Blind Cougars

STD's TO BLAME?
Bison vs. Elk
new bureaucrats

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.. Last year we posted a note about Yellowstone Cougars with bubonic plague. Now we note that just a few hundred miles to the east of Yellowstone National Park blind cougars have been found. The cause of the malady may be the STD CHLAMYDIA.
.. Researchers in South Dakota are examining two blind cougars to verify the suspicion that sex causes blindness.
.. Dear Old Dad warned us of a similar human condition.

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.. Bison are competing with elk in a serious way on the National Elk Refuge south of Yellowstone National Park. Biologists are concerned that the range is being hammered beyond repair.
.. There are ". . . way too many bison," according to Doug Brimeyer, wildlife biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in Jackson.
.. An EIS is currently being prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service to examine the situation and hunting as a means of control. An article in the Casper Star Tribune details the current situation.

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Yellowstone National Park has found the resources for two Deputy Superintendents.

<<-- Christine Lehnertz will be D.S. for resource management and business practices.

Colin Campbell will be D.S. for ranger operations and facilities management. -->>

The NPS Press Release details some of their qualifications and backgrounds.

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Yellowstone Cougars Have Plague

A WORD TO THE WISE

.. A note released by NBC, (via Reuters,) lets us know that the cougars of Yellowstone, (and Grand Teton,) have BUBONIC PLAGUE.

"In a little more than a year, four area mountain lions have died from the disease and several domestic cats have tested positive, said Ken Mills, a professor of veterinary sciences who diagnosed the cats’ disease in his University of Wyoming laboratory."

.. We pass this on to those of you intending to pet the big cats that you see hunting in Yellowstone this winter .
.. Here's what to look for and how to look for it.

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... This is probably a good time to direct your attention to an older story by MSNBC about the heavy pressure that our parks are under. The story has a couple of nice (?) slide shows of the problems in our parks.