No, not the kind of Cougar hunt Huan Hsu writes about this week– an actual gun-toting hunt of these furry mountain predators. And here’s the best part, you don’t have to be an expert tracker. All you need is a good dog with a keen sense of smell and the ability to tree the big cat. Hunting cougars with dogs was banned by statewide initiative in 1996, but due to concerns about “public and livestock safety,” the state brought the sport hunt back in 2004.

And lawmakers in Olympia voted last spring to extend the cougar hunt for the 2007-08 season. Permits will be given for five far-flung Northeastern Washington counties only. (Cap Hill kitties battling urban coyotes, you’re still on your own.) Hunters must submit their applications to the state by midnight Sept. 19.Barbaric you say? Well at least they’re not letting hunters bait ‘um too. In Maine, the bear hunt consists of using trash cans of food to draw the unsuspecting, hibernation-prepping animals out of the woods– a practice touchy-feely greenies have been trying to do away with for decades. Sad thing is that the bears’ sweet tooth is their downfall. The most popular bait? Jelly doughnuts.