Compassionate Congressman Walden

Editor’s Note: The following piece is part of an ongoing debate in our letters page that started with a column by Jim Anderson (Killer Cat 5-21) about a domestic cat at the High Desert Museum that nabbed a chipmunk in front of patrons.
By Tom Rodhouse
At the risk of fanning the flames here, I cannot sit idly by. By way of reply to an email response from The High Desert Museum to Jim Anderson's "Killer Cat" article last week, I have been compelled to clarify that the cat in question was nowhere near the cabin "scene" but was hunting around the bird feeders at the sitting area above the otter exhibit.
This particular part of the Museum is a wildlife viewing area, not a historical reconstruction. Jim's article, perhaps a result of editing down for word count, failed to mention that the cat actually caught a yellow-pine chipmunk, and was not just stalking it. And it was indeed a chipmunk, not one of the "overrunning" ground squirrels that the Museum complains about. As a wildlife biologist with a life-long fascination with predatory animals, I have to admit I was mighty impressed with the facility this cat exhibited. Honestly, I have never seen such a talented hunter at work before. If it were a bobcat, I'd have chalked it up as one of my life list's top wonderful natural history moments. The cat clearly was a pro working around the feeders and the rocks and log adjacent to the clearing. It did run halfway up a tree after another chipmunk or bird moments after I tried to run it off after its first catch. The cat was serious about its business and clearly had spent time working that particular area over before. Of course at the time I had no idea this was a sanctioned Museum exhibition, and assumed it was one of the many feral cats wreaking havoc on native wildlife in our open lands. I was shocked when I was met with resistance by Museum staff over this issue, and I am amazed at the Museum's continued insistence that the cat is not a detriment.