Over 20 years ago, I was researching how bones are altered over time by predators, scavengers, and weather. This generally is called "taphonomy," and the top laboratory is the Body Farm at the University of Tennessee.
(What this has got to do with hunting and fishing comes next)
I was interested in carcasses in natural settings, and so I needed a source of data.
Enter the UC Berkeley Cooperative Mountain Lion Project, and Duggin Wroe.
Duggin is on the left, and between us is a year old male mountain lion. Most male cubs are chased off by mama lion within six months of weaning. We wanted to tag and collar this lion before he was off on his own. And, mama's radio collar needed a battery change anyway. We tried to limit any interaction with the lions as much as possible. And they rarely saw us more than twice in their lives. I volunteered on the project for a year or so, and in exchange I was allowed to collect deer carcasses that the lions left behind.
We brought the cats down in two ways; snares, or standard hunting with a pack of lion dogs. When we used the snares, the tranquilizer was administered with a 10 foot jabstick. This was a bit tricky since the snare line was 10 feet long as well. One of us (me) would work right to the edge of the cat's reach and keep their attention focused while the other (Duggin) would sneak up and jab the cat with the hypodermic. Imagine getting a shot with the nurse across the room. Duggin would have to cross ten feet before a very angry lion could turn and cover twenty. A slip would be a very bad idea.
Some results from my 'sub-project' are on my website Stones and Bones