Gina Hodge was driving to work on Warm Springs Avenue from Columbia
Village one morning in February when she had an encounter she will
never forget.
A cougar jumped in front of her car and then leaped up the road's
embankment and disappeared into the brush.
It was one of the ever increasing number of encounters with cougars as
we continue moving into wildlife habitat.
The Treasure Valley has been winter range for deer and elk for
thousands of years, and cougars and other predators have always
followed them. But the mountain lions are becoming year-round valley
residents; they are staying here because the deer aren't leaving.
Because the cougars are staying, they're getting used to us, which
means they aren't afraid of us. And that makes them more potentially
dangerous.
"Mountain lions and wolves have been following big game onto
winter range for thousands of years and they aren't going to quit
because you build a house there," said Steve Huffaker, director
of the Idaho Fish and Game Department. "Mountain lions and wolves
are meat eaters. They have to go where the food is."
The cougar is a powerful 120-pound predator that can take down a
500-pound elk and has no trouble killing a human. It's near the top of
the food chain.
It has drawn the most publicity here lately, as people have reported
seeing them from Warm Springs Avenue to Star and Nampa.
Local biologists say they're surprised we haven't had a fatal
encounter with one of the big cats.
And the jump in reported sightings has prompted F&G to re-evaluate
how it deals with cougars.
The agency has created a database to keep track of sightings and is
developing a brochure to educate people on how to live in cougar
country. Staff members also give talks to clubs and neighborhood
associations about urban wildlife.
Others are worried, but for different reasons.
Environmentalists and conservationists are watching wildlife habitat
go under the bulldozer and wild animals get displaced or killed.
Homeowners are concerned about pets and children.
Hikers, bicyclists and motorists are wondering when they will run into
a mountain lion or other dangerous predator.
Last year, F&G received about 30 cougar reports
throughout the area. This year, it already has fielded about 23
reports from January through March.
Huffaker said you should be aware, but not paranoid, when you're in
the outdoors.
"It (an attack) is highly unlikely," he said.
Living at home, in the outdoors with cougars
"It was intimidating," said Gina Hodge, recalling the
incident, which occurred on Warm Springs Avenue at the base of the
Warm Springs Mesa subdivision.
"It was a very elegant, beautiful creature," she said.
But behind the beauty and the frightening moment, Hodge realized that
"our world continues to expand into nature. Our actions are
impacting the environment. We need to be aware of it."
Building homes or hiking and mountain biking in cougar country also
have F&G officials worrying about whether the next encounter might
be a fatality, like those in other Western states.
No one knows why there hasn't been a fatality locally. Cougars have
crossed the paths of bicyclists on the Greenbelt, spooked newspaper
carriers in the early morning hours, run through back yards just after
midnight and chased pet dogs after dark.
Idaho's one human fatality involving a cougar occurred near Bruneau in
1885. The state has had seven non-fatal attacks since the 1800s,
according to F&G.
The most recent one occurred in 1991, when an 11-year-old boy was
[severely] injured by a mountain lion along the Salmon River.
More recently, a cougar was trapped and killed in March after it
was hit by a car and injured near Warm Springs Mesa.
Having the animals in or near neighborhoods and subdivisions is
unsettling enough. But they become dangerous when they lose their
innate fear of humans. Instead of fleeing from a human, the big cat
might turn around and attack.
That is why Fish and Game will trap and kill a cougar if it becomes
a frequent visitor in a populated area or neighborhood.
"In the last couple of years, we have had to revisit our policy
on how to deal with mountain lions," Huffaker said.
"More and more, we are getting into situations. Cats in town have
lost their fear of people.
"Whenever you have an animal that loses its fear of humans,
you have to take the animal out," Huffaker said.
Still, Huffaker said people shouldn't stop enjoying the outdoors, the
Foothills and the Greenbelt.
"There is a possibility, and that is why we are dealing with
mountain lions in the proximity of humans to minimize chances of
people getting hurt."
Cougars are in the valley, but no one knows how many
The cougar problem has taken the limelight locally because of the
number and location of recent sightings.
The animal also has drawn attention from national media
because of two attacks in January in Los Angeles where a man was
killed and a woman mauled.
The ghosts of the Rockies, as American Indians call them, aren't so
ghostly anymore. They have been spotted in an area from Lucky Peak
Reservoir to Star and Middleton to Nampa.
F&G biologists say there may be about six mountain lions in the
valley.
Biologists in Idaho and other states don't know exactly how many of
the secretive cats they have roaming within their boundaries.
Audubon Magazine did a piece on the predators in November 1994 when
cougar attacks started increasing nationally and the mountain lion
population jumped dramatically.
The magazine reported that some biologists believed there were
about 50,000 mountain lions in the United States that year [1994].
That compared with an estimate of 6,500 in 1969.
Today, there are no figures available on the number of cougars,
according to the Cougar Fund, an organization in Jackson, Wyoming,
that calls for "protecting America's greatest cats."
Idaho Fish and Game estimates there are 2,000 to 3,000 mountain
lions in the state.
Washington has similar numbers.
Mountain lion numbers fluctuate with the number of deer and elk, their
main prey.
In Idaho, elk herds peaked in 1997, and cougar numbers followed
suit.
F&G has seen a decline in the number of mountain lions being shot
by hunters over the years. That could mean cougar numbers are down or
hunting conditions were difficult in those years.
In 1997, 798 lions were taken, compared with 500 last year. Hunting
success depends a lot on snow and good tracking conditions. In drought
years, with less snow, hunter success can decline.
Whatever the reason, Gina Hodge only needed to see one cougar to
make a lasting impression.
"In the manner it walked across the road, it was way too
confident. It was rather scary."
The changing role of Fish and Game
Big predators, like mountain lions and wolves, aren't the only
animals involved in wildlife complaints.
"We are getting a lot more calls about nature, like birds with
broken wings and raccoons under the porch. We are struggling with
it," said Steve Huffaker, director of the Idaho Department of
Fish and Game.
The general public believes F&G exists to take care of wildlife
problems, he said.
Hunters and anglers pay the bills for the Idaho Department of Fish and
Game through license fees. They want F&G out catching poachers or
monitoring game animals and fish, not chasing down urban wildlife,
Huffaker said.
"We are the experts, and we need to respond to people," he
said. "Basically, it's gratis work for the public with dollars
generated by hunters and fishermen."
Because F&G is being called on more to police wild animals in the
city, Huffaker said that eventually the agency may have to ask
taxpayers to share some of the bills for chasing down urban wildlife.
Other animals that cause problems in the city are black bears,
coyotes, fox, raccoons and skunks. Wolves have been seasonal visitors
to the Foothills since 1999, following big game to winter range.
Once seen only in wilderness areas, wolves are now known to roam the
Boise Foothills and the urban fringes of southern Idaho.
The most recent incident occurred when three wolves had to be killed
in March near Hammett after livestock was preyed upon.
The state has about 400 gray wolves, an increase from about 30 wolves,
which were released in the central Idaho wilderness in 1995 and 1996.
Fox and coyotes patrol the fringes of subdivisions looking for easy
prey such as pet cats. The raccoon population is increasing and the
animals are living under porches and decks. Skunks go where the pet
food is.
Bears occasionally come down to the city when the berry supply is
limited. They are more of a problem at cabins in outlying areas.
Big game animals also can be a problem. One year, F&G officers had
to chase down a moose in a cornfield along the Boise River.
Mountain lion
Size: 75 to 175 pounds.
What they eat: Deer, elk, small mammals, domestic animals and pets.
Where they live: Usually remote areas, but they follow deer and elk
herds into the valley and urban areas.
Dangers: Will attack humans and pets.
Notes: Also called cougar, puma, panther and catamount.
Status: Big game animal and can be hunted.
Red fox
Size: 6 to 15 pounds
What they eat: Mostly small mammals, ground-nesting birds, and
domestic cats.
Where they live: Boise Foothills, canal banks, along the Boise River
and Greenbelt, and in farmlands.
Dangers: Can kill small pets.
Status: Furbearer and can be trapped and hunted.
Black bears
Size: 90 to 500 pounds.
What they eat: berries, roots, carrion, young deer and elk, insects,
garbage and food in cabins and coolers.
Where they live: They live in most elevations of Idaho, but they will
wander into towns, campgrounds and cabin sites if natural food is
scarce or if they learn that pickings are easy.
Dangers: Will attack if provoked.
Status: Big game animal and can be hunted.
Raccoon
Size: 7 to 20 pounds, but up to 40 pounds with a good food supply.
What they eat: Dog food, garbage, insects, crawdads and fish.
Where they live: Boise Foothills, along the Boise River, farmlands and
in subdivisions.
Danger: Can kill pets if provoked.
Status: Furbearers and can be trapped and hunted.
Wolf
Size: 60 to 150 pounds.
What they eat: Deer, elk and small mammals.
Where they live: Mountains throughout Idaho, including Boise's
Foothills.
Dangers: Can attack pets.
Status: Big game animal, but can't be hunted yet.
Coyote
Size: 15 to 25 pounds.
What they eat: Small mammals are the mainstay; ground-nesting birds,
young big game animals; domestic animals and pets.
Where they live: They stay out of the city but live on the fringes,
like in the Boise Foothills.
Danger: Can attack pets and kids when they get used to people feeding
them.
Status: Unlimited hunting and trapping.
Source: Idaho Department of Fish and Game