Dear HCN,
I had to read “Three
mountain lions killed at Glacier” twice to believe it. “The risks
to the residents were extraordinary,” a ranger is quoted as
saying.
Residents? Which residents? It sure did
turn out to be risky for the lions. Since when are our national
parks supposed to be safe suburbs for human beings, their dogs and
children?
This incident points up the need for a
re-evaluation of the presence of resident staff in the parks. Human
beings have a choice as to where they live; wildlife – by
definition – does not. If the rangers were worried about
lion-people encounters, why didn’t they move the people? There is
plenty Homo sapiens habitat outside the park for them. Lion
habitat, on the other hand, is steadily
diminishing.
Oh, I know the objections. It would
have been troublesome, expensive and time-consuming. But the
decision to move resident staff out of the parks will have to be
made eventually. They don’t belong there.
Helen
Robertson
Stillwater,
Oklahoma
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Lions can’t choose.
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