There seems to be no limit to the childishness that some adults show, particularly those in Palo Alto, California. There was a cougar incident there a few years ago when a wild cat made his way into a residential area and up a tree. This might not have been as big a problem if there had not been a nearby school about to let out and if there had not been a recent horse mauling in this same area. A policeman, fearing for the public’s safety, shot and killed the mountain lion.
This did not go over well with the residents being that many of them thought the officer ”murdered” the gorgeous creature. The police agency was flooded with angry callers and e-mails from people who had seen news footage of the lion peacefully lolling in a tree before his death [1]. True, he was just peacefully waiting in that tree like most cats do before they attack their prey, which in this case could have been a young student.
Now there is a makeshift shrine with flowers, cards, and photos marking the place where the mountain lion died. Many protesters believe that the cat should have ‘had a chance’ by easily being tranquilized and relocated. These people did not offer any helpful hints as to how you ‘easily’ sedate a feral predator.
Not long before this, there was another cougar episode where the police tried to tranquilize three cubs. They missed two out of three shots on one kitten [2].
What if a sedative had been shot at the full-grown cougar and missed? Would there have been time to take another shot before the cat pounced on one of the many children exiting school?
Some parents of small children think the police were right in shooting the mountain lion. “There are still some pockets of sanity, even in Palo Alto.”
Sowell, Thomas. The Thomas Sowell Reader. United States of America: Basic Books, 2011.
[1] Thomas, Sowell, The Thomas Sowell Reader, (United States of America: Basic Books, 2011) 20
[2] Thomas, Sowell, The Thomas Sowell Reader, (United States of America: Basic Books, 2011) 21
Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.””
Genesis 1:28
”And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””
”And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””
Psalm 8:6 “You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,”
I
recently watched a video of animal protesters talking about how we (cougars and
humans) should live together in ‘peace’. Now, mountain lions are very reclusive creatures, but they are
known to attacked people occasionally.
Many animal advocates choose to ignore that.
To me, cougars are
one of God’s most enthralling creatures.
They represent agility, ferocity, cunning, and grace. I simply believe that if there is ever a
situation where people are being threatened by an animal, it needs to be dealt
with by whatever means necessary.
