Colorado Parks & Wildlife Warn of Mountain Lions in Edwards, Colorado

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Colorado Parks & Wildlife Warn of Mountain Lions in Edwards, Colorado

Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- Colorado Parks and Wildlife is warning residents of Edwards, Colorado, that 8-10 mountain lions are roaming about their town, and may be dangerous. From cpw.state.co.us:

Yamashita says based on the reports he has received from Edwards residents, it appears there are two females in the area, each with a litter of 3 or 4 juvenile lions.

“The young lions are nearly full grown, as large or possibly larger than their mother,” said Yamashita. “It appears the female lions are teaching their young to hunt among a human populated area. Considering we are talking about nearly full-grown lions, this is not a sustainable situation. We will take the appropriate management action as necessary, but what the action will be remains to be seen and will be based on our assessment of public risk and the lion’s behavior going forward.”

CPW officials say once a predator has lost its natural fear of people, they can become a direct threat to human health and safety.

“This is a troubling situation and we are very concerned for the safety and welfare of the people in this area,” said Northwest Regional Manager JT Romatzke. “We ask everyone to take this warning seriously.

Mountain lions tend to be solo hunters, unless they are part of a family group, such as these cats are alleged to be. The usual litter for mountain lions is two cubs. These cats are doing very well. To have two females, each with larger than average litters suggests a reliable food supply.

Maybe there were large numbers of domestic dogs and cats missing from Edwards?  Mountain lions have been known to prey on domestic dogs and cats.

Edwards is a large, unincorporated community with a population of over 10,000, and an area of about 27 square miles.  That is only one person for every 1 3/4 acres, about one-tenth the density of the average suburb in the United States.

A man fought off a mountain lion attack with his bare hands less than three weeks ago, in Larimer County, Colorado, about 150 miles Northeast of Edwards.

From ammoland.com:

They usually attack from ambush, without warning, often from behind. That happened to a runner in Colorado. But the runner was not listening to music on earbuds or headphones. He heard something. He started to turn around. He saw the lion launching itself at him.

South of Colorado, in New Mexico, a mountain lion killed and ate a man in 2008.  From wildlife.state.nm.us:

PINOS ALTOS, N.M. — The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and U.S.D.A. Wildlife Services captured and killed a second mountain lion Tuesday morning resulting from the search for the lion that killed a Pinos Altos man. The first lion was caught and killed June 24 and may have been the one that killed and partially ate 55-year-old Robert Nawojski June 17 or 18 near his Pinos Altos home.

Mountain lions not as tough as bears. They are thinner skinned and have lighter bones. Most handguns would be useful in stopping a mountain lion. Many have been killed with .22 rimfires. One was killed with a boar spear as it attacked a man’s wife in Canada, in 2013. I would carry something with more power than a .22 if I were concerned with mountain lions.

Mountain lion attacks are rare but are increasing as mountain lion populations expand, hunting is highly regulated, and young lions are looking to establish new territories.

It has always been legal to openly carry firearms in Colorado without a permit openly. Colorado has a shall issue concealed carry permit that is not too difficult to obtain. It costs about $100 to $200 for everything involved, depending on whether training is needed. The permit requires renewal every five years.


About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30-year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

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Concerned citizen

Thos is what happens when real estate developer’s build home in national forest areas and sell them to the rich ( mostly those coming from Kalifornia(and their vastly over priced homes). If one wants to live in the mountains there is wildlife there, deal with it. And the other comments writer is right, both China and India are eyeing the USA. woth their exploding population. (Having 10 to 15 children per family) they need more land and America is it. No more immigration to the USA! No more selling American farm land and ranch land to foreigners.soon there won’t be… Read more »

Dave

Dean – unless it’s been changed since I left 5 years ago, the only place in the stare where you need a concealed carry permit is in the city of Denver.

Gary D Owens

Do any of you know what was meant by “control our species” or are you just guessing.
Maybe a clarification would change some viewa or not.

Stuart Keefer

We live in a time of human arrogance. We believe that we have the right to do what ever we want to our enviroment and wildlife with no consequences. That we are above nature. Unfotunately our arrogance has lead to the worst decade of natural disasters in our history.
We can learn to live with these beautiful animals around us if we just understand their right to live freely as well . If we don not control our own species first then there will be no future for either the wildlife or ourselves.

Walt

You state, I quote: “If we don (sic) not control our own species” Wow. What is your plan for that?

Rick L Gillespie

What a BONE HEAD ! Edwards has a problem . You need men with hounds , and you need the governor to declare an emergency and provide the authority for them to trespass on all private property for a20 mile radius. The goal is merely to run these lions out of the country ,and put the fear of god in them.

m.

don’t see any self-control from the dhimmi-rat “species” – try starting there

Wild Bill

@SK, the moslems believe it is their duty to have eleven children. The Chinese are approaching two billion. India, in fact the entire Orient, and every continent have expanding populations. Yet you want America to have a government that can dictate population? One of the reasons China is eyeing the North American continent is because we have a low population and great unused resources, while they have a large population and a worn out land masse. What you propose will lead to loss of Civil Rights and loss of nation. Building a meaningful wall will keep our population down, and… Read more »

Vanns40

You offer platitudes not solutions which is typical of those who have no solutions and/or don’t even live in the affected area. Care to go for a stroll in the Edwards area? I see you’ve not responded to anyone who’s commented, which is exactly what I expected. You make an inane comment and run.

Robin Chriss

Your fearmongering and scare tactics are clear. The “aggressive” cat in the photo is not aggressive at all, the pose, muscles and facial tensions show that the cat is actually in a defensive mode. We live not far from Edwards and have always been in an area of mountain lions and plentiful prey. Less human activity than many places, fewer dogs and cats out running around. Yes the main prey for these wild cats are actually mule deer which are plentiful in this area. Mountain lion populations aren’t expanding, human activity is moving into and encroaching on mountain lion habitat… Read more »

Clifffalling

@ Robin, yep, agreed.

Ron

I think ya’l gonna turn out to be some mighty tasty tid bits.

Vanns40

And the guy who was killed and eaten? Just too bad for him I suppose eh? As stated, once wild animals lose their natural fear of humans there is one option only and that, unfortunately, is to kill them, unless you have an area so remote that future interactions are highly unlikely. That, itself, is unlikely. As a wildlife biologist you, above all others, should understand this. I’m also pretty surprised that you don’t understand that, again, as a “wildlife biologist” when a large cat springs from hiding and attacks, getting bear spray or any other non-lethal method into play… Read more »

Dave

Thank you Robin. I’ve spent 1/4 of my life in the woods. The only animal I fear is man. And I do carry in case I meet an unfriendly one.

MegaFaunaExtremist

“100% of the time in the case of an attack It is those who stalk and harass the animals that provoke attacks.”

This is 100% idiotically ignorant crackpot rubbish.