Trends in California Mountain Lion Encounters

[Lawdog]

2005, so far(got this from a state biologist friend)
Total Wildlife Incident Reports filed statewide: well over 400 as of May15th.

2004
Total Wildlife Incident Reports filed statewide: 674

2003
Total Wildlife Incident Reports filed statewide: 419

2002
Total Wildlife Incident Reports filed statewide: 443

2001
Total Wildlife Incident Reports filed statewide: 456

Do you see a pattern developing?  Lawdog
 

[wolfsong]

Yep - too damn many of em! Big cats are about the only creature in the Sierras that spook me. Them and all the reckless hunters, especially the ones that are too cheap and/or ignorant to buy binos and instead use their rifle scopes to see if I am a deer or not. Said scope is always attached to a high-powered rifle. Some serious bear huntin buddies of mine treed three cats on Crocker Ridge in a five mile stretch just two days before the big storm drove all those big bucks out of Yosemite last year. Saw the pictures and "other proof" of them cats. That's three in five miles-so much for F & G's 100 square mile territory thing. I never venture into the Sierras without a .40 pistol cocked and locked just in case I see a putty tat! Cause if you see em, he's waaaay too close!      Wolfsong

[Turtle]

Sounds like a similar conversation I was having with someone that just moved here from CA.  He didn't see the problem and actually told me that "people should stay out of the woods...it's for the animals and that if people stayed away we wouldn't have attacks and these problems".  We went round and round and I finally told him we just need to realize that we are not gonna see eye to eye on this issue.

Anyway, just last week, in my brothers tree, were two small mountain lions.  Now this is in the middle of a big city along a main road.  They called the DOW and they came and tranquilized them to take them back to the hills.  No word on their momma.  Probably a few small dogs missing too.

[Lawdog]

Sounds like a similar conversation I was having with someone that just moved here from CA.  He didn't see the problem and actually told me that "people should stay out of the woods...it's for the animals and that if people stayed away we wouldn't have attacks and these problems".  We went round and round and I finally told him we just need to realize that we are not gonna see eye to eye on this issue.

Anyway, just last week, in my brothers tree, were two small mountain lions.  Now this is in the middle of a big city along a main road.  They called the DOW and they came and tranquilized them to take them back to the hills.  No word on their momma.  Probably a few small dogs missing too.

What your friend doesn't realize is these "Incident Reports" mainly come from the cities/suburbs.  On the news last night one was spotted on top of a child’s slide in a neighborhood park in Concord(Bay Area).  Your friend hasn’t got a clue.  Lawdog
 

[wolfsong]

About those clueless people that say we shouldn't be in the woods, that the woods belong to the animals. where did we live before we built cities and towns? Are we not animals also? Are we not natural and of this earth? Are these Godless and clueless drones, or what? Have they not read their bible? Isuppose we should stay out of the cities too, so that we don't get shot by the gang-bangers, after all, don't the cities belong to them? How dare we complain about crime-the criminals have to live somewhere, too. I suggest that the tree hugging, p.e.t.a. supporting, liberals should all live in France. Or Canada, I don't care which. Ah, I'm too pi@$ed to go on. Peace and God bless, Wolfsong

[crow_feather]

All you gentlemen are so wrong!

People can live with mountain lions, and have no problems.

All you gotta do is put big fences around all the schools, churches, houses, gas stations, resturants, grocery stores, etc.  You know - anywhere there are people.  Sorta like a zoo....................

[Rogue Ram]

Living in the NW most of my life, I went what, nearly 35 years without seeing  so much as a cat track. Then, the liberals banned hound hunting for lions.

Since they banned hound hunting, here's my score card:

1996: 80+ mph police car vs. one lion caught in the headlights= :shock: Last time I felt him was under the floor board of my Caprice classic...

1997: numerous elk/deer kills by cats seen during elk season
1998: more cat kills during deer season.
2000: Partners girlfriend turns delinquent kid loose during deer season.. "hey look what I found!"   :eek:   :eek:  He brought a LIVE lion kitten back to camp!!!  Delinquent found 5 kittens, the 4 smart ones ran up a tree, the dumb one went in a log...and got bopped on the head. All this while the mother was watching him.... both kids said she "looked about the size of a doe but with a head the size of a basketball and was all fuzzed up growling"  :eek:  Cat went to a rehab center, probably still there. (Delinquent has gone to jail many times, too bad the momma cat didn't do us all a favor).
2002: Lion the size of a great dane jumps in front of me on I-5 at the Mt. Ashland summit....ONE(!) bound from side of freeway to middle of lanes then another to the median, one more to middle of other set of lanes, then one OVER the guard rail!
2004:In laws see cat on their property....major metro area
2004: In-laws neighbors finally kills one eating his livestock, this in a major metro area!

Lions crawling all over the place in our cities here now, including one in a 13 acre city park.  I'm beginning to rethink tent camping........

RR

[Lawdog]

All you gentlemen are so wrong!

People can live with mountain lions, and have no problems.

All you gotta do is put big fences around all the schools, churches, houses, gas stations, resturants, grocery stores, etc.  You know - anywhere there are people.  Sorta like a zoo....................

Fences aren't the answer either.  The Oakland Zoo has some very tall fences around their animal enclosures and their Mountain Lion exhibit numbers increased by one when one Mountain Lion from outside climbed over the fence to join the others inside.  He(found out during a medical exam) has left and returned but the other lions inside haven’t followed him on one of his sojourns outside, YET.     Lawdog
 

[IntrepidWizard]

I kill them and don't report the kill anymore,used to call F&G but the hassle was not worth it,I mean there is a dead calf and and dead Lion and I shot it and called and you all the pics and ask was it necessary,Screw um.

[wolfsong]

Isn't that the three S's? Shoot, shovel and shut up? That's what the ranchers that I grew up with practiced. Worked back then... Wolfsong

[Rogue Ram]

Its AMAZING how the media keeps lion encounters quiet. We hear about them word of mouth, through Fish n Wildlife, or other sources, but rarely does the media say anything.   Couple years ago in Oregon a pair of bow hunters were stalked by 2 cats. As I recall they flung all their arrows, and didn't hit a thing. This was reported in the biggest rag in the State. What followed was a barrage of bull$hit of the highest order in the form of letters to the editor, usually along the lines of "you're a hunter you took that chance when you went outdoors"  or "you're gonna hunt and eat them why shouldn't they do the same to you".  Well, Oregon got challenged to the "you can't carry a gun during big game seasons unless you have a tag" rule, and now the ball game has changed. You CAN carry whatever you want, whenever you want, and that means a handgun during bow season.

Here kitty kitty.........

RR

[Lawdog]

Its AMAZING how the media keeps lion encounters quiet. We hear about them word of mouth, through Fish n Wildlife, or other sources, but rarely does the media say anything.   Couple years ago in Oregon a pair of bow hunters were stalked by 2 cats. As I recall they flung all their arrows, and didn't hit a thing. This was reported in the biggest rag in the State. What followed was a barrage of bull$hit of the highest order in the form of letters to the editor, usually along the lines of "you're a hunter you took that chance when you went outdoors"  or "you're gonna hunt and eat them why shouldn't they do the same to you".  Well, Oregon got challenged to the "you can't carry a gun during big game seasons unless you have a tag" rule, and now the ball game has changed. You CAN carry whatever you want, whenever you want, and that means a handgun during bow season.

Here kitty kitty.........

RR

The newspapers stick the reports on the inside of the back page, news channels on the TV keep it to a 15 - 30 second fill in blurb unless someone ends up bleeding or worse.  One of my favorite ponds to fish for Bass has three different Mountain Lions that visit the pond.  One is a HUGH Tom that show no sign of being afraid of man.  I pulled up within 20 feet of it and all it did was to bare it’s teeth and lay back it’s ears.  Now one of my main fishing accessories is a .357 or .44 mag. on my hip.  Lawdog
 

[lewdogg21]

Fences aren't the answer either.  The Oakland Zoo has some very tall fences around their animal enclosures and their Mountain Lion exhibit numbers increased by one when one Mountain Lion from outside climbed over the fence to join the others inside.  He(found out during a medical exam) has left and returned but the other lions inside haven’t followed him on one of his sojourns outside, YET.     Lawdog
 

Lawdog, You have a link to that story?  I live in Sacramento and NEVER heard anything about it.  When I'm deer hunting I keep my eyes peeled.  If an accidental gun discharge occurs so be it.

[Lawdog]

Fences aren't the answer either.  The Oakland Zoo has some very tall fences around their animal enclosures and their Mountain Lion exhibit numbers increased by one when one Mountain Lion from outside climbed over the fence to join the others inside.  He(found out during a medical exam) has left and returned but the other lions inside haven’t followed him on one of his sojourns outside, YET.     Lawdog
 

Lawdog, You have a link to that story?  I live in Sacramento and NEVER heard anything about it.  When I'm deer hunting I keep my eyes peeled.  If an accidental gun discharge occurs so be it.

Sorry but it was on Channel 2 Morning News a couple of years ago.  Lawdog