Officers with Colorado Parks and Wildlife hazed a mountain lion at an RV park close to Bailey, Colorado, final weekend by capturing it at shut vary with a bean bag spherical. Officers have been initially referred to as to the scene after a neighborhood resident of the park reported that the lion had killed their pet cat. The lion was sticking round near the RV, which prompted CPW officers to make use of “proactive administration ways” to scare it away.
Wildlife officers with some proactive administration, hazing this mountain lion away with bean bag rounds. A home-owner close to Bailey referred to as final weekend as a result of the lion killed their pet cat & was staying close to dwelling below an RV. Be taught extra about lions ⬇️https://t.co/bIMYxRlzoI pic.twitter.com/0E6QnjFXp1
— CPW NE Area (@CPW_NE) June 18, 2022
In a video that was shared to Twitter by CPW, an officer is seen approaching the lion, which was bedded down below a bush close to the RV. The officer continues to shout as he will get nearer, and as quickly because the lion will get up, he fires the bean bag spherical, putting the lion in its aspect. The lion then takes off, sprinting into the close by woods at full pace.
“Wildlife officers reported the lion appeared wholesome,” CPW wrote on Twitter. “Hopefully it doesn’t return.”
The Case for Cougar Searching in Colorado
Mountain lions are thriving in Colorado, and sightings have develop into extra frequent throughout the state lately. CPW estimates that there are between 3 thousand and seven thousand lions at present dwelling there. Assaults on people are nonetheless uncommon, and the state has recorded a complete of 23 assaults since 1990—with three of those proving deadly. The most up-to-date assault occurred in March, when a lion clawed a person in entrance of his own residence in Montezuma County.
The state permits the regulated looking of mountain lions roughly six months out of the yr, with wildlife managers holding shut tabs on regional harvest charges. Final yr, hunters harvested 515 lions statewide.
These regulated looking seasons assist hold cougar populations in examine, however there are some wildlife advocates and anti-hunting teams that want to see these actions banned outright. Earlier this yr, lawmakers proposed laws that will ban all mountain lion, bobcat, and future lynx looking alternatives within the state. Searching teams extensively criticized the invoice, and lawmakers confronted fierce backlash over the laws.
Learn Subsequent: Colorado Legislators Simply Launched a Invoice That Would Ban Bobcat, Mountain Lion, and Lynx Searching
“I believe our members see this as an overreach of the state legislature,” Brien Webster of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers informed The Colorado Solar. “They need to be certain that wildlife administration stays within the palms of our state wildlife company and wildlife managers who’re guided by science, not sentiment.”
The laws didn’t go, with three of the invoice’s 4 sponsors opting to drag their help.
