear’s from Stupid people!!!!

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PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS!
UTAH WILDLIFE CONSERVATION EMERGENCY
A couple of days ago we a shared delightful national article about cutting edge studies of cougars in Utah. Today those cougars need your help. HB469 will remove management of mountain lions from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and allow them to be HUNTED and TRAPPED year round without limit or regulation. HB469 passed without notice or opportunity for public comment. Wildlife is held in trust for ALL the public, not a few special interest groups. Elected officials also represent more than a few stakeholders and need to seek advice from seasoned researchers and scientists before making decisions about wildlife. Please POLITELY ask Governor Cox at 801-538-1000 to not sign HB469, currently on his desk. or email cs.utah.gov/s/submit
The video below was shared by Denise and the crew of @Utah Mountain Lion Conservation who are working tirelessly to study and protect lions and ensure their place as a keystone species in Utah.
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4 weeks ago
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Congratulations to Denise Peterson, dedicated to mountain lions, and to sharing the results of her hard work.
Thank you Denise!
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Trail Camera Catches Something Conservationists Have Been Dying To See

www.msn.com

Denise M. Peterson had been waiting months for this. Ever since Peterson, founder of the Utah Mountain Lion Conservation, noticed a female and male mountain lion roaming the area together, she'd been ...
1 month ago
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Thanks! I can't wait to get back up to check these cams to see how they're doing!

I saw this on The Dodo this morning. A mom with two kittens!

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