Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Lions

I was watching one of those "America's most watched video shows" and this guy covered himself in deer urine and even put some in his mouth. He then proceeded to be stomped vigorously by a very large deer. What was he thinking? Thats about as stupid as rubbing your body in bacon grease before you slip into your sleeping bag at night. It had to be one of the funniest video clips I had ever seen. I'm sure that I was not the only one to see this. It was on many times and every time it was equally funny.

JJBB

Study finds mountain lions lurk closer to humans than previously thought.

The Associated Press
Last Updated 9:49 a.m. PST Sunday, January 18, 2004

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (AP) - A three-year study of 20 mountain lions has found they hide near wilderness trails and are closer to humans than previously thought.
"You can be very close to a lion and not know it," said Walter Boyce, a professor who directed the study by the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center.

Scientists studied mountain lions and their contacts with people at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park in San Diego County and the surrounding area. Fifteen of the animals were anesthetized and collared with radios that tracked their movements.

The study, which ended Dec. 31, found that mountain lions typically conceal themselves during the day in dense vegetation about 100 to 300 meters from a trail and move closer in the afternoon. They begin hunting about dusk and continue looking for food into early dawn.

Humans are most at risk during the period when cougars are hunting, Boyce said.

The study's conclusions, however, do not fit with the time of day earlier this month when a mountain lion attacked and killed Mark Reynolds, 35, at Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in Orange County. Officials believe Reynolds was attacked about noon by a 110-pound male mountain lion that pounced on him while he was fixing a broken chain on his mountain bike.

The mountain lion that killed Reynolds on Jan. 8 is believed to be the same one that later attacked cyclist Anne Hjelle, who was released Friday from a Mission Viejo hospital.

Despite the recent attacks, the study done for the state Department of Parks and Recreation confirmed that encounters between mountain lions and people are rare. Before the maulings of Reynolds and Hjelle, there had been about a dozen recorded attacks on humans in California since 1890, resulting in five deaths.

Lion attack history for California

1890- Death, Siskyou County

1891-1908- Zero known attacks

1909- 2 deaths by same lion
Santa Clara County

1910-1985 Zero known attacks

1986- 2 attacks in Orange County

1987-1991 Zero known attacks

1992- 1 attack at Gaviota State Park

1993- 1 attack in Los Padres NF
1 attack Cuyamaca State Park

1994- 1 death American River Canyon N Cal
1 attack Mendicino County
1 death Cuyamaca State Park

1995 1 attack Angeles Crest, Mt Lowe

1996-2003 Zero attacks

2004 1 death
1 attack both by same Lion in
Orange County

If you're interested in this topic you might like to see this upcoming show:

Mountain Lion: An American Hunter - The cougar is the most successful large predator in the Western Hemisphere.

I haven't seen it yet, obviously, but my <a href="http://www.tivo.com/1.0.asp">TiVo</a> suggested it for me. It'll be on the Discovery channel Jan. 24th at 11:00am PST, check your listings.

(Forgive the off-topic, but...) Ditto! About three years ago I told my wife we had to have one of these and she was unsure. Within a day of getting it, she was a convert.

I tell people: I no longer know or care what time or channel anything that I'm interested in watching is on. Tivo just takes care of it.

Once you have one, you will never be able to go back to watching "regular" television again.

Mountain lion sightings increase in South Bay

The Associated Press
Last Updated 5:41 a.m. PST Sunday, February 1, 2004

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Mountain lion sightings are on the increase in the San Francisco Bay Area's South Bay suburbs, but the increase may reflect human awareness rather than the presence of more cats.
In the past few weeks, mountain lions have been spotted in urban-rural fringe areas around Gilroy, Los Gatos and elsewhere. The latest sighting was Tuesday at a Santa Clara Valley Water District treatment plant in Los Gatos.

But experts say one reason may be that people are more aware of mountain lions since a cat attacked bicyclists in Orange County Jan. 8.

"Cats have been reported in this area the last four or five years," said Mike Phillips, a wildlife specialist with the Santa Clara County Vector Control District. "It's just that people are more keen to look now."

Phillips also noted that as the Bay Area expands, more homes are being built in foothill areas where mountain lions already lived.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District has posted warning signs about the cats along some trails.

Kind of a sad story.Will this be the eventual fate of all animals driven from their homes by human enchroachment?

Deputies shoot, kill mountain lion near elementary school

The Associated Press
Last Updated 10:35 a.m. PST Saturday, February 28, 2004

EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) - Sheriff's deputies shot and killed a mountain lion near an elementary school Friday after a golfer reported being stalked by the animal.
The incident began about 9 a.m. when the golfer heard a rustling in bushes behind him and came face-to-face with a mountain lion four feet away, said sheriff's Sgt. Peggy Frailey.


Three deputies kept the animal contained in the brush until officers from the state Department of Fish and Game arrived about an hour later and advised deputies to shoot and kill the animal, said Lt. Mike Ference of the state agency.

The incident took place close to several schools, including Jamacha Elementary School, about 500 yards away.

The male lion, between ages 1 and 1 1/2 years old, weighed about 50 pounds and showed no outward signs of rabies or other diseases, Ference said.

There were signs the lion had not eaten in many days, leading authorities to believe it may have been driven from its normal range by the October wildfires and was starving. Officials will know more when a necropsy is performed next week, Ference said.

Authorities considered tranquilizing the mountain lion, but that was ruled out because it was believed the mountain lion would have returned to the area he considered his territory.

The incident occurred about six weeks after a 35-year-old bicyclist, Mark Jeffrey Reynolds, was killed and a female cyclist was badly mauled by a mountain lion in the Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in Orange County. That 110-pound cat was killed near where Reynolds' partially buried body was found.