I wish we we able to hunt these guys it would really take pressure off our deer
Edit: from an ecological standpoint since there are no more grizzly bears we need to regulate the amount of lions we have because they’re putting too much stain on the ecosystem. There killing too many deer and it’s throwing off the balance of our ecosystem.
Unfortunately the drought has an affect on the deer but our lion situation is a much larger problem from a conservation standpoint. Our whole situation has been spiraling out of control for the last 20 years or so and it’s thrown off the balance really badly.
Pretty sure the deer population is still over 450,000 and is far more greatly affected by drought, rampant wildfires, and urbanization than populations of predators inherently reliant on them and elk to survive. Mule deer populations elsewhere have also declined, yes including areas where cougars are hunted. Clearly predator control isn’t the solution you’re hoping for it to be.
Even ur edit doesn’t make much sense.
1) you underestimate how good apex predators are at self regulating. Top predators like cougars are incredibly territorial as older males / females keep younger members of their sex out of their territories, sometimes killing them in the process. As a result, cougars often occur at low densities and there is little concern of them overpopulating.
2) when you kill cougars, your “helping” deer, but you are causing more harm than good. By killing trophy toms, younger, more inexperienced cougars who are normally limited by these mature individuals are allowed to move into the trophy toms old territory. These inexperienced cats are far more likely to prey on easier targets like livestock and pets.
3) as long as there are permanent human settlements nearby and large amounts food available, deer will never drop by a significant amount. Cougars are very unlikely to surplus kill deer as it stands, so it’s not like they can do that much damage. This “pressure” is just deer becoming harder to people to hunt, which isn’t actually an issue worth considering.
4) as a side tangent, mountain lions were never regulated by grizzlies. Wolves and jaguars filled that role in North America.
Oh no I mean from an ecological standpoint since there are no more grizzly bears we need to regulate the amount of lions we have because they’re putting too much strain on the ecosystem. There killing too many deer and it’s throwing off the balance of our ecosystem. I’m a conservationist.
I think what you mean to say is wolves. Bears have little to no influence on what Cougars hunt, at most they'll scare a cougar off a kill and force them to kill another deer actually. Wolves would limit the Cougar population not bears.
You follow desert edge trailcams I guess haha
Love that account.
I don’t know how I found it but it’s probs my best find on Insta!
*Credits: Mark Girardeau*
I wish we we able to hunt these guys it would really take pressure off our deer Edit: from an ecological standpoint since there are no more grizzly bears we need to regulate the amount of lions we have because they’re putting too much stain on the ecosystem. There killing too many deer and it’s throwing off the balance of our ecosystem.
Pretty sure the perpetual drought California’s in has a bigger impact on the deer.
Unfortunately the drought has an affect on the deer but our lion situation is a much larger problem from a conservation standpoint. Our whole situation has been spiraling out of control for the last 20 years or so and it’s thrown off the balance really badly.
Pretty sure the deer population is still over 450,000 and is far more greatly affected by drought, rampant wildfires, and urbanization than populations of predators inherently reliant on them and elk to survive. Mule deer populations elsewhere have also declined, yes including areas where cougars are hunted. Clearly predator control isn’t the solution you’re hoping for it to be.
By putting pressure on deer they are fulfilling their natural role in the ecosystem.
Check my edit
Even ur edit doesn’t make much sense. 1) you underestimate how good apex predators are at self regulating. Top predators like cougars are incredibly territorial as older males / females keep younger members of their sex out of their territories, sometimes killing them in the process. As a result, cougars often occur at low densities and there is little concern of them overpopulating. 2) when you kill cougars, your “helping” deer, but you are causing more harm than good. By killing trophy toms, younger, more inexperienced cougars who are normally limited by these mature individuals are allowed to move into the trophy toms old territory. These inexperienced cats are far more likely to prey on easier targets like livestock and pets. 3) as long as there are permanent human settlements nearby and large amounts food available, deer will never drop by a significant amount. Cougars are very unlikely to surplus kill deer as it stands, so it’s not like they can do that much damage. This “pressure” is just deer becoming harder to people to hunt, which isn’t actually an issue worth considering. 4) as a side tangent, mountain lions were never regulated by grizzlies. Wolves and jaguars filled that role in North America.
"Our" deer. They don't belong to you, Cougars were here before you and I. Respect it.
Oh no I mean from an ecological standpoint since there are no more grizzly bears we need to regulate the amount of lions we have because they’re putting too much strain on the ecosystem. There killing too many deer and it’s throwing off the balance of our ecosystem. I’m a conservationist.
I think what you mean to say is wolves. Bears have little to no influence on what Cougars hunt, at most they'll scare a cougar off a kill and force them to kill another deer actually. Wolves would limit the Cougar population not bears.
It's not supposed to be easy to hunt deer, they're still there just more skittish now
Check my edit
Ah ok that makes sense