SEVEN SIMPLE FACTS ABOUT
CALIFORNIA’S MOUNTAIN LIONS AND PROPOSITION 117

"With better understanding of mountain lions and their habitat, we can coexist with these magnificent animals" -"Living With California Mountain Lions", California Department of Fish & Game (CDFG)

The solitary life and elusive movements of the cougar only feed its mystery; a mystery as old as human history. Mountain lion, cougar, and puma are all names for this enigmatic and majestic wild cat that has roamed California and the continent of North America for tens of thousands of years. Witness to native tribal migration, Spanish exploration, Russian fur traders, the gold rush, our headlong surge through the 20^th century and the extinction of other native species, this solitary animal continues to play an important role in our ecosystem.

FACT # 1

Are California's Mountain Lions Dangerous?

Human encounters with mountain lions are rare and the risk of injury or death from an attack is infinitely small. Since 1890 only 21 people have been killed by mountain lions on the entire North American Continent

According to current statistics, your chances of being killed by a domestic dog are more than ten times greater. In California, about two people every year are killed by pet dogs and thousands more are treated in hospitals for severe bites and injuries (National Canine Research Center). The Hunter Incident Clearinghouse reported that in just the year 2002 alone, hunting accidents in the United States killed 89 people and injured 761. NOAA estimates about a hundred people are killed every year in the US by lightning. On the list of daily “dangers” faced by Californians, mountain lions are but a footnote.

FACT # 2

Is the Mountain Lion Population in California “Exploding” Due to Proposition 117?

NO! According to cougar expert, Dr. Maurice Hornocker, "...mountain lions will never overrun the countryside. These animals are very territorial and limit their own numbers." A cougar leads a very solitary life, having little contact with others unless mating or mothering. The home range of a single, lone adult often spans 100 square miles. As a function of their territorial needs, social stability, and mutual avoidance, cougar populations tend to be widely dispersed and self-regulating which means that their numbers remain relatively constant.

(Click here to find out more about the biology and behavior of mountain lions as well as to read selected chapters from Cougar: The American Lion.)

FACT # 3

Why Have So Many Mountain Lions Been Sighted Lately?

According to the California Department of Fish and Game, “caution must be used in interpreting reports from the public involving mountain lions. Many reports are difficult, if not impossible to verify." Then why the recent rash of reported sightings amid rumors of "skyrocketing" attacks? Both are byproducts of increased public interest, sensational media coverage, gun-lobby hype, deliberate attempts to generate public fear, and unabated human expansion into wild and undeveloped areas of the state. Many reports are impossible to confirm. Some are simply in error. At one time, CDFG determined that over 80 percent of all reported mountain lion sightings in Placer County alone were false.

FACT # 4

How Does California Manage its Mountain Lion Population without Trophy Hunting?

Under current law the California Department of Fish and Game is empowered and obligated to manage mountain lions and provide for the public's safety in a strategic and proactive manner. The law specifically instructs CDFG to kill (or authorize qualified others to kill) any and all cougars that they perceive to be a threat to humans. In fact, it allows anyone to kill in defense of self, property, or others.

Current law also charges CDFG to kill any and all cougars that pose a threat to livestock, domestic animals, endangered species or property.

(Click here to see the current number of Depredation Permits issued, and the number of mountain lions killed in California.)

FACT # 5

Would Allowing the Trophy Hunting of Mountain Lions Make Californians Safer?

According to Dr. Rick Hopkins, who has done extensive studies of cougars in California, trophy hunting can not keep Californians safe from mountain lions. As far as he is concerned, “a dead cougar cannot and does not teach the living lions to fear man.”

Trophy hunting of mountain lions could in fact place more Californians at risk.

Dr. Paul Bier, another renowned field researcher and mountain lion expert, has found that mountain lions who attack humans are most often young yearlings (both sexes), followed by adult females, with adult males least inclined to attack humans.

Since hunters tend to take large adult males as trophies, hunting may well cause an increase in the number of yearlings-i.e., the class most prone to attack humans."

(Click here to read MLF’s Effects of Sport Hunting Mountain Lions on Safety and Livestock)

FACT # 6

In Addition to the Banning of Trophy Hunting, How Does Proposition 117 Save Lions?

Section 4800 of Proposition 117 specifically classifies mountain lions as “a specially protected mammal under the laws of this state,” but this is only prevents them from being shot for sport.  To ensure that mountain lions as well as the rest of California’s wildlife have a place to exist in the future, Proposition 117, the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990 allocates $30 million of State funds per year to protect and preserve the State’s most critical wild areas.

This allocation, paid for with funds generated through wildlife habitat acquisition bonds, as well as the unused portion of the cigarette tax monies is used for the following purposes:

(a) The acquisition of habitat, including native oak woodlands, necessary to protect deer and mountain lions.

(b) The acquisition of habitat to protect rare, endangered, threatened, or fully protected species.

(c) The acquisition of habitat to further implement the Habitat Conservation Program pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 2721) excepting Section 2722 and subdivision (a) of Section 2723, and Sections 2724 and 2729.

(d) The acquisition, enhancement, or restoration of wetlands.

(e) The acquisition, restoration, or enhancement of aquatic habitat for spawning and rearing of anadromous salmonids and trout resources.

(f) The acquisition, restoration, or enhancement of riparian habitat.

(Click here for more information on Proposition 117, and to see which parks and wildlife refuges have benefited from the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990.)

FACT # 7

How Can I Help Save Mountain Lions and Ensure that Proposition 117 Isn’t Repealed?

1.  Join the Mountain Lion Foundation. MLF is a national nonprofit conservation and education organization dedicated to increasing understanding of and protection for mountain lions and their habitat. A $35 annual membership contribution is suggested, but no set amount (either less or more) is needed to join MLF.  Your support—both financial and as a local lion activist—will make a big difference.

(Click here to join/donate) or contact MLF and sign up as a volunteer today.

2.  Sign up for MLF’s Proposition 117 Action Alerts.  San Benito County is the first local government this time to suggest the need to repeal Proposition 117 and reintroduce the trophy hunting of mountain lions, but other local governments and state legislators may soon get into the act.  As a participant you will be in the forefront of breaking action, and will receive specific tasks to help keep mountain lions and Proposition 117 safe.

(Click here to sign up.)

3.  If you live in lion country, consider protecting your pets and livestock from mountain lions through appropriate animal husbandry practices rather than ill-advised predator-killing programs.  Simple, common sense practices such as bringing your pets indoors at night, or securing your livestock in covered enclosures for the evening have been proven to save mountain lions, by reducing the number of human/lion conflicts.

(click here to find out more about protecting your pets and livestock from mountain lions.)