Fall 2020 Newsletter

LION TRACKS Mountain Lion Foundation Newsletter

Fall 2020

A Victory for All Wildlife: The California Ecosystems Protection Act, AB 1788 We’ve all read the all-too-familiar headlines: “Mountain Lion, bobcat found dead from rat poison.”

“P-22 Griffith Park Mountain Lion Exposed to Poisons, Suffering from Mange.”

(AB1788) bans second- generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs), the most toxic poisons that cause wildlife to hemorrhage to death. Not to mention it can cause mange.

The poisons can also create unnecessary risk to the health and safety of our children and household pets.

Researchers from the National Parks Service found 63 out of We thank you 68 dead mountain and hope you lions tested from were inspired by 2015-2016 had secthis monumenond-generation poiNPS tal win. MLF sons in their carcassinvites you to P22 with mange (L) and after (R). es. These are anticojoin the foundaagulants and act like DDT. They travel tion to make a better world for all, inup the food chain to carnivores. cluding lions. Become a volunteer today! Help make change happen.

Unacceptable and heartbreaking, the news motivated a group of Californian Volunteers are the heart and soul of the grassroots advocates and organizations Mountain Lion Foundation. Our staff is including Mountain Lion Foundation to small so we can use your membership come together to end the use of these gifts to more directly protect lions. That deadly poisons. Five years of rallies, means we need your effort to make a protests, testimonies, letters, calls, billreal difference for mountain lions. We boards, press conferences, the Califorcan't do it alone! Please, contact us to nia Coalition never gave up, and finally volunteer or train as a local activist. Towe prevailed for wildlife! With less than gether, we can Save America's Lion.

2 hours to go on the last night of the If we don’t speak up, who will? Advonail-biting 2020 legislation session, cating to remove poisons from the landAB1788 passed. The governor signed it scape was a rewarding victory. I hope into law on September 29. you join our team and help the wild! #Victory4lions!

Keep it wild!

We cannot thank our supporters enough for calling and writing legislators right up to the last minute. We did it!!

Give yourself a much deserved pat on Fauna Tomlinson the back. We can now celebrate a HUGE MLF Board Member WIN for wildlife and the environment!

The California Ecosystem Protection Act,

Upcoming Events 

Check MountainLion.org for our free ongoing lecture series—Living With Lions



Visit our booth at the Wildlife Conservation Network Virtual Fall Expo — October 10th & 17th, 2020, WildNet.org



Drop by our virtual booth at P-22 Day celebrating LA’s famous lion — October 24th, 2020 @ 11 a.m. PST More at UrbanWildlifeWeek.org



Watch our Wild Child Film Festival— Exciting family-friendly outdoor adventure & conservation short films! December 12th, 2020 @ 9:30 a.m. PST. Info at MountainLion.org/events

Wildlife & Wildfires Biologists say it’s likely some mountain lions died in this year’s fires that scorched millions of acres across the West. Some towns are seeing displaced or disoriented wildlife coming into populated areas.

The best way to help? Give them space. Don’t try to approach or feed wildlife. If you feel the need to provide drinking water, place it far from your house and other human-occupied spaces. For injured or orphaned wildlife, call your state wildlife agency or local wildlife rehabilitation centers. Do not attempt to catch wildlife yourself.

Policy Round-Up — the Good, the Bad & the Ugly Rodenticide Ban: Read our cover story for details on this major victory for lions and other wildlife!

Washington Win: By a vote of 7-2 the Washington Fish & Wildlife Commission voted on September 11, 2020 to ban hunting contests that target animals with no bag limits, such as coyotes. This is a welcome win for wildlife and makes Washington the 7th state to ban or limit these brutal contests.

Colorado’s Mismanagement: The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission voted in early September to approve a 2020-21 Cougar Management Plan that allows hunters to use electronic distress calls to lure lions in. This was despite overwhelming opposition from the public and from one commissioner who pointed out that electronic calls violate the rules of fair chase.

Our staff worked diligently on this issue and our members responded to our action alerts, submitting written and verbal testimony. There was a small win in this decision, when staff removed a proposal to expand lion hunting into October and November in the Glenwood Springs area. That proposal was dropped over concerns that it could result in hunters killing female lions with young dependent cubs.

Montana’s Inaction: We coordinated with WildEarth Guardians, Footloose Montana, and Humane Society of Western Montana to submit a proposal to Montana’s Fish Wildlife and Parks Commission that would have kept dangerous and indiscriminate traps and snares out of public recreation areas near Missoula. The commission declined to act. We’re meeting with our partners to plan our next steps .

Stay tuned for more Action Alerts as we continue our work to protect mountain lions and their habitat, and to reduce conflict with people, pets and livestock.

Baby Boom!

Oh, baby! The mountain lions of California’s Santa Monica mountains are under consideration for endangered species listing, thanks to our CESA petition in partnership with the Center for Biological Diversity.

A permanent listing is the best hope for saving these lions from possible extinction. But this summer delivered hope in the form of a baby boom. Biologists reported five litters totaling 13 adorable blueeyed kittens between June and August. Photo: NPS

On Location!

Our cameras in Utah captured this curious cat in the first fresh snow of the season — a reminder that winter and colder temperatures are just around the corner!

NEW! MLF Science Advisory Council We are thrilled to be working the new MLF Science Advisory Council, which serves as a resource for Board, Staff, and Volunteers. 

Colby Anton, PhD — Yellowstone Cougar Project



Cristina Eisenberg, PhD — Oregon State University



Mark Elbroch, PhD — Panthera; Wittmer Lab at UC Davis



Rodney Jackson, PhD — Snow Leopard Conservancy



Laurie Marker, PhD — Cheetah Conservation Fund



Sharon Negri — Founder, Wild Futures



Carter Niemeyer — Retired USFWS trapper, Conservationist



Laura Prugh, PhD — Prugh Lab at University of Washington



Jennifer Laura Verdolin, PhD — Arizona State University



Carolyn Whitesell, PhD — University of California Cooperative Extension



Rob Wielgus, PhD — Retired Assoc. Professor/Director of Large Carnivore Lab at Washington State University



Christine Wilkinson, PhD Candidate — UC Berkeley: Livestock Predator Conflicts

Read: My Three Near-Misses

Coming Soon!

“I was 10 years old when a mountain lion peered down a skylight at our neighbor’s. The curious lion had decided to explore our neighborhood in the hills of Los Altos, California, one balmy summer night in 1962. “ These opening lines introduce the reader to Caryl Pearson’s lifelong fascination with wild cats. When she awoke to the news that an actual mountain lion had walked mere yards from the house where she slept, she launched a quest that continues to this day. Through the decades, each time she nearly saw a lion, her mix of fascination, caution, and reverence creates a highly relatable and entertaining tale.

Keep an eye on your inbox and our website for announcements about our 2021 Mountain Lion Foundation calendar.

Our beautiful, full-color calendar is filled with a year’s worth of lion photos and facts, and its yours with a donation of $35 or more.

A naturalist and MLF volunteer, Caryl is author of the memoir Tedward, which recounts the adventures of her irrepressible canine companion of 15 years.

Read her entire three-part adventure on our website at: MountainLion.org/Pearson

Opinion Let’s Deop the Term “Predator” It’s time to stop using the word “predator” in reference to mountain lions and other species given the same label, such as wolves, coyotes, grizzly bears, ravens, sea lions, bobcats, cormorants, Cooper’s hawks, and others. Animals and birds so labeled are much more than just predators.

Yet, those of us who are involved in wildlife management know from bitter experience that wildlife predators are often killed simply for eating their natural diet. These animals and birds are regarded as competitors by sportsmen (e.g. mountain lions kill and eat deer as part of their natural diet; hunters claim that reduces their opportunity to hunt deer).

Here’s a question: would hunters prefer to be called sportsmen or “wildlife predators?” Would a state wildlife agency object to Currently, facts and science have become blurred, but words still being called a “wildlife predator agency?” How about calling a do matter. Unwavering public support for mountain lions to rewildlife commission the “state commission of wildlife predaceive necessary protections and space to survive and flourish is tors?” Although such alternative designations could be defended required. Let’s not run the risk of inadvertently reducing public as technically accurate, we know the support by use of the injudicious answer. They are also more than just word “predator,” which is not needpredators. ed and is subject to distorted mean“Facts and science have ing.

While biologists, wildlife managers become blurred, but words and others may have a common unWe have choices other than still do matter.” derstanding of the term that includes “predator” when referring to the the idea of an animal eating its natural mountain lion in various contexts. diet (e.g. a mountain lion killing and eating a deer), the risk is that Why not simply use its common name? Let’s keep reminding the the meaning of the word “predator” as understood by the gengeneral public of its place as an apex species member. Its keyeral public (naïve to wildlife issues) is pejorative. Human predastone function is increasingly recognized in the literature. What’s tors commit crimes and go to jail. No person would regard being wrong with just being a member of the felid family? called a predator as a compliment or term of endearment.

Killing animals and birds for eating The mountain lion is an apex and a keystone species, highly imtheir natural diet is not sensible portant to the ecosystem in which it lives. It is a notable member 21st century wildlife management. of the felid family, known by several useful names (mountain Let’s take a small step forward in lion, puma, cougar, panther, catamount). creating a better context and better appreciation for what those One of the lion’s special features is that it is an obligate carnispecies bring to our natural world vore. Lions must eat meat to survive. Other animals and birds by dumping the word “predator.” also share that requirement for life. None of them are to be Donald Molde, M.D. blamed or held responsible for that evolutionary outcome.

MLF Board Secretary

Remembering the Rabbi With overpowering sadness and a touch of pride, we learned of the passing of our dear friend Rabbi Joseph Hurwitz on September 4, 2020.

The sadness is inescapable. It sneaks up and pounces – lion-fashion – and will not let go. Rabbi radiated love for all around him and absorbed their love in return. He led a full life. He gave unremittingly to the causes he held dear – and lions led the list. He had a bad word for no person, greeted each day with a smile, and lived to see his dreams fulfilled. The sadness will camp inside us forever, because of who he was.

But sadness is not the measure of this man’s legacy. At the Mountain Lion Foundation we are proud to celebrate Rabbi’s life as one that leaves the world a better place. He loved America’s big, burly, stealthy, tawny wild cats whose steely gaze saw through his soul to Nature’s eternity. He had a vision of a world that was ready to make peace with lions, and he shared his vision with all who would listen. There were many who listened. We are proud to have been part of what that vision became.

In a fitting footnote to Rabbi’s life, mere hours before his passing he joyfully learned that the California legislature had voted to ban certain chemical rat poisons in part because of secondary lion deaths. We could not ask for a better tribute.

Some people go through life with a “twinkle in their eye,” or so they say. How inadequate is that moniker for Rabbi Joseph Hurwitz? His entire being was a twinkle. He delivered a dollop of mirth to every moment of board discourse, every motion, amendment, or vote. And yet, his levity was merely an on-ramp for positive action. No matter how bleak the circumstances, he found a solution, prefaced by his signature sideways droll banter and punctuated by his definitive vote, “Aye.” For the lions, Friend. We will miss you.

Toby Cooper

Together, we can save America’s lion.

Mountain Lion Foundation P.O. Box 1896 Sacramento, CA 95812

PLACE STAMP HERE