Arizona Mountain Lions Given the Death Penalty

Three mountain lions were executed a few miles from the University of Arizona campus in Tucson on Tuesday morning, New Years Eve. The feline trio were found to be feeding on the remains of an unidentified human, probably a hiker on the popular Pima Canyon trail, although authorities say there is no evidence to show that the person was actually killed by the cats. 

The reasoning behind the killings was as usual. By feeding on human flesh, the mountain lions would acquire a taste for it and expand their diet to easily butchered men, women and children. Having some rudimentary form of communication with others of their species, it would be possible for these magnificent but evil carnivores to pass along the knowledge of human cuisine to them. Best idea is to just nip that in the bud.

It wouldn't make sense to stipulate that perhaps, as in other cases, there is an element of punishment involved. The cats ate a person. Wisconsin serial killers are incarcerated for that kind of behavior but would be shot if the law permitted it. Locking up the cougars, if they could even be captured alive, would be impractical. A zoo made up of man-eating carnivores might not appeal to the soccer mom contingent.

Leaving the remains of any mammal lying around is likely to attract almost any carnivore. If not the mountain lions, skunks, weasels, crows and vultures would, and in fact, probably did, gather a snack two from mr. or mrs. dead human. Nobody is looking for crows with human flesh on their breath, however. Nobody is worried about being killed by a crow.

  HuffingtonPost.com

But a mountain lion not only needs to watch its step around hikers, making a meal of a pet is also verboten. This cat, maybe, was feeding on a mixed-breed dog near bucolic Cascade, Idaho. It might be careless to let your beloved doggy family member roam about in cougar country but if it fails to return home it's not your fault. The problem is the cat, who should know that he's not to eat Lassie.