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Mountain Lions Remain a Concern for Residents
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From: Crestline Courier News (California), December 30, 2004
'Living with Lions' provides communities the tools to coexist with their lions living nearby.
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By Joan Moseley
Within the past few months a few mountain lion sighting have been reported in local mountain communities which isn't surprising as all of Southern California's forests are native to the large cat. And as Southern California housing continues to infringe on their native territory more sightings are bound to occur, Michelle Cullens and Krista Mann from the Mountain Lion Foundation in Sacramento told members of the Save Our Forest Association and other interested residents during a fascinating presentation last fall.
ATTACKS ARE RARE
Although attacks by mountain lions are rare they do occur, sometimes with deadly consequences as in last year's fatal attack of a lone bicyclist in Orange County.
According to Mann and Cullens, living with mountain lions and learning to adjust to being in "their territory" is necessary in order to live as peaceably as possible with wildlife that has lived in and survived in native areas throughout the state for thousands of years. People must learn to take responsibility for protecting themselves, their pets and livestock if they live in or visit mountainous or other rural areas.
Cullens called the mountain lion "America's Lion" but it is also known as the puma, cougar or panther.
Unlike African lions, mountain lions do not live in prides; they are solitary animals. Their coat is generally tawny-colored and they have black tipped ears and a tail which is used for balance. Adult males may be as long as eight feet and they can weigh from 130 to 150 pounds.
Adult females can be seven feet long and weigh 65 to 90 pounds. The swift cheetah is also part of the mountain lion lineage and these animals used to roam the plains in both North and South America, all at about the same time as the wooly mammoths and the saber-tooth tiger.
All the rest of the cats died out but somehow mountain lions adapted to the changes and have survived. Because of their strength mountain lions can jump a vertical distance of up to 15 feet and a horizontal distance of 40 feet.
MOUNTAIN LIONS ARE MEAT EATERS
Mountain lions eat only meat such as deer, rabbits, birds, raccoons or larger prey if available, such as moose, beaver, bears and bighorn sheep. Because their daytime eyesight is poor they may not be able to distinguish someone's pet cat or dog, chickens, goats or turkeys for their native prey. Mountain lions historically are on the prowl for food early in the morning or at dusk and their nighttime vision is outstanding.
As civilization has encroached on their territory thousands of mountain lions have been killed and Cullens believes this occurs due to misconceptions humans have about the mountain lion and their often unwillingness to take simple measures to protect themselves and help save the mountain lions.
For instance, the resident who allows trash to build up or who leaves food outside their home for the "raccoons" or other wildlife is actually "inviting" larger prey animals to their home to feed on the smaller ones the resident is trying to "help."
Small bears may visit the site to rummage for garbage or for the raccoons or deer that are attracted to the smell of food. These smaller animals, in turn, are prey for mountain lions. "Keep horses in a barn and keep pets inside. If a mountain lion doesn't find a good source of food it won't stay," said Cullens.
Somewhere in the United States a lion is killed every 12 minutes, many of them because they have eaten pets or livestock that weren't properly fenced in.
In 2001, 149 mountain lions were killed in California alone for killing pets or livestock that weren't properly secured in mountain lion-proof enclosures. While it is against the law to hunt for mountain lions they must be destroyed if they have killed an animal on private property. Whatever county the property is located in must pay to have a professional come out and kill the animal, something that can cost up to $500.
LIFE CYCLE
Cullens believes many of the problems that occur between cougars/mountain lions and humans are due to the various stages mountain lions go through during their life cycle. Cullens said 50 percent of lion babies die and within the first two years another 25 percent are lost. Babies are born any time of year and usually the mother has one to four kittens.
The cubs are born blind and helpless but by 3 months they are weaned and begin to move their den from place to place. By 6 to 18 months the cubs look like small lions and their spots are disappearing. It's during this time the cubs learn to hunt and use their entire territory hunting for food and shelter.
At this point their muscles are strong and the mother teaches them how to bring down fully-grown deer. The cubs learn to hide until they see prey and they grab it as it goes by, inflicting many bites to the neck that almost always kills the prey instantly. They learn their lessons well and become stealth hunters. Old age is a difficult time for mountain lions because their teeth and bones are deteriorating and they may find it more difficult to find prey.
Attempting to remove mountain lions from their native territory is all but impossible.
A full-grown mountain lion's native area may be as much as 200 square miles and he does not tolerate any other male in his territory. Mountain lions do not "acknowledge" the restraints put on them by humans so if fish and game officials try to remove them to another area this doesn't work.
They often try to return to their original territory or they get killed by another mountain lion whose territory they've now been forced to enter. Many other mountain lions are killed by poachers, trappers, hunters and also become road kill.
POPULATION GROWTH
"We are coming into more problems now because there are so many more people in Southern California," said Cullen. According to information from the Mountain Lion Foundation, "Encounters with cougars are rare and the risk of injury or death from an attack is infinitely small. In fact, your chances of being attacked or killed by a domestic dog are much, much greater.
Department of Fish and Game statistics show that, in the last 20 years, hunting accidents killed more than 85 Californians and injured 700. In the last 100 years, only 13 fatal cougar attacks occurred on the entire North American continent."
WHAT TO DO
If people are confronted by a mountain lion, turning and running is by far the worst thing they can do, said Cullens.
Because the animals are capable of running 45 mph for short distances people have no chance to get away. Turning your back on a lion is always a bad idea because, by their nature, the large cat will disable its prey by leaping on its back, going directly for the spine. If approached, people should stand upright, face the mountain lion/cougar, make eye contact (if possible), wave their arms or a jacket, make loud noises and shout "Go away."
If available, people should hold something in front of them like a branch, a bicycle or other equipment they may have, even a backpack. The idea, Cullens said, is to look more like a grizzly bear than a deer. If small children are near pick them up and put them on the adult's shoulders without running to get them or bending down too much. By adding the children on shoulders it makes the adults look larger and it can provide some protection for little ones.
Although the possibility of being attacked is very small, if it happens Cullens said people stand the best chance of living if they fight back because deer and other natural prey don't resist.
People should wear colored clothing if they're going hiking, bicycling or recreating in rural areas. Never wear tan clothing because the lion's primary prey - deer - is often that color and they may not be able to distinguish a human in tan clothing from a large deer. Cullens suggests people wear black and white when entering a forest or other rural area where mountain lions might be living.
"I have an agenda," Cullens concluded, "to instill a sense of responsibility for personal behavior in people."
For information on the Mountain Lion Foundation call (916) 442-2666 or log onto website: www.mountainlion.org.