Yeah, pepper balls and fire hoses should have calmed the already aggitated lion down. The police were just following their training that they use on citizens to calm us down after we are already aggitated by them. It's perfectly fine.

Seriously? The decision to kill that cat should be prosecuted. It is impossible to believe that was the only way to resolve the situation. Temporarily closing the venue would have been more acceptable. Atrocious behavior.

Our police in our central Wis. town killed a bear about a month ago. It was de-scared of humans and made a lunge at the cops...bang, bang you are dead, twenty bullets in your head. No actually many fewer that twenty.

This was bear number 2 this year, the first was darted and resettled...This guy wasn't so cooperative.

What about a tranquilizer dart???

These idiots deliberately agitated the mountain lion with "pepper balls" and fire hoses. From the picture it looks like the cat was being perfectly peaceful until they started to get it agitated. If they had just kept it bottled up in the court yard and left it alone until the tranquilizer kicked in they could have avoided killing it. No doubt some mall official pressured the police and Fish and Wildlife people to get it out of there quickly so they could open up for the day. This pressure on the police and Fish and Wildlife no doubt caused them to get impatient and it resulted in the death of this animal. I hope that there is a full investigation of the actions of all those involved as this sounds like a completely avoidable incident. They should have been able to contain the animal and keep people away until the tranquilizer kicked in instead of having to shoot it.

NEA @ 1.3

Where was that? Had one early this spring in a neighborhood in Green Bay. Didn't have to shoot it, thankfully.

AMEN!, JS in SD

Maybe a little catnip was in order, or maybe a string with a feather on the end of a stick?............kidding......Geez....

Let's build another mall and push these animals even further off this earth! The animal should not have been killed. What a shame. Protect the public is BS. The police should have contained the area closely by keeping the "lookey loo's" away and helped save this animal. If people have the intelligence to remain in an area that a mountain lion is trapped, they should be shot! Next time evacuate the damn mall, keep people away, and save the animal. Maybe try fencing the animal in and using more meds to calm it down. In other words, use some common sense, not guns. Idiots!

You know what? I say fewer people, more cats! We take up too much of their natural habitat, they run out of food and end up in places like this where people go all freaky over a wild animal and the animal loses every time. I'm sure they could have tranquilized this cat given enough time. They said they did but they didn't wait long enough for it to take effect. Get the damn people out of the way and give the cat time to settle down. If we weren't breeding ourselves silly all the time there would be room on this planet for people and animals both. There used to be.

Good grief, people! It was a frikkin' mountain lion...not a harmless little pussy cat! Lions are DANGEROUS!!!

Hope they butchered it properly...they taste really good!

they didnt have to kill that marvelous animal,SHAME ON THEM!!!they didnt respect or care about this animals life. IDIOTS...

Vickie . . . procecution?? Are you kiddin' me? And you wonder why our court system is overloaded. They tried to save the cat, it didn't work. They got the blessing from Fish & Game, the last people that would want the cat shot. There is no way that animal can escape from that mall without an extreme danger to the community. It's unfortunate that the cat had to be shot but these things happen.

That's a horrible thing to say, they should have tranquilized it and moved it to a less populated area. Watch the 11th hour, we need to stop destroying the earth and everything on it. It's our fault that the cat didn't have a place to live so we need to deal with the consequences.

Send Linda in next time to get him out. Lets get some lawn chairs and beer. Be better than a UFC fight.

Cantakenomore...you are an idiot! Don't ever go mountain hiking, no wait...please go...alone with raw steaks around your neck...in the dark!

Law enforcement really needs to learn how to handle wild animals, or they need to call those who do in such situations. Fire hoses and pepper balls, seriously?! That's only going to further agitate the poor thing. Good job, just keep killing what few wild animals are left in the world. How sad.

Why is it that human life is ALWAYS more sacred than any kind of animal. Humans decimate and consume and encroach on so much of the land there is less and less natural habitat for animals that need space too. I often wish and wonder what would it be like if the whiteman had never "discovered" America and was still in the Indians care. I believe it would still be the same land, in the hands of those who respected Mother Earth. Untouched, unpolluted, We have successfully destroyed the last great horse culture and in just over 200 years destroyed and raped and robbed and polluted most of the land.

Come on people. READ the article and not just the headline. They DID use a tranquillizer dart. Ever been shot with one? Me neither, but I but THAT would agitate me until it took effect. During that time, the already agitated cat tried to get away. Ever hear that a wounded animal is more dangerous? So now they have to make a decision, let it get away or try and contain it. They used what they had and that was pepper balls and fire hoses. The article did say it was as a LAST RESORT that they used deadly force. ONE shot, not a whole barrage.

Frank, Frank..Frank...Common sense bud. Come on, when your panties are pink and twisted up you certainly do not have any of that.

Wow; how horrible. I hope who ever shot mountain lion; gets fired; gets out; gets put in jail. We are not the most important things on this earth you ass.

I would calm down if I were being hosed with water and pelted with balls! This lions did NOT have to be killed. Yes, Lions are big and they are dangerous, but this crew handled the situation very poorly. 10tacle, do you really think that this animal INTENDED to end up in a heavily populated area? If you knew a thing or two about wildlife, you might know that males are often kicked out of their habitat by dominant males leaving them to search for another home. It turns out that people continue to build into their habitat leaving them nowhere else to go! It happened that this lion was on his way to find a new home and there was a damn city in his way.

Big cats are dangerous, but, don't kid yourself if you think they did everything they could to save it's life. Same situation happened here in Eastern Washington a couple weeks ago. Fish and Wildlife just couldn't tranq the cat so they shot her right out of the tree. Seems like calling Fish and Wildlife is a death sentence regardless. We humans can do better and people at Fish and Wildlife need to be trained better to handle these beautiful animals.

That cat was pretty sedate in the picture and not to mention fairly close. We are not getting the real story.

Jackie and Kat, I hope next time you are on hand. Maybe the authorities will throw you to the cat to keep it occupied while the tranquilizers take effect, you idiots!

this is very sad when they had the lion cornered they should have subdued him when he was lying down, i bet he was just scared, obviously if he was trying to hide. :(

God forbid that they close the mall and keep people away until the tranquilizer takes effect. Can't interrupt society to save an an already scarce creature. An eighty pound cat wants nothing to do with larger deadly humans. So what do they do, they corner it?????

Cops always do this. they claim either that they 'tried" to tranqulize the animal or they claim the animal became aggressive. It's all bull@!$%#. They love killing things. They do it all the time here in southern Maine .Just a bunch of legal thugs with small wee wees trying to feel powerful.

This happens, so what would you animal lovers do if the cat had killed someone? Since wild animals and human populations don't exactly co-exist that well it is to be expected that some wild animals will be killed when they wander into our habitat. Sure, we developed into theirs first, but they are animals, not people and we have dominion here, dominion does not mean neglect or abuse, just that we have to take care of the wild creatures the best we can, but when they come into our space, they will do what a wild animal will do, and human lives can get lost as a result. This is the nature of our world as it has developed, it is too bad that this cat wasn't smart enough to stay away from human development, perhaps it is a 'darwin award' winner here?

Cops always do this. they claim either that they 'tried" to tranqulize the animal or they claim the animal became aggressive. It's all bull@!$%#. They love killing things. .Just a bunch of legal thugs with small wee wees trying to feel powerful.

the most important sentence:"That island of habitat is large enough to support 10 to 15 mountain lions, according to Jeff Sikich, a biologist with the project."

We need to work on connectivity of these "islands" for a healthy diverse population of all wildlife and forest health.

Yeah shoot the poor scared animal with pepper balls and water, yeah that'll calm it down in time for the tranquilizers to take effect. What a load of bull, just like the situation here in Marshfield, Wi with the bear. It's always the answer, kill, kill, kill. Sheesh!!!

...need to work on connectivity of these "islands" for a healthy diverse population...

Absolutely. Green corridors, and safe passages over or under highways.

What a disgraceful way to handle a wild animal situation. The cat did NOTHING harmful, NOTHING menacing, yet still..he gets shot dead. Disgusting and unnecessary!

What does it matter, in 150 years the only animals that will be left are man, their pets, livestock, test animals, and a few inedible mutant fish. The rest serve no purpose, so they'll be destroyed. Man can barely tolerate himself, what chance did the rest of the planet have.

Hey why don't you all just shut up about how bad it is that the cat got shot. If you don't in a rural area that has these kinds of animals then you probably don't have any clue just how dangerous they can be. I've seen videos on trail cameras of them taking down a deer when the deer never knew it was there. If thats not enough for you my cousin was killed by one when he was playing in his front yard, so just shut up about it.

And God forbid, a person were mulled the victim would be bitching and bringing law suits because the cops did not take deadly force. Just saying.

All we do is the great land grab-then blame an animal for being just that. Habitats are required for them we cannot put a mall, parking lot what have you on every sq. inch of land. These creatures have as much right as we do to the territory. It was theirs long before it was ours to parcel up and make money out of. A dart would have eventually subdue this young creature. He was in search of a habitat not anything else. And he had to die for that because some meat head had to get his macho going instead of using common sense and compassion. Most wild animals will run given the chance. You don't terrify with fire hoses etc. and expect the animal not to defend itself from attack-would you not fight--I am sick and tired of hearing about how the "brave" police killed a family pet in the yard because it attacked them, or shot an animal first and made up a story later. It's time to really crack down on these senseless killings. The animal looked confined and trapped. Period. As for the absurd comments off the topic the less attention paid to them the better.

law enforcement and fish and wildlife are trigger happy, for example cops are so quick to kill a dog. fish and wildlife say they protect wildlife , really? all i have ever read that those guys do is kill animals never heard that they saved a cat a wolf or an eagle ,etc. they also were going to let some native americans kill some bald eagles for some ritual. supposedly the eagle is suppose to be protected. fish and wildlife did not give the tranqualizer time to kick in . they could have thrown a net over the cat from the balcony but no it was easier for them to just kill the cat.

Yeah, it was probably hungry, so it went after the most easy, plentiful prey on the planet: an unarmed human. What's one less hick, more or less? If my species was being pushed out of existence, I'd kill as many of my overlords as I could before being killed for entering the forbidden zone.

Dash and Beck, you two have the most uncommon super power of all: Common sense. Just say the word, I'll buy us spandex bodysuits, and we can roll around in a Studebaker fighting stupidity wherever it rises.

It is sad however just as we say we humans need to be cautious and understanding when we are in their territory .... they need to be so in ours. Now they don't really know the difference but just imagine what may have happened if that scared kitty was loose in a crowded shopping center. Read the article they tried trancs and containment but the appropriate action seems to have been taken in the end. I suspect no one feels all that great about it.

If it would have escaped and killed or injured someone's kid you would all be yelling for the blood of the F&G and Police Officers who let it escape.....seems it was a no win situation for all concerned.

And H. H. MD??? I doubt it or you would never have made such a dumb statement.

If that kitty made it that far into the city w/o eating and mauling a bunch of 5 yr. olds or being noticed I don't think it's going to be a threat after the tranquilizing. They more afraid of us-the true invasive species. What if every time a big cat cruised near urban settings in Africa or India it was shot?? The whole world would be pissed!!

What is wrong with you people ? You all act like you have no value for human life , or you value the cats life more then the risk of human life. If there is any type of danger, the animal should go down, period, human life is far more in value.

@Marie Haughey

Law enforcement really needs to learn how to handle wild animals, or they need to call those who do in such situations. Fire hoses and pepper balls, seriously?!

YES, Seriously!!! I never cease to be amazed at how the people who supposedly care the so much about wild animals seem to know absolutely jack sht about them. Pepper balls and fire hoses are the EXACT method you should use in this situation. The purpose is to agitate the animal, that's how you teach it that shopping malls aren't a cozy place to find some shade, they are a place where you get pepper balls and fire hoses. Duh! If it was only a matter of disposing of this animal they wouldn't have bothered with the tranq or the pepper balls, they just would have shot it on site which is what regretfully happens far too often. Maybe if you're going to play arm-chair quarterback you should at least learn the rules of the game. There was a warden on site before any action was taken, did you read the article? The people who know how to handle wild animals were there and did exactly what they were supposed to.

Yes it is unfortunate that the tranq didn't take effect more quickly. I backpack in mountain lion territory and have great respect for these magnificent creatures but they don't belong in shopping malls and if they have no fear of such places you can be sure they'll return. This situation was handled properly even if the outcome was not what was intended. Sadly, in a difficult situation, things don't always work out the way we'd like them to.

They were bloodthirsty (like most people) and needed an excuse to execute the beast. Hoses and pepper balls don't even work on humans, the most intelligent creature in the known universe. Like the Mountain Lion knew what was happening, it probably thought it was under attack. So, it was killed for entering a populated area, I'm sure it's had ancestors killed for less.

Sounds like a F**K-up.

I have to disagree Backcountry....the warden should be the first person fired for being incompetant. We're talking about an 80 pound cat. If he was qualified to do his/her job, than handling this animal or being able to judge the proper amount of tranquiler to use should not have been an issue.

They couldn't call in a wrangler from the Los Angeles Zoo? Yes, it is a wild animal, but if the fish and game warden was properly trained, there is no reason this animal couldn't be managed. Do they have to shoot 80 pound black labs that get off leash and don't come when called?

Kari Huus...I challange you to go a step further and actually perform a bit of journalism. Find out what qualifications this "warden" has.

We humans keep on sprawling, taking over natural areas, soon there won't be anywhere except zoos for the wildlife. This is a shame. For beings with supposedly superior intellects, we can act very stupid and irresponsible.

This pisses me off beyond belief

If that kitty made it that far into the city w/o eating and mauling a bunch of 5 yr. olds or being noticed I don't think it's going to be a threat after the tranquilizing. They more afraid of us-the true invasive species. What if every time a big cat cruised near urban settings in Africa or India it was shot?? The whole world would be pissed!!

I just used this quote as an example. I hope everyone of you that are claiming about people encroaching into the cats land are ready to do something. You live under a roof...right So you are part of the problem. Please I would like everyone of you to tear down your abodes and kill your families so these little kitty killing machines can have their home. You idiots will be the first ones screaming when Agenda 21 really takes effect and they do start killing you and taking your personal property. I see by the quotes here on the vine that the dumbing down of the masses is working.

Maybe instead of shooting the cat while waiting for the anesthetic to work, if it would as getting the dosage right is difficult they could have thrown the cat some babies to swat around and then you folks would be happy. I hope you all are first inline when the immunizations start to wipe out the majority of us as even you said it, we are taking wildlifes land. I hope the ones that are left will be happy living in their cells working for the wealthy as the World with just the 1% will be a great place. Youtube Agenda 21 for Dummies (this is you) this is not some theory as it is all written in black and white, they have a plan and look around...it has already begun. Any of you with more than the bear minimum essentials better give them up as it is fact that people with money use more resources. Get ready for your Sustainable Development as YOUR family unit is not sustainable.

youtube.com/watch?v=TzEEgtOFFlM

Generally, more highly educated people , who have higher incomes consume more resources than poorly educated people, who tend to have lower incomes. In this case more education is a threat to sustainability.

And you wonder why the schools have changed the way they teach...many kids can't add or even read. Well this is all part of the plan Get used to it

United Nations Agenda 21

@Joe-755363

I have to disagree Backcountry....the warden should be the first person fired for being incompetant. We're talking about an 80 pound cat. If he was qualified to do his/her job, than handling this animal or being able to judge the proper amount of tranquiler to use should not have been an issue.

Please do share with us your qualifications in making this assessment. Or are you, like everyone else, thinking with you heart instead of your head thereby prompting you to talk out your ass?

Personally, I tend not to believe I know more than someone trained to deal with such a situation so I take them at their word. Obviously not everyone follows that logic.

I also want to add that I put the link for Agenda 21 for dummies up as I know you folks won't read a 1000 plus page document or even take the time to watch a 2 hour video that would describe the Agenda in more detail. If you have interest for more info in your or your childrens future then watch

youtube.com/watch?v=dUWByt813fA&feature=related

Agenda 21- Codex- Fema Camps-80% Depopulation = New World Order (Terror Camps: The Global NWO

None of this is a conspiracy theory as it is all written down in a plan, plan as black and white. If you watch and listen to things happening you will see it has already begun.

UN Agenda 21 - In your face

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiDKWy_oSMw

We humans keep on sprawling, taking over natural areas, soon there won't be anywhere except zoos for the wildlife. This is a shame. For beings with supposedly superior intellects, we can act very stupid and irresponsible.

Exactly right. These are beautiful cats. We keep building these gawd awful disgusting shopping malls and stack a shack housing developments (I can only say I'm glad I don't live in one) and we wonder why these animals are lashing out? Typical human stupidity.

Anthony...

I do...go mountain lion hunting every year...thanks for the words of encouragement!

...and BTW, they are delicious!

what a bunch of IDIOTS! take a garden hose and spray your house cat, that will "calm him down". WTF? pepper balls? that should work good too! why couldn't they close the mall for an hour or so? Oh, I forgot some rich Bitc# would of had to wait to by her Gucci shoes, and lord help us some shop might have lost a sale or 2 in that hour!!

The article says the mall was closed when the animal was spotted, so exactly what was the problem with letting it get out of it's corner and succumb to the tranquilizer? Unless they started letting people into the mall. Now THAT would have been dumb.

The really sad thing is that if they had managed to remove it without harming it, then how much chance did it have of surviving anyway? It sounds like it was not likely to survive long due to a lack of territory.

Maybe he was there to pick up a new iPad.

Backcountry164, I will leave it to you to try to explain it to some of these people who never seemed to have ventured outside the city limits and get all their worldly knowledge of animal behaviour, nature, and ecology from watching Discovery and Natl Geo. I give up.

The water hoses and pepper balls were meant to try to keep the lion in the controlled area while the tranquilizer took effect. No doubt the lion tried to escape once it was hit with the dart (not exactly a happy experience.) When all efforts to keep the lion away from other people failed, LEOs really had no other choice. If the lion had gotten to populated areas, a drugged, agitated lion could easily kill or maim many people.

It is very sad that this had to happen. The only way around this is to have very large protected ranges where people are not allowed to build.

Holy @!$%#. When did Tyler become the Politicall Corectness King and who voted him in? And why can you insult someoone for their beliefs, but think they not be allowed the same mesure of respect? Are you Bill Maher's sock puppet?

Jan, I'm not getting my bearings straight from way east in Georgia. I lived in SM for 62 years and know pretty much where we are talking about; but I can't figure out what stores are there on the 2nd St. side.

For those of you who are on about building a mall and pushing out the cats; there is little wild area left in the Santa Monica/Los Angeles area; do a google fly-by and you will see that it is people from Santa Barbara to San Diego. That is why we have so many videos of bears using hot tubs and unfortunately big cats being killed.

We do have the greenways program and try as hard as we can to allow the wild to continue to live there; but, it is just so populous - maybe 15 million people now.

May Bast in Her infinite wisdom take Her hunter in Her arms and guide him home.

In Sept.2000 we awoke to a 2 yr. old female in our yard that the dogs had chased up our 50ft. elm tree. I will add that we live on the edge of a very small town in South Dakota where they had made a comeback in the Black Hills. Called GF&P who came in along with local police and they tranquilized her. Lions are very sensitive to the anesthetics they use, so much care and most of all patience is an absolute when employing this method of capture and release. The ground was padded for her fall and all precautions were taken. It took her from 6:30am until noon that Saturday plus another small dose a GF&P biologist climbed up and gave her in her haunch as she was drugged enough almost like they wanted her but she was stuck in a branch and needed a little more to be safely pulled down while being sufficiently sedated. Absolutely beautiful teamwork and a wonder of nature to be able to see her close up like that. So it can be done by those who know what they are doing. To pepper spray this cat and spray him with water has me utterly infuriated. What is with these prized A$$ho*^$ who went in there seemingly with no knowledge of how to be calm and patient and educated about what to do? Dart him and give him time to go out. Don't scare him into a frenzy when he is already drugged for gods sake. Lions need their mothers for 2yrs. from birth to learn hunting/survival skills to try to survive on their own before leaving her to find their own territory. People are encroaching deep into their forested lands here. People who have no knowledge and rarely or never take the time to ask or research the wildlife habitats we have here. Then they complain if a wild turkey eats their petunias or call the police when the deer poop in their yard. Seriously, they do that. All because they chose to live 30-40 miles off a main road up in the thickly forested area to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Therefore, our populations of Mountain Lions is nearly wiped out again after yrs. of trying to protect them all because of the hunting seasons since then that people who came from all over the US to live here asked for because they are uneducated. I am not saying they aren't/can't be dangerous animals. When they wander into town, the situation needs to be evaluated swiftly and if the animal is sick looking for easy prey, it sadly must be put down. There have been a few younger than a year or so whose mothers had been killed in the hunts. Therefore, they are unskilled in hunting, begin to starve, get sick and do wander into populated areas looking for cats to eat or whatever they can find. And yes, that could include children or adults in yards. So I repeat- I do know they are dangerous animals especially when they are desperate or frightened or even just out on a hunt and the rare human they happen upon in their territory are therefore considered prey by them, gets hurt or killed. Bears kill more people than Mtn. Lions. This is a bittersweet story though. The captured Lion from our yard was collared and released but was found a week later brutally killed by poachers the GF&P stated in our local paper. They tracked her 80 miles from where she was released way up in the hills. Skinned while still alive. I guess another bullet cost too much for them to put her out of her misery beforehand.

Sorry for the long post but this didn't have to happen to this magnificient creature. The ignorance of these "proffesional, supposedly knowledgeable" officials is frickin unblievable to me.

We are witnessing the destruction of so many things. This is another sad example of our "domination" of the Earth.

If we were starving and out of habitat would a human act any differently?

Bummer of a story.

Bud, theatrics are certainly your calling.

He was very beautifull and young. Too bad they killed him. The article stated that this would make the survivability of these cats down there even more dire.

Actually he didn't looked frightened he looked to me like he was trying to hide. That is what wildlife does, they try to hide and then get away. As a Wildlife Rehabilitator, these stories disturb me a great deal. The police always call in the Department of Fish and Wilidlife, and I am sorry to say but in my experience with saving wildlife it seems to me that the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife don't know anything about wildlife. They had this animal cornered why didn't they tranquilize it again? This animal had no idea what was happening, it was being pelted and hosed, and all they did was aggravate it and get its adrenaline flowing so much that it was harder to tranquilize. The Police department and the Dept of Fish and Wildlife never seem to learn. In the rehab I worked for we have managed to safely retrieve Bear, Deer, Seals, and Cougars without causing their deaths. This is ridiculous, and I am sick of hearing "how they did everything"........Yeah Right.......except call the rehabbers who know how to retrieve these animals safely. This makes me sick.

When frightened one does have a tendency to hide or flee. The cat had no where to go so it laid down in what it felt was a safe grove of trees and bushes. Little did it know that its stalker was lurking near by to murder it. They should have called Ted Nugent cause he would have at least wounded it first then seek out one away from the Mall.

My thoughts exactly. I don't have kids for that very reason. There are far, far, far too many of us. This animal didn't have to die.

Sad but true.

K.Truant; a foolish comment about a serious subject.

I'm beginning to believe in population control more and more.. There are way too many stupid, irresponsible dip@!$%#s out there duplicating themselves with any and everyone... I'd much rather read an article on how we saved a majestic mountain lion instead of looking at another picture of Casey Anthony's murdering ass, or an article on how convicted murderers were pardoned and gifted with cars... This world is effed.. Animals deserve to live MUCH more than some of these well known pieces of @!$%#..

Could it be that there is plenty of room in America for both man and beast? Perhaps the animals just like to hang around the humans because we have more food??

Carrie . . . thanks for not having kids.

This is very sad, for God's sake we are taking over their habitat, where else are they going to go. We are destroying our own environment and animal kingdom...I see daily animals killed in the Hwy and the streets because we keep building housing areas, Malls, commercial areas and destroying the forest...I think the police should've take other measures to tame this poor animal, he shouldn't die...I feel ashamed sometimes to belong to the human race, we are so cruel with our own planet:(

Unfortunately no, there isn't enough room for 7.5 billion humans and to still have room for the beasts.. For example, a wolf pack roams 20 - 30 sq mile areas, if not more.. That is their natural home. They're not domestic dogs that can adjust to a 100 sq yrd backyard of a house and then be expected to find food.. This is how animals become extinct.

Disturbedlibrarian

K.Truant; a foolish comment about a serious subject.

I agree with you 100%; as it was intended to be sarcastic, but Carrieberry started it with her comment, it was just as foolish, Tit4Tat.

Tit4Tat is so kindergarten.

I agree. Do these people not realize every species on earth is needed, even humans, for our survival? The more humans populate and overtake the homes of wildlife the more incidents, like this there will be. Wild animals are not Native Americans and are not going to negotiate with the "man" to receive a section of land and be content with containing themselves there. When will we ever stop trying to destroy anything beautiful in the world and realize the importance of others (wild life and humans) to our own existence? I am afraid the answer will be - when it is too late to fix the situation.

I cannot wait til the Mountain Lions open up their own tribal gambling cashino. The Point Mugu Tribe of Wild Mountain Lions. Their motto: You take away our land ; we'll take away your money, you undisciplined gamble-holic !

I used to hike nearly daily up the Point Mugu Trail in 2001. I saw a mama mountain lion and her two large "cubs" from a quarter mile away on the fire road. They looked cool. A family. And then, a ways back of the three, was the daddy lion. The lions did not charge after me. But then I was not scared. I am not a white guy, either. Haha.

catsme0w, it'll be Soylent Green For Dinner time when we've realized we humans killed off too many species and we cannot fix the situation.

That's not how it reads to me. After the animal was darted, it tried to escape so they tried to keep it contained with the pepper balls and fire hoses.

"Part of the problem is that the tranquilizers for the animals act a little slower if the animal is agitated," said Dunbar. "From reports I’ve heard, this animal was highly agitated."

Don't know how that reads to you but I think being sprayed with fire hoses would definitely agitate me.

After setting up a perimeter, police shot the animal with a tranquilizer dart, with the intent of removing it and returning it to its natural habitat, Hughan said. Before the tranquilizer could take effect, they tried to keep the agitated animal trapped using "pepper balls" and fire hoses.

Yeah, that's how it reads to me.

Think they could have kept it busy with a few burgers, steaks, or chew bones from nearby. Always worked with Yogi!

Well both AG and Lame Name are right. The lion was agitated. How you get to be on the game warden patrol seems a little too easy to me. This group was HIGHLY inexperienced, and as for the big whales (loaded wallets) that shop there had a big say in it. If we dont shoot now the Gucci might get ruined. Oh no. i thought rich people did extensive research on where their money was invested in. Then again, they do help crappy political reps get elected, so much for that idea.

Oh my goodness, I am so sad, he was beautiful, I feel that the authorities got him agitated and handled it entirely wrong!!! We are destroying wild life, too much developing, this is so sad!!!

That was stupid, they could of gave it food kept it cornered until the tranc. worked, I think some one got a little gun happy. We are killing our world, get a grip on life people, we are the intruders to their world they were here first. The human race really stinks some times.

Of course they didn't want to wait longer... Any cop would JUMP at the chance to get to squeeze a few off from their firearm.. They LIVE for that moment and will talk about it the rest of their career.. They're pathetic. A better ending to the story would be that the cop misses the shot and the 80lb cat takes out the cops jugular and runs off into the hills. That way, the innocent animal lives, and the more than likely corrupt cop bleeds out like the pig he probably is.

All joking aside, thats pretty @!$%#ty they weren't a bit more patient and let the cat calm down.. Geez, I hate to see such beautiful animals get murdered like that.. Pisses me off.

i love big cats they are so beautiful ...we ar building so much that they dont have any place to go ...the officers that shot and killed this baby mountain lion should be punish to the fullest.... just like that.. they probably provoked the lion so that they could think stupid.... (just one thing to say get a life and go back to training)i agree with the one coment above you are pathetic. i have so much hatred to say but it wouldn't bring that beatiful animal back ....

That is certainly true tcola187. It was reported not to far back that, last year, police in all of Germany fired just 85 bullets, 40 of those being warning shots. There was an incident in LA recently where they used 90 bullets just for that incident. I'm not going to pretend that these big cats aren't dangerous because they definitely can be. But ya know what? So are we.

No. From the Wiki:

An exceptional vertical leap of 5.4 m (18 ft) is reported for the cougar.^[42] Horizontal jumping capability from standing position is suggested anywhere from 6 to 12 m (20 to 40 ft). The cougar can run as fast as 55 to 72 km/h (35 to 45 mi/h),^[43

Oh sure. They always keep temporary fences around malls like The Promenade 24/7 just in case your average mountain lion shows up at 6:00 am on a Monday. That's really common a couple of blocks from the beach in LA.

I'm SURE they keep temporary fences there

Just as they should or have to be prepared for earthquakes, etc. They should also be prepared for a circumstance such as this. There should be some kind of plan in place as to what to do if a wild animal enters the property. The sad thing is that it was outdoors, all they had to do was tranquilize him, and wait him out. Maybe not fence him in, but fence the public out in some way. If not a physical fence at least a warning or invisible perimeter. But, I guess the lion needed to be gone before opening....Just saying.

Ok, so it's 6am and they were worried about not getting it out before opening??? So I guess it takes roughly at least 2hrs to contain a beautiful cat and they couldn't wait??? Boy what a bunch of trigger happy fracking morons. Personally myself I'd be pissed if I was being pelted by pepper bullets and water, so basically what they are doing is destroying all the wildlife in their areas so the fracking rich can keep building. Ok, yeah, whatever.....

Building a fence would've prolonged the situation. People had shopping to do, they'll be damned if any wild beast is going to leave it's concentration camp and interrupt their shopping.

Where is Jessie and Sharpton? If Obama had a son he would .... oh nevermind.

Obama only likes dogs.

If Obama had a son he would....

...owe about $120,000.00 as his share of the 16 Trillion dollar national debt, just like the rest of us.

(Patriot - Excellent post, by the way ;)

the santa monica mountains cover a vast amount of territory and are very large and rugged.

interestingly enough, they quoted the area as being large enough to sustain 10 to 15 lions, and they have a known population of 12. that would lead me to believe that the lions are not being pushed out by humans.

jebjoe, "large enough to sustain" does not mean "more than enough room for 10 to 15 large wild cats to roam and find enough food for all of them to live happily ever after".

Three small meals consisting of 1/4 pound of wheat, one ounce of red meat and less than 1/8 cup of milk every day is enough to "sustain" human life. Do you think it's enough for anyone to actually live on day-to-day? Seems like you do -- since you think an area "large enough to sustain" 10 to 15 large wild cats is enough for them to live happily ever after.

if that amount of food is enough to sustain human life, then yes i do think it is enough to actualy live on day to day, otherwise that would be improper use of sustain.

nonetheless i understand the point you are trying to make, there may be enough space, but there isnt enough food.

which shows me you spend little to no time in the santa monica mountains. its rare that i spend more then a couple hours in them and i dont see a few deer. additionally i know several property owners with livestock that take serious precautions against mt lions, but will still lose a few animals every year.

very little of the mountains are developed, it is what makes it so unique. its not paticularly unique ecosystem, im told its the most common in the world, but the fact that there is a place like it so close to one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world is unique.

Note that "only a dozen left" seems to be because that's what the available area supports, not that that's are not a stable breeding population. The article indicates that young males can't find a territory and most end up being killed on the freeway or by a dominant male.

Thus, this seems unlikely to have an impact on the mountain lion population in the SM mountains a year from now. If this cat would have found a territory there (unlikely, as he probably wouldn't have been straying into developed concrete jungles in that case), some other cat will get that territory now and not end up dying on the freeway or being killed by a dominant male.

It's pretty much a zero sum game in a situation like this.

Note that that "available area" is GETTING SMALLER because idiot humans are always insisting that they simply cannot live in anything less than a 10-room mansion -- even when the family living in the house has only THREE members.

Your problem, WhatsLegal, is that the "developed concrete jungle" you speak of is expanding every day -- FORCING the wildlife to "stray" into it.

Oh yeah, this country is just fat with 10 room mansions. You are an absolute maroon Quacked.

This country IS "FAT" with 10+ room mansions; you're the one that's "Quacked" [whatever that is]. Humans have been encroaching on nature since Columbus and there's no end in sight. The WORLD population [of humans] has TRIPPLED in the last 75 years [from 2.35 billion to 7+ billion]. China had the right idea; it wasn't perfect, but it worked. But we are simply too arrogant to do anything like 'restricting' population. Eventually, our arrogance will jump up and "Bite us on the Ass"!

You know what genius, ANY animal will populate out of control. Deer, elk, wolf, yes even your precious mountain lion will over populate until mother nature bites them in the ass. Than they die off in hundreds to thousands. THAT is why mountain lions have an area of square miles and do not allow other mountain lions in unless to breed. So it isn't the "10 plus room mansions" genius. It is too many mountain lions in the area. Learn some animal and game management so you understand reality. You pink ribbon carrying clowns crack me up. Don't know chit about anything related to animal survival, yet you spit this chit every time an MSNBC article pastes across the media. Same old @!$%# each time.

Darn, I wish I had read your rational response before I wasted my time posting some similar wisdom. Many here don't seem to be very logical.

I completely agree. I live in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Lake Tahoe and their are plenty of lions around. We get them walking down major streets at time,s and a person mauling from time to time. the people saying oh poor kitty have never seen a real mountain lion or been in an area that they live in, we lose pets on a regular basis in these area's ( at times right off of the porch's.) I never like to see an animal killed but at times that's the only choice.

Well you're lucky. They just killed 20% today.

well said, any way it was stated by fish & game that the older mountain lions kill the younger males, so he was dead any way you look at it. Just to many large cats, not enough deer left, so house animals are lion dinner.

They could have the deer we have here in NJ. We are over run with deer.

Bruce Stern I question your math...

Did you read the article..................they used a dart and the lion became agitated.

Yeah, everyone should quit building homes and to eliminate the need for more homes we can stop ALL immigration.

So Scott-

How many wild animals did YOUR house run out of their homes?

There must have been a lot of them in Reno before humans settled there.

So Tina , My family started ranching here in 1850.And in all that time we have coexsisted with them even when they grabbed a calf or two . They have to eat too . So tina get off your high horse and stay indoors under a bed and know that once mountian lions roamed where you live also.......

Funny. If you do dart mountain lions for a living you should have noticed the article said that the DID tranq the animal and it became agitated and was trying to escape. When it couldn't be contained by non violent means they killed it.

Don't know much about agriculture, do you?

AG99 I'm a farmer/rancher for the last 28 yrs and have lost calves to coyotes and mountain lions.

Ugh, I was able to at least think you were a reasonable person until the thing you said about Obama killing people. I don't even know which easily falsifiable rumor you're believing.

worn out: Then as a farmer you should know most of Australia is not arable nor is much of the American West due to lack of water. The soil of the Amazon rainforest is nutrient-thin and makes very poor farmland, which is why a given area is only good for one crop after being cleared. Most of what can be farmed on Earth is being farmed.

Wow, worn out-4024611. What a dumb comment. You know nothing. I don't plan on getting "knocked up" because uneducated people like yourself overpopulate the earth as it is. There's a reason why humans are de-evolving. We are the only species that breeds indiscriminately. The smartest, strongest, and the most healthy of any species breeds to pass on the strong gene pool, except for us. Your parents are allowed to breed and create you. It happens all around us. Enough said.

You're assuming the picture was taken after the mountain lion was hit with the tranquilizer dart -that's unlikely. It's unfortunate the cat had to be put down, but for reasons other outdoorsmen have noted, they weren't able to contain this cat until the traquilizer took effect.

As for older male cats killing young males, same thing happens with your male house cat with male kittens if not prevented. It may seem brutal to you, but that's nature's way too. The males eliminate younger or weaker competitors. Those suggesting that Fish & Game or Police wanted this outcome are wrong. They have to protect the community. Sounds like they did the best they could in a very surprising and dangerous situation. Not how anyone would prefer it to work out, but sounds like the best they could do under the circumstances.

Yup, catch a mountain lion live. There's no chance it might maul you or anything.

k enough bull@#!$ if the tranquilizel did not work then they should of tried a live trap b4 shootin that mountain lion. I am more mad @ the D.N.R more then the police not saying that i am not mad at the police cuz that is an understatement they r just as wrong as so as the D.N.R is .if he had not hurt any1 and u had him cornored y shoot him and not try a live trap b4 u all killed the incent animal it is our fault that they r comin into our back yards and homes area with people. We need to blame our selfs 4 what we have done to there habitat that they now live in. Yet no1 seems to give a rats a@# that we're destroying thier homes . we don't have anything to worry about us cuz we live or can live in as many house apt moble home u name it and the streets u dont see the police or and D.H.S goin around shootin the homeless cuz they r hanging around the mall asking 4 money ( pan Handling ) we can get help but they can't . the sad part is cuz of it being tax money u feel that it is not as importaint then the people that r the 1s to protect It is and was just an animal too u all . So I will say this shame shame shame on u all that killed him and shame shame shame on the people that just sat there doing nothing to help this mountain lion's BLOOD IS ON ALL OF UR HANDS :(

Actually the cop who shot the lion was an Indian..Didn't you see that in the article? God you are a predjeduced idiot!

Marlo 109; I bet the one who passed the order was non Indian and besides a Traditional Indian would have more respect by doing a prayer ( as should be before killing an animal without cause ) .

Marlo, " Prejudice I am not"! Cautious I am! The Non Indians have been destroying everything in the Americas for over 500 years now. Some people have woke up and seen it while others like you sleep like Rip Van Winkle and allow it to pass by without taking a stance. Remember this; When the last tree is gone, the water is poison and no more air to breathe, Who will you blame? It all begins with ones own self. These are my words.

As for the prayer of taking a sacred life,It does not have to be a 5 minute one, Something simple like

" Grandfather please forgive me" works just fine.

A disgusting MISuse of power, under the guise of 'protection'... SHAME ON YOU CALIFORNIA

Yes, good old environmentally conscientious California! LOL. Dammed up all their rivers,developed what was left of their remaining wetlands and highland wildlife habitats and now would rather shoot a mountain lion than spend any real time trying to catch it because the poor bastards don't have anywhere else to go without crossing paths with a cross trainer or a paddle boarder on the way down to the beach.

How bout the experts at the San Diego zoo?...was there no one there who could do the job? Wait, wait it would take far too long to get someone there and they certainly couldn't have the mall shut down and lose any money and God forbid the Pilate's classes be cancelled and the iced mocha lattes put on hold.... because we certainly can't inconvienience the "urbanites" you know.

Yet ...the holier than thou Californians have more than enough time to preach to the rest of the nation and the world the errors of our unenlightened ways and to orginize relief funds to save the baby seals and the rain forests 4 thousand miles away! "Out of sight out of mind"..and "whats good for the goose is not good for the gander" should be the Motto for that self important walking cliche' they call a state! The true crime is that at one time it was a beautiful place full of self sufficient people with good sense who didn't place themselves up on a self created pedestal above the rest of the country they all were spawned and migrated from! Its a damn shame!

Hunt has it right. It is 200 years of white guilt burdening a bunch of self-hating and fragile-ego'd losers.

They used to wipe away entire mountainsides with hydraulic mining. Now they cry for a days over a dead animal.

California highways kill more wildlife than the cops do. Why doesn't the legislature fine people who hit wild animals or better yet...SHUT DOWN ALL THE ROADS!

Confine all Californians to small areas with high-rise apartments that are fenced off from the rest of the wild. Mandatory sterilization of the population is next.

When there are no humans and the wildlife have won the war against humans without firing a shot, victory is yours!!!! You won't be around to bask in glory of winning by defeat.

Nope, they wouldn't have needed the firehoses and pepper balls.

Pretty sad. They should have just tossed him a roasted chicken or a steak laced with tranquilizers and closed the mall for a few hours.

Envirologica...you said this much better than I did...thanks

Thank you, Elizabeth. G.W. Hartwell, Paradise, CA

YOU PEOPLE are the preditors! These animals, that are not dangerous until confronted have lived here longer than any of you. What makes you people feel the right to kill an animal that ancestors lived here long before you! YOU have ALL encroached on the wildlife's territory. SO SAD. MOVE AWAY from the animals. MOVE,. These cats will not harm you, they are confused that PEOPLE have moved into their homeland! It is known this cat could have been been moved without being shot to death. I live where cougars live. I hike where cougars live and have never had an agressive encounter. When you are jogging or riding bikes is only an instinct to the cats TO CHASE. like cat and mouse. You people need to leave the cats alone. they are just trying to live with humans that have taken over their land!

LuAnn Whatever yer smoking I want some of it!!