Mountain Lions in residential areas?

[BalanceSeeker]

We live in the desert, and although my area is well developed, we are surrounded by preserve. Lots of wildlife which is great on the one hand...

 

The one I'm bothered by is the mountain lion. I've never heard of an attack in my area, but they are here. I was out running and came upon one not 20 feet away. I've never seen a cat that big! It didn't see me and turned around and ran back toward the preserve it probably came from. Now when my kids go out to play, I get sick to my stomach thinking about it. I don't know if they are a huge threat or not, but I am assuming so. It's not like you can out run them, so you would have to slow them down somehow. What would be a good idea to have close by? A bottle of pepper spray? I asked a ranger at the local preserve and they said to get as far away as possible....but I'm wondering what would we do if they are IN our yard? My co-worker had one jump her fence and sat in her backyard for a while before it left on its own.

 

The rattlesnakes are bad enough (my dog was bitten once), the scorpions are a nuisance but we can tolerate them, the coyotes are fine...but the mountain lions really worry me. Anyone knowlegeable about these animals?

[King Alfred Academy]

No IRL experience, but if you were to come in contact with one, I was told to make yourself look threatening. Make yourself appear as big as possible, yell, and throw rocks. At least, this is what I have been told.

[Orthodox6]

Although this idea does not address the "up close and personal" situation with a mountain lion, could your neighborhood develop a "phone tree" for when a dangerous animal is spotted?

 

When I was a little girl in suburban Houston, we sometimes had bobcats turn up in the neighborhood. (Sounds like I'm pulling your all's legs, but it was true !) If one was spotted, phones started ringing, with neighbors calling all over, to alert parents.

[Jorsay]

It is very unlikely that you came within 20 feet of a wild mountain lion and he didn't see you. More likely he wasn't hungry and had already assessed that you weren't much of a threat. If he is hungry and he decides that you are food, you won't see him until he attacks. If you come upon one, quitely back away. (Oops, I just read the brochure from the website below and it says to make noise, look big, and throw rocks. I suggest you read the brochure rather than take my advice.) If you run, you may trigger him to attack. Don't let your kids or pets out at dawn, dusk, or night. Attacks on humans are very rare - 16 or so in 100 years.

 

http://tchester.org/sgm/lists/lion_attacks_ca.html "This page is a complete list of all attacks that involve physical contact by mountain lions on people in California through 26 January 2007."

 

 

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/lion/lion_faq.html

If I live in mountain lion habitat, how concerned should I be for my safety?

Statistically speaking, a person is one thousand times more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a mountain lion. That said, mountain lions are wild animals and, like any wildlife, can be dangerous. People who live in mountain lion habitat can take precautions to reduce their risk of encountering a mountain lion. By deer-proofing the landscape, homeowners can avoid attracting a lion’s main food source. Removing dense vegetation from around the home and installing outdoor lighting will make it difficult for mountain lions to approach unseen.

Are mountain lion attacks on humans common?

Mountain lion attacks on humans are rare. There have been only 16 verified mountain lion attacks on humans in California since 1890, six of them fatal. The last documented attack occurred in January, 2007, in Humboldt County.

Edited June 4, 2009 by Jorsay

[BalanceSeeker]

Thanks for the replies.

 

It was, indeed, a mountain lion, and he was most definitely within 20 feet of me. He had his paws up on a fence where a dog was barking and then he turned and ran away. He didn't see me because he was distracted by the dog.

 

Thanks for the info.

[Carol in Cal.]

They are a real danger, but a very rare one. During the last few years, I think that about 6 of them have been found in residential areas around here. One attacked someone's small animals right in their yard, I think two nights in a row. Two were spotted in trees near widely separated schools in residential, suburban areas. Two were found in big local parks. And I think there was another incident, but I don't remember for sure. I saw a freshly killed deer uncomfortably close to civilization in another big park--clearly had been killed by something very large. Those cats are BIG, and very strong.

 

I have read that they are also very territorial, so when babies grow up somewhere, they have to move away and establish their own territories elsewhere. That's why they spread so much. The good side of that is that if one is spotted, it usually doesn't mean that there are more in the area.

 

In Southern CA a few years ago, one killed a bicyclist who was riding on a commonly used trail in a wild-ish park. He was alone at the time, but it appears that he was bent over repairing a tire when he was attacked. The lion who killed him was later caught when she attacked another women a day or two later--thankfully the woman had companions with her who beat on the lion's head and tried to pull the woman's head back from her mouth and didn't let the lion drag her away. Then the lion ran away to the prior kill, which she had hidden; and that's how they found his body. This was shortly after some big wild fires, and most experts thought that she was out of her normal range, and sick or starving or something, and acting uncharacteristically bold and aggressive.

 

What I have heard is that they like to jump down on their prey from above and behind, and grab them by the back of the neck, and pull their head around very quickly from the momentum, breaking their neck and killing them very quickly. Simultaneously they often claw at the mid-section with their really long, sharp back claws. So some hikers and mountain bikers wear halloween masks on the backs of their necks, to make it seem like their back is their front, in hope that it would confuse a mountain lion.

 

The advice I have always heard is fight them but don't run. Face them, and try to look really big, waving your arms and yelling threateningly but not in fear (hard to imagine the whole 'not in fear' thing in my case, though, so I would probably stay quiet.)

 

I think that you're being careful about this is wise. These cats prefer to attack medium sized animals, so household dogs are prey for them, as children could be. And they teach their young what to hunt and eat, so as they become habituated to humans, there will probably be more attacks on people.

[Karen sn]

 

The rattlesnakes are bad enough (my dog was bitten once), the scorpions are a nuisance but we can tolerate them, the coyotes are fine...but the mountain lions really worry me. Anyone knowlegeable about these animals?

 

That made me chuckle to myself.

I have no advice.

I do know that my sister (in Colorado) took down her pool because it was attracting deer and cats. I guess in dry areas they are drawn to water.

[DawnM]

The first house we ever bought backed up to the mountains in Pasadena (Altadena), CA. We had the mountains behind us and the LA wash basin on the side of us. It was very private and we loved it (still miss that house!)

 

We had coyote, bobcats, and snakes in the washbasin and I was always worried about mountain lions.

 

Well, after we moved, the guy who bought our house told us that a mountain lion DID come, cleared the 4' fence in the yard, grabbed his 45 pound dog by the throat, and cleared the fence again with his dog in it's mouth!

 

That was the same lion that was later killed for going in to a house through a sliding glass door.....

 

So, yes, they can.

 

Dawn

[Faithseed]

When we first moved into one of our houses, several years ago, we saw a mountain lion. My husband, myself, and my two older children (7 and 6 at the time) were outside. Movement caught my eye, and when I glanced over, I first saw the giant paw. He/she was partially hidden my a tree and undergrowth, but I also saw the tail. It was about 20 yards away. He moved, and I got a look at his head, but not his eyes. I absolutely panicked, raced away from the cat, grabbed my children, and literally dragged them into the house. Basically, I did everything that you shouldn't do :001_huh: It was around 1pm. Full light. At the time, that thought alone freaked me out, but I've since found out that they are not as nocturnal as other cats, so seeing them during the day is perfectly normal.

 

We educated ourselves a bit more after that. We never saw the cat again, although we did see its tracks around the pound on occasion. Every time I think about it, my blood runs cold. I even refused to visit the mountain lions at the zoo!

 

The children were pretty traumatized by their mother's reaction. They never saw the cat. They had a healthy fear of the woods for some time after that, but in time decided that they would still enjoy themselves outside.

 

Arm yourself with info (and anything else you may need! :lol:), but living in fear just isn't worth it.

 

**shiver** :grouphug:

Edited June 4, 2009 by Faithseed
trying to spell

[Remudamom]

They're a nuisance. We've got one. Lots of mysteriously disappearing dogs, and a horse was torn up not far from here. When it's spotted a lot we don't ride in the woods.

[BikeBookBread]

While commuting by bicycle to work last fall, my husband found a dead mountain lion right on the shoulder of the road in very urban downtown Almost Mexico.

[MBM]

We live about 17 miles north of Chicago in a densely-populated suburb and have had two. One of them moved on to Chicago and had to be shot because he was near a school. The other moves up and down along the Des Plaines River where a bike path runs. You won't catch me out there!

[....]

I don't like to spread panic, but definitely be careful with your kids playing outside alone. I (have degree in Biology) did watch a documentary of an attack on a small boy in broad daylight in a situation where the people didn't even know the cat was there. It appeared out of nowhere and went after the kid (maybe lighter prey?). Also, there was a famous attack in CA in '07 (? I think it was '07).

 

I know your Angst. Here in Missouri, we have coyotes, killer spiders and bears... :cheers2:

[mcconnellboys]

Well, I've read quite a bit about them in recent years as they seem to be infiltrating back into my part of the country, too, just as coyotes did a few years ago. They are top level predators. When they pick out prey, they go after it with a vengeance. I've read repeatedly that running or playing dead (as with bears) won't work at all. If you hope to survive an attack, you must fight for all you're worth. I really don't want to scare you but I do think you need to obtain more info from officials in your area, obtain data on any attacks (where, when, how many over what span of time), etc. Also, if it's a bad year and game is scarce, then you need to be even more on guard. If there's any indication that pets around you are disappearing mysteriously, or if pets act strangely, or if you find large spoor around your home, etc., then you need to be on high alert.

[Mommyof4ks]

I guess it depends on how many there are and what they have to eat. We have a couple of them in our area, but we also have TONS of deer. They stick to deer around here, but they are spotted by people fairly often.