Carnivore Challenge aims to spark renewed interest in vanished predators

Adirondack advocate John Davis works to build visibility for wolves and panthers

By Tim Rowland

The big cats are gone now, but in the 19th century they spent a lot of time in the heads of early Adirondackers—more than 20 mountains and ponds go by the name of Panther, while there are few if any, say, Squirrel Mountains.

Restoring this original fabric of the Adirondack Mountains is one reason, but by far not the only or best one, said John Davis, the Adirondack Council’s advocate for bringing back nature back to its uncultivated state, a practice known as rewilding.

This advocacy is always simmering in the background, but every so often it needs a boost of publicity to claw it back to the forefront of public consciousness, Davis said. So to do that, he is embarking on a Carnivore Challenge, visiting every natural feature with an apex predator in its name, such as the Wolf Jaws, Catamount Mountain and the 20 or more Panther mountains.

“The purpose is just fun—I love hiking and paddling and jumping in wild ponds and so forth,” Davis said. “But it is also motivated by my longtime passion for large carnivores and my desire to see them come home to our region.”

What worked and what didn’t

The Adirondacks are replete with rewilding success stories, including moose and beaver, both of which were hunted out of existence in the park. Some of the stories of panther hunting are particularly cringe-worthy by today’s sensibilities. Historian John Sasso, writing on how Panther Mountain in Chester got its name, found an 1878 news article stating that a local hotel owner had traipsed to the summit and shot a mother panther, returning to his establishment and showing off her two cubs.

Rewilding apex predators has been unsuccessful to date for multiple reasons. It’s conceivable that wolves could make it back on their own due to their relative proximity in Canada, but the nearest panthers are far to the west, and while the males will occasionally wander great distances, the females do not.

Rewilding the big cats would require human help, and this hasn’t been a state priority. “State wildlife departments tend to assume that their goal is largely about maximizing so-called game species, the species that people like to hunt or fish, not so much about preserving and restoring the full range of native biological diversity,” Davis said. “I think that they should see their mandate as just that latter goal, to preserve and restore the full biota—the full range of native biological diversity.”

Changing attitudes

Davis also said he expects there is less opposition to rewilding than the state assumes, particularly as the public becomes more educated. Hunters, for example, have feared panthers will diminish deer herds. But predators seldom tangle with big, healthy trophy bucks prioritized by hunters.

Instead, they cull out the small, weak and diseased, actually improving the vibrancy of the herd. Hunters now understand this, and greater numbers are supporting rewilding, according to polling. Along those lines, hunting itself is an inefficient way of managing deer, which cause outsized ecological problems if their populations are allowed to expand unchecked.

RELATED READING: Environmentalists want lynx, cougars, wolves added to New York’s wildlife action plan

“We’re missing at least two of our keystone species, and I believe that as the climate warms and deer populations swell, our forests will probably suffer more and more from overbrowsing because of the lack of carnivores,” Davis said. “So part of my motivation is to find a way to remind people about the importance of these missing carnivores, and about their beauty as well.”

Too many deer can have devastating effects on species, from wildflowers to the young tree seedlings needed to regenerate the forest.

Addressing concerns

Davis said he’s sympathetic to some of the arguments and obstacles that stand in the way of rewilding. State agencies have tight budgets, farmers fear losing livestock and hikers may have a fear of panthers and wolves that is instinctual and should not be dismissed.

But he said these issues can be addressed. Volunteer rewilding groups can raise funding and help with management. Farmers can be compensated for rare instances of lost livestock—and probably already understand that deer cause more economic damage on their farms than carnivores ever would.

“We should have more predators on the ground than we have names on the map.”

Photo at top: John Davis stands atop Coon Mountain in the Split Rock Wildway in Westport. Explorer file photo by Mike Lynch