Foothills Sentry - July 2021

Foothills Sentry Page 10 July 2021 My mountain lion teacher By Robert Detrano Last month, Michael Boeck contributed a story about a lion, named Scar, that preyed on four sheep in the Williams Canyon area. Scar’s name comes from a lin- ear scar on his right thigh that you can see in the photos. A surpris- ing element of Michael’s story was that the person whose pet sheep had been killed chose to have California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife personnel transport the cat to a distant location, rather than kill it. I wondered how many canyon/ foothill residents would show such compassion to a wild ani- mal that had killed their pet. How many would understand that Scar was like a hungry man who went through an open door and saw a table with delicious food and could not resist helping himself? To explore this further. I polled 26 canyon communities on a lo- cal app. I asked, “If a mountain lion killed your pet, would you: Have the lion killed? Have the lion relocated? Do nothing regarding the lion, but be more careful about my pets. Do nothing. Only 8% of 324 respondents would have the lion killed; two- thirds would be more careful with their pets; 23% would ask that the lion be relocated to another place; and 3% would do nothing. Scientists, who study human interactions with wildlife, would call my poll respondents “mutu- alists,” as opposed to “tradition- alists.” Mutualist humans live together with other species in mutually beneficial relationships. They see wild animals as inter- esting, helpful, beautiful and de- serving of respect and care. Tra- ditionalists see wildlife as serving human needs for food, sport or work. Mutualists do not approve of hunting for sport and do not think that lethal removal of wild animals is appropriate in most circumstances. Traditionalists take the oppo- site views on these issues. Mu- tualism is associated with higher levels of education, income and urbanization. Women are more likely to be mutualists than men. Anthropomorphism is closely associated with mutualism. An- thropomorphists see wild animals as having qualities usually at- tributed to humans, such as con- sciousness, intention and emo- tions. Cognitive scientists believe that mammals, and some birds and reptiles have these qualities. Their belief is based on brain imaging experiments in different kinds of animals. To further de- termine whether or not local resi- dents agree with these scientific findings, I posted four polls on the app in the same communities. The polls asked: Do wild animals have inten- tions? (yes/no/don’t know) Do wild animals experience emotions like sorrow and joy? Do wild animals have con- sciousness? Between 80 and 90% of resi- dents gave positive responses to these questions. My results suggest that can- yon residents look on their furry neighbors as sentient beings who deserve respect and love. Our hearts are in the right place. However, there is one other sa- lient aspect of the Williams Can- yon story that I have not yet ad- dressed. My second surprise regarding the Scar story came a few days after the lion was relocated. My trail cameras, about a mile from the livestock pen, recorded Scar several times, including on April 26, nine days before; on May 2, two days before; and on May 9, five days after he was “relocated” for preying on the sheep. I recent- ly heard that Scar returned to the same sheep pen, which had not yet been upgraded to make it lion- proof. Scar again helped himself to two sheep. Mountain lion experts Korinna Domingo and Winston Vickers are not surprised by the cat’s re- silience in returning so quickly, nor at him being able to enter the unsecured livestock enclosure. They believe that there may be no place in the Santa Ana Moun- tains where a lion can be truly translocated so that it would not return. The only solution to this problem is to build lionproof en- closures for livestock and pets. When I gave respondents the choices of killing the lion, re- locating the lion or being more careful with pets in the future, the best answer would have been to be more careful with pets. If we choose to live amidst wildlife, we must take measures to protect our pets, livestock and ourselves. Those readers who have ques- tions or need help in constructing lionproof enclosures should call the Cougar Conservancy (800) 930-1087. Visit detranophotos.com for photos and videos of local wild- life. Three weeks after being relocated – again – Scar was sighted back in Trabuco Canyon on June 7. Students excel Marguette University an- nounced that Orange native Ryan Olsker made the spring 2021 Dean’s List. Olsker is pursuing a bachelor of science in exercise physiology. Feven Christiansen, also of Or- ange, qualified for the Provost’s Honor Roll at Whitworth Univer- sity in Spokane. Gonzaga University named Sa- mantha Lembo and Nicole Snyder of Orange, and Vincent Lemus of Villa Park, to the President’s List. Lembo graduated with a B.A. in Psychology. Fellow Orange resi- dent and President’s List honoree Cassidy McDonald graduated from Gonzaga with a B.Ed. in special education. Maria Braatz, Jason Lembo and Alexis Rivas, all from Orange, and Jack Wil- liams from Villa Park qualified for the University’s Dean’s List. The University of Wisconsin, Madison, announced the inclu- sion of Carissa Loeper to the Dean’s List. The Orange resident is attending the College of Agri- cultural and Life Sciences. Na- thanael Freeman, a junior from Orange, made the Dean’s List at George Fox University in New- berg, Oregon. Freeman is study- ing finance. Joshua Greene of Villa Park graduated from the University of Colorado, Greeley, with a B.A. in economics. OPA BBQ's back The annual OPA Fall BBQ and Dance returns on Saturday, Sep- tember 18. Visit orangeparkacres. org for more information, or call (714) 900.2OPA(672). Scar returned to the same Williams Canyon animal enclosure, May 20, from where he was first sedated and relocated weeks earlier. This time, he was radio collared and transported to the southern tip of the Santa Ana Mountains. The mountain lion’s scar is visible in this image taken by a motion sensitive trail camera in April. Photo by Mike Boeck