MENDOCINO CO., 9/4/24 — Growing up in Humboldt County, Christi Nash has always been fascinated with mountain lions. As an undergrad in animal sciences at Cal Poly Humboldt (formerly Humboldt State), Nash wrote papers on wildlife, including mountain lions. Now a graduate student in animal science and behavior at Unity Environmental University in New Gloucester, Maine, Nash is channeling that fascination into a survey about public and educational perceptions of one of the nation’s iconic predators.
The primary focus of the survey is attitudes of farmers, ranchers and agricultural educators towards mountain lions and coexistence with predators, as well as non-lethal means of dealing with wildlife/human conflict.
The survey begins with core beliefs: “To what extent do you agree with the following statement: mountain lions belong in my area,” or “I believe that humans and mountain lions can coexist,” and then asks about where you get information surrounding wildlife laws, and if an educator, what curriculum you might teach, and more.
Part of the requirement for Nash was to work with a real-world organization, and Nash chose the Sacramento-based Mountain Lion Foundation, which works across the nation to advocate for open space, non-lethal control, and to ban trophy hunting among other programs.
The ultimate aim, says Nash, is to create curriculum for middle-school and high school students by understanding the core attitudes among today’s educators, farmers, and ranchers. She is distributing the survey primarily in Mendocino and Humboldt counties to ag producers, ranchers, FFA organizations, and more broadly to university and ag school professors.
Nash invites readers to take the survey, which is open now through September 23. The survey is available here.
The Voice will follow up with Nash after the survey is analyzed.
I live on a subdivision 11 miles north of willits where hunting is not aloud . Plenty of Deer here , I see deer bones but never a Mountian Lion in the 24 years I’ve lived here.
I’ve lived around mountain lions, bears and other large animals in the mountains in several locations around the north state. Other than getting in the garbage (bears) I’ve never had issues with them. Mountain lions have lived around us for years. They are an essential animal in the control of other animals such as mice, deer, etc.
Allow hunting with hounds again. Even now kill treeing and harassing with hounds will keep the lions and bears away from populated areas. Also a select hunt to lower the population. Way too many lions , the deer population is negatively impacted by over population of the apex predators including feral hogs the prey on fawns.
PROTECT THE CATS! I’m a 4 th gen native Calif. no excuse not to. We too have had dogs and cats taken, no reason to kill the big cats!!
I agree, the apex predator, man, is overpopulating the areas where wildlife should be left alone.
I have had the pleasure of seeing three lions on three separate occasions. I feel honored to have had the privilege. It is rare to see them, if at all. All the times I spend in the woods I know they observe me. I do not fear these predators and statistically the chances of being attacked are remote.
The deer population is huge here on the coast and predation is necessary to keep them in check. What better source to do so but with mountain lions. Fear is a bigger detriment when dealing with nature. Educational tips should be a bigger part of the California Fish and game department.
There needs to be a season to balance their population! Just like bears!
I firmly believe that we as humans must work stronger to coexist with all nature, including mountain lions. I was fortunate enough to see one from a safe distance within the last 6 months. I believe it was a juvenile, it still had rings on its tail. It was walking in a neighbor yard, and stopped when it found a bit of sunshine. It plopped itself down like a house kitty, scratched behind its ear, then through itself on its back and wiggled around, perhaps to scratch its back. It then stood up and walked away. I have not been the same person after I saw this. It was pure magic. There have been multiple signings in my area, the Russian River area over the last year, on cameras and such. No reports of any dangerous activities. I believe they should be left alone. To do what they wish.
We need to bring back hunting predators with hounds, just this year weve had a woman killed by a bear, a man killed by a lion and a child attacked by a lion, not to mention countless livestock and pets killed. Our deer herds are at a 50 year low and our lion and bear are at an all time high, predators must be managed just like ungulates, ballot box biology does not benefit wildlife, there are always winners and losers and our deer and antelope are losing
We need native predators to keep deer populations in check and because of the way that ecosystems change with them in play – the well documented case of reintroducing wolves into yellowstone and how that unexpectedly improved river health is a classic example. Everything in nature is connected.
The ideology behind non-lethal depredation is flawed. Its basis stands in the protection of animals at all cost instead of conservation and management. For predators to continue to survive in our modern society, they must maintain a fear of humans to prevent conflict. The most ethical and effective method of protecting large predators is through the utilization of regulated hunting as established by state governments and monitoring by wildlife biologists instead of the feelings of NGO’s. The strict regulations specifically prohibit over harvesting of any species. The regulated use of hounds will specifically allow the hunter to harvest the most mature animals while releasing immature males and females with kittens, unharmed. The hunters that utilizes hounds will pursue many animals over the course of a training season and into the hunting season. The hunter is effectively hazing the animals which will en still a new found fear of humans. This process is what anti-hunters have labeled as “Trophy Hunting”. Trophy hunting does many great things for wildlife including providing the opportunity for younger males to inhabit an area that was once claimed by an older male, instead of dispersing to an area where conflict can occur.
ATTITUDES. Do not matter
FACTS matter,
Fact 1. With the over population of predators,, all competing for the same food …. This has driven these predators to move into populated areas and cities where they would not normally look for food …
Fact 2 , with the wolf population exploding in California,,, there is Not a SUSTAINABLE. Food source for all these predators…
We need to Thin them out ..
Or they will become Malnourished and wipe out the entire species with diseases…
Kinda like our forests
So someone needs to Educate the educated dips of how to keep ALL THE WILDLIFE HEALTHY