A county-designated trapper caught a mountain lion Tuesday after
an Aromas rancher reported two steers that were killed the previous
day, the agriculture commissioner said.
A rancher off Anzar Road on Monday discovered two dead steers of
about 450 pounds each. He suspected a mountain lion may have been
responsible and reported it to the agriculture commissioner’s
office.
A county-designated trapper caught a mountain lion Tuesday after an Aromas rancher reported two steers that were killed the previous day, the agriculture commissioner said.
A rancher off Anzar Road on Monday discovered two dead steers of about 450 pounds each. He suspected a mountain lion may have been responsible and reported it to the agriculture commissioner’s office.
On Monday night, a county-hired expert with the U.S. Department of Agriculture put out a trap, and there was a mountain lion in the cage Tuesday morning, said Ron Ross, San Benito County’s agriculture commissioner.
The lion was about 100 pounds and has been euthanized, which is a state requirement when the big cats are captured after such encounters.
That incident followed prior sightings and another reported Aromas livestock kill in July. About two weeks ago, the Aromas Grange even had put out a warning about the sightings in its newsletter, said county Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who represents that area. Locals suspect there is a second lion as well, and have worked at trying to trap that prospective cat, too.
“Aromas is kind of a rural, urban type of community,” Botelho said. “There are a lot of five-acre, one-acre parcels. It’s an area where mountain lions, livestock, people and pets don’t mix well.”
There have been occasional reports from local ranchers of possible cougar attacks – some officials such as Botelho have expressed concern about a growing population and needing a statewide count of the species – but it is uncommon around here to actually capture one in a trap, or large cage that shuts when entered.
“To my knowledge, this is the first time (with a capture) on the San Benito County side of Aromas,” Ross said.
The area where the trapper caught the lion is mostly rural with pockets of residential neighborhoods nearby. The trap was located about 100 yards from a residence, according to officials.
The county board already has sent a resolution to the state requesting an official count of the species and better management with the $10 million allocated annually, through Prop. 117, toward mountain lion preservation.
Botelho said the hope is to push them toward areas “more suitable for mountain lions.”
“Not areas such as an area like Aromas,” he said.
He noted that Monterey County officials also are concerned about the presence of lions and he underscored the importance of the county-hired trapper, funding for which had been in doubt during recent budget talks.
“This really justifies maintaining that trapping program,” Botelho said. “This was a real service to that community to eliminate a very big problem.”
