A Puma was killed 40 miles West of San Antonio, Texas this past week, only the 4th over the last 46 years spanning back to 1965..........Beginning in the mid 1960's, all western states with surviving lion populations, except Texas, began reclassifying the Mountain Lion as a game species, regulating the number of Mountain Lions killed per year.....Signs and sightings of Mountain Lions during that period were extremely rare. A combination of factors contributed to a reduction in the killing of Mountain Lions by the mid-1960's allowing the species to slowly recover:: The failure of the sheep and goat industry, cessation of federally funded predator removal programs and the growing numbers of prey species such as deer, elk and moose ..........Currently, Mountain Lions in the state of Texas are classified as unprotected, nongame animals. Under this classification, the numbers of Mountain Lions being killed is unregulated which means that Mountain Lions can be killed year round regardless of age or sex. In addition, mountain lions in Texas have no bag limit and can be killed in any number...........Texas Parks and Wildlife is reporting that as of 2005, fully half of the Pumas being killed in the State are females, a truly bad situation that likely means that Lone Star hunters are overexploiting the population..........Pumas must be managed as Big Game with limits and seasons if this trend is to be reversed and our Big Cat is to remain a funtioning component of the Texas landscape

Mountain lion killed on Hondo ranch

Brian Chasnof, express-newsCopyright 2012 express-news. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By Brian Chasnoff, 

A mountain lion was shot and killed Wednesday night on a Hondo ranch about 40 miles west of San Antonio.

Gene Naquin, a manager at Nooner Ranch, said a ranch cook called him after leaving work and spotting the big cat on a roadway.“I just grabbed a gun and jumped in my pickup,” Naquin said. “It was running toward me up the lane, and I dispatched it.”

Naquin said only three other mountain lions have been killed in the area since 1965. The cat killed Wednesday weighed 90 pounds and was a 2-year-old male, he said

Mountain lion killed on Hondo ranch

express-newsCopyright 2012 express-news. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Updated 12:13 p.m., Friday, December 30, 2011

A mountain lion was shot and killed Wednesday night on a Hondo ranch about 40 miles west of San Antonio. Gene Naquin, a manager at Nooner Ranch, said a ranch cook called him after leaving work and spotting the big cat on a roadway. “I just grabbed a gun and jumped in my pickup,” Naquin...

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Texas Mountain Lion Conservation Project-Balanced Ecology.org - Texas Mountain Lions - Historical Overview Mountain Lions used to inhabit the entire state of Texas.   Early European settlers viewed predators, including the  Mountain Lion, as a direct threat to their survival and  their ability to raise livestock. As a result, measures  for predator removal by any mean possible were implemented across North America. From the early 1800's until the mid 1960's "predator   control" measures were implemented. Documentation   regarding the distribution and abundance of Mountain Lions throughout this period are scarce but an overall  trend of population decline to almost total  disappearance can be learned from the historical records. In Texas, Cope (1880) stated that Mountain Lions were   "common all over Texas," and Attwater (1917) noted  that, by the early 1890's, [Mountain Lions] "are fast  becoming killed out." Bailey (1905) documented that  there were Mountain Lions "in the rough and sparsely   settled western part of the State" [of Texas], and Jones  and Jackson (1941) stated that the species exists in  small numbers.   In 1946, Young and Goldman published a report that  examined Mountain Lion specimens across Texas.  Most specimens were found in the Trans-Pecos and   South Texas areas (Figure 3). It is unclear to what extent Young and Goldman attempted to obtain  specimens from the entire state. Figure 3: Distribution of  Mountain Lion specimens examined by Young and Goldman,  1946 (A blue star indicates a county where one or more Mountain Lion specimens were found.) Methods of predator removal included poisoning,  trapping, and the use of dogs. They were accomplished through private efforts and government encouragement  and assistance, some involving bounty payments. CLICK HERE TO SEE A PHOTOGRAPH  OF A KILLED MOUNTAIN LION IN EDWARDS COUNTY, TEXAS, 2007. THIS PHOTOGRAPH IS  OF A GRAPHIC NATURE. Beginning in the mid 1960's, all western states with   surviving lion populations, except Texas, began reclassifying the Mountain Lion as a game species, regulating the number of Mountain Lions killed per year.   Signs and sightings of Mountain Lions during that  period were extremely rare. A combination of factors  contributed to a reduction in the killing of Mountain  Lions by the mid-1960's allowing the species to slowly  recover:: The failure of the sheep and goat industry, cessation of federally funded predator removal  programs and the growing numbers of prey species such as deer, elk and moose . Goldman (1946) indicated that due to Texas bordering Mexico, Mountain Lions will always  be present, in some numbers in the state  (Young and Goldman 1946). Roy McBride, a government trapper, recalls that Mountain  Lions were extremely rare in Texas by the 1960's.  He explained how predator trappers would wait  at known lion travel corridors on the Texas-Mexico  border in the Big Bend area for Mountain Lions to  explore the area so they could trap and kill them  before they entered the state  (McBride, Personal communication 2007).

Texas Mountain Lions - Current Status Currently, Mountain Lions in the state of Texas  are classified as unprotected, nongame animals.   Under this classification, the numbers of Mountain  Lions being killed is unregulated which means  that Mountain Lions can be killed year round  regardless of age or sex. In addition, mountain  lions in Texas have no bag limit and can be killed  in any number. The population is mainly restricted to the western  part of Texas (Trans-Pecos region and the western  part of the Edward's plateau) and to southern Texas. Most Mountain Lion mortalities in Texas are due to  predator control activities (traps, snares, or poison)  or due to opportunistic hunting. The true effect of unregulated killing on the Texas Mountain Lion population is unknown. The few  studies that have been done indicate the following (see tables below for more detailed data): Mountain lions are experiencing low  survivorship mainly due to predator  control and hunting practices (Tables 1- 4). A high percentage of female mountain lions  is being killed, a fact indicating that the population is being harvested at an unsustainable  level (more lions are being killed than survive)  (Table 6). Due to killing practices, mountain lions exhibit a skewed age group (population mainly composed of younger individuals), an unhealthy situation for  a wild (or any) animal population (Table 5). It is unclear how many Mountain Lions currently  live in the state of Texas. More research is needed  in order to determine the health and viability of the  state's Mountain Lion population. Mountain Lion Mortality Rates (Tables 1 - 4) Important Notes: Individuals with fate unknown were excluded  from the analysis. Individuals not part of the sampled, collared  group were excluded from the analysis. The effect of trapping, sedating and collaring  Mountain Lions on mortality rate is unknown.   It is possible that the act of collaring the lions  increases mortality by an unknown factor. **Adams, 2003 – South Texas (1999 – 2001) By 1999, only four Mountain Lions originally collared by   Harveson in 1994 were still alive. Number originally  collared, 21; number considered for this analysis, 18; overall mortality, 77.8%. Studies show that annual mortality rates exceeding 25% result in Mountain Lion population decline (Cougar Management Guidelines, chapter 4). Texas Mountain Lions - Age Structure A population composed of younger individuals  indicates that the Mountain Lions, who live in the  wild 12 to 13 years, do not survive long and are  being killed at an average age of 2.86 years (Table 5). This age distribution is characteristic of an  exploited Mountain Lion population (Smith 1990, Harveson et al. 1996) Age-Sex Composition Analysis Studies show there is a correlation between  the age and sex of killed Mountain Lions  within a harvested population and the leve of exploitation (killing) of that population*. The study provides the following information  regarding Mountain Lions' vulnerability  (susceptibility) to being killed (see also  explanation below): The list is from the MOST vulnerable to  LEAST vunerable: Subadult males due to their great dispersal distances Resident males due to their large territories Subadult females (during their  dispersal periods) Resident females without young  (larger territories)** Females with older (>6 months)  kittens (medium size territories) Females with young (<6 months)  kittens (smallest territories) Studies show that in a highly hunted /exploited population, as the level of  exploitation increased and the population  declined, the proportion of adult females  in the harvest increased, the proportion of sub-adults in the harvest decreased and the mean age of harvested adult females  decreased (Cougar Management Guidelines, 2005). Table 6 indicates the high percentage of females  comprising the reported harvested Mountain Lions  in Texas. Despite the small sample size, more than  half the Mountain Lions killed are females,  an indicator that the less vulnerable part of the population is being killed, which may  mean overexploitation of the population***. * Barnhurst 1986; Stoner 2004; Anderson and  Lindzey 2005; Choate et al. 2006; Mountai  Lion Management Plan, Wyoming Game and Fish Department 2006. ** Females are known to decrease their territory size when they have dependent young and begin  increasing it as their young gain more independence. *** The relationship between overexploitation of a Mountain  Lion population and the sex-age of the animals killed is as follows: Subadult males are the most vulnerable individuals  within a Mountain Lion population in terms of being  killed. They are the ones that will disperse farthest  from their mother's territory seeking an empty territory or attempting to take over another male's territory Therefore, those young male mountain lions are the  ones we mostly expect to see in a healthy, but  harvested population. Adult Males are the second most vulnerable  Mountain Lions within a healthy Mountain        Lion population since they occupy large  territories and may seek females throughout that area and beyond. should not be found in high proportion in a  healthy, harvested Mountain Lion population.         If they are, it is an indication that the population is overexploited when it comes to  the number of Mountain Lions being killed.
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