Mann is hardly alone here. Among hunters and wardens I've spoken with over the years, there is a general opinion that the Department of Fish and Game should treat mountain lions as a game animal instead of a protected species.

On a recent pig hunt near Auberry, Mann used his grunt tube to call in a boar. Instead, a 7-foot long mountain lion came over to investigate.

Even though the cat stayed 25 yards away, Mann still found the experience "a little bit unnerving."

"They're a detriment to the deer population," he says. "No question."

Clu Cotter, a DFG wildlife biologist who studies deer in Zone D-7, has a different view.

Cotter says deer and mountain lions have evolved together, so any predation is natural. And there aren't enough lions to make a dent.

"The deer herd is too large for mountain lions to suppress their population," Cotter says.

Instead, Cotter blames the poor health of local deer herds on an unknown virus that has spread southward in recent years.

Also, without regular fires (a natural occurrence, lest we forget) to regenerate the forest, there are acres and acres of overgrown brush in D-7. And deer can't survive on that.

Here's the raw data, taken from DFG hunter surveys:

In 2008, hunter success rates in D-7 were 4.0% (reported) and 6.2% (estimated). In D-6, mostly Mariposa County, it's 5.7% (reported) and 8.6% (estimated). In D-8, mostly Tulare County, it's 4.7% (reported) and 7.3% (estimated).

Statewide, deer hunters had a success rate of 8.8% (reported) and 16.2% (estimated). (The DFG provides two sets of data because it knows not all deer kills are reported.)

What's your opinion? Why are success rates so low in our neck of the woods?