re: A spotted adult cougar and also a very large one

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It's sad that people kill these animals just for trophies.

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I have no problem with people killing stuff. I hunt and fish all the time. I do expect people to eat whatever they kill.

Mountain lions are highly territorial and solitary, and, on average, will defend 100 square miles against other lions. Mature lions have no natural predators, except bigger lions, and large males are reported to routinely kill cubs and competitors. This often pushes juvenile lions closer and closer to humans, or at the very least away from prime habitat, making them more likely to starve or be shot as nuisance animals. Nearly all lion attacks on humans or pets are by young lions in poor health. Habitat fragmentation has only exacerbated the issue.

When a large mature lion establishes a territory, it will breed with the lions surrounding it, obviously. The issue then is that semi-isolated populations can be dominated by a few mature cats, and genetic diversity suffers, with the younger cats being pushed away, and young lions from neighboring populations being kept out during their adolescent migratory phase. These are the perfect conditions for line and in breeding. Culling mature cats that have already produced multiple generations is a recognized practice that alleviates some of the stress on populations at or near carrying capacity.

As an aside, mountain lion predation has been confirmed as the primary source of mortality of critically endangered desert big horn sheep in NM. Had the state not moved quickly to reduce lion numbers, then the this sub-species would be extinct. Saying that any measure of predator control is unscientific is closed-minded and biased, just like the article you linked.

I'm not just a dumb redneck that likes to shoot things, but I'm sure you'll just continue to call me names and paint all population management with the broad brush of 'excuses for hunters to kill more stuff.' After all, you read journals, man.