They have such huge territories and are so reclusive under normal conditions that you can go hunting for years in the woods where they live and not see one close up. Now the deer carcasses they leave behind are a different thing, those I see all the time.
They aren't like wolves where they pack hunt and drive game populations way down, as long as they get shot at once in a while to keep their fear of people high they are less trouble for pets and livestock than coyotes since they are better deer hunters. Not that they wont take a doggie snack now and then but problem lions tend to get shot quickly even here in anti- hunting Southern California.
They do get your attention when they scream or particularly if they growl at you but other than that little bit of awareness they are pretty low impact, they do need to be hunted to keep them behaving normally. It is illegal to hunt them in CA but the fish &game hunters kill the same number that used to be killed by hunters without the benefit of way more misses to influence behavior.
