Three mountain lions shot dead after they were found eating human remains near popular hiking trail in Arizona
PIMA CANYON TRIAL, ARIZONA: After three mountain lions were found feeding on human remains near a popular hiking trail in Arizona, they were shot to death over fears that they had killed the victim and might attack other humans in the future.
Arizona Game and Fish Department said that apart from the wild cats feeding on the human remains at Pima Canyon Trail in the hills north of Tucson, traces of the remains were also found in their droppings. The discoveries led deputies to fatally shoot the animals.
The police are currently trying to determine the cause of death of the victim whose remains were found near the trail.
"We do not believe the lion attacked the individual who died there. An autopsy will tell us more. But our belief is they were eating the human remains after the fact," Game and Fish spokesman Mark Hart told local TV station KGUN9.
Since the lions, located "50 yards from a popular hiking trail and within sight of homes," "repeatedly showed no fear of responding officers" and were found munching on human flesh, it was likely they will start hunting humans in the near future. As a result, they had become a danger to society. "Rarely scavengers, such abnormal behavior made them more likely to attack humans in the future," Game and Fish Department said in a statement.
They had no other choice but to kill the wild cats because relocating them was not an option. "When you move a mountain lion in this part of the world, you're just going to put it into another lion's territory, they're very territorial and will fight to the death over a piece of real estate," Hart said.
However, local residents said that the news might be disturbing but it was not enough to keep them away from the natural places they love.
"The animal activity is nothing new. We see it in the neighborhood all the time. I don't know of anyone or anyone's pet that has actually been harmed by it," Foothills resident Tom Goslin said.