Mountain lions – also known as pumas, cougars, and even sometimes panthers – are the most widely distributed wild land mammal in the world. They are found from Canada to South America. There are an estimated 30,000 mountain lions in the United States, mostly in the West, but there are also mountain lions from the Midwest to the East Coast.
Unlike wolves or grizzly bears, mountain lions are not managed by the federal government; they are managed by states and state regulations vary greatly. In some places, hunting mountain lions is banned completely; in other places, it is always open season.
As more people encroach on wild land – building homes and small farms, as well as hiking and biking – the numbers of encounters between people and mountain lions are increasing. And when mountain lions lose their fear of people, there is trouble.
Since 1890, there have been at least 32 fatal mountain lion attacks on humans and more than 170 non-fatal attacks. California has seen the most attacks in the last 40 years with 22 people injured and four killed. Despite this, Californians passed a ballot initiative in 1990 that bans all hunting of mountain lions.
There are strategies to reduce habituation and instill fear of humans in mountain lions. One is called “tree-and-free” that uses dogs to chase mountain lions up trees. But there are opponents of this and other measures employed.
The fact is that there are simply too many mountain lions living in close proximity to humans and peaceful coexistence is very difficult to achieve. Places where hunting lions is permitted have few problems with them, but that is not a solution that is acceptable in many places. It’s a difficult problem.
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Deadly Encounter: Mountain Lion Attacks Spark Controversy
Photo, posted March 26, 2013, courtesy of the USFWS via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
