There is no question that if we gave them the room, bears, lions and wolves would reclaim nearly all of their historical haunts, circa A.D. 1500

Biologists tracked mountain lion this spring in western Kansas

BY MICHAEL PEARCE

The Wichita Eagle

·                                  

HERINGTON, Kan. | A mountain lion from Colorado took a quick stroll through Kansas this spring, basically

 covering the state from north to south in March.

It is the third confirmed mountain lion in Kansas in the past 106 years, and all three instances have occurred since 2007.

One was shot in Barber County in 2007 and the other was photographed by an archery deer hunter in Trego County last fall.

Thursday in Herington, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks biologist Matt Peek told the Wildlife and Parks Commission

 about the third mountain lion.

The young male, weighing about 90 pounds, had been trapped and collared by Colorado game officials and released near

 Estes Park on Oct. 20 of last year.

The cat's GPS-collar transmits its location every three hours. Biologists download the information about once a month.

Peek said Colorado authorities alerted Wildlife and Parks officials here when it appeared the cat was headed into Kansas.

 Wildlife and Parks officials didn't know the cat's location when it was in the state.

Several biologists, including Peek, later checked sites where several GPS coordinates were transmitted from a small area in western Kansas.

Peek said while the mountain lion spent some time along river bottoms, it spent much of its time trekking southward across agricultural and

 ranching areas with little traditional wildlife habitat. The cats are known to be reclusive and contact with humans is rare.

It appears the cat entered Kansas in Cheyenne County — in the northwest corner of the state — and stayed within the western two tiers of

 counties. It was in Kansas from March 5-25.

Peek said that about 30 percent of the time when the mountain lion was stopped, it was around some sort of structure, such as abandoned

 or inhabited houses.

"As you drive across places in western Kansas, if you were looking for cover, that's where you'd have went,'' Peek said.

Peek said he talked with one Morton County homeowner who produced a clear photo of a track near her home. She said she never felt threatened.

Though it was near livestock several times, biologists found no evidence that the mountain lion had attacked any.

Evidence indicated the mountain lion fed on house cats, raccoons, porcupines and a deer while in Kansas. In Colorado, it ate several coyotes,

 large birds and midsize mammals, but not deer.

Since leaving Kansas, the mountain lion traveled back to Colorado and then through Oklahoma and Texas before heading into New Mexico.

 Colorado biologist says it probably has traveled more than 1,000 miles.

Through the years, Peek and other Kansas biologists have traveled even farther while investigating possible sightings or signs of mountain lions.

 Reports of big cats in Kansas have been made since the last one was killed in the western part of the state in 1904, but none was confirmed until 2007.

"It was nice putting a foot on ground where we knew one had been in the past couple of weeks," Peek said.

 

Photographer acknowledges invading the space of Mother Bear with Cubs

Caught on Cam: Close call with grizzly bear. .....This Photographer is wrong knowingly getting this close to Mom and her cubs..................lucky for him that the gun blast caused her to veer off at last moment

PROTECTION AGAIN FOR ROCKY MOUNTAIN WOLVES--ARTIFICIAL STATE LINES NOT A VIABLE WAY OF DETERMINING ADEQUATE WOLF RECOVERY?

Northern Rockies Wolf Anti-Hunting Case Heard by Judge

Northern Rockies Wolf Anti-Hunting Case Heard by Judge

Columbus, OH --(Ammoland.com)- A federal judge recently heard arguments on whether gray wolves in Montana and Idaho should again be placed under Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection. The case will set a precedent on how wolves and other species are removed from ESA protection in the future.
Judge Donald W. Molloy heard arguments on June 15 from both sides of the debate over the removal of gray wolves in the Northern Rocky area from the Endangered Species List.
A coalition of anti-hunting groups filed suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) seeking to overturn its decision to remove many of the wolves in the area from ESA protection. The coalition includes 14 groups including the Humane Society of the United States, the largest anti-hunting group in the country, and Defenders of Wildlife who is opposed to science based wolf management efforts.
After exhaustive studies, the FWS decided to remove the Northern Rocky Mountain wolves in Idaho and Montana. The FWS determined that Wyoming, also part of the North Rocky Mountain region, did not have plans to adequately protect its wolf population and kept wolves in Wyoming under ESA protection.
A major point of conflict between the anti-hunting coalition seeking all of the wolves in the region being placed back under ESA protection and FWS revolves around whether the FWS could “split protection” between states. The antis argue that it cannot and that if any of the population is threatened, the entire population must be listed. Attorneys representing the FWS argued that both the Bush and the Obama administrations approved of the delisting and that Congress intended to have flexibility in protecting species under the ESA.
This case, as is the case with the entire wolf reintroduction effort, has been riddled with controversy.
In September, 2009 Judge Molloy refused to block scheduled hunts in Montana and Idaho under their state management plans. However, at the time, Judge Molloy did note that there appeared to be a violation of the ESA when FWS refused to delist the portion of the Northern Rocky Mountain wolf in Wyoming. According to him, “the service has distinguished a natural population of wolves based on a political line, not the best available science.” He went on to state, “that, by definition, seems arbitrary and capricious.”
.

My neck of the woods----COUGARS PERSIST IN THE SANTA MONICA MTNS RINGING LOS ANGELES--FANTASTIC!!!!!

Kanan road exit on the 101 freeway in los angeles, the next

Exit up the freeway from blogger rick’s home……….yea!

 

Wildlife underpasses and culverts needed across the 101 for the cougar genepool to spread and grow!

 

Three Mountains Lion Kittens Born in Santa Monica Mountains

• Two Females and One Male Are Expected to Enhance Local Cougar Gene Pool

BY ANNE SOBLE

Three mountain lion kittens were born last month in the Santa Monica Mountains. It is the second documented litter of mountain lion kittens since the ones born here in the summer of 2004.

The kittens—two females and a male—were discovered on May 26 by National Park Service researchers in parkland adjacent to the Kanan Road and Mulholland Highway area. 

All documented cougars are designated by the letter  P, which stands for puma, another name for mountain lion or cougar and the specie’s genus (Puma concolor), and a number that represents its order in the research project.

Thus, the new female kittens are P17 and P19, and their brother is P18.

In some parts of the United States, cougar young and the young of most larger carnivores are called cubs. The NPS in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area uses the research term kitten.

According to this week’s  formal birth announcement, NPS researchers “intensively monitored P13, the kitten’s mother, throughout the spring, after GPS tracking revealed that she and P12, a collared male, spent several days in proximity in late January.”

Adult cougars rarely interact with each other except to mate and clash over territory. In fact, the father of the 2004 litter killed its mother in 2005.

Each kitten has been implanted with a tracking device that will allow researchers to follow its movement. NPS indicated, “This is the first urban mountain lion study that has had the opportunity to track mountain lion kittens from such a young age.”

The wildlife researchers will monitor the littermates to see if the male will move to new habitat when he matures, and whether the females will have litters in two years.

The litter of kittens is also significant because P12, the unconfirmed father of the kittens, is genetically different from other mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains.

P12 made the only documented mountain lion crossing across Highway 101 in spring of 2009 to enter the Santa Monicas, and it is thought that he might be from farther away, meaning a new infusion into the gene pool.

Life will not necessarily be easy for the triplets. Although the habitat in the Santa Monica Mountains is ideal for the species,  increased development and lack of crossing locations to other wildland areas to the north and west can lead to conflict over territory and inbreeding.

In another major cougar development, a new adult  cat, P16, was added to the research study in May.  P16 lives in the Santa Susana Mountains.

Research in the Santa Monica Mountains indicates that male mountain lions frequently travel the entire length and breadth of the mountain range from the I-405 at the east end of the SMMNRA, to Camarillo to the west, and from the Pacific Ocean and Malibu to the south to the 101 freeway to the north, which acts as an almost impenetrable barrier farther north. 

Artificial impediments created by humans and their development mean SMMNRA cougars rarely leave the area’s confines.

The National Park Service mountain lion study started eight years ago with the initial collaring of P1.

Since then, researchers have tracked 19 mountain lions. Currently, the study monitors six working GPS collars on adult cougars, as well as tracks the new kittens that are monitored by vehicle, or on foot, using VHF transmitters. 

This is the largest number of mountain lions ever followed at one point in time during the study. 

The research data has spurred proposals to establish a safe and effective wildlife crossing point under Highway 101 in the wildlife corridor east of Kanan Road to help guarantee gene pool health.

WHALES GET A REPRIEVE

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) announced yesterday that it is delaying action on a deal that would have legalized commercial whaling for the first time in a generation. The IWC’s decision is a huge victory for whales -- and for activists like you -- against very long odds. And it was made possible by more than 100,000 NRDC Members and BioGems Defenders like you who helped ignite a worldwide outcry against this potentially disastrous policy change. Just weeks ago, Pierce Brosnan kicked off NRDC’s public mobilization campaign by alerting you to this deadly deal and asking you to make your voice heard in opposition. At that time, an end to the ban on whaling seemed virtually inevitable. The deal had been negotiated for years in secret, closed-door meetings. The talks were spearheaded by key governments, including our own, which believed that lifting the ban on whaling would rein in rogue whaling by Japan, Iceland and Norway. But, in fact, the proposed deal was a capitulation to the whaling nations, conferring legitimacy on their slaughter of whales after they’d defied international law for years. The deal would have suspended the whaling ban for 10 years and opened up a designated whale sanctuary to commercial whaling. And it would not have put binding measures in place to stop whaling nations from killing whales under legal loopholes like “scientific permits.” Worst of all, the deal would have given moral cover to the notion that we can save whales by killing them -- instead of by banning their slaughter. Fortunately, a worldwide outcry helped halt this headlong rush to legalize the slaughter of whales for profit. It shone a spotlight on the secret proceedings and put pressure on anti-whaling nations -- like the United States -- to toughen their stance in negotiating with the whaling nations. That last-minute shift produced a whale-saving deadlock. This fight is not yet over. The IWC has left the proposed deal open on its agenda, meaning that it could be revisited in the next two days. More likely, the IWC will opt for a year-long “cooling-off period” and take up the issue again next year. We’ll be ready to mobilize again whenever this proposed deal is put back on the table. In the weeks and months ahead, we’ll be urging the IWC to focus its conservation efforts on emerging threats to marine mammals that are growing with each passing day: from entanglement to ship strikes, from noise pollution to global warming. In the meantime, I want to thank you for helping secure this important victory for whales -- and for making sure that the slaughter of whales for profit will remain illegal. Sincerely, Peter Lehner Executive Director Natural Resources Defense Council

Fw: ~ Project Coyote Declares Victory for Wildlife in Florida ~

Way to go Camilla!!!!!!

---

From: Project Coyote <info@projectcoyote.org>
To: Project Coyote <info@projectcoyote.org>
Sent: Wed Jun 23 23:55:36 2010
Subject: ~ Project Coyote Declares Victory for Wildlife in Florida ~

Show your appreciation for coyotes with a gift to Project Coyote

	Victory Declared for Wildlife in Florida! Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission votes  UNANIMOUSLY for immediate ban on Coyote and Fox Penning Dear Project Coyote Fans & Supporters, I am elated to share this great news with you. Today, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) voted UNANIMOUSLY to ban coyote and fox penning statewide!  YOUR voices were heard! THANK YOU for speaking out against this cruel practice! We could not have won this battle without you.  Becky Pomponio, our Florida Representative, testified before the FWC today. In her remarks she told the FWC that,  "Cruelty can occur when no one is looking.  But for Florida, the blinders are off.  No one can say we don't know what is going on in these pens.  Please, don't try to regulate this cruelty. Put an end to it now."  The FWC had three options before them: regulate the practice, phase it out over two years, or ban it immediately. A groundswell of public outcry against the practice and media attention- including ten newspapers editorials taking a firm stand against penning and supporting an immediate ban- put the spotlight on Florida and the FWC to take swift action and ban this practice. In my blog post on this issue in the Huffington Post (see below) we urged people to write to the Commission and several state and national media outlets picked this up and ran with it.  Your voice made a difference here. Public pressure CAN change the way our state wildlife agencies manage and treat coyotes and other wildlife. We are still working hard to ban this practice in Indiana. Our aim is to ban this practice nationwide and relegate coyote and fox penning to the recesses of America's dark past.  We need your help to keep doing this important work. We can do it with your support! If you are not yet a member of Project Coyote, please consider joining our growing team today. To make a secure online donation now, visit Project Coyote's website. THANK YOU!    For America's Native "Song Dog,"    Camilla H. Fox, Founding Director **************************************** Project Coyote is a non-profit fiscally sponsored project of Earth Island Institute that promotes  coexistence between people and coyotes and advocates on behalf of coyotes and other native carnivores. We depend on our members and supporters to help us continue our work on behalf of America's native "song dog." Please join us today! All donations are tax-deductible. Visit us at www.ProjectCoyote.org.

 

Project Coyote P.O. Box 5007 Larkspur, CA 94977  415-945-3232 Copyright © 2009 All rights reserved.

TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS LIST, PLSEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO info@projectcoyote.org with "UNSUBSCRIBE" IN THE SUBJECT LINE

Camilla Fox: Coyote & Fox Penning: A Blood "Sport" That Must End

By Camilla Fox | Published: June 22, 2010

HUFFINGTON POST

When a famous NFL quarterback, Michael Vick, admitted he was the owner-operator of a dog fighting ring, most Americans were shocked and rightly outraged. We've laid down the law that entertaining ourselves by pitting one animal against another in bloody combat is cruel and unethical - and demanded that it be illegal in all 50 states. However, few Americans are aware there is "entertainment" that is even nastier than dog or cockfighting, and is actually legal in several Midwestern and Southeastern states. It's called penning and it involves sending packs of domestic dogs into a fenced-off enclosure to chase to exhaustion and often tear apart a captive coyote or fox. Penning has existed for decades but, ironically, may have benefited by the fact that few have ever heard of it.

Until now. This sadistic practice is beginning to enter public consciousness in a number of states including Indiana and Florida and a more constructive debate is ensuing. In his column ("Let's put an end to pens for coyotes and foxes", 6.18.10) Eric Ernst of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune writes,

"They may call it hunting, but that's an insult to real hunters. In this case, wild coyotes or foxes are trapped, packed and shipped to fenced areas where they are turned loose to run for their lives, day after day, from a pack of dogs. If the dogs don't maul them to death, the wild animals die of disease. Incredibly, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, an agency entrusted with managing the state's natural resources, has sanctioned the practice for more than 20 years. That could change soon. Next week in Orlando, the commission will decide whether to ban the fox/coyote pens, phase them out by 2013 or let them continue to operate under stricter rules. The vote here is to ban."

In Florida, a recent undercover investigation of penning operations led to the arrest of 12 people and the issuance of 46 citations for various violations related to the illicit black-market trade in live foxes and coyotes for penning purposes. Public outcry then led to a temporary statewide ban on the practice in February. Now the Commission will decide whether to regulate or ban this practice altogether.

Project Coyote and the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) along with more than 60 scientists, wildlife biologists, veterinarians, ethicists, and attorneys, have sent a formal letter calling on the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to abolish "penning" at the upcoming hearing.

The letter, endorsed by internationally prominent scientists Dr. Michael Soule and Dr. Reed Noss and ethicists Dr. Holmes Rolston, III and Dr. Dale Jamieson states,

"We believe that the FWC needs to take a firm stand in banning this practice altogether. If the proposed rule (to regulate pens) is approved, the FWC will be legalizing a practice that runs counter to fundamental concepts of wildlife management and violates the principle of fair chase."

Wildlife agencies in several other states have serious concerns about penning, including transmission of diseases such as rabies. In 2008, the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies passed a resolution urging the

"adoption of state-by-state regulations prohibiting the importation or interstate movement of foxes and coyotes for the purpose of stocking coursing pens or for release and pursuit by hounds outside of coursing pens."

Americans recognize that dog fighting and cockfighting are unacceptably cruel and that such spectator events don't have a place in civilized society. How different is penning? As Ernst summed it up:

"Penning isn't sport. It's slaughter. Just ask the real hunters."

If you live in Florida, please attend and testify at the upcoming FWC meeting in Lake Mary (near Orlando) in support of a permanent ban on all coyote/fox pens statewide. Tell your Florida friends to attend too! If you cannot attend, email or write to the FWC. Penning supporters are a very small, but very vocal minority in Florida. The FWC needs to hear from Florida residents and visitors, who want to see coyote/fox pens abolished.

It's time again for society to stand up, and shout a collective NO to another cruel, unethical and dangerous blood sport -and make penning illegal in all 50 states. Our shock and outrage can help relegate coyote and fox pens to their rightful place in America's dark past.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is accepting public comments on the issue until June 23rd. Comments can be submitted online at:
myfwc.com/RULESANDREGS/Fox_CoyotePublicWorkshops.asp

More information about the June 23rd hearing in Lake Mary, Florida can be found here: http://myfwc.com/COMMISSION/Comm_2010.htm#June

Follow Camilla Fox and Project Coyote on Facebook and on Twitter.

_________________

Project Coyote
P.O. Box 5007
Larkspur, CA 94977
ph: 415.945.3232 

Join the conversation!

  

Hope yet for Cougars East of the Mississippi and North of Florida

State releases photo of cougar in Upper Peninsula

Last Michigan cougar sighting was over 100 years ago

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment released the photo Monday night.
The agency says "although the image is blurred, the photo is consistent with a cougar."
A trail camera snapped the photo May 26 near Wallace in the central Upper Peninsula, about 15 miles north of Marinette, Wis.
Cougars are also known as mountain lions. The were native to Michigan, but the last known wild cougar in Michigan was killed near Newberry in 1906.
In the past two years, five sets of cougar tracks and two photos have been confirmed in Schoolcraft, Delta, Chippewa, Marquette and Menominee counties.

This May 26, 2010, photo released by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment shows an image of a wild cougar that was taken by a trail camera near Wallace in Michigan's remote Upper Peninsula, about 15 miles north of Marinette, Wis. Also known as mountain lions, the large cats long were thought extinct in Michigan. The last known cougar was killed in 1906 near Newberry. (MDNRE/ AP Photo)  

 CLICK LINK BELOW TO SEE PICTURE OF THE COUGAR

http://www.freep.com/article/20100622/NEWS06/100622015/1319/State-releases-photo-of-cougar-in-the-UP

FW: Huff Post: Coyote & Fox Penning: A Blood "Sport" That Must End

Camilla Fox

Camilla H. Fox is the Founding Director of Project Coyote and a wildlife consultant.

Posted: June 22, 2010 12:33 AM

Coyote & Fox Penning: A Blood "Sport" That Must End

 

When a famous NFL quarterback, Michael Vick, admitted he was the owner-operator of a dog fighting ring, most Americans were shocked and rightly outraged. We've laid down the law that entertaining ourselves by pitting one animal against another in bloody combat is cruel and unethical - and demanded that it be illegal in all 50 states. However, few Americans are aware there is "entertainment" that is even nastier than dog or cockfighting, and is actually legal in several Midwestern and Southeastern states. It's called penning and it involves sending packs of domestic dogs into a fenced-off enclosure to chase to exhaustion and often tear apart a captive coyote or fox. Penning has existed for decades but, ironically, may have benefited by the fact that few have ever heard of it.

Until now. This sadistic practice is beginning to enter public consciousness in a number of states including Indiana and Florida and a more constructive debate is ensuing. In his column ("Let's put an end to pens for coyotes and foxes", 6.18.10) Eric Ernst of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune writes,

"They may call it hunting, but that's an insult to real hunters. In this case, wild coyotes or foxes are trapped, packed and shipped to fenced areas where they are turned loose to run for their lives, day after day, from a pack of dogs. If the dogs don't maul them to death, the wild animals die of disease. Incredibly, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, an agency entrusted with managing the state's natural resources, has sanctioned the practice for more than 20 years. That could change soon. Next week in Orlando, the commission will decide whether to ban the fox/coyote pens, phase them out by 2013 or let them continue to operate under stricter rules. The vote here is to ban."

In Florida, a recent undercover investigation of penning operations led to the arrest of 12 people and the issuance of 46 citations for various violations related to the illicit black-market trade in live foxes and coyotes for penning purposes. Public outcry then led to a temporary statewide ban on the practice in February. Now the Commission will decide whether to regulate or ban this practice altogether.

Project Coyote and the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) along with more than 60 scientists, wildlife biologists, veterinarians, ethicists, and attorneys, have sent a formal letter calling on the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to abolish "penning" at the upcoming hearing.
The letter, endorsed by internationally prominent scientists Dr. Michael Soule and Dr. Reed Noss and ethicists Dr. Holmes Rolston, III and Dr. Dale Jamieson states,

"We believe that the FWC needs to take a firm stand in banning this practice altogether. If the proposed rule (to regulate pens) is approved, the FWC will be legalizing a practice that runs counter to fundamental concepts of wildlife management and violates the principle of fair chase."

Wildlife agencies in several other states have serious concerns about penning, including transmission of diseases such as rabies. In 2008, the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies passed a resolution urging the

"adoption of state-by-state regulations prohibiting the importation or interstate movement of foxes and coyotes for the purpose of stocking coursing pens or for release and pursuit by hounds outside of coursing pens."

Americans recognize that dog fighting and cockfighting are unacceptably cruel and that such spectator events don't have a place in civilized society. How different is penning? As Ernst summed it up:

"Penning isn't sport. It's slaughter. Just ask the real hunters."

If you live in Florida, please attend and testify at the upcoming FWC meeting in Lake Mary (near Orlando) in support of a permanent ban on all coyote/fox pens statewide. Tell your Florida friends to attend too! If you cannot attend, email or write to the FWC. Penning supporters are a very small, but very vocal minority in Florida. The FWC needs to hear from Florida residents and visitors, who want to see coyote/fox pens abolished.

It's time again for society to stand up, and shout a collective NO to another cruel, unethical and dangerous blood sport -and make penning illegal in all 50 states. Our shock and outrage can help relegate coyote and fox pens to their rightful place in America's dark past.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is accepting public comments on the issue until June 23rd. Comments can be submitted online at:
myfwc.com/RULESANDREGS/Fox_CoyotePublicWorkshops.asp
More information about the June 23rd hearing in Lake Mary, Florida can be found here: http://myfwc.com/COMMISSION/Comm_2010.htm#June
Follow Camilla Fox and Project Coyote on Facebook and on Twitter.

___________________Project CoyoteP.O. Box 5007
Larkspur, CA 94977
ph: 415.945.3232