Proceedings of the fifth mountain lion workshop: 27

96 PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTH MOUNTAIN LION WORKSHOP
but less acceptable as incidents grew more severe. Capture and relocation was acceptable to a majority in all situations.
Frightening a mountain lion away with rubber bullets or fireworks was unacceptable to a majority in all situations.
Destroying a mountain lion was highly unacceptable unless a human had been injured or killed. Fifty percent reported that
they would accept destroying a lion that had injured a person, and 60% reported that they would accept destroying a lion that
had killed a person. Individuals sympathetic to the idea that wildlife should have rights similar to the rights of humans were
less likely than others to believe mountain lions pose a real risk to people and less likely to accept hunting or destroying
mountain lions. Results demonstrated that, in dealing with mountain lions at the population level, strategies involving public
hunting were more acceptable than anticipated. Results also highlighted the importance of continued public education.
Public education appears to have increased awareness of how to minimize risk in encounters with mountain lions. Public
education may also widen the range of publicly acceptable options available to wildlife managers by clarifying why capture
and relocation is not always used.