Cougar kills Pittbull on the trail today

[trailangelbronco]

I was on a dayhike in Boise today, up in the foothills above town. I came across two bike cops and a lady who had lost her Pit to a Cougar.

She was hiking with the Pit on a leash and the Coug came out of the brush, grabbed the Pit and shook/broke it's neck and drug it off right in front of the terrified lady. She said that the dog didn't even have time to fight back, and that she didn't dare try to fight the Cougar off.

They have been building home further and further up in the hills the past few years and more deer and Cougar have been coming down.

[double d]

Cool-law of the jungle-I'll take the cougar over the pit any day.

[fiddlehead]

Yes, cougars and mt. lions don't like when dogs are in their territory.
I saw a huge mt lion in southern California stalk a Doberman once until I scared him off.
They won't attack something if they have a chance to lose either.
I wouldn't take a dog into big cat country.

[Feral Bill]

.
I wouldn't take a dog into big cat country.

That would be hard in Idaho. It's all big cat country. Surrounding states, too.
There was one in my city back yard a few years ago, mid day.

[RedneckRye]

Go Cats!!!!
Hopefully the powers that be don't decide to go on a killing spree of the local predators.

[trailangelbronco]

Still, pretty ballsy of the cat to attack the dog with a human next to it, and so many other people on the trail. I take my dog up in cougar country all of the time. All wilderness out here is Coug country, can't avoid em. You don't see em, unless you make a point to always look up in the trees. I once saw a huge cat in a tree about 20 yards from me. Basically, a slightly smaller tiger.

[double j]

i own 2 very friendly pits both are around 100 pnds something happens to my dogs somebody or some thing will pay a price. That just shows that you need to know your surroundings before heading out.

[fiddlehead]

i own 2 very friendly pits both are around 100 pnds something happens to my dogs somebody or some thing will pay a price. .

What are you gonna do? Sue the wild animal?
Take his wallet?
I don't understand this comment. Sorry.

[Graywolf]

More civilization encroaches into wilderness, more encounters will occur. Dont want encounters, dont encroach.. 1 up for the Cougar...WooHoo!!!

[double j]

What are you gonna do? Sue the wild animal?
Take his wallet?
I don't understand this comment. Sorry.

i wouldn't sue anyone i would never have my pets in this type of environment . Thats like putting a mouse into a snakes cage. I'm surprised this made the news. If it was the pit attacking something then it would be all over CNN.

[Egads]

The dog did it's job; it might have been her if the dog wasn't there

[Skidsteer]

The poor dog didn't have a chance with the leash on.

[Anumber1]

Great, now all the gangsta-kids in my neighborhood are going to start buying cougars

[Pedaling Fool]

They have been building home further and further up in the hills the past few years and more deer and Cougar have been coming down.

We have well over 300 million people in this country and the number continues to grow quickly since the U.S. is the number one destination for immigrants from around the world - we got to put them somewhere. And it's not just living space, for every person there needs to be X-amount of space alloted for agriculture to feed us. Not to mention other forms of infrastucture that need to expand to support our lifestyles. Look at everything you have in your house...where did it come from? Where ever it came from it needed a factory (real estate) to produce it.

Bottom line: "they" is we.

[kanga]

Go Cats!!!!
Hopefully the powers that be don't decide to go on a killing spree of the local predators.

More civilization encroaches into wilderness, more encounters will occur. Dont want encounters, dont encroach.. 1 up for the Cougar...WooHoo!!!

I understand the laws of nature but y'all are cheering that a ladys dog got killed right in front of her. That's sick.

[JAK]

I think we have do draw some clear lines, and include some grey areas between these clear lines. There should be areas that are protected from predators like cougars, zero tollerance. There should also be areas where cougars and their habitat are clearly protected from development and interference from humans. Then there need to be some grey areas in between, and I'm not really sure what sort of rules should apply there. Right now it all seems to be grey areas surounding protected human overdevelopment, with overdevelopment expanding into the grey areas of pseudo-natural habitat.

The problem is that we don't place any real value on natural capital. How much is the cougar population worth to North America, in terms of dollars? I'm not sure it is a fair question though, because it is not really clear how you can separate a natural species from its natural habitat. The real natural capital is all of the natural habitat of North America, with species like cougars being a fairly integral component of some parts of it. But how much do we all lose in value, in terms of dollars, when a development takes place and natural habitat is destroyed?

When we drive along a highway, and see a wonderful view, or simply go to bed at night dreaming about all the natural habitat of North America, how much less value do we have from one year to the next, or one generation to the next? Should we only be concerned about that which we own personally, or collectively through government land? If property is owned privately, and is developed, are we losing nothing, because it never belonged to us?

When we calculated our net worth, and compare it to our grand-parents, do we consider how much less natural capital we have compared to them? When we think of our grand-children's grandchildren, do we consider that it is very likely that they will have considerably less of both forms of capital, natural and economic, and perhaps less social capital also?

Anyhow, even if we were doing everything right, and we reached some sort of sustainable balance, there would still be incidents like this one, in the grey areas where human and cougar habitat overlap. It would be considered unfortunate, but we would perhaps have a better understanding of the statistical inevitability of it, as with a large percentage of motor vehicle accidents. The only time we get really upset with motor vehicle deaths is when criminal negligence is involved, or when it is really sad, like when a school bus goes off the road even if is no ones fault.

Cougars are still treated much as an enemy however, even in their habitat, if there is one. Pit bulls are considered enemies by many people also though, yet we allow people to own them as pets, even though they kill more people than cougars. I would imagine cougars would kill just as many, if not more, if we replaced all our pit-bulls with cougars.

Interesting event. Thought provoking. Can't really put my finger on it though. Not really sure what I'm trying to say.

[trailangelbronco]

She let go of the leash pretty quick. Leash or no Leash, no dog in the world is any match for a hungry coug.

[skinewmexico]

The poor dog didn't have a chance with the leash on.

It didn't have a chance with the leash off. Gotta love the people in big towns back east cheering the cougars. Be a different story if it was in your back yard. Only a matter of time until it's people instead of dogs.

[yaduck9]

Great, now all the gangsta-kids in my neighborhood are going to start buying cougars

HHuuuuummm......that may have a few side effects but overall it could work out to everyone's benefit.

[yaduck9]

We have well over 300 million people in this country and the number continues to grow quickly since the U.S. is the number one destination for immigrants from around the world - we got to put them somewhere. And it's not just living space, for every person there needs to be X-amount of space alloted for agriculture to feed us. Not to mention other forms of infrastucture that need to expand to support our lifestyles. Look at everything you have in your house...where did it come from? Where ever it came from it needed a factory (real estate) to produce it.

Bottom line: "they" is we.

"We have met the enemy, and he is us" POGO