cougar hysteria

8/15/2019 Cougar Hysteria

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Dave HamiltonMissouri Dept. of Conservation110 S. College Ave.

Columbia, MO 65201

Some time ago, a couple of usrom the Missouri Mountain Lion

Response Team were in the parkingot of a small community high school,

waiting for folks to arrive for anvening public meeting where we

were about to speak. Remarkably,

there was already a long line of pickup trucks and cars way down therural road heading into town, and wewerent on for another 20 minutes.Five minutes before we were to openthe meeting, more than 300 peoplewere already sitting quietly in thegymnasium (in a northeast Missouritown of 150) in eager anticipation forthe debate that was about to takeplace. One gentleman remarked thatthis was a bigger crowd than they

usually get for a Friday night highschool basketball game but theynormally didnt come armed! Wehadnt planned on a hot public debate,but they sure did, and two and a half hours later, we realized why.

The topic was Mountain lionsin Missouri what we know, andit was designed as a platform for theMissouri Department of Conservationto relay factual information about thebig cat that had been mostly missing

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Above: an acual cougar. Note the relative size of the body and tail, as well as the masked face.

Addressing Mountain Lion Mania in the Midwest and the East


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rom Missouris fauna for almost

00 years. After the 40-minute slidehow and the what you shouldknow business, we opened it up foruestions and comments. More thann hour of stories and sometimeseated exchange was followed upy some one-on-one time, withmotions running high ripe groundor grandstanding and some anti-overnment paranoia. This meeting

was held in a small and aging ruralommunity in a sea of agricultureabout 80% of the landscape), with aealthy white-tailed deer populationnd a growing bobcat population.

This setting is typical of the areaswhere the phenomenon that weave dubbed mountain lion mania isampant.

Mountain lion mania is at near-ever pitch in northern Missouri, all


across Iowa and in Arkansas, Ohio,

Indiana, and southern Michigan,and it is growing in other areas of the country. It is marked by wide-spread fears about cougar attackson children and livestock, fueled byhundreds of eye-witness testimoniesabout mountain lion and black pantheroccurrences. Its hallmark is that despite detailed descriptions of the sightings that accurately matchthose of cougars almost all of theevidence submitted as cougars turnout to be misidenti cation of other animals (more than 95%), primarilybobcats, dogs and their tracks, and alarge and growing portion of common,everyday housecats (videos reveal thatsome of the black cat varieties evenhave white stocking feet and chest

patches). Fueling the re here in thewestern Midwest are the occasional

con rmed cougar occurrences thrownin the mix (more than 100 con rmedwith evidence in the last decade) thatoften warrant front-page headlines andalways several I told you sos downat the coffee shop.

This element of an occasionalcon rmed cougar isnt a prerequisite,

though, for mountain lion mania to exist, as Indiana, Kentucky,Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,Mississippi, and a growing number

of other easternstates can attest. Thrumors and rst-person accounts of mountain lions andthe mystical blackpanther sightingsand their mysteriousbehaviors are justas powerful andmaybe more so thphotographs andnews about the realthing. In the lastyear alone, we havewitnessed television

and newspaper news alerts, warning

signs posted along public trails, publicschool and work-site closings, andcity police warnings issued in severaleastern states over nothing more thanreported sightings backed up withvideos and photographs of bobcatsand housecats mistaken to be cougarsand black panthers. It seems thatdeep down, somewhere in our psyche,many want these animals to existso much that these kinds of eventshave become commonplace, even inour populated and heavily-modi edenvironments. This phenomenon evenexists in Great Britain, Australia, NewZealand, and other countries that donthave native large cats. The term oftenused to describe these mysterioussightings of pumas or panthers isPhantom Cats or Alien Big Cats(ABCs).

Above: The real deal - a ail camera photograph f a cougar taken in ivingston County,

Missouri, on December 7,006. Photograph by Joe

Neis.

Right: A photo of a house at in Milan, Missouri,elieved to be that of mountain lion by

he photographer and eighbors. Photograph by esse Powell.


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In efforts to stem the tide of anther paranoia, both the Missouri

Department of Conservation andhe Iowa Department of Natural

Resources have taken public programso the people. The forums are widelydvertised ahead of time so they aresually heavily attended and atimes emotionally charged with

itizens looking for assurances thathe agencies arent protecting, orven actively restoring a dangerousnimal at their expense. Several

years ago in Missouri, we formed theMountain Lion Response Team: aroup of trained biologists scatteredtrategically across the state. Weave had additional training frompecialists in cougar habitats fromther states, and we are workingroactively to respond to cougarssues. We have learned somehings with this experience, and weecommend our approach to others.

What is at Risk?Like it or not,

tate sh and wildlifeonservation agenciesre involved in a public

ebate about big cats,nd as a rule, are poorlyrepared for it. Otherhan the small remnantopulation in southern

Florida, cougarsave been absent eastf the Rockies for

nearly a century. Understandably,conservation department biologistsfrom the Midwest and the easternUnited States have little or no cougartraining. Because of years of wild-goose chases resulting from sightingreports, many of us working forpublic agencies have developed afairly cavalier attitude about cougar

sightings, and are quick to dismissthem as erroneous. Thus, we discountthe accompanying fears as beingmerely overreactions based on faultyinformation.

However valid these view pointsmight be, we risk alienating the publicwith what is sometimes viewed ascondescending treatment or publicridicule of the citizens who reportcougar sightings, especially whentheir sightings arent taken seriously.This is partly because of the fact thatbiologists need concrete evidenceto con rm a cougar sighting, whilepeople making the reports simplywant to be believed. Those who

report cougar sightings often do notrealize the difference between beingable to verify reports and acceptingreports without hard data. This canlead to resentment and distrust thatspreads throughout a community.

As the debate unfolds, thecredibility of conservation agenciesis at risk, and with them, the

credibility of wildlife biologists innocent bystanders perhaps, whoget labeled inept (or worse) whenthe public perceives us as beingarrogant and uncaring. Obviously,losing credibility over cougars couldaffect our agencies effectiveness inother arenas of conservation work.Unfortunately for us, the game islargely played out in local bars,coffee shops, restaurants, the localmedia, and Internet chat rooms (themodern-day electronic taverns).All of these are perpetual mine eldsfor government workers. In newsreports about an alleged incident, theabsence of an of cial response from

Sterling Heights, Michigan In March 2005, two housecats residing in this heavily urbanized southern Michigan community created a media sensation. Local residents mistook them for cougars, speci cally an adult female (tan and white animal on left) and its spotted kitten(black and white animal above). The citys Chief of Police held a televised press conferenceto address the hysteria surrounding the cougars. CNN later reported on the story,claiming video footage of the tan housecat was actually of a cougar. Above photograph courtesy Dr. Christine L. Marossy.

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your agency is a response but not avery good one. Agency reputation canuffer mightily in a short time, and

may take years to recover. Credibilitys hard to earn, easy to lose, and oncearnished, can cost more time and

money in the long run trying to xhan will ever be spent by workingroactively.

As surprising as it may be inhis era of increased dependencyn government support for allacets of American life, our publiconservation agencies suffer from aerceived lack of relevancy to muchf our modern-day public. Oureeming irrelevancy on this issues revealed in many of the popular

media reports of cougar sightingsnd incidents across the country,

whether the incidents are real or not.The issue sells well in local mediaecause cougars and controversy grabttention. Therefore, the stories areften prominently featured on frontages or on the 6:00 news. However,arely is the state conservation agency

a major part of the story as it unfolds,and if mentioned at all, it is nearthe end of the story and in passing,mostly to illustrate the governmentsdismissal of the incident as beinghyped and off base. Depending uponhow this statement is couched orreported, it could serve to only deepenthe resentment between the public and

our agencies.

A VacuumIn the vacuum that is created

because of our collective inattention(or absence in the news reports),individuals, other than recognizedcougar experts, have at times becomethe popular source of informationand the go to people. Theseself-appointed cougar experts attimes provide misinformation andoffer wild claims about the statusof cougars, creating many publicrelations challenges. Some argue quite convincingly to the masses that small cougar populationshave somehow survived in pockets

of habitat and have simply goneundetected for decades, and thatthe conservation agencies denytheir existence. Regrettably, asurprisingly large number of citizensactually believe these wild charges,undermining their faith in and respectfor the conservation agencies and theirstaff.

Extraordinary claims requireextraordinary evidence, despite thefact that such evidence is frequentlymissing, a hungry news media toofrequently reports unsubstantiatedclaims as being factual. Consequently,many people now believe rumorsthat small populations of cougarsreside in places such as Indiana andOhio, even in heavily populated andagricultural landscapes, and thatblack cougars or panthers do existin these wild populations possiblybecause of genetic bottleneckscaused by isolation and low numbers.These groups point to the hundredsof eyewitness testimonies and severalwell-publicized videos they claim

elow: This bobcat was mistaken for a cougar n Missouri. Photograph courtesy Patricia Smith.


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It probably wont. In fact, it is likelyto get worse as our human populationsgrow and continue to lose touchwith the reality of the natural world.As odd as it may seem, the cougarissue is not the hottest in large cities(where we would think we wouldhave lost touch with reality). Instead,it seems to be the hottest in small- to

medium-sized cities and towns, andin rural America sometimes right inamongst our most active outdoorsmen

and women.Next, formulate a simple

investigation/monitoring andcommunication plan within youragencies. This doesnt have to beextremely cumbersome and expensive,but it should have at minimum:

A centralized record-keepingcomponent to archive reports fromthe public;

A mechanism for rapidlyinvestigating those reports andincidents that have some evaluatedevidence, and acting upon them asevidence warrants;

A communications component that


s being cougars (they are actuallyousecats) as part of the growingody of evidence of their existence.

These and other claims of evidence have been disputed byeputable cougar biologists throughouthe country. Unfortunately, theyerve to heighten public hysteriand paranoia about cougars, and

many accuse the natural resourcegencies of being inept and uncaring,r involved in conspiracies rangingrom coverps of predatorresence to coverttocking programso control deeropulations. Theselaims also helpell the news andtimulate additionalontroversy, and they

willingly add fuel tohe existing publicistrust.

o what is theemedy?

This presents aif cult challenge

or biologists andgencies. How doyou effectively gainublic trust whileot necessarily agreeing that everyighting, track, photograph, or video iseally a cougar? The more importantuestion to the public isnt so muchbout what you know, but how

much do you care? It is critical thatccountability be restored in the mindsf the public. Credibility and trust cane rebuilt and maintained, but it doesake concerted effort and a plan.

First, raise this issue as oneeeding some attention within yourgencies. Although many biologistsnd agencies are quick to dismisshe issue simply as an unpleasantistraction, we warn against ignoringt in hopes that it will simply go away.

Above: Cougars do not have a melanistic phase; as cubs, they bear spots, and as adults their coat is light to dark tan. This picture, taken in Bollinger County, Missouri, in 2005,was thought to be of a black panther. It was taken 210 yards away from the subject. In actuality, this picture shows a common housecat. Again, perspective is key to examining the photograph. Notice how the surrounding grass illustrates the small size of the cat.Photograph courtesy Chasity Thele.

includes a protocol for effectivelydealing with the media and thepublic (with well-crafted messagethat reassures the public that youragency is capable of handling thisissue).

It is critical that ourcommunications with the public about

cougars be centrally focused on safetyand that we do not dismiss citizensconcerns out-of-hand. In particular,

you should stress tfact that this issue your responsibilityand that your agenis prepared tohandle any relatedsituation. It wouldbe irresponsible if you didnt.

The source of the animals is ofteseen by biologistsas the centraldebate followingthe true identityof the animal, butto those citizensmost concerned

about safety, thesource of the animisnt so important.Emphasize that

should a cougar somehow nd its wayinto a populated or inappropriate area,you are prepared and trained to protectpeople, pets, and livestock.

Setting the stage for this paranoia,of course, is the widespread andunreasonable belief that cougarsreside in these large agriculturalexpanses or in heavily populatedareas of the Midwest and the East.Most people assume that reportedsightings of cougars equal theexistence of a population of cougars.This part of the debate is often thestickiest differing and competingclaims as to the true status of cougarpopulations.


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Yet, it is extremely unlikely thatndiscovered cougar populationsxist. Throughout North America,ven where small populations are

known to exist, bona de sightingsre uncommon, but evidence of heir existence, such as tracks, scat,crapes, road-kills and train collisions,ccidental captures, documentedepredation cases, prey kills,hotographs taken by trail cameras,ougar carcasses from poaching andther accidents, and photographs of ougars occasionally treed by houndunters are easily obtained.

For example, in southern Floridand in South Dakota where small

opulations exist, biologists documenteveral road-killed cougars every

year. Cougar behavior is suf cientlytereotypic to suggest that localopulations should not be immuneo detection. In fact, the case cane made that all across the Midwestnd the East, the system of roadsnd highways provide a continuouscougar detection network operating

24 hours a day, seven days a week.Although this response has

become somewhat of a clich, wehave to allow for the possibility thatan occasional (rare event) captivecougar will become at large afterescaping or being released. A femalecougar recently escaped captivityin central Indiana after seven yearsin a pen and has yet to be captured.Captive cougars exist in surprisinglyhigh numbers, even where they havebeen supposedly banned. We mustalso expect transient sub-adult malecougars to occasionally disperse intothe central United States.

Also, be ever vigilant about scams;

they do happen. We recommend thatyou actually go to each site wheremountain lion photos have beenreportedly taken to con rm that thephotographs matches everything onthe ground, and that the camera inquestion actually took the photograph not Photoshop. The Internet isrampant with scams as well; someinclude photographs of hunter-killed

cougars and trail cameras that arelegitimate but are from western stateswith concocted stories attached, manytimes with real people attributed. Bequick to put these to rest with thehelp of the media and your internalcommunication system.

Cougar Field Workshop OfferedClearly there is a need to increase

our experience, skills, and knowledgein order to deal effectively withthe public and maintain credibility.Featuring retired cougar biologistHarley Shaw, the Cougar Network hasorganized a Cougar Field Workshopdesigned to train biologists working in

the Midwest and eastern United Statesto recognize cougar sign and to initiatea plan of action to help conservationagencies deal with communicationand public service issues. The rstCougar Field Workshop is to be heldMarch 19 to March 23, 2007, on TedTurners spectacular Ladder Ranchin the heart of New Mexicos cougarcountry. The event is co-sponsored


even cougar carcasses recovered in South Dakota during a three-month eriod (January to March, 2006), primarily road-kills. This population in thelack Hills numbers around 200 animals, yet road-kills and other human-

nduced mortalities produce several cougar carcasses every month.hotograph courtesy Jonathan Jenks, South Dakota State University.


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y the Missouri Departmentf Conservation, Ted

Turners LadderRanch, and the NewMexico Departmentf Game. Availablelots are alreadylled for this one,ut if demand is

dequate, futureworkshops will becheduled.

In Missouri, we formedhe Mountain Lion Response

Team to improve a callousedeputation that we had earned. We

wanted to improve customer servicend do a better job of training ourwn employees. Also, we desperatelyeeded a coordinated media responseo sightings and growing cougararanoia. We also wanted to reviewnd revise department policytatements so we could do a better jobf speaking with one voice. We wanto be the rst source of information

the go-to people whenevermountain lions are mentioned. Wery to adhere to a few useful tips

how to gain and maintain credibility

from the Institute for ParticipatoryManagement and Planning:

Be the rst, best, most complete,and most reliable source of information.

Remember the problem peopleare concerned for their safety,that cougars have been reportedin populated areas. You are theright entity to address it. In fact,it would be irresponsible for you,with the mission you have, not toaddress it.

Scienti c facts, data, analysis, andconclusions have a rotten track record for persuasion, althoughyou have to use them to someextent. Add to them your rst-hand accounts and examples tospice up your message. Anecdotal

information is very powerfulin persuading people.

That is why rst-handaccounts of cougarsightings generateso much emotion,even if they are inreality just every-day housecats.

Dont surrender thishighly effective tool

to those distributingmisinformation. Use

it yourself to counteractmisinformation. For example, citespeci c examples where supposedcougar sightings or attacks onlivestock were proven to be

housecats, dogs, or other animals. Be open and candid with the

public; do not hold informationback unless it is absolutelynecessary. The existence of con dential information in thehands of a public of cial or evethe appearance or suggestion of such smacks of hidden agendas,

cover-ups, lies, deception, etc.,and creates a climate of mistrustand suspicion.

Show that you care, that youlisten, and that you are open andwilling to respond appropriately.Also, show that your approachis reasonable, sensible, andresponsible.

Below: Circulating the Internet, these photographs of a cougar on a patio deck have been attached to stories claiming the images came from New York or Pennsylvania. The photographs were actually taken in Lander, Wyoming, by Dr. Dave Rodgers. Wyoming is a western state with a population of several thousand cougars. Dr. Rodgers lives in a riparian corridor with a good cougar habitat and plenty of deer, so sightings are not surprising in the area.

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