Can mountain lions save Utah's deer from chronic wasting disease?

Last year, Utah legalized unlimited, year-round hunting of mountain lions. Some argue that mountain lion numbers need to come down in order to help the state's dwindling deer population, despite no evidence to support this correlation. In fact, wildlife biologist Jim Keen recently published a paper arguing the opposite — that a healthy predator population is necessary to help deer numbers, especially if those deer are suffering from disease. - Show Notes - • Utah just legalized unlimited mountain lion hunting. What does that mean for the state's cougars? https://soundcloud.com/user-452372146-352514478/friday-may-19-2023 • Wildlife advocates sue the state of Utah over changes to mountain lion hunting https://soundcloud.com/user-452372146-352514478/wildlife-advocates-sue-the-state-of-utah-over-changes-to-mountain-lion-hunting-laws • Big cats as nature's check against disease, by Jim Keen https://catsarenttrophies.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Natures-Check-Against-Disease-Report-08-21-24.pdf?ms=EM_NBI_AWA_20240827_FR_CWD_0_3MO_WaynePacelle_NA_NA_CWD&emci=1473c15a-9764-ef11-991a-6045bdd9e096&emdi=1490e0f0-ad64-ef11-991a-6045bdd9e096&ceid=11359917 • Photo: Weight loss is a main symptom of chronic wasting disease, as seen in this deer. Photo courtesy of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.