April 13, 2004

By Thomas Stauffer / Arizona Daily Star

The trapping and removal of a mountain lion in Sabino Canyon last week by the state Game and Fish Department after it suspended the hunt for the lions was a violation of public trust, environmentalists say.

But Game and Fish officials say the department did not waver from its position that it would monitor the situation and trap and remove any animals that posed a threat to public safety.

An 80-pound female lion was caught in a trap Friday morning about a half-mile up Sabino Canyon. The animal was sedated and taken to a rehabilitation center in Scottsdale.

The lion did not threaten humans, she was trapped in native habitat using natural prey as bait, and she may have had kittens that are now orphaned and will suffer and die, said Daniel Patterson, desert ecologist with the Center for Biological Diversity.

"If they would have caught a lion in somebody's back yard or chowing down a dog or something, we probably would have a different opinion," Patterson said. "The fact is, this is a wild lion, it was baited to a trap in an unethical manner, and it was a hunt."

A Game and Fish spokesman said the lion was "within close proximity to a residential area and two elementary schools," and was likely one of the three or four lions that had become habituated to people in residential areas.

"Was it actively using an area that caused it to come into close proximity to people? Is it an animal that we think was one of the animals that had lost its fear of people? Yes, we think it was," said agency spokesman Bob Miles.

There was no evidence that the lion was lactating, meaning it wasn't actively caring for kittens, Miles said.

He said the department's decision two weeks ago to suspend the hunt for mountain lions in Sabino Canyon and re-open the recreation area was in no way a sign that nothing would be done with lions that might be found in the area.

"I think we were very clear that we were suspending active management for searching for lions, but that we would continue to monitor the situation in Sabino Canyon," Miles said.

But monitoring the situation and actively searching for animals to put into captivity are entirely different things, said Lenny Molina, an activist with Chuk'son Earth First.

"Even if their language was technically true, they definitely misled the public," Molina said. "They definitely led the people of Tucson to believe that these lions were now safe."

Miles said those who think the management effort had ended were not listening to what the department said when it suspended the hunt.

"I think these people were hearing what they wanted to hear, which was that the department had completely stopped," Miles said. "To say that we misled or lied to the public is them putting their own words in our mouth."

Patterson said the department may be baiting more lions in the area against the wishes of the public. "The real problem is that the public wants cougars protected, and Game and Fish and the Forest Service do not," he said.