Female mountain lions victims of Fish and Game mismanagement
When I first heard that there was a dead mountain lion kitten used for a demonstration at the Fish and Game trapping classes, my first thought was, how did this kitten get there? These kittens are the future generations of the mountain lion. Turns out the kitten was shot while raiding a chicken coup. These acts of desperation are extremely rare and usually only happen when there is no mother around to raise the young one.
It's just another page out of the "collateral damage" handbook of trapping and Fish and Game mismanagement. Instead of finding balance and protection, they continue to put a cog in the very reproduction and future of the mountain lion. In most cases, this is due to the trapping or killing of female lions. This kitten was used for the purpose of "showing how to skin a mountain lion."
Unlike most predators, mountain lions have kittens year round. When a female lion gets caught in a trap or killed by an outfitter or hunter, there is a high probability that she has kittens in a den somewhere that will never live to see the light of day or young ones who can't fend for themselves. Female lions should never be killed.
The rules say that you can't kill a female lion if accompanied by kittens, but kittens are usually not right with the mother when trapped, treed or shot, so these rules are lax and sloppy with no consequence if a mistake is made (which is more often than not). The Fish and Game aren't too concerned as they continue to promote and encourage trapping to the scale of excess while still calling it "game management."
How can anything be truly managed when traps and snares take it all indiscriminately? How can we ensure the future of any of our wildlife numbers while allowing these barbaric practices to remain in our state constitution? It is a misconception to think that the Fish and Game actually have this under control when there is no oversight. Most trappers find it easier to just "toss" and "don't report" what they don't want.
As it stands now, these magnificent creatures are quickly diminishing from our forests. The woods continue to become more sterile every day while female lions are trapped and killed and kittens perish to either traps or no mother. Does Fish and Game really think that predators just miraculously spring forth overnight after all the mothers and babies are depleted? Good stewardship doesn't work this way ... while the cancer of trapping continues to diminish what wildlife we have left.
Kevin Brown is a Kootenai County resident.