Washington Counties Call for Extended Cougar Season, as Cats Decimate Elk Calves

[bearpaw]

Washington Counties Call for Extended Cougar Season, as Cats Decimate Elk Calves

https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/cougars-decimate-washington-elk-calves/

[hunter399]

I believe this is in one other topic.
But anyway ,WDFW tried to raise quotas like a year ago,and inslee said no.
Artical is mostly about the Blues,but I would argue that quotas need to be raised to the 22% instead of 16% harvest rate they are now,statewide.
The Blues,along with many areas of Washington have wolves,needed regulations,seasons,ect ,ect are not being addressed. Along with many other issues.

[Cougartail]

Unless they allow dogs there should be no quotas. Because of the difficulty hunting them it will self regulate. At 2000 to 2500 animas a 16% harvest would be hard to obtain.

Having hunted predators for almost 40 years I  can't  believe the amount of sign I see these days and still no cougar. Go figure.

[fireweed]

Everyone on this forum needs to get their facts straight.  Follow the science!.  Don't you know that cougars self-regulate and do not overpopulate nor impact game populations.  It's a proven fact.

http://westernwildlife.org/cougar-outreach-project/faqs/#overpopulate

(stop throwing things at me, I'm being tongue-in-cheek)

[bearpaw]

Everyone on this forum needs to get their facts straight.  Follow the science!.  Don't you know that cougars self-regulate and do not overpopulate nor impact game populations.  It's a proven fact.

http://westernwildlife.org/cougar-outreach-project/faqs/#overpopulate

(stop throwing things at me, I'm being tongue-in-cheek)

You are correct, they do self regulate when they run out of food 

[Farmer72]

it is all BS. If you look at the numbers that each of the 2 articles linked above show they dont add up. Mainly 2 statements jump out at me.

these 2 from the western wildlife outreach:

Cougars’ social structure and their status as a top-tier predators translates into low population numbers of resident cougars, approximately four (4) cougars per 100 square miles.

Cougars rarely cause substantial declines in prey populations. Cougars co-evolved with their prey over millennia and there is no evidence that predation by cougars limits the growth of healthy elk and deer populations. There are rare situations where cougars impact a prey population’s growth rate, such as when prey numbers fall to critically low levels. However, most often other factors cause deer and elk population declines, such as habitat loss, changes in habitat quality, disease, weather, hunter harvest, road kills, and poaching.

and this one from field and stream plus the harvest numbers from 2020 for deer:

A Blue Mountains cougar research project that concluded in 2013 found densities of 3.02 mature cats per 38.6 square miles.

Looks like the mature cats per 100 sq. miles are a bit off. Also when the cougars dont change deer populations but hunting does. Based off the numbers of one deer kill every 7-10 days equating to 36 deer per cougar and the estimate of 2000 cougars equaling 72,000 deer total and the 2020 deer harvest reports stating hunting took just under 30,000 deer.

I know this is singing to the choir but just more proof decisions are not being made off of the science.

[msg]

Please send me all of your spare books. Especially the one by Capstick called Death in The Tall Grass. I need all the ammo I can get if attacked by a cougar. Imagine that, almost 50 years of hunting and never thought to carry a book for protection from cats!

[birddogdad]

someone should save this article , 10 years from now the article will be same and using wolves in headline i wager..

[JeepWrangler]

01/12/2022
03:47pm

WDFW Cougar Zone Closure Hotline stated:

"All GMU's are currently open to Cougar Hunting"

[bigmacc]

Everyone on this forum needs to get their facts straight.  Follow the science!.  Don't you know that cougars self-regulate and do not overpopulate nor impact game populations.  It's a proven fact.

http://westernwildlife.org/cougar-outreach-project/faqs/#overpopulate

(stop throwing things at me, I'm being tongue-in-cheek)

You are correct, ya right, they do self regulate when they run out of food 

This is true, a friend of mine has seen 4, yes FOUR cats on his 900 acres over the last two weeks, they are 4 different cats, 2 have collars,( different colors) and the other 2 are a big fella and one that looks juvenile. Yep no predator problem in this state.

[Buzzsaw461]

 

Everyone on this forum needs to get their facts straight.  Follow the science!.  Don't you know that cougars self-regulate and do not overpopulate nor impact game populations.  It's a proven fact.

http://westernwildlife.org/cougar-outreach-project/faqs/#overpopulate

(stop throwing things at me, I'm being tongue-in-cheek)

You are correct, they do self regulate when they run out of food 

[KFhunter]

Not just calves either 

https://purehoneyus.com/video-man-discovers-mountain-lion-devouring-elk-on-his-back-porch/

[hunter399]

Everyone on this forum needs to get their facts straight.  Follow the science!.  Don't you know that cougars self-regulate and do not overpopulate nor impact game populations.  It's a proven fact.

http://westernwildlife.org/cougar-outreach-project/faqs/#overpopulate

(stop throwing things at me, I'm being tongue-in-cheek)

You are correct, they do self regulate when they run out of food 

That's funny, all predators self regulate when the food is gone.
Coyote and wolves the same,litter size,or eating there litter.
Or whatever.

[Platensek-po]

Can you get the location of collared cats from wdfw like you can with elk?? Asking for a friend

[sixgun_symphony]

We simply must get more hunters to vote or we lose hunting.

 There should be voter registration drive tables at every gun show and sportsman's show.