A 7-year-old boy held hands with his father just west of Boulder, Colorado. The boy and his family were on a popular trail near a parking lot. Before anyone could see it coming, a mountain lion grabbed the boy and dragged him away.
The family chased the animal and scared it. Medics rushed the boy to Children’s Hospital with injuries to his face, head, neck and leg.
The boy miraculously survived what 3-year-old Jaryd Atadero did not. In October of 1999, Jaryd hiked in Colorado’s Roosevelt National Forest with adults from his father’s Christian singles group. One moment he was there, the next he was gone.
Nearly four years later, in June of 2003, two hikers stumbled upon Jaryd’s remains and surmised a cat had dragged the boy away and killed him. Claw and tooth marks on the boy’s clothes, and damage to his skeletal remains, told the tale.
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Big-cat attacks are rare in Colorado — about 16 in three decades — because of proper management. For more attacks, simply allow their numbers to grow unchecked.
That’s what voters risk if they favor a November ballot measure to forbid private-sector hunting of mountain lions, bobcats and lynx.
Few Americans ever see a wild cat, given the species’ natural speed and ability to camouflage in vegetation. Yet, their numbers are large in Colorado and their populations must be controlled.
If the population were not professionally controlled, we’d see wild cats attacking more humans, game, animals and livestock. Left to overpopulate, lions would become desperate and ill. They would overkill other desirable wildlife and resort to wanton predation.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife professionals scientifically manage cat populations, just as they maintain populations of other wildlife. Decades of science-based management have led to a mountain lion population so large it must be reduced to preserve ecological balance.
The state estimates Colorado’s lion population runs between 3,800 and 4,400. Each year, largely to protect lions and their ecosystems, the state allows hunters to kill about 500 of them.
Colorado used to pay hunters to maintain cat populations. Today, hunters pay the state and help fund conservation efforts. Without selling cat-hunting licenses, the state would lose about $410,000 annually.
It gets worse. Without regulated hunting of cats, they would kill too much other wildlife. A study by the Common Sense Institute shows the loss of revenue from conventional hunting licenses — due to lions killing game — could reach nearly $6 million.
For those reasons and more, the hunting ban would not save cats. It would cause Parks and Wildlife officials to cull populations without the assistance historically provided by hunters — people who pay to do the job. That would mean less money for parks, campgrounds, fisheries and wildlife preservation.
Advocates of the measure say it stops “trophy hunting” — an activity that elicits repulsion. Don’t believe the narrative. Parks and Wildlife authorities strictly enforce a mandate that all hunted wild cats be prepared for human consumption. Colorado law forbids trophy hunting of cats.
Big cats are beloved, as reflected by their roles in The Wizard of Oz, The Lion King, the Tiger King and other iconic media. Today, thankfully, wild cat populations flourish in Colorado — the result of disciplined management by scientists and regulated hunters.
In the best interest of the state’s beloved lions, lynx and bobcats, don’t risk population chaos. Vote in favor of cats, by voting “no” on the hunting ban.
