Posted by karen.sheets on October 30, 2007 at 12:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

They are coming down in yards because greedy developers are taking away their homes. When you do nothing but build and build for no reason what do you expect. The animals have no where to go.

Posted by sslocal on October 30, 2007 at 12:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Wrong Karen. They come down because California has outlawed the hunting of mountain lions. Not to mention that hunting has been all but eliminated around these parts so they have plenty to eat and so they breed well too. When they reach adulthood the dominate male drives them out of his range, and right into Bogunovic's back yard.

Posted by kyliepoo007 on October 30, 2007 at 12:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Maybe its a combination of things hmmmmmmmmm..............

Posted by karen.sheets on October 30, 2007 at 12:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

THEY HAVE NO WHERE TO GO!

Posted by justdboy on October 30, 2007 at 1:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Ms Tibbet is correct, in general. Big cats are nocturnal and they are afraid of barking dogs. But these traits can and have changed over time.

A good book to read is "The Beast in the Garden", a true account of events leading up to a death by lion attack in Bolder, Colorado.

I all comes down to human intervention with the natural order of the world.

Posted by sslocal on October 30, 2007 at 1:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Yelling does not make you right. Science and management, not emotion.

Posted by Hueneme_girl29 on October 30, 2007 at 2:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree with Karen, I see your point sslocal,however, there are many of us that are against hunting, so many in fact that you're right, it is "outlawed" for a reason. Quit building all of this development.

Posted by sslocal on October 30, 2007 at 2:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Why would you be against hunting? Would you rather the animals starve during winter due to over population? Would you have them in your yards eating your flowers? How about that cute little dog you got your daughter last Christmas? Mountain lions love dogs.

Being against hunting is fine. But what do you do about the over population of the animals? There are over 250,000 accidents between autos and deer every year, directly related to the decline of hunting. Is this acceptible to you?
Issuing hunting licences help to pay for the upkeep of the enviroment the animals live in. It also keeps the animal population in check and provides some mighty tasty dinners.

For the record, I am against trophy hunting. If your not going to eat it, don't shoot it.

Posted by karen.sheets on October 30, 2007 at 2:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

SSLOCAL, DO YOU EAT MOUNTAIN LIONS?

Posted by sslocal on October 30, 2007 at 3:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Do you have any idea what the State pays to have one shot?

Yes I know that ML hunting is trophy hunting. We still need to manage the population.

Posted by sunnbear on October 30, 2007 at 3:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Heeeere Kitty, Kitty!

Posted by Hueneme_girl29 on October 30, 2007 at 3:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I dont think it is right for humans to kill an animal to help "over-population" Maybe we should start to just kill off babies, right? We're overpopulated and there is nothing anyone is doing about that. More kids, more famlies = more development and less space for the animals to go. We say they are "over populated", we are, they were here first and we keep building into their territories. There was enough space for them to roam, without disturbing humans, now there is not. I bet there are the same amount of mountain lions now as there were 10 years ago, but how many more homes have come up in the last 10 years?

Posted by Hueneme_girl29 on October 30, 2007 at 3:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"I all comes down to human intervention with the natural order of the world"......WELL SAID

Posted by justdboy on October 30, 2007 at 3:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

kerif,

Human population control should be #1 on our radar screen. But it is the one problem no one wants to talk about. There are too many sensitive religious toes that get stepped on. I will let good ol' Lazarus speak;

"No man is an island--” Much as we may feel and act as individuals, our race is a single organism, always growing and branching--which must be pruned regularly to be healthy. This necessity need not be argued; anyone with eyes can see that any organism which grows without limit always dies within its own poisons. The only rational question is whether pruning is best done before or after birth."

There is more to paragraph, but this is enough to raise the self-rightous to a fever pitch.

Posted by pkck on October 30, 2007 at 3:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

You no-growthers kill me. Housing developments are the scape goat for anything. This house is next an avocado orchard between Foothill and Telegraph, east of Victoria, and 30 years old. What do you expect for Ventura's checkered home development and not allowing in-fill with SOAR. We are in a drought, food and water are scarce, and lions, coyotes, and bears wander through open hillside and foothill orchards to find food. Be one with nature as you insist on demanding the asthetics of green space buffers verus in-fill. There is a cost to any decision. Besides I am sure the garbage cans and tasty pets are better treats than the skinny squirrels or rodents of the back country. I thought I saw a puddy cat, I did, I did !

Posted by DoctorDude on October 30, 2007 at 4:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Paragraph three, change Burnett to Bogunovic.

Posted by sslocal on October 30, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Posted by kerif: Maybe we should start to just kill off babies, right?

We do. Millions per year.

Posted by moethebartender on October 30, 2007 at 4:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

However you feel about the ethics of hunting, one fact can't be denied: The immediate area around Ventura County's cities is too heavily populated for hunting. More hunting won't stop a mountain lion from wandering into Ondulando. In fact, if there's hunting in an unpopulated area like Rose Valley, wouldn't that drive more mountain lions into populated places, as they flee the hunters?

I don't blame hunting for mountain lion sightings. Increased development contributes, but it's only part of the problem. The problem is, *we live in an area where mountain lions are endemic*. Don't want to see wild animals in your neighborhood? Move to New York City. Mountain lions are a part of life in Ventura County, and they always will be unless they become extinct.

Posted by Tom_Johnston on October 30, 2007 at 4:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

kyliepoo has it right, it IS a combination of things.

Yes, developement encroaches on environment, of course it does. Probably more signifigant is that it tends to close off migratory corridors and, at least in the case of predatory animals, territories.

Hunting, a "sport" of which I generally do not approve, does have a positive role to play in control of animal populations that are out of whack due to the encroachment of Man on habitat. I think there should be a balance between killing all the mountain lions, and none of them (same for deer etc). For sure such things as "canned hunts" and "prairie dawg" shoots are less desirable to say the least.

One thing to come away with I think, is that when Ventura County considers "Public Safety", something like Animal Control, and others who oversee the natural environment we encroach upon do play a role here as well as the Sheriff and DA. All the Associate District Attorney's in the world won't stop a mountain lion from snatching up lil' Fluffy or worse yet, Little Billy.

Posted by BillyBob on October 30, 2007 at 5:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

pkck - No-growthers kill you? Its either that or a mountain lion, take your pick :-)

Posted by bugmenot on October 30, 2007 at 6:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)

if you take a look at the hills behind Ventura on google earth, it's clear that there has been development on a very minute amount of land, relatively.

i don't think it's over development that is causing these encounters.

there will always be these types of encounters where the city meets the forest. i don't think there's an increase in the last few years, just maybe more VCS coverage. Couple years ago there was on in my neighbors yard, never made the paper.

Posted by potatoebay on October 30, 2007 at 7:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

No one has mentioned that we are in a sever drought condition and they may be coming down the hill looking for water.

Posted by lrgvanman on October 30, 2007 at 7:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

They search for food. They were here first weren't they? Or are they now the latest wave of illegal immigrants to you?

Posted by star on October 30, 2007 at 9:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"Being against hunting is fine. But what do you do about the over population of the animals? There are over 250,000 accidents between autos and deer every year, directly related to the decline of hunting. Is this acceptible to you?"

It's not "directly related to the decline of hunting." The reason there are so many deer accidents in the US is because we've killed off all their predators. Hunting *caused* the population explosion of deer in the US, and there's no way hunting will solve it. We can't make a dent in the deer population just by shooting at the one in a thousand that wanders into our gunsights.

Deer kill over a hundred people each and every year. Imagine the hysteria if it was wolves or bears or lions killing that many! There was that kid killed by a coyote, and that bicyclist killed by a lion in Orange County. Tim Treadwell was killed in Alaska, and I can tell you about half a dozen other people killed by bears in Yellowstone. But people killed by deer? They don't make the national news.

Nowadays, the only brown bear in California is on the flag.

Posted by Colorblind on October 31, 2007 at 11:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Poor mountain lion, just took the wrong turn on his way to his midnight snack.

Posted by FedUp on October 31, 2007 at 12:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"No one has mentioned that we are in a sever drought condition and they may be coming down the hill looking for water."

overdelopment is definitely part of the issue. But was stated above, is the main point of this. we had numerous accounts of mountain lion sightings in the city areas back in the late 80's, early 90's as well. yes, another drought period.
when we are in a drought period, all animals that live in the mountains head to where they think there may be water. mountain lions are just following their prey.

Posted by RC on November 2, 2007 at 11:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I tawt I saw a puddy kat