Critic of higher lion kill calls quota into question
The recent mountain lion attack on a family pet near Cheyenne Crossing is an example of what can go wrong when a population of mountain lions is intensely hunted, a critic of the Black Hills lion season said. Dr. Sharon Seneczko, a Custer veterinarian and founder of the Black Hills Mountain Lion Foundation, said that in the attack, two underweight, 1-year-old lions were exhibiting behavior consistent with a population where many older lions have been killed, leaving more young and potentially troublesome lions.
The two lions involved in attacking a sheltie at a residence south of Cheyenne Crossing, near Lead, could have been orphaned by a lion hunter and never properly learned how to hunt, Seneczko said. Or they could be part of an overall reduction in the age structure of lions in the Black Hills, as more adult lions are killed during the hunting season, she said. Either way, the season is bringing disorder to the lion population and more conflict, rather than less, with humans, she said.
"The lion population is in decline, and there is still a lot of conflict," Seneczko said. "One of the justifications for the season was to reduce the population, reduce conflict. We are creating more conflict. We are changing the age and sex structure of the population and orphaning more animals. There's more chaos out there."
John Kanta, regional game manager in Rapid City for the state Game, Fish & Parks Department, questioned the idea that there is more chaos in the lion population and more conflicts with humans. But he also said Seneczko is likely right about the season lowering the average age of lions, which can be a factor in conflicts. As the GF&P Commission increased the annual kill quota in lion seasons and more cats were killed, the average age of the population has declined, Kanta said. "I do agree that as you harvest more lions you lower that average age, and that certainly could result in situations that at least leave the appearance of more conflict," Kanta said. "But to say that these two particular lions were the result of a female harvested in the last season is, I think, unlikely."
The two lions involved in the sheltie incident were about a year old. One was a female that weighed 52 pounds, the other a 62-pound male. They likely were litter mates, and were "a little underweight," indicating they hadn't yet become adept at killing deer and other natural prey.
But it is unlikely that the cats, which would have been 4 or 5 months old during the season in January and February, were orphaned then and survived to this stage, Kanta said. The adult female could have been lost after the season to natural causes, including disease, an accident or being killed by another lion, he said.
Lion kittens in the Black Hills typically stay with their mothers until they are anywhere from 10 to 18 months old, learning the ways of the wild and how to hunt and kill prey. When left on their own too early, they can have trouble killing wild game and can turn to easier prey, such as pets and livestock. Even young lions that strike off on their own on schedule can get in trouble as they search for their own territory and refine hunting and stealing skills. The more young lions there are out there searching for their own territory or getting desperate for food, the more chance there is of conflicts, Seneczko said.
"They get thin and weak and hungry and they don't know what to do," she said. "They didn't learn properly." In addition, when younger, more inexperienced lions fill the territory left when an established adult lion is killed, the chances of conflict are increased, Seneczko said. "You have more young males replacing stable resident lions that weren't causing problems," she said. "Then there's more chaos."
Kanta said it is easy to make assumptions about lion behavior but harder to prove exactly why certain animals act as they do."Who knows exactly what happened with these two lions?" he said."Certainly, they were out there on their own and not in the best shape, which could have contributed to this."
At the recommendation of the biological staff, the GF&P Commission has proposed a 2012 lion season with the highest kill quota in the season's short history. The quota would allow 60 lions to be killed overall, or 40 females, whichever limit is reached first.
Last year, hunters killed 49 lions, a level that Seneczko considered excessive. She is even more worried about the higher quota proposed this year. And she intends to argue against it during a public hearing on the issue before the commission at 2 p.m. Oct. 6, at the Outdoor Campus West in Rapid City."I think I would have kept my mouth shut this year if they had held the line on the quota," she said. "But every year, they do something so incredibly over the top that I have to say something."
GF&;P has been increasing the lion quota in an effort to reduce the overall population, which also has dozens of animals killed each year by other causes. Biologists believe the population has dropped from about 250 to around 200 over the past couple of years.
The 60-lion quota is intended to cut the population even further, possibly to a level of 150 to 175, when GF&;P staffers would then reassess the season.
"What we can determine now is that the population is decreasing. It looks like we're on track to do what we set out to do," Kanta said. "Once we get there, we'll take a step back and evaluate."
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SOUTH DAKOTA BLACK HILLS DEER ABUNDANCE
Many biologists estimate about 30 per square mile
There ’s still a bunch of deer out there.In them there hills, I mean.I know, I know, the lions are whacking them pretty good. That’s what lions do.But I made a note yesterday to watch for deer during a drive from Rapid to Castle Creek below Deerfield, back down through Mystic, over to 385 and back to down on 44.
Lots of deer. Virtually every meadow had from half a dozen to forty or fifty.Are there as many as there were thee or four years ago? Maybe not. Are there still quite a few? Absolutely, if that one drive is any indication at all.
I couldn’t help but wonder what a typical visitor to the Black Hills would have thougtht riding along with me. I’m pretty sure he or she would have said: “Wow, there’s a lot of deer around here.”
One drive doesn’t make a conclusion. Or at least, it shouldn’t. Neither should one hunt, or one season in the woods. But this was a drive that covers an interesting mix of high grassland, relatively isolated forest, rural housing developments, lonesome gravel roads and pretty busy asphalt highways.
Deer everywhere. Just how many do we really need?
The two lions involved in attacking a sheltie at a residence south of Cheyenne Crossing, near Lead, could have been orphaned by a lion hunter and never properly learned how to hunt, Seneczko said. Or they could be part of an overall reduction in the age structure of lions in the Black Hills, as more adult lions are killed during the hunting season, she said. Either way, the season is bringing disorder to the lion population and more conflict, rather than less, with humans, she said.
"The lion population is in decline, and there is still a lot of conflict," Seneczko said. "One of the justifications for the season was to reduce the population, reduce conflict. We are creating more conflict. We are changing the age and sex structure of the population and orphaning more animals. There's more chaos out there."
John Kanta, regional game manager in Rapid City for the state Game, Fish & Parks Department, questioned the idea that there is more chaos in the lion population and more conflicts with humans. But he also said Seneczko is likely right about the season lowering the average age of lions, which can be a factor in conflicts. As the GF&P Commission increased the annual kill quota in lion seasons and more cats were killed, the average age of the population has declined, Kanta said. "I do agree that as you harvest more lions you lower that average age, and that certainly could result in situations that at least leave the appearance of more conflict," Kanta said. "But to say that these two particular lions were the result of a female harvested in the last season is, I think, unlikely."
The two lions involved in the sheltie incident were about a year old. One was a female that weighed 52 pounds, the other a 62-pound male. They likely were litter mates, and were "a little underweight," indicating they hadn't yet become adept at killing deer and other natural prey.
But it is unlikely that the cats, which would have been 4 or 5 months old during the season in January and February, were orphaned then and survived to this stage, Kanta said. The adult female could have been lost after the season to natural causes, including disease, an accident or being killed by another lion, he said.
Lion kittens in the Black Hills typically stay with their mothers until they are anywhere from 10 to 18 months old, learning the ways of the wild and how to hunt and kill prey. When left on their own too early, they can have trouble killing wild game and can turn to easier prey, such as pets and livestock. Even young lions that strike off on their own on schedule can get in trouble as they search for their own territory and refine hunting and stealing skills. The more young lions there are out there searching for their own territory or getting desperate for food, the more chance there is of conflicts, Seneczko said.
"They get thin and weak and hungry and they don't know what to do," she said. "They didn't learn properly." In addition, when younger, more inexperienced lions fill the territory left when an established adult lion is killed, the chances of conflict are increased, Seneczko said. "You have more young males replacing stable resident lions that weren't causing problems," she said. "Then there's more chaos."
Kanta said it is easy to make assumptions about lion behavior but harder to prove exactly why certain animals act as they do."Who knows exactly what happened with these two lions?" he said."Certainly, they were out there on their own and not in the best shape, which could have contributed to this."
At the recommendation of the biological staff, the GF&P Commission has proposed a 2012 lion season with the highest kill quota in the season's short history. The quota would allow 60 lions to be killed overall, or 40 females, whichever limit is reached first.
Last year, hunters killed 49 lions, a level that Seneczko considered excessive. She is even more worried about the higher quota proposed this year. And she intends to argue against it during a public hearing on the issue before the commission at 2 p.m. Oct. 6, at the Outdoor Campus West in Rapid City."I think I would have kept my mouth shut this year if they had held the line on the quota," she said. "But every year, they do something so incredibly over the top that I have to say something."
GF&;P has been increasing the lion quota in an effort to reduce the overall population, which also has dozens of animals killed each year by other causes. Biologists believe the population has dropped from about 250 to around 200 over the past couple of years.
The 60-lion quota is intended to cut the population even further, possibly to a level of 150 to 175, when GF&;P staffers would then reassess the season.
"What we can determine now is that the population is decreasing. It looks like we're on track to do what we set out to do," Kanta said. "Once we get there, we'll take a step back and evaluate."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOUTH DAKOTA BLACK HILLS DEER ABUNDANCE
Many biologists estimate about 30 per square mile
There ’s still a bunch of deer out there.In them there hills, I mean.I know, I know, the lions are whacking them pretty good. That’s what lions do.But I made a note yesterday to watch for deer during a drive from Rapid to Castle Creek below Deerfield, back down through Mystic, over to 385 and back to down on 44.
Lots of deer. Virtually every meadow had from half a dozen to forty or fifty.Are there as many as there were thee or four years ago? Maybe not. Are there still quite a few? Absolutely, if that one drive is any indication at all.
I couldn’t help but wonder what a typical visitor to the Black Hills would have thougtht riding along with me. I’m pretty sure he or she would have said: “Wow, there’s a lot of deer around here.”
One drive doesn’t make a conclusion. Or at least, it shouldn’t. Neither should one hunt, or one season in the woods. But this was a drive that covers an interesting mix of high grassland, relatively isolated forest, rural housing developments, lonesome gravel roads and pretty busy asphalt highways.
Deer everywhere. Just how many do we really need?
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