Gilroy police were hardly callous in their approach to a
potentially dangerous situation in an urban neighborhood
Critics of the Gilroy Police Department’s decision to kill a mountain lion in a tree in a densely populated area of Gilroy have their priorities askew.
The critics who mourn the death of the mountain lion as tragic and avoidable seem willing to risk the lives of the innocent children who live in the Polk Court neighborhood. Where’s the sense in that?
What would they say to the family of a toddler mangled or killed by a hungry, confused adolescent mountain lion? Extrapolating the logic, perhaps a statement like this would emerge to grieving parents from those who called the GPD to express their displeasure: “Your child’s life is worth less than the mountain lion’s life.”
Let’s review the salient points about Gilroy’s recent mountain lion incident:
– The mountain lion was in a densely populated suburban neighborhood.
n Police consulted a warden from the state Department of Fish and Game before acting.
– At considerable risk, police scared the cat back up into the tree twice while formulating a plan.
– Police shot the mountain lion only after determining that shooting the animal with a tranquilizer was too risky because there was no safe place for the mountain lion to flee while the drug took effect.
The reality is that mountain lions have no natural predators, so their numbers are rising as habitat is dwindling. We can expect to see more encounters with mountain lions in the future.
One way to reduce the problem is to repeal Proposition 170, which was passed by California voters in 1990. It made mountain lions a protected species and made it illegal to hunt them.
Not only do we now have no predators and no means to control the population, because mountain lions are no longer game, we don’t really even have a good idea of how many there are because DFG officials no longer track them. Estimates range from 4,000 to 7,000, each of which needs 20 to 110 square miles of hunting territory.
It’s not a popular cause, but it is a matter of public safety. If Proposition 170 is repealed, the DFG could take a mountain lion census and issue permits for a reasonable number of kills per season based on that census.
So, rather than criticize the police for making a careful and sensible public safety decision in shooting the Polk Court mountain lion, they deserve our thanks and understanding for making the right decision in a tough situation.
Retired South County fish and game warden Henry Coletto, who wants to find a way to protect mountain lions’ habitat and establish sensible procedures for police to follow when they stray into urban areas, also deserves kudos.
Finally, critics should understand: Mountain lions might be furry, they might remind you of your house cat, but they are not cuddly or “kind.” Mountain lions are wild animals.
Let’s all remember that fact when police are faced with choosing protecting human life over taking a mountain lion’s life.
