Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/01/03/three-mountain-lions-killed-af.html
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“I can tell you that the lions tore the clothes off the victim,” (Arizona Game and Fish Department spokesman Mark) Hart said. “That is an indication that they had figured out that a human being clothed is food.”
Um… we smell like meat. I think they know we are food.
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I applaud the use of non-gender-specific “their” here, but this sentence shows that we’ve got some distance to go in figuring out the best way to use it.
I’d wonder if most us us don’t smell much like “meat” to a predator after using scented soap & shampoo, deodorant, and wearing freshly laundered clothes? I dunno what mountain lions think, but I suppose it could have been a surprise when it dug through that chemical-smelling pile of clothes and discovered that there were a few treats inside.
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Curious why the mouintain lions in question can’t be kept at a preserve, zoo or other place that can take care of big cats. Considering that these creatures are endangered killing 3 seems problematic.
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“Did you hear? Fred found a dead human out by that trail the humans like to walk along, so he decided to taste one just to see, as one does. Turns out he didn’t like it. Left it where he found it on the trail. Took the wallet though. Next thing you know assassins have killed Fred and anyone in the area who looks like him. Freaky stuff.”
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Bears are made of meat but mountain lions don’t usually stalk bears. We want these animals to recognize us as the apex predator, which is arguably the general position the human species holds in most parts of the world. (and is true for North America)
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Assuming the gender of a half eaten dead body has a lot of pitfalls.
I think this was discussed last time a mountain lion attack took place.
Basically, once they view humans as prey, they are too dangerous to even keep in captivity. They become too dangerous to handle. *IIRC
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Fancy meat?
Because bears can fuck them up. Humans are apex predators with tools, and prey with out.
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We’re pretty dangerous when we are aware we’re in trouble. Mostly we are easy prey because we’re carefree and overconfident. Once a human group sets their sights on eliminating an animal, even a bear or mountain lion, we succeed almost without exception. As a group we’re a danger to everything, even if individuals can be preyed on.
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That’s a group. A group of cows can fight off a lone predator as well. I agree as a group we are also apex predators.
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Mystery Humans are delicious!
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Imagine if mountain lions were treated with the same consideration as police officers. They might get relocated several times after an unfortunate encounter with humans, and if that wasn’t enough, they could be retired to a nice zoo someplace.
If I weren’t being sarcastic, I’d suggest embedding a radio transmitter under their skin, and giving local game wardens and law enforcement the frequency to monitor them locally. Might lose a hiker or two, but… Science!
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I’m not saying they should have killed these ones, but mountain lions are very much not endangered. They are classified as “least concern” by the IUCN, and, while they are extinct in the eastern US, they are quite common in the west.
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Yup. So I’d have used “the person’s” instead of “their” in this instance, since “their” looks like its antecedent is “mountain lions.”
Sometimes predators without tools:
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But using a plural pronoun to refer to a bunch of mountain lions does not.
I get that the lions’ identity is under investigation, but surely we know how the lions died.
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Warm and cold blooded animals release body waste when they have expired. Presumably the urine and fecal matter released would over power the shampoo, soap and detergent odors.
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