"In a move that reverses nearly a decade of practice, California wildlife officials have quietly begun to allow killing mountain lions in order to protect another iconic native - bighorn sheep. Though limited to the Eastern Sierra - the steep, rugged home of a rare type of the wild sheep - it marks a sea change for California, where legislators and voters have heaped protections on the big, charismatic cats that suffered decades of persecution."
"In the craggy Sierra Nevada mountains, late last year, a male lion hunted down several bighorn. They GPS-collared him and he killed another sheep. He was young enough that he hadn't started breeding or fully established a home range, so wildlife officials caught him and hauled him to what was supposed to be his new home. But about six months later, he wandered back to sheep country and killed again."
California wildlife officials have changed policy to permit lethal removal of mountain lions in the Eastern Sierra to protect endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep. The change reverses nearly a decade of nonlethal practice and reflects conflicts among mountain lions, bighorn sheep and mule deer. A collared young male that returned to bighorn habitat after translocation was euthanized following repeated kills. Local hunters raised concerns about rising lion numbers and declines in mule deer and bighorn, prompting petitions to wildlife commissioners. The decision has divided stakeholders, with supporters emphasizing sheep recovery and critics warning about broader ecosystem and deer impacts.
Read at Los Angeles Times
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]