Why Protect the Lion?Why Protect the Lion?Why Protect the Lion?Why Protect the Lion?

The value of the lion is often misunderstood. It is a keystone species playing an irreplaceable and complex role on the landscape. Top carnivores help maintain the plants and animals within their range. Mountain lions keep deer herds on the move, so that they do not overgraze in any particular area. This behavioral change results in less erosion along riverbanks and increases habitat for other species like songbirds. Ecosystems with lions are healthier, more sustainable, and contain a rich balance of nature.

Although many people believe the number of mountain lions in the U.S. is increasing, this is not the case. Habitat destruction and trophy hunters are killing more lions today than at any other time in our nation’s history. If the species is to survive, or stand a chance at recolonizing the eastern two-thirds of our country, protection laws need to be put in place today.

Safety ConcernsSafety ConcernsSafety ConcernsSafety Concerns

Human encounters with mountain lions are rare and the risk of injury or death from an attack is infinitely small. You are more likely to drown in your bathtub, be killed by a pet dog, or hit by lightning. If lions had any natural urge to hunt people, there would be attacks every single day. Instead, they avoid us.

But if you live, work, or play in lion country, be alert. Avoid walking alone between dusk and dawn when lions are most active. Keep your children and pets close to you. Never approach or corner a lion (or any wild animal). If you do encounter a lion, STOP. DON’T RUN. Unlike advice for encountering bears, do not act timid or play dead in front of a lion.

Instead: Maintain eye contact. Stand tall. Look bigger by opening your coat or raising your arms. Slowly wave your arms and speak firmly. Throw items at the lion if necessary. Give the lion room and time to move on.

In the rare event of a lion attack, fight back. Most people succeed in driving the lion away.

Although still a fairly rare occurrence, domestic animals can be an easy meal for lions and other wild predators. Most pets and livestock do not have the skills to protect themselves and are dependent on people. The threat to domestic animals can easily be avoided by modifying husbandry behaviors. See Protecting Pets and Livestock at MountainLion.org for details.

Human policies (wildlife management decisions) can also affect our overall safety. States that allow mountain lion hunting are putting their citizens at risk. Killing off adult lions leaves behind the younger juveniles who are more likely to cause trouble and prey on livestock. Developing in lion habitat or blocking a wildlife corridor with a highway or a new housing tract can also increase the chances for an encounter or potentially dangerous confrontation.

Trophy Game Status?Trophy Game Status?Trophy Game Status?Trophy Game Status?

Trophy hunters will tell you hunting is a necessary management tool and that it balances wildlife populations. FALSE! These lies are told over and over by people who simply want to kill an animal for fun. The truth is mountain lions are solitary and reproduce slowly. They maintain their own numbers, in low densities, and will never overrun the countryside. They do not need to be hunted by people.

California, for example, has the nation’s largest human population, coexisting with more mountain lions than any other state. Yet California has not had a lion hunting season since 1972. Attacks on people, pets, and livestock are all rare. And there are still plenty of deer to go around. In fact, because California’s lions are not heavily persecuted, they are able to teach their kittens how to hunt properly and avoid people. As a result, conflicts with lions have actually reduced compared to the states that hunt the cats for sport.

Plainly put, making the mountain lion a trophy game animal is the wrong decision and there are other options. You can take a stand and demand that the lion is fully protected in Missouri!

What’s Next?What’s Next?What’s Next?What’s Next?

The mountain lion may slowly but surely be on its way to recolonizing Missouri. Whether or not it’s successful though, is up to you. The laws put in place today will determine if the American lion will once again roam our countryside wild and free, or remain extirpated with every transient cat shot on sight.

Missourians have been given a second chance.

Are you willing to accept a small risk and learn to coexist with wildlife? If so, this is the time to educate yourself and your friends about mountain lions. Squash the rumors and irrational fear. Speak with your local law makers to get the lion back on Missouri’s Endangered Species List. You have an opportunity to undo a century’s worth of environmental damage and restore Missouri’s natural ecosystem. Second chances don’t come around too often, don’t waste this one!

America’s Lion ~ Biology & Behavior NamesNamesNamesNames

Although its scientific name is Puma concolor, the American lion is know by more names than any other animal in the world. Depending on the region and native language, common names include: mountain lion, cougar, panther, puma, painter, el leon, and catamount.

AppearanceAppearanceAppearanceAppearance

The adult American lion is tan in color, with black tipped ears and tail. It weighs 80 to 180 pounds and stands two to three feet high at the shoulders, and can reach eight feet in length from nose to tip of the tail, with the tail measuring 1/3 of the length.

Mountain lion kittens or cubs have camouflaging spots and rings around their tails that fade as they mature. Lions may bear up to four kittens at a time which stay with their mother for 18 months then disperse to establish their own territories.

Hunting BehaviorHunting BehaviorHunting BehaviorHunting Behavior

Opportunistic hunters, mountain lions typically hunt alone from dusk to dawn, taking their prey (primarily deer) from behind. On average, a lion will kill a deer every ten to fourteen days. Lions also dine on raccoons, rodents, elk, feral hogs, and even porcupines. They may drag the meal to another area and cover it with dry leaves, grass or pine needles to protect the food from other animals and to reduce spoilage. A lion may return to feed at the site over a period of several days.

AbilitiesAbilitiesAbilitiesAbilities

Mountain lions can:

♦ bound up to 40 feet running ♦ leap 15 feet up a tree ♦ climb over a 12 foot fence ♦ walk many miles at 10 mph ♦ reach speeds of 50 mph in a sprint

Lions sense movement more accurately than they see detail. Seeing the world in pixilated mosaics, their wide angle and night vision are much greater than our own. A lion's hearing is acutely sensitive, discerning ultrasonics far beyond human range. Their ears move independently to better receive sound and locate the source.

Home RangeHome RangeHome RangeHome Range

Mountain lions used to occupy the entire U.S. coast-to-coast, but today they are primarily found in the West with a small population in Florida. Lions prefer areas with dense undergrowth and cover, and will leave an area if they perceive a threat. Found in deserts to humid coast forests, arid hillsides, scrub and oak woodlands, lions can live from sea level to snow-covered mountain peaks.

Lions are solitary unless mating or parenting, and maintain territories that average 100 square miles in size. Mountain lions mark their territory by clawing trees and urinating on scratch piles of dry leaves, grass or pine needles. They will fight other lions, even to the death, to protect their territory. A female with kittens will move to a new den site within her territory every few weeks to protect her kittens from predators and male lions. To learn more, visit: http://MountainLion.org/AmericanLionYoutube1.asp

Identifying TracksIdentifying TracksIdentifying TracksIdentifying Tracks

Lions have a distinctive "M" shaped pad with three lobes on the rear of the heel (dogs only have two lobes). Their claw marks do not show in the track. Walking, the cat's hind foot steps in his fore track, creating overlapping patterns. Their toes slant—similar to human feet—indicating left or right foot. Dog tracks are more symmetrical, and the raised dirt in the middle forms an “X” shape.

Compare Feline “M”

to Canine “X” Shape

Dec 1994, Carter County

small adult female treed, shot by raccoon hunters

History and Range in the U.S.History and Range in the U.S.History and Range in the U.S.History and Range in the U.S.

Mountain lions used to occupy the United States coast-to-coast, from Mexico to Canada. As early European settlers moved west, their actions influenced and shaped the region’s landscape and resident wildlife. Ranching on the frontier often meant removing large predators like bears, wolves, and mountain lions. Mountain lions—known by more names than any other animal in the world (cougar, puma, panther, catamount, painter, el leon, etc.)—were one of the most heavily impacted species. Lions were seen as a direct threat as well as competition, and they were eliminated from most states east of the Rockies by the early 1900’s. Missouri killed its last indigenous lion in 1927. Today, the species has been reduced to a fraction of its former range, and it is currently surviving in just over a dozen western states and a tiny population of the panther subspecies in southwest Florida.

Lion Status in MissouriLion Status in MissouriLion Status in MissouriLion Status in Missouri

Although mountain lions were wiped out in Missouri, the species was eventually placed on the state’s endangered species list and protected (should any cats happen to turn up). From 1994 through 2005, there were five cases of confirmed mountain lion presence photographs, tracks, and/or DNA evidence) in Missouri, and three lions were killed by residents. Then in 2006, based on unfounded concerns* from cattle ranchers, the Missouri Department of Conservation Commission announced it was "...undesirable to have

a breeding population of mountain lions in Missouri [...] therefore, the Department of Conservation will not encourage the species to reestablish itself in the state." This decision removed the mountain lion from the state’s endangered species list and reclassified it as "extirpated," meaning extinct (or no local breeding population) in a particular area.

One legislator has even proposed relabeling it as an invasive species to actively exterminate any lion that enters the state.

Because of the irrational fear of what could happen and misinformation about the species, the mountain lion is no longer protected in Missouri.

* According to the MDC website, "Missouri annually ranks among the top states for the number of cattle raised, and the potential presence of mountain lions causes much concern among producers." Yet, "There have been no reports of mountain lions attacking people in Missouri, and no evidence of attacks on livestock or pets."

The rare and

majestic lion is

a symbol of our

nation’s vanishing

wilderness.

Mountain Lion RangeMountain Lion RangeMountain Lion RangeMountain Lion Range

Florida

Panther

Oct 2002, Clay Co. young adult male

road kill

Jan 2011, Ray County subadult male treed,

shot by raccoon hunters

Jan 2011, Macon Co. subadult male shot by

coyote hunters

Aug 2003, Callaway Co. subadult male

road kill

sighting

death

1927 - Feb 2012

Current

Range

In recent years, mountain lion sightings have popped up around the state. While some may have been released pets, research shows others likely dispersed from known populations in the West where their habitat is shrinking. Young lions naturally have an instinct to disperse. Some will travel hundreds of miles to find available and suitable habitat, and to get away from lions they are closely related to. They may be following the Missouri River corridor, coming down from South Dakota. Other research suggests they could be coming up from parts of southwest Texas. Either way, each lion will continue to wander until it finds a mate. Since there is no evidence of lions breeding in the state, it is likely these lions are just passing through. If enough make it into Missouri, they could potentially settle and establish a local population.

Mountain Lions Mountain Lions Mountain Lions Mountain Lions in Missouri in Missouri in Missouri in Missouri

Learn why you should help restore lions to Missouri’s natural

ecosystem.

JJJJooooiiiinnnn UUUUssss!!!! HHHHeeeellllpppp SSSSaaaavvvveeee tttthhhheeee LLLLiiiioooonnnn

Tens of thousands of concerned individuals support the Mountain Lion Foundation's wildlife

campaigns. With the help of its many supporters MLF has worked to prevent the killing of mountain lions, curb poaching of all wildlife, enforce wildlife laws with strategic lawsuits, increase funding for wildlife habitat, reform fish and game agencies, and create a new generation of grassroots wildlife activists.

The lion is the guardian of American wilderness. Though rarely seen, mountain lions maintain the wild spaces we know and love. When the lion is

in peril, so is all the other wildlife in the ecosystem. Join MLF today in this fight to preserve our nation’s wild heritage for

future generations.

Founded in 1986, the Mountain Lion Foundation is a national non-profit dedicated to protecting

mountain lions and their habitat. Your membership, at any level, makes you part of a nationwide network of individuals who commit

dollars and energy to the cause of

Saving America’s Lion.

Photo Credits: Aldo CPG, Brian Scott, R.I.C.H., RKleine, Wildphotons

MtnLionFdn MtnLionFdn @@

Mountain Lion Foundation

PO Box 1896 Sacramento, CA 95812 916 442-2666 mlf@mountainlion.org www.MountainLion.org

BBBBeeee aaaa RRRRoooolllleeee MMMMooooddddeeeellll

The best way to help save America’s lions is to protect people, pets and livestock. Each of us needs to demonstrate the individual commitment

and responsibility that is required to create effective barriers between people and wildlife that serve to protect both. While some people may be tolerant of nearby wildlife, often their neighbors are not.

Mountain lions need their human friends to take that extra effort to demonstrate the ways we can coexist. Are you willing to accept a small risk and learn to coexist with wildlife? If so, this is the time to educate yourself and your friends about lions. Squash the rumors and irrational fear. Speak with your local law makers to get the mountain lion back on Missouri’s Endangered Species List. You have an opportunity to undo a century’s worth of environmental damage and restore Missouri’s natural ecosystem. Second chances don’t come around too often, don’t waste this one! Please take this opportunity to learn about lions (unfold this brochure for a Mountain Lion Biology and Behavior poster) and visit MountainLion.org for even more information. Then pass on the word to friends, family and neighbors. Remember, you are the voice of the lion.

Sept 2011, Texas Co. subadult male

shot by landowner