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McCook Gazette
Letter to the Editor

Shooting cougars

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Dear Editor,

Regarding "When the animals can shoot back" in Gazette's Feb. 2 issue:

Was this printed as a serious suggestion? That "Permits could be offered through an auction" to kill the 20 or so cougars left around Nebraska and "imagine what some hunters would pay for a permit to kill a mountain lion, and either have it mounted or have it made into a 'rug' type of trophy."

It concluded that the old 1980 bill might still be put into effect and hinted later that "killing off a portion (a portion? Of 20?) of Nebraska's cougar population could generate big revenue with very little effort."

A lot of us out here would be happy just to get glimpse of a mountain lion; we care about wildlife and would like to help the few left rather than treat them as "possible big revenue with very little effort."

This article doesn't speak well for Nebraskans, but makes us look like a bunch of ignorant morons. If this article was printed seriously by the Gazette, shame on you.

I dare you to print this.

Sheryl Patterson,

McCook, Nebraska

Comments
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  • Sheryl, please contact the Nebraska State Game and Parks, and ask for information on the beneficial, and destructive affect on the economy, and people's lives, like 'Puma-killed,' livestock, but especially 'pet/domestic' dogs and cats.

    Armed with that information, your desire to be able to view these magnificent creatures in your back yard, might take a slightly different tack. Just a thought.

    -- Posted by Navyblue on Wed, Feb 8, 2012, at 1:22 PM

  • Moreover, if you are sticking on your "only 20" cougars in Nebraska argument, the county has a building they'll buy from you.

    -- Posted by speak-e-z on Thu, Feb 9, 2012, at 8:28 AM

  • http://www.cougarnet.org/totalus.html

    This map shows:

    Class I Confirmation

    Class II Confirmation

    AND "established populations"

    It looks like 25 sightings and a verified population in the panhandle.

    Prairie Region

    "The Prairie Region consists of the province of Manitoba (Canada) and the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. There are currently three documented populations of cougars in this region centered in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the Badlands of North Dakota and most recently in the Pine Ridge region of the Nebraska panhandle."

    It makes no mention of the cougar sightings in SW Nebraska. I can't confirm the local reports regarding the sightings on the Republican River but to me an established population would indicate more that 20, specifically because it shows 25 confirmed sightings. That isn't to say that some of these sightings could have been and probably were of the same cougar, but there is a lot of land out there that a cougar could roam freely and undetected as well.

    I pick no sides on this, just researching a bit is all.

    -- Posted by Nick Mercy on Thu, Feb 9, 2012, at 11:48 PM

  • Sheryl, I wish that you would take Navy Blue's advice and go find out more information about these mysterious creatures. My personal opinion is that they have the ability to be rather dangerous, and because I live in the country I would rather not get a glimpse or come face to face with one of these creatures, especially with my infant daughter or for the sake of my dogs. Even though it can't be confirmed I am sure that they are around this area. There was an article in the Kearney paper about one a few months ago that was right in town jumping in different back yards over fences... can you imagine, a mountain lion... in town... there are children walking home from school on a daily basis. These animals are night creatures, so I am sure there are a lot more out there then anyone can even put a number on, I say let's get them under control before they get out of control and someone get's hurt.

    -- Posted by PayItForward on Mon, Feb 13, 2012, at 4:07 PM
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