Mountain lion attacks rare on humans
Vista Park Hill is a hot spot for wildlife. Squirrels climb the
trees around the children’s playground. Brightly-colored Western
tanagers, a bird, stop over on their annual migration. Even feral
cats congregate around the city planning buildings at the peak of
the hill.
Mountain lion attacks rare on humans
Vista Park Hill is a hot spot for wildlife. Squirrels climb the trees around the children’s playground. Brightly-colored Western tanagers, a bird, stop over on their annual migration. Even feral cats congregate around the city planning buildings at the peak of the hill.
But the footprints of a recent visitor caused quite a stir last week. At mid-week, Code Enforcement Office Mike Chambless noticed footprints on the doorstep of building B, the Building Division office. The paws were much larger than the ones left behind by the feral cats and lacked the claw marks that dogs leave behind when they step.
Chambless, a long-time park ranger before he came to Hollister, suspected that the tracks were from a mountain lion and notified the state Department of Fish and Game.
“We had found tracks that could possibly be of a mountain lion,” said Jacob Nicholas, San Benito County’s fish and game warden. “We determine by size and shape. We can determine if it is a dog or a cat because cats can retract their claws to keep them sharp. Dogs can’t.”
The paw prints on the concrete outside the building belonged to a cat.
While mountain lions are not rare in California – or even in San Benito County – it is rare to see one so close to the city.
“I’ve worked up here 16 years and never seen one,” said a planning staff member who asked not to be named.
City staff distributed a Xeroxed brochure with information on mountain lions and what to do during an encounter to city staff members at Vista Park Hill and local residents in the area.
While mountain lions generally hunt deer, they have been known to go after livestock or pets.
“In this situation feral cats were being fed in the area,” Nicholas said. “When feeding those animals and what have you, leaving open food out, brings in other wild life that feeds on that. It’s kind of an open door to having wildlife come into an urban area.”
Humans have rarely been injured by mountain lions in California and when they do encounter them DFG staff suggest that people do not run.
“Face the animal, make noise and try to look bigger by waving your arms; throw rocks or other objects. Pick up small children,” according to the “Keep Me Wild” campaign brochure.
Nicholas stressed that no lion was actually sighted.
“The best thing is that the community is aware and they are aware when they are out recreating or out in rural areas that something like this can be a possibility,” Nicholas said.
Since 1890, only six people in California have been killed during mountain lion attacks, and 10 others were injured, according to statistics on the DFG Web site. It is illegal to kill a mountain lion without a depredation permit, but when a lion is a threat to humans it is killed. Documents from the DFG state that it is dangerous to move a lion that is a threat to humans, and if moved, the animal will not stay if it is another lion’s territory.
In San Benito County, 15 depredation permits have been issued for mountain lions since 1972. Only one lion has been legally killed in that time, in 1990.
“For most people when you actually see a mountain lion, it’s actually a rare thing to see,” Nicholas said. “It’s a lucky thing to actually see them. They are an elusive species that doesn’t really want to be around people.”
Lion-proof the home
There are some things residents can do to discourage mountain lions from entering urban areas or staying off homes in rural areas.
– Don’t feed deer – it’s illegal and can attract mountain lions
– Avoid planting vegetation that deer eat
– Trim brush to reduce places they can hide
– Don’t leave small children or pets outside unattended
– Install motion-sensitive lighting around the house
– Provide sturdy, covered shelters for sheep, goats or other livestock.
– Bring pet food in to avoid attracting animals lions might prey on such as raccoons and opossums.
More information on mountain lions, or living with wildlife, can be found online at www.keepmewild.org or by calling 916-653-6420.
