Our friend John Laundre discussing why Cougars are integral to the health of the Black Hills of South Dakota

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Mountain lions called integral to the Black Hills

 

The South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Commission will finalize the proposed 2011 mountain lion hunting on Oct. 6 and 7.

A New York state wildlife biologist dispelled Saturday what he called some of the myths about the dangers of mountain lions in the Black Hills.

"Mountain lions are just not that big of a risk to either our game species or to ourselves. They are some of the best wildlife neighbors you can have," John Laundre said during a 90-minute presentation at the annual Black Hills Mountain Lion Foundation Fundraiser held at Black Hills State University's Student Union in Spearfish.

Laundre, an adjunct professor at State University of New York at Oswego, N.Y., also said the average of 1.6 mountain lions living on every 100 square kilometers of land in the Black Hills makes it one of the highest densities in the West.

Laundre, who has studied mountain lions for 20 years, said Saturday that means between 85 and 138 adult mountain lions live in the Black Hills area, a number largely based upon the deer population. The professor said 85 mountain lions will kill 2,550 deer annually, and 140 mountain lions will take down 4,200 deer a year.

"That's if they only eat deer instead of elk, porcupines or other game," he said. "I suspect that there are only about 85 adult mountain lions and more than 67,000 deer. If I had to guess, (human) hunters are taking 12 percent of the deer."

Laundre said encounters between mountain lions and joggers and hikers or sightings of the animals within neighborhoods do create concerns, but these stories should not frighten people.

In his 13 years of researching mountain lions in the west, Laundre said he is aware of nine people who were attacked in California that led to two deaths.

When considering the number of mountain lions and people living in California, it is a small number of encounters, he said.

More people are killed by deer, dogs, black bears, snakes, traffic accidents, fireworks and salmonella than by mountain lions, he said.

"I can say a majority of people in the room will never be attacked by a mountain lion. You're much more likely to be attacked by a fellow hiker," the professor said.

John Kanta, regional wildlife manager for Game, Fish & Parks in Rapid City, sat in on the presentation. While he agreed that people should show more tolerance for the big cats, he disagreed that as few as 85 mountain lions live in the Hills.

"There are errors with his numbers specific to the Black Hills," he said. "We agree that mountain lions are not killing all the deer and that people should not fear for their lives because mountain lions are in the area."

The big game populations are dense enough to sustain a hunting season, he said.

Kanta also doesn't want years of GF&P research discounted either.

"His numbers are all wrong," he said.

GF&P estimates that the Black Hills has between 138 and 250 mountain lions.

Bob Spears of Crow Creek Wildlife Management Service in Spearfish said that the Black Hills were basically a deer park 20 years ago before mountain lions moved into the area.

"No one wants to eliminate the mountain lions," Spears said. "They have brought the wild back to the deer herds in the Black Hills."

He said as long as mountain lions live in the Black Hills, people will come to see them.

Sharon Seneczko, veterinarian and founder of the Black Hills Mountain Lions Foundation, wanted to drive home the fact that mountain lions are needed here.

"They are important to the ecosystem. We want to see them living here in the long run," she said.

An era of intolerance in the early 1900s drove the mountain lions to near extinction, Seneczko said.

"We have to take some responsibility to preserving them," she said.

That means people living in the forest will have to turn lights on when they go outdoors, watch their dogs and pets when letting them outside, and covering outdoor shelters and kennels.

It might also mean joggers and hikers have to change their routes and habits, take friends along when on the trails, and avoid jogging and hiking at dusk and dawn, she said.

"There are a lot of misconceptions about mountain lions. In order to have them here, it requires effort on our part," Seneckzko said.

She said people have been fortunate to have the Hills repopulated with mountain lions, but that could change.

"If we're not careful, we may see a decline that they will never recover from," she said.