Teresa Hart, age 13, of Charlotte, North Carolina, for her question:

 Is the mountain lion becoming extinct?

This handsome fellow is a native American and before the settlers arrived he roamed freely across the land from coast to coast. But the big, golden brown cat was tempted to steal sheep and other domesticated animals. He was hunted down and by 1900 he was gone from most of the eastern states. He still.may be seen once in awhile in remote parts of Florida, Northern New England and Nova Scotia. But. he was destroyed throughout most of his ancient range. He still ranges through the west from Canada. south to Patagonia    but the number of our mountain lions is dwindling year by year.

It is true that the strong, supple cat preys upon domestic animals. But it would be both tragic and stupid to hunt him out of existence. We would weep if the splendid animal became extinct. The world of nature would be faced with a disaster. In the wilds, he helps to keep down the deer population. Without him, there would be too many hungry deer and too little greenery to feed them. So let's hope that sensible people take steps to protect him before it is too late.