Is the Eastern Cougar extinct?

[Guest man]

I try not to make assumptions. I usually don't talk about things I know nothing about unless I'm trying to learn the subject.

I grew up surrounded by hunters. Most of the people I know are hunters. I myself, do not hunt.

Next question - do you know anything about the difficulty with hunting coyotes with regards to their behavior?

A good hunter should learn the habits and characteristics of the game they're going after. Coyotes typically move at night so they're a little harder to hunt. I'm not a hunter but if I were, I would bait them. Make them come to me. Or I would trap them.

I'm not a big fan of baiting or trapping and would only go this route as a last resort.

[hr.jr.]

I try not to make assumptions. I usually don't talk about things I know nothing about unless I'm trying to learn the subject.

I grew up surrounded by hunters. Most of the people I know are hunters. I myself, do not hunt.

Next question - do you know anything about the difficulty with hunting coyotes with regards to their behavior?

A good hunter should learn the habits and characteristics of the game they're going after. Coyotes typically move at night so they're a little harder to hunt. I'm not a hunter but if I were, I would bait them. Make them come to me. Or I would trap them.

I'm not a big fan of baiting or trapping and would only go this route as a last resort.

Coyotee's are very hard to hunt in the daytime. Using Bait, electronic calls, and a night vision scope is the only way I know to reliably hunt them.

[Guest man]

And I am truly getting the impression that you do not value these animals - as if the world is better off without them.

Impressions are funny like that.

I value the life of all living creatures. One of the reasons I don't hunt.

Let's see, you argue against the value of the apex predator to the health of the population of the other animals.

You argue in favor of hunting cougars.

You argue in favor of hunting coyotes.

Either you are being deceptive, or you just like to be argumentative.

Or I could be trying to teach you something. Before this morning you had no idea there was a market for coyote hides. You learned something today.

I'm in favor of hunting cougar and coyote only if they become a problem to the human population. I'm not in favor of the live harvest of animals for the purpose of experiments or pleasure. Removing an animal from familiar surroundings and placing it elsewhere to try an better the ecosystem is experimenting. They don't really know if it will work or not. As the quote below indicates, it "could be accomplished", but they don't really know for sure. The only time I would be in favor of this is if the animal were a problem animal. And then there would need to be quite a distance between the animal and humans, otherwise the problem is just moved from one place to the next.

The economic cost of controlling mesopredators may be very high, and sometimes could be accomplished more effectively at less cost by returning apex predators to the ecosystem.

These predators are moving for a reason. I don't see the point in putting them in an area that they're trying to get away from. If the deer population is such a great concern, extend the season and increase the bag limits. Someone taking out a big buck isn't going to hurt the herd. I took out a 24 point buck with an 85 Camry. That was 15 years ago and there are still people hitting deer on that road. The herd survived.

[Guest man]

Coyotee's are very hard to hunt in the daytime. Using Bait, electronic calls, and a night vision scope is the only way I know to reliably hunt them.

They are a sneaky critter.

[other one]

I love hunting..... I don't get out nearly as much as I used to.

My favorite weapon is a Canon 7D with a 75x300 zoom lens,

[nebula]

Coyotee's are very hard to hunt in the daytime. Using Bait, electronic calls, and a night vision scope is the only way I know to reliably hunt them.

Based on this, I doubt relying on hunting to thin out the population is going to work.

How many hunters are really going to be that interested in hunting coyote?

[nebula]

Or I could be trying to teach you something. Before this morning you had no idea there was a market for coyote hides. You learned something today.

I hate devil's advocates!

I'm in favor of hunting cougar and coyote only if they become a problem to the human population.

The reason we have so many problems with pesticides is because of this "eradicating anything that becomes a problem to the human population" philosophy.

Removing an animal from familiar surroundings and placing it elsewhere to try an better the ecosystem is experimenting. They don't really know if it will work or not. As the quote below indicates, it "could be accomplished", but they don't really know for sure. The only time I would be in favor of this is if the animal were a problem animal. And then there would need to be quite a distance between the animal and humans, otherwise the problem is just moved from one place to the next.

It's worked with re-introducing wolves to Yellowstone NP. We're talking about an animal that belonged in the region to begin with. And since there isn't much difference between the the Eastern and Western cougars, it isn't exactly being placed in a region it isn't suited for.

These predators are moving for a reason. I don't see the point in putting them in an area that they're trying to get away from.

But they aren't trying to get away from the east. They are migrating from the west.

If the deer population is such a great concern, extend the season and increase the bag limits. Someone taking out a big buck isn't going to hurt the herd. I took out a 24 point buck with an 85 Camry. That was 15 years ago and there are still people hitting deer on that road. The herd survived.

But at what quality is the herd?