Human beings are highly destructive predators. We have devastated the conch population of the West Indian barrier reef region, brought the North American caribou to the verge of extinction, and nearly wiped out the mountain lion native to the hills of Appalachia. Legislation could be enacted to prohibit killing mountain lions, but even if the law could be enforced effectively, the mountain lions would become extinct anyway, and the blame would still be ours.

Which of the following, if true, provides the most logical explanation of the apparent paradox?


A. Hunters throughout the Appalachian region are resentful of what they consider to be government intrusion and will try to circumvent the law.

B. The mountain lion is not really native to the Appalachian region and plays no essential role in the total environment of the area.

C. The problems with the conch population and the North American caribou are quite distinct and cannot usefully be compared with the problem of the mountain lion.

D. Because of increased human populations, mountain lions no longer have the large territories they need to hunt adequate numbers of their prey.

E. The natural evolution of the region, rather than the intrusions of human beings, has been responsible for the decline of the mountain lion population.
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The paradox is that even when legislation takes place (no killing of mountain lions) the mountain lions will come extinct and human beings would be blamed for it.

In other words, human beings are no longer killing mountain lions yet mountain lions are going to extinct (nothing destructive).

Answer choice D