So basically because her dogs were not under control a lion had to be put down?? Seems like a dang shame. In my opinion the ranger made the wrong decision.

I agree, they should have killed the dog. It's sad to see park personnel act so irresponsible.

This is another classic example of total disrespect for wildlife on the part of the

older cadre of law enforcement rangers.   The only way to attempt to protect

natural landscapes and wildlife is through Wilderness Designnations with

no hunting or poaching tolerated;

national parks thrive on tourism at the expense of the biota it supposedly is

protecting. Too many park superintendents have little respect for natural resource

science projects attempting to provide wildlife ecological information and the

means toward a more harmonious management of visitors in more natural

landscapes.  Remember the tolerance of food waste dumps in national parks at the

expense of bears ? and the total war on all predators during the George Wright

period ?

It's truly best for visitors Not to Report unusual predator wildlife obervations

since there is little tolerance of any predator whose presence is always interpreted

by NPS rangers as a threat to visitors and may be hunted and killed.  

The same may be true for public hunting clubs known as tax-payer supported

State Wildlife Departments whose staff is primarily biased for hunters, not wildlife

ecologists protecting and managing wildlife through biological conservation

knowledge.

I'd suggest this is a "classic example" of both a no-win situation for all involved, and of how easy it is to make harsh judgments, with limited facts, from the comfort of our living rooms. 

Should the dog in question have been off-leash? Of course not, but in the real world there are some degrees of error here. If the dog had been intentionally turned loose, the owner was absolutely at fault. If, as indicated above, the owner was caught off-guard when the dogs bolted when the car door opened, it shouldn't have happened ... but in real life, sometimes it does.

One commenter says the solution was to shoot the dog, not the lion. If the dog had been intentionally turned loose to "sic the lion," that would have been justified ... but even in cases where rangers have shot hunting dogs observed dragging down deer and other wildlife, the criticism has been severe. Again, such scenarios are a no-win.

Easy to say "Shoot the dog." What if this had been a family pet that bolted from a visitor's car when they arrived at a campground, and the dog got into a fight with a wild animal?  If that ever occurred, the firestorm of criticism would register on seismographs nationwide, but, based on available information, the above scenario is not really much different.

Finally, the previous comment uses a very broad brush to criticize ranger attitudes toward wildlife. Citing bad practices from decades ago is hardly reflective of current attitudes. The reality is in Glacier, and many other locations, visitors and employees do come into close contact with wildlife in developed areas, and those situations can sometimes have undesirable outcomes for both humans and wildlife...and it's easy to criticize if you're not there when the fur is literally flying.

The few details above raise serious concerns that this lion that was strongly habituated to human contact. If people could get close enough to use a shovel to separate these animals, and the combination of a noisy humans throwing logs and rocks and using bear spray failed to get this lion to disengage and head for the hills, there may well have been a larger problem in this case that goes beyond a pet that got loose unintentionally. 

An unfortunate situation with lots of factors involved.

Thanks, Jim.  It's nice to have a voice of reason here.  You are correct--a classic "no win" situation.

Rick

I second Rick's motion.

Remember some years ago when a Glacier ranger shot a snowmobile?  Now there was a case of taking exactly the right action.  This one would have been a harder call.

I guess in my opinion the intent of the dog getting loose has little to do with the situation-- I do agree it was no win situation though. People are responsible for their pets period. If your dog gets loose for any reason why should the native wildlife bear the brunt of it?? Its your responsibilty to be sure your dog does not get loose. If it had been secured correctly this would not have happened.  The fact that the dog got lose unintentionlly has little to do with justifying the fact that the ranger shot the moutain lion-- one less lion that someone might have the chance to enjoy seeing-- sad all around.

After all these years I don't know why I'm still surprised and disappointed at the piling on of Monday Morning Quarterbacks in online discussions.