Consequence of cougars

Don’t shoot the cougars.
Not that there are any cougars in our neck of the woods — not officially, at least.
But reports of sightings have been coming in from Madison County, just as they have from the Crozet area recently and, north of Madison, from Page County.
Game officials say they have been unable to find evidence that cougars are prowling the area.
But John A. Lutz says he has evidence that the big cats still exist in the eastern United States. Mr. Lutz directs the Eastern Puma Research Network, based in Maysville, W.Va. (Cougars are also known as mountain lions, panthers or “painters”; the scientific name is puma.)
He says he’s received several reports over the last several years from people in the Madison area who believe they have seen or heard a cougar.
Mr. Lutz has suggested that confirming the existence of cougars would prompt the federal government to impose species protection measures on public lands, such as closing roads and banning hunting, fishing, trespassing.
“Just think: Skyline Drive could be closed to all human traffic due to the presence of one North American cougar… ,” he said. “Think about the economic consequences” (“Madison residents claim cougar sightings,” The Daily Progress, May 4).
Not so, say game officials.
The presence of cougars would not limit already permitted activities. (And trespassing is illegal already, when you come to think about it).
The only difference would be that people would be prohibited from hunting the big cats. But even that’s nothing new: They already are a protected species.
Right now, you can’t kill them because they don’t exist on the Skyline Drive. If they were ever proved to exist, you still couldn’t kill them. No change.
Mr. Lutz’s Web site urges hunters who think they spot a cougar not to kill one of these “magnificent cats just to prove it exists.”
He urges collection or documentation of other evidence, such as photographs, scat or plaster casts of tracks.
But what about this talk of shutting down the Skyline Drive over one cat?
There may be some who would find this threat so alarming that they would kill and dispose of a cougar to prevent anyone from proving its presence.
So please don’t shoot the cougars.
Not unless you’re using a long-distance lens.