HikeArizona.COM

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

The Forest Service has temporarily closed a portion of a popular trail in the Catalina Mountains for public safety due to a mountain lion’s behavior.

“There was no attack,” said Coronado National Forest spokeswoman Heidi Schewel. But she said there was a report from a reliable source that the mountain lion wasn’t acting like a “wild” lion. It was “being out in daylight, not showing fear of humans, that sort of thing,” Schewel said.

As a result, “to give the mountain lion time to move on,” humans are prohibited from entering portions of West Fork Trail until June 7. Those are the intersection of West Fork Trail and Cathedral Rock Trail (Trail No. 26) and the intersection of West Fork Trail and Sabino Rock Trail (Trail No 23).

That part of West Fork Trail is part of the Arizona Trail, and it goes past the popular destination of Hutch’s Pool.

Schewel said in a news release Friday: “Lions are top-level predators capable of inflicting injury on humans. Do not approach them. If a lion is encountered, stay calm and speak loudly and firmly. Do not run, as it may stimulate a lion’s instinct to chase. Stand and face the animal, raise your arms or open your jacket to look large, and slowly back away.”

Mountain lion sightings should be reported to the Arizona Game and Fish Department at 628-5376, or after-hours to (800) 352-0700.

TUCSON, Ariz. — Part of a popular trail in the Catalina Mountains has been temporarily closed for public safety reasons due to a mountain lion's behavior.

Coronado National Forest spokeswoman Heidi Schewel said on Friday that the portion was closed after officials received reports that the mountain lion wasn't acting like a "wild" lion. She said the lion was out in daylight and not showing fear of humans.

Under the closure, hikers are prohibited from entering portions of West Fork Trail until June 7.

That part of West Fork Trail is part of the Arizona Trail, and it goes past the popular destination of Hutch's Pool.

What's next, closure of an entire wilderness because of one sighting of a coyote?

What I think is funny is that the powers-that-be seem to think the cat is keeping a calendar. June 7. Does that seem random? Or are they going in there to trap it, and not telling anyone?

My next hike! Tonight! Just me and a bag of raw chicken. (& some precious metals, brass and lead. Just in case)

ASUAviator wrote:My next hike! Tonight! Just me and a bag of raw chicken. (& some precious metals, brass and lead. Just in case)

Mountain lion meat is really tasty. I've actually eaten it. I have not eaten coyote, but I was told by an acquaintance it is even tastier. That is why the Indians ate dogs. They taste good. Lewis and Clark expedition also ate more dog than any other kind of meat, and would search out villages in order to barter for dogs.

Yo quiero Taco Bell?

Probably prudent.

I am no expert on this, but if the cat is enough concern to close the trail, isn't it odd to give him "enough time" to move on from that area to become a concern in another area? What about those in the new area? Is there any efforts to observe the cat to see what his behavior indicates? (BTW, I am not advocating "taking him out", but just wondering that if it has raised that much concern by this source, how much of a concern needs to exist!)

I had similar questions, what eliminates the concern by June 7th?

@Sredfield
Probably the Professional Hunter that they're not telling you about.....

^^^This

Moutain lions: You don't see them. But they do see you!

I am not against mountain lion hunting, it's legal. (It's not randomly legal, there are rules.) Also, I support the removal of ones that don't behave naturally. There are lots of them out there, people hunt them every year, legally. They are not in the least bit endangered. In fact, their population often exceeds the available requirements for habitat. We have not had many mountain lion attacks in Arizona, although one attacked a dog recently in the White Mountains. In California, where the do-gooders who know nothing about hunting have convinced the state to withdraw the selling of tags to hunt mountain lions, they have many more problems with them. I think hunting is a factor in keeping lions leery of humans, and I'm all for it, as long as it is regulated. It is not easy to hunt them, you almost have to have a bunch of hounds. Who keeps a bunch of outrageously noisy hounds in their back yard these days? Not many! You almost have to hire a licensed guide who has the hounds to have any success if you try to hunt them. So, it's not like people are going out randomly shooting lions. You can find all the stats on AZGFD pdf files.

So did the mountain lion leave the area by the appointed date?

I find it somewhat troubling that the FS opts to close a portion of a federally-designated wilderness area over something like this, which is to say a non-incident, mere second-hand reports and speculation about a cat's behavior. Standard protocol would involve signing trailheads with precautionary notices and so forth, not a paternalistic decree barring entry. The Coronado minions obviously don't get the idea behind Wilderness and need to brush up on their Ed Abbey. A stage 3 closure order in June one might be more accepting of; in the meantime, it seems perfectly natural that hikers and cougars might cast the odd casual glance toward one another at Hutch's Pool, one of the few remaining wet spots in the area right now, no doubt.

Hunting apex predators is a long dark path for humanity, as it's always been. The ideal solution is to reduce our numbers, not theirs. In lieu of that, we can limit habitat encroachment and fragmentation, which is what's come back to bite in Southern California, for example. Banning the sport hunting of lions has little to do with reducing their natural wariness of humans. Rather, inbreeding and loss of quality habitat and prey are the primary drivers of unnatural behavior in California's lions.

And yes, by the way, ranchers do still randomly (or rather, methodically) shoot and kill lions in Arizona, though not anywhere at the level of carnage seen in former decades, aided and abetted by Wildlife Services.

Memory lane, from the Galiuros as recently as the 80's:
http://www.predatordefense.org/USDA.htm#cougarheads

blisterfree wrote:The ideal solution is to reduce our numbers, not theirs.

They call it "Tourist Season" but they won't let us shoot `em... :roll:

More thread hijack----saw a bumper sticker the other day I really liked " Snowbirds---the other white meat" ;)

@RedRoxx44

Hmmmm, I wonder what the bag limit is.

The like buttons encourage thread hijacking, don't they?

@blisterfree
That looks like Mr. Lackner's work.