From our collaborating companion “Living on Earth,” public radio’s environmental information journal, an interview by Producer Aynsley O’Neill with Liza Gross of Inside Climate News.
AYNSLEY O’NEILL: The Olympic Peninsula in Washington State is a lush temperate rainforest that’s attracting newcomers from the remainder of the Pacific Northwest. But many don’t notice they’re transferring into cougar territory. The massive cats, that are often known as mountain lions and panthers, are a lot at home on the peninsula already. And in some instances that’s resulting in tragedy for pet and livestock homeowners and the cougars themselves. Liza Gross reported on this for our media companion Inside Climate News.
Liza, welcome to Living on Earth!
LIZA GROSS: Thank you a lot. It’s nice to be right here.
O’NEILL: You write that researchers with the Olympic Cougar Project put collars on cougars to check them. But the cougars simply saved dying. What was happening there?
GROSS: So the unique concept of this challenge was to know the biology and the ecology of those animals. They’re vast ranging carnivores, they principally have an enormous territory, and particularly the young dispersers exit and so they attempt to discover houses. But what occurs is, as a result of there’s lots of growth that’s been taking place, and increasingly more persons are transferring to the Olympic Peninsula, the cats hold winding up lifeless. And the cats hold winding up lifeless as a result of they occur upon any individual’s goat or any individual’s llama that’s being raised kind of out in the midst of the woods with out being protected. And so a cat sees one thing that appears like prey, it’s going to take that animal.
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O’NEILL: There’s one specific story I need to hear extra about. Tell us what occurred when a cougar got here involved with the Frey household.
GROSS: That was really an unbelievably, remarkably unfortunate sequence of occasions. So the household really had a very wonderful enclosure for his or her animals. They had goats, they’d chickens, they’d geese. It had a roof, it had a very enclosed fence. But the issue is that the enclosure was connected to a shed that had a photo voltaic operated door. And a cougar walked by, triggered the movement operated mild, which opened the solar energy door. This is what one of many specialists thinks occurred. One of the cats peeked their head within the door, tried to see if they might get inside, then realized they might, wiggled in, after which chaos ensued.
O’NEILL: And what did the household find yourself shedding?
GROSS: It’s very unhappy, they’d introduced two geese with them from their home in Texas and the geese had kind of been alarm animals for his or her chickens, which they’d again there as effectively. And the geese stood as much as defend the chickens and the cougar killed them immediately. And then a number of chickens had been killed. Unfortunately, after that, the household had a behavior of walking their goats and letting them free vary, and let their chickens out. And the identical young cougar got here by and took one of many goats and a number of other extra chickens, which could be very unhappy.
O’NEILL: How did the household reply to that?
GROSS: They had been horrified and really upset. But sadly, they didn’t actually know who to name or what to do; they had been new to the realm, they’d come from Texas, and so they simply watched helplessly. So they didn’t know what to do, really, however their first response was to not kill the cat. Their first response was to strive to determine what to do about it, and how you can defend their animals. It’s actually type of touching as a result of the household actually loves animals.
And that’s why they really had all these livestock that they saved extra as pets than as you understand, money making operation; their chickens, they didn’t even promote the eggs with their chickens. And what was really fairly neat about how the Olympic Cougar Project operates, for individuals who have interactions with the massive cats, they provide to return out on a seize with them. And that’s a technique to educate folks to see how these massive carnivores function on the panorama. And really, it’s fairly fascinating to see that they’re afraid of dogs, similar to your home cat could be.
And so that they have skilled hounds, which go on to the scent of the cat. And then, they “tree” it—they principally chase it up a tree, the place the cat’s not very joyful about being up there. But when the specialists come, the biologists and the crew technicians come, they shoot a tranquilizer dart on the cat and it takes a short time for that to take impact. And then they convey the cat down and so they put a collar on it to allow them to research it later.
O’NEILL: But the unhappy reality is, it doesn’t at all times finish fairly so humanely.
GROSS: That’s completely proper. So what normally occurs is a landowner will name the state and the state wildlife company which is the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. They’re principally known as wardens who reply to this sort of an incident. And almost invariably, in the event that they discover the cat, they shoot the cat, and that’s the best way they reply.
The Olympic Cougar challenge has a unique response. Panthera is a global wildcat conservation and analysis organization. They would not have the authority, the authorized proper, to go in and seize and tree or relocate the cat, however they work with six tribes that function on the Olympic Peninsula and so they have sovereign authority to do what they wish to do as sovereign nations. And so the decision is normally to not kill the cat, however to tree the cat, seize it, research it.
O’NEILL: I’ve to marvel, how efficient is deadly management of cougars? If a cougar places a toe out of line, it may find yourself with lethal penalties for it. But is that even one thing that is smart in the long run?
GROSS: That’s an excellent query. And one of many leads within the Olympic Cougar Project, his identify is Mark Elbroch, and he’s a lion professional who’s studied these massive cats: cougars, often known as mountain lions, and plenty of, many different names. And he did a literature evaluation to see, does it really work? If you kill a giant cat that’s been accused of taking any individual’s goat or a llama, does it really scale back what’s known as depredation, which is principally the taking of a small farm animal.
And he couldn’t discover any actual proof to indicate it really works. And a part of the reason being as a result of these animals are opportunistic. And what which means is, they principally prey on issues, in the event that they’re hungry, that walk in entrance of them, or that they encounter of their habitat. And so when you kill one cat that occurred upon a bit of goat, that doesn’t imply it’s going to cease one other cat from doing that. And in order that raises the problem of what you have to be doing.
O’NEILL: And not everyone will essentially have it of their thoughts to name the Olympic Cougar Project. But what can folks do on the private stage, on the home stage, to cut back cougar-human battle?
GROSS: There are lots of issues, really, that may be performed, beginning with simply getting a livestock guardian canine, these actually massive dogs that the cats are afraid of, similar to any cat. So that is kind of a Great Pyrenees breed, or a Kangal, or an Anatolian shepherd. And these are the identical dogs that shepherds within the Pyrenees have used for years in opposition to the brown bears, often known as grizzly bears that they’ve in France and Spain. And that’s one factor that’s comparatively straightforward. Other issues require extra money. These are issues like getting enclosures which have a roof, so actually good fences which have a roof as a result of cougars can soar not less than 15 ft.
O’NEILL: Wow.
GROSS: So you probably have a fence that retains your goat in, it’s not going to maintain a cougar out. So that’s a vital factor to do. Then in addition they strive issues like hazing—so capturing rubber bullets at a cat if it appears to be a young cat that simply retains coming again to the property. And then lastly, what’s actually vital is for folks to cease feeding deer, folks really feed deer, like leaving, you understand, apples and this and that and the opposite factor, after which additionally cleansing up their rubbish so that they don’t entice raccoons, as a result of raccoons are a reasonably regular supply of meals for the young cats, who’re nonetheless studying how you can take down the larger prey.
O’NEILL: So we’ve been speaking about this actually nice program with the Olympic Cougar Project. But they’re not the one ones in command of what occurs with cougars. What if something is going on to seek out non-lethal options with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife?
GROSS: Well, the company held what they known as a cougar focus group final yr to solicit enter for how you can cope with this battle scenario, as a result of they acknowledge that extra persons are transferring to the realm and extra battle is going on. And so that they acquired what they known as stakeholders, a wide range of folks from livestock scientists, houndsmen, who’ve acquired lots of expertise with understanding the biology of the cats and the way they act.
And they acquired a ton of recommendations. And everyone kind of agreed that they wanted to seek out methods to keep away from this deadly elimination, which principally is killing the cat every time a landowner complains {that a} cat has taken livestock. There hasn’t been a lot motion but. I imply, the company has a “living with cougars” pamphlet. But folks don’t essentially learn about that. And I feel that as with most businesses, if you’re coping with the general public, there’s an issue of staffing and resourcing. And so I feel persons are nonetheless ready to see what the company goes to do.
O’NEILL: But I consider there are some indicators of hope with a brand new era that’s being born. And you went out with among the biologists from the Olympic Cougar Project looking for a cougar den. Can you inform us about what that was like?
GROSS: Well, that was fairly wonderful, I’ve to say. Number one, it was wonderful that they had been really capable of finding the den. And right here’s the stunning tidbit. The den was in the midst of a timber forest. So it was an lively timber forest the place you possibly can hear chainsaws whirring within the background, and I used to be pondering, this doesn’t appear good. But surprisingly, the biologists had been explaining to me that the timber forests really almost function a refuge for these cats, as a result of they cycle by way of, so there are a long time the place the forest isn’t being harvested by the lumber firms.
And really, the biologists have a reasonably good relationship with the lumber firms who acknowledge, effectively, possibly if there’s a den there, possibly we gained’t go in there. We’ll work round it. So that hasn’t been the most important subject. The different factor is as a result of it’s an actively harvested space, they do lots of thinning beforehand. So what which means is that they’re attempting to get the opposite bushes to develop larger, however they depart all this brush behind, and it’s simply so thick and it’s kind of like one of the best place to stash your kittens, I feel, as a result of who may discover them? [LAUGHS]
O’NEILL: And may you inform us a bit of bit extra concerning the household on this cougar den?
GROSS: Yes, there was a lady and a boy, simply three weeks old. And this household carries particular which means for the crew. And that’s as a result of their mom, Scalp, had stunned everyone by surviving after the state really made her an orphan at simply 10 months old. It’s very uncommon for young cougars of a yr old even to make it on their very own, as a result of they’ll stick with their mothers as much as 18 months to learn to take down deer and hunt on their very own.
And her mom had been killed for taking any individual’s goats, a pair goats, and left her an orphan. Yet she managed to make it, after which she appeared to have been one of many youngest cougar moms that they ever documented. But they named her Scalp as a result of one of many crew, Andy Stratton, sedated her and as Andy was attempting to retrieve her from the tree, her paw swung round and nicked him on the scalp. And in order that was kind of a badge of honor for him. And that’s how they named that cat.
O’NEILL: It’s unimaginable to listen to about this den, this like quasi-sanctuary throughout the world of not simply the chainsaws reducing down bushes, but in addition the broader world of antagonistic people. How had been the kittens if you discovered them?
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GROSS: Well, it was actually wonderful to see how delighted the biologists had been after they discovered them, as a result of they’ve seen all types of issues. They’ve gone to dens the place the kittens had been lifeless. They’ve seen very unhealthy kittens. And they had been simply actually delighted to say, Oh, take a look at that, they’re so darkish, which is basically useful for camouflage.
So they’d all these darkish spots throughout them, which helps you not be capable to see them when you occur upon them on this extremely dense pile of branches. And in addition they simply appeared stuffed with milk, is what they saved saying, that mama is doing a very good job of caring for them, as a result of not all cats are pretty much as good at caring for their kittens as the opposite ones.
And the 2 kittens, although they had been solely three weeks old, they’d razor sharp claws, their claws had been undoubtedly on the market and rising. Their tooth had been simply coming in however the claws had been fairly sharp.
O’NEILL: Wow.
GROSS: I can let you know from expertise—one caught my arm a tiny little bit, a bit of piece of blood got here out, however I kind of felt, it was a memento. So it was fairly the expertise.
O’NEILL: That was additionally a badge of honor, huh?
GROSS: It was fairly thrilling to be nicked by a bit of cougar kitten, I’ve to say! Wasn’t a lot injury. [LAUGHS]
O’NEILL: Liza Gross is a reporter for our media companion Inside Climate News. Liza, thanks for taking the time with me in the present day.
GROSS: Thank you a lot for having me.
