[Cdt-l] mountain lions and wolves

[Jonathan Ley]

Brett,

Thanks for the insights... I feel similarly. I don't think programs like 
this can be successful without cooperation of the local population. 
What'll end up happening is a lot of law-breaking, resentment, 
mis-information, sabotage, and general polarization... that's not good 
for anyone. I just hope some way can be found to keep a couple 
sustainable populations of gray wolves going somewhere, so they don't 
completely vanish from existence. Someday - maybe even 100 years from 
now - conditions on the ground might be different & more favorable to 
their wider re-introduction.

Now, what about those Jaguar sightings? ;-)

-Jonathan

Brett wrote:
> Neal wrote: 
>
> >>It seems that public opinion (or some large part of it) in New Mexico
> (and the rest of the CDT?) is permanently hostile to wolves, mountain
> lions etc...I can't imagine what would happen if there was an attempt
> to introduce Grizzly Bears back into the Gila.
>
> Public opinion in the affected communities is at odds with the broader 
> pro-wolf consensus. It's entirely understandable, and it goes back 
> generations among area ranchers, many of whom are related to those who 
> killed off the Mexican gray wolf in the first place.
>
> To the extent that one is willing to accept their premise - that 
> wolves are incompatible with a ranching economy, and that ranchers 
> have a right to defend their livelihood - the environmentalist's 
> arguments for wolf reintroduction become harder to defend on the 
> ground in a place like Reserve or Glenwood. The wolf 
> "re-introductionists" counter that ranchers could do more to reduce 
> enticements for wolves to predate cattle (such as removal of 
> natural-death cattle carcasses from the backcountry, where some 
> suggest wolves first learn to associate cows with an easy meal). 
> Ranchers that I've spoken with are quick to point out that wolves have 
> always been intelligent, opportunistic pack hunters, and that nothing 
> is likely to keep them away from cattle short of the wholesale removal 
> of cattle from the land. They feel, and perhaps rightly so, that the 
> Mexican gray wolf reintroduction program was foisted upon them by 
> idealistic outsiders with expectations of grandeur and little regard 
> for the human part of the equation.
>
> I find myself empathetic to both sides. The successful return of the 
> wolf to the Southwest is an exciting prospect, but unfortunately it 
> simply seems unrealistic to assume that wolves and cowboys in this 
> region of wild land dotted with small ranching communities can coexist 
> in numbers with sustainable prosperity for each. The wolf was likely 
> doomed at the original settling, though I'm all for seeing the 
> experiment through, with a greater spirit of tolerance to the plight 
> of all concerned parties.
>
> http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2008/mexican-wolves-07-03-2008.html
>
> To their credit, many ranchers I've spoken with feel very differently 
> about mountain lions, both because cattle predation is simply less in 
> the nature of big cats than of wolves, and for the cougar's furtive 
> and solitary ways. "You gotta respect an animal that kills quietly and 
> cleanly like that," one rancher related.
>
> - blisterfree
>
>
> Neal Leavitt wrote:
>> Hello All,
>>
>> When I went through southern New Mexico in June, I received an earful
>> from folks about wolves and mountain lions...
>>
>> One rancher told me that he lost "30 %" of his calves from wolves in
>> the past year.  He was also convinced that the EPA was engaged in a
>> plot to push all New Mexicans off of their ranches through the Mexican
>> Grey Wolf program...The librarian in Reserve was convinced that wolves
>> were a threat...the owner of the Rode Inn told me she felt they should
>> be removed...and a ranger in the Gila said wolves with collars were
>> disappearing, collar and all; they had a $10,000 reward posted for
>> information leading to the arrest of a person who had harmed a wolf.
>>
>> It seems that public opinion (or some large part of it) in New Mexico
>> (and the rest of the CDT?) is permanently hostile to wolves, mountain
>> lions etc...I can't imagine what would happen if there was an attempt
>> to introduce Grizzly Bears back into the Gila.
>>
>> I feel very bad for the man killed by the mountain lion and his
>> family...and I feel bad for the animals.  Everyone loses when this
>> happens.
>>
>> As for me, I saw either a wolf or a coyote north of Snow Lake.  It was
>> trailing some dear that had passed by a minute earlier.  When it saw
>> me, it fled.  If anyone can help with identifying it I would really
>> appreciate it - I was able to get one photo, albeit at a good
>> distance.
>>
>> Neal
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>>
>>   
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