Entries by Penny
South Dakota. High demand, low harvest has advocates taking notice
Mountain lions face some very unique challenges in South Dakota. Politically there is a strong unscientific push to basically remove as many cougars as possible, especially from the areas through which dispersal might naturally take place. There is also a relative lack of public land where lions might be protected if there was an intelligent attitude […]
A world without animals is like music without a melody…
We hear news of animals facing challenges and even extinction in most news cycles. Often the animals who seem to be most vulnerable to the consequences of human expansion and acquisition are those animals we might think of as ‘strong’ or even ‘fierce’. Large cats, elephants, rhinos and polar bears…all titans in their own way […]
Conflict prevention is the way forward if co-existence is to be possible.
Producers’ lives demand one risk management decision after another. They are experts and willingly assess possibilities for loss in their quest to provide food for a nation. The contingencies they address range from events as vast as the weather to the tiny bacteria that could negatively impact their livelihood in the same grand scale. Irrigation, vaccination, […]
Cougars in Utah
Utah has long been a state immersed in its desire to be unique, politically and culturally. The resulting utilitarian doctrines have not had good consequences for predators. Stepping back a couple of centuries, Utah re-introduced the coyote bounty; wolves are targeted for removal even before they have returned, and mountain lions are the unseen scapegoat […]
Half Moon Bay mountain lion sighting
Half Moon Bay stands as a testament to the thoughtful responsiveness of California’s wildlife agency. The area, which was once associated with the tragic killing of a pair of mountain lion kittens, is now the standard for appropriate conflict prevention and resolution. Following the tragedy members of the agency created positive and proactive protocols which […]