Franklin Mountain Superintendent’s Email Regarding Mountain Lion, Mountain Water
The City of El Paso released the following email, dated May 14, that D. Cesar Mendez, superintendent of the Franklin Mountains State Park, sent to a few people in response to the fatal shooting of a mountain lion last week and questions why water isn’t being put up in the mountains for the wildlife.
“I hope this finds you well. Thanks for your questions, concerns, and advocacy towards the conservation of wildlife and its habitat. I would like to start by saying the I am not an expert in handling large predators and that what I am expressing here is just a personal opinion. Let me then address the issue about the Mountain Lion in down town El Paso on May 10, 2011. It is uncertain where this individual came from. This Puma could have arrived from any direction. It may have came down from the Franklin Mountains , but also may have been traveling along the Rio Grande in search a territory. We do not know if it was coming from south the border either.
So assuming that this Cougar was living in the Franklin Mountains is just speculation. Mountain Lions can travel long distances in one day, their home ranges and/or territories can be as large as hundreds of square miles and as small as 10-20 square miles (about one quarter to half of the size of Franklin Mountains State Park), depending on the abundance of resources (mainly food and water). As a general rule, the less resources the larger the territory.
“There have been several reports of Mountain Lions within the Franklins as well as in the urban setting close to the Mountains (especially on the West side of El Paso). Water has always been a limiting factor for the wildlife living in the mountains. There are very few spots were water can be obtained within the mountain range. These spots include few permanent springs (West and East Cottonwood located within State Park boundary and Indian and Whispering Springs located within Castner Range), as well as few remote “Tinajas” (pools) that hold up water for several weeks after the rainy season. Additionally permanent water sources (the Rio Grande on the west side and Newman Power Plant Reservoir on the Northeast are 3-8 miles from most points within the park. That is not a long distance to travel in a night for large animals like Pumas. Even more, many houses with swimming pools that surround the mountains are a very attractive source of water for most wildlife (deer, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, etc.) even during the wet season when there are other water sources available. I cannot deny that the drought will force wildlife to seek for other water sources away from their “normal” habitat and home range. However lack of prey base (food) is as or more critical than the lack water. Usually that is what drives animals way off their habitats. I am not sure why this Cougar appeared in downtown nor where it came from. Desert creatures and large predators are usually nocturnal. Therefore, I think that this animal was exploring the area ( El Paso , and eventually downtown) at night and somehow lost track of time and sunrise came while still within the urban setting (which again makes me think that could have been a foreign cat, again just speculation). Let me speculate a little further. If this Cougar came down from the Mountains looking for water it is strange that made it all the way to down town El Paso passing thru many places that had water (i.e. many of the houses between the mountains and downtown have swimming pools or other water features in the yards. The cat looked healthy overall, but I would not say it was not looking for food either. What if it had starving cubs? Again, it could have been possible that this cat was “emigrating” (coming, leaving, or passing by) to a new territory and got caught in the middle of a city while moving thru. The list of questions could be very very long…
“Mountain lions are beautiful majestic creatures, but they are extraordinary strong animals that kill and eat other things for living. Unfortunately the outcome is not what I personally (and many others) would have liked to see.
“However, do not forget that the outcome could have been worse. But it was not, for that I am grateful. I was not there, but I am confident all officials handle this bizarre situation the best they could. Sometimes it is very easy to hammer someone for something he/she did without even having ourselves experience what they experienced. Now suddenly most people are experts in handling this situation. I was very sympathetic with the State Veterinarian when I saw the news, I am still sympathetic with the feeling that it was a shame that such a great creature was killed. However, the media omitted pieces of information that are relevant to the situation.
“This mountain lion had made its way into downtown El Paso and finally been stopped and somewhat contained in a parking garage. Instead of killing the animal there (in the interest of “pubic safety”) tranquilizing the animal was tried. The result of the attempted tranquilization was that the animal took off and ran right through a school and into a carwash before he could be contained again. No one was injured, but the potential was enormous! If a child or an adult had stepped in front of the lion and blocked its escape, who know what may have happened. The animal was again somewhat contained at H & H Carwash. Tranquilization was tried again instead of killing the animal. The behavior of wild animals is most times unpredictable, especially under stress.
“At that point its behavior is even more unpredictable because the situation, confinement and many bystanders. The result was the Mountain Lion found a way out of the containment and was again escaping. An animal control officer was attempting to keep the animal from coming through the escape hole with a catch pole but the lion was able to grab the pole and jerk it from his hands. At that point, as the lion was getting out, the officers shot the mountain lion in the interest of public safety (they did not want to take another chance, they did not want the mountain lion to injure or kill someone there or elsewhere).
“Under this scenario, officials tried to save the cat twice by containing it and tranquilizing it. Did not work as expected. Speculating that the first time it ran away after being shot with the tranquilizer, the lion goes thru the school and then injures or kills someone. What would have been the reaction from the public? Obviously now a lot of people would have say “Why officials did not kill it before?” Again I was not there, but if I was chasing that cat thru a school yard full with children, I would probably be thinking “that cat should have been shot when there was a chance, what are we going to tell the parents of the kid…”. Officials had plenty chances to shot the lion before and they did not, trying to save it. So I am confident the officials did the right thing under these circumstances.
“Finally, regarding water in the park. We build a small water source for small wildlife and birds at the Nature Walk within the Tom Mays Unit. It serves its purpose of attracting small animals and birds, but it requires a lot of maintenance. We are fortunate to have volunteers that help us to take care of it. We can certainly construct few water collection structures within the park that require limited maintenance, but I doubt that they would displace the use of the more reliable existing water sources like natural springs and pools and water features from houses’ backyards. We are open to any ideas, suggestions and help! Thank you so much.
Best regards,
Ph. D. Cesar Mendez, Park Superintendent
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Franklin Mountains State Park
1331 McKelligon Canyon Road
El Paso , Texas , 79930
