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GTG
Was lost but now am found
Joined: 30 Dec 2002
Posts: 2387
Location: Peoria, Arizona, originally from Rocket City, USA
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 Posted: 3/30/2004, 6:58 pm Post subject: Cat fight over lion sightings in Jerome |
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Another cat fight from today's Arizona Republic -
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0330lions-ON.html
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Cat fight over lion sightings in Jerome
Mary Jo Pitzl
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 30, 2004 05:28 PM
Last summer, residents of the hillside town of Jerome complained about a mountain lion they said was killing their housecats, lounging on shed roofs and creeping beneath porches.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department initially told residents it didn't regard the activity as unusual behavior and was hesitant to call in trackers.
Yet the agency had a different response when reports came in about mountain lions in Sabino Canyon, near Tucson.
Since last fall, Game and Fish has sent out trackers with rifles into Sabino Canyon on six occasions. The sixth such foray touched off a public outcry that echoed from the canyon's rocky ledges to the Governor's Office and national wildlife groups.
With Monday's announcement that the Sabino Canyon hunt has been suspended indefinitely, and the canyon reopened today, the furor has died down.
But up in Jerome, Police Chief Allen Muma is scratching his head over what he sees as the agency's diametrically opposed responses to lion sightings.
"I'm kind of appalled," he said. "Here, we said we had a problem."
Muma wonders if the town's tiny population reduced its clout. Jerome has about 350 residents, whereas Sabino Canyon is near a growing Tucson suburb.
"Because there's thousands of people down there, what difference does that make?" Muma asked. "We get 1 million tourists."
Steve Ferrell, deputy director of Game and Fish, said size didn't make a difference. But verification that the lions were prowling did.
"In Sabino, we had verification," he said. "We had enough evidence to convince us there were cats with aberrant behavior. In Jerome, we didn't even get to that level."
Game and Fish dispatched staffers to try and confirm local residents' reports, to no avail.
"We had reports of a (house) cat being carried through a screen door, but the following day, the cat was found," said Eric Gardner, field supervisor for Game and Fish.
That would have been Richard Martin's cat. Martin told wildlife authorities that when he investigated a commotion on his front porch, he found his cat missing and yellow hair on a torn screen door. His house cat did return.
Martin has taken note of the furor surrounding Game and Fish's activities in Sabino Canyon.
"It's funny, because they weren't really so aggressive up here," he said. "They were convinced there were mountain lions passing through, but they weren't convinced there was a mountain lion living here."
And that makes all the difference, say Ferrell and Gardner.
Game and Fish eventually did agree to bring in trackers, after town officials threatened to do it themselves.
But those trackers were unable to pinpoint the problem lion on two different forays.
"They could have gone a mile outside of town and found a lion," Gardner said. "But that wasn't the problem. The intention was to find a specific lion causing a specific problem."
Ferrell said it's important to first verify the problem animal before taking any steps to remove it because of the costs involved.
"The resources in trying to remove a mountain lion could be significant," Ferrell said.
For example, Game and Fish estimated it cost up to $6,000 a day to track the Sabino Canyon lions.
Verification also allows experts to check out reports from witnesses, who, although well-meaning, might not know how to identify a predator.
For example, in Jerome, one lion sighting turned out to be that of a ring-tail cat. In Sabino Canyon, a lion sighting actually was a bobcat, which is smaller and has a shorter tail.
But other Sabino sightings added up to trouble, according to Game and Fish protocol.
Others disagreed, leading to this month's controversy.
In both Jerome and Sabino Canyon, efforts to track the problem lions came up empty. Jerome residents say that after last summer's flurry of activity, no lion has been seen.
But Muma said his wife saw a mountain lion a week ago, as she was crossing a town street at 6 a.m.
He posted a note about the sighting, hoping to get some verification from townsfolk.
Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at (602) 444-8963
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Man oh man, just like all political soups in AZ, it just gets thicker and thicker.
GTG
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MikeInFHAZ
Joined: 15 Feb 2004
Posts: 1401
Location: location location
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grrlscout
Joined: 03 May 2004
Posts: 120
Location: Glendale/Peoria, AZ
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| Posted: 5/19/2004, 12:26 pm Post subject: |
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| No, the local FFs call him several other names though. None of which are fit to print. |
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Guest
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| Posted: 5/19/2004, 1:44 pm Post subject: |
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| In his defense we know him personally and he and his wife are good people. |
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Daryl
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1168
Location: Everett, Washington
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| Posted: 5/19/2004, 2:36 pm Post subject: |
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In Jerome the lions were eating cats. In Sabino Canyon they were stalking people. Slight difference.
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grrlscout
Joined: 03 May 2004
Posts: 120
Location: Glendale/Peoria, AZ
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| Posted: 5/20/2004, 10:12 am Post subject: |
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| No doubt. It's just the usual inter-agency ribbing. Totally good-natured. |
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