Tom Purvis said:tcmedara said:... Though, it makes me wonder if there wasn't something wrong with the cat. Its not like the
victim was wearing Eau de Sirloin or was impersonating a bunny rabbit. That was either one really
hungry or really demented animal...
There was almost certainly something wrong with the cat. May have been just a bad case of getting
too habituated to having humans around. I say this because it is SO rare statistically for lions
to treat humans like prey. And they really aren't that uncommon. They are out there, wherever
there's a substantial deer herd.
Whether their was something particular "wrong" with the cat depends on your perspective. All cougars
(if they live long enough) go through various transitional phases: the survivorship curve varies
from vary young cubs to adulthood. As young animals disperse from their natal home range (usually
between 16 to 24 months of age) they enter a phase where they have to fend for themselves for the
first time. It is not uncommon for transient individuals to go through "difficult times" and to rely
on less traditional prey from time to time. Keep in mind one of the important tenants of Darwin's
theory of evolution by natural selection is that more offspring are born then can possibly survive
into the next generation. So yes the cat may have been nutritionally stressed (hopefully the
necropsy will provide us some answers), but that is not an uncommon problem for young animals; some
make it and others succumb to the difficulties of trying to live. Their is no evidence of cats
becoming habituated to humans in these rural/urban areas. Any large animal has good capacity for
learning the landscape and it is reasonable to believe that cougars that come into contact with
humans more often then their more rural brothers, have learned to cope with us
- is this unnatural? - I think not. Researchers in the White Sands area of New Mexico (an areas
where cougars almost never encounter a human) found that when they purposely approached resting
cougars (radio-tagged) within 3 to 5 meters in only a small percentage of time did the cougar
exhibit a threatening or aggressive posture - this is typical of behavior that some have suggested
demonstrates habituation, yet these cougars had no real contact with humans, except for limited
exposure to researchers (nothing like various trailheads near urban centers.
Quoted message said:A wildlife biologist once told me that the land just north of where I live has one of the highest
concentrations of lions per square mile of anywhere in the lower 48. I have never seen a lion up
there. There's a healthy deer herd, and the lions do what comes naturally, feed on deer and avoid
getting anywhere close to people.
Actually, research in the oak woodland habitats of the Diablo Range in California (above San Jose)
has reported one of the highest density estimates in the U.S. 10 adult cougars per 100 square miles;
most reports for Colorado are closer to 6 to 8 adults for 100 square miles.
Quoted message said:That's what makes this case so bizarre. Not only did the cat kill and feed on one human, it went
back later and tried to use the same strategy on Ms. Hjelle.
This is actually one of the least bizarre parts of the story, either the cat was protecting its prey
(something they do often) or had determined that new prey walk in on it - an easy lunch (something
that is also reported in the literature).
Rick
Quoted message said:Tom Purvis - arkansasvalley.nettpurvisOpen ↗ Salida, CO
