Castanet

baconbits wrote:Ok so we should show pictures and video of dead humans. As long as there's no blood or guts that is.

I have more respect for wildlife than I do for humans. They do what they have to do to survive and it's always changing depending what we have done to make them adapt to their natural environment.

It's our fault that those animals had to be put down, not theirs.

Quite often there are pictures of dead people (in caskets). If the mother cat had been scared off those offspring wouldn't have been so comfortable around people.

baconbits wrote:Ok so we should show pictures and video of dead humans. As long as there's no blood or guts that is.

I have more respect for wildlife than I do for humans. They do what they have to do to survive and it's always changing depending what we have done to make them adapt to their natural environment.

It's our fault that those animals had to be put down, not theirs.

They do show that on TV, although they usually edit it a bit to only show part of the person. Ever seen the news where they show a white sheet with legs sticking out? That's a dead person.

Fancy wrote: If the mother cat had been scared off those offspring wouldn't have been so comfortable around people.

Yes, they we're definately habituated and used to the easy food, which is a death sentence in BC if they arn't in a national park

Not just in BC - any problem animal will be destroyed - it's just not worth the risk to people.

Just an observation from the artcle.
It says:

Her 14-year-old dog was snatched on the front porch saturday night.
"That afternoon the conservation officer was over and told us we should be careful
because there was a cougar alert around our neighbourhood - some dogs had been
killed." says Beraro.

WTH did she let the dog out alone when she had been given this warning?
While I think it was at a point where the cougars had to be shot, I also think that if
people were more protective of their pets then wild life would not be hanging around
so much looking for their next meal.
That is wildlife, they are just looking to survive.

I would think she didn't understand how fearless these animals were. She probably, and wrongly, assumed that the dog would be safe so close to the house.

gardengirl wrote:I would think she didn't understand how fearless these animals were. She probably, and wrongly, assumed that the dog would be safe so close to the house.

Sadly, because the pet owners are assuming these things or are just uneducated re wildlife
many dogs and 2 cougars are injured and/or dead. through no fault of their own.
Its sad and oh so preventable.

Too bad they don't keep up with the news or read Castanet:

http://www.castanet.net/news/West-Kelow ... st-Kelowna

baconbits wrote:Yes, they we're definately habituated and used to the easy food, which is a death sentence in BC if they arn't in a national park

Even in the National Parks, predators that get used to hanging around the campsites and picnic areas hoping for an easy snack wont be tolerated long as one young black bear found out the hard way. After repeatedly getting chased away from a picnic area near the Radium end of Kootenay Park he was tranquilized, ear tagged and put into a cargo net to be heli lifted to the North end of the park (just over the continental devide into Banff). Within a week he was spotted and identified by his ear tag right back where he had started from. I don't think the Park Wardens gave him a second chance at another heli ride.

I imagine, unless they were relocated to siberia, these wildcats would'nt have had any problem eventually finding their way "home" either.

I am well aware that animals to get put down in National Parks, at least they try to relocate them or other techniques...

The same situations that arise not in a NP the animals don't have the chance, they simply get shot.

Problem animals usually don't get relocated.

If it loses its wildness, it probably won't survive.
'Habituated' bears - bears that have lost their natural fear of humans - almost inevitably become "problem" bears. They actively seek out places where people congregate because they have learned that where there are people, there is also food and garbage to eat. Over time they become increasingly more aggressive in their search for an easy meal. Problem bears usually end up having to be removed or destroyed because of the threat they pose to public safety. It is very difficult, and often impossible, to undo habituation. The only real solution is prevention.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/activ/activ22.aspx

I think that these older women who are chasing younger guys are really going off the deep end eating pets.

Now that I have that little bit of nonsense out of the way (couldn't resist)... I think it's a tragedy. Those marvelous wild animals should have been humanely tranked and shipped out to the boonies. No reason at all to kill them. Horrible conclusion to a problem that could have been easily handled without it ending in their death.

The was an article in the Penticton Herald recently tying cougar influx to the growing population of urban deer, and tying the urban deer numbers to easy food in the form of gardens, landscaping and poorly stored garbage. It doesn't take a detective to discover that once again this is something we have brought on ourselves. I freely admit that relocation seems on the surface to be a more humane approach than destroying the creatures, but if relocated animals are just going to head right back into town then isn't it a waste of resources?

Spocky wrote: Those marvelous wild animals should have been humanely tranked and shipped out to the boonies. No reason at all to kill them.

Every reason to kill them when they are likely to reoffend - relocation has been proven not to work and I would rather listen to those in the field. Of course it's sad and unfortunate but people's lives are more important.

ticat900 wrote:http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-87681-26-.htm#87681

REALLY is this neccessary in this day and age.Could we not tranquilize this beautifull animal and move it to a remote spot like mara mountain area or ??
The picture of Dean and Dylan congratulating each other on the kill makes me ill
What a great sport as we have dogs scare a cougar up a tree and then we heorically shoot it
wow what brave men these two a$$$$holes are

I completely agree. Why are wild animals being killed to save pets? In Kimberly about a year or so ago they wanted to kill all the wolverines because they were killing cats that the owners allowed to roam, that still boggles my mind. It is the same type of people that want to see coyotes killed cause they don't want to keep their cats inside. I loved my dog, he was my baby but it is was my responsibility to keep him safe from things that could hurt him.