44670
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Mountain lion kills man in Northern California for first time in 30 ye
URL: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/mountain-lion-kills-man-northern-california-19365657.php
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Mountain lion kills man in Northern California for first time in 30 years By Katie DowdMarch 24, 2024 A file photo of a mountain lion in California. moose henderson/Getty Images/iStockphoto For the first time in 30 years, someone has been killed by a mountain lion in Northern California. According to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, dispatchers received a desperate 911 call around 1:15 p.m. Saturday from Darling Ridge and Skid roads in a rural part of the county about 30 minutes north of Placerville. The caller was an 18-year-old who said he and his older brother had just been attacked by a mountain lion. During the fight for their lives, the two brothers were separated, and the young man wasn't sure where his 21-year-old brother was. Shortly after 1:30 p.m., help arrived. Paramedics discovered the younger brother with "traumatic injuries to his face" and began giving him medical attention. Sheriff's office deputies started looking for the missing brother. About 15 minutes into the search, they encountered a "crouched mountain lion next to a subject on the ground." They fired their guns to scare the animal off and rushed to help the man, but he was already dead. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the last verified deadly mountain lion encounter in Northern California was three decades ago. In April 1994, Barbara Schoener, 40, was jogging on a trail near the town of Cool in El Dorado County when a mountain lion jumped on her from behind. Evidence gathered by investigators indicated that the animal dragged Schoener downhill and covered her body with leaves, initially causing detectives to think she had been killed by a person. An autopsy showed she was bitten on the head and neck, suffering a fatal skull injury. At the time of her death, the Sacramento Bee reported it was the first deadly mountain lion attack in the state since 1909. More recently, a man was killed by a mountain lion in Orange County in Jan. 2004. The 35-year-old was biking in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park when he stopped to fix a broken bike chain. As he crouched down, investigators believe a mountain lion pounced on him, killing him in an ensuing struggle. Not long after, the same mountain lion attacked a 30-year-old woman biking through the area, grabbing her head in its jaws before other cyclists were able to fight off the animal and rescue the woman. The woman survived. Although there are thousands of mountain lions in California, they're rarely seen by humans. "They are reclusive and solitary animals, mostly avoiding people when possible," CDFW says on its website. "A person is one thousand times more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a mountain lion," the agency adds. About 50 verified attacks have been recorded by CDFW since 1890. Six of them were fatal; if verified, Saturday's would be the seventh. According to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, the mountain lion that attacked the two brothers was located and "dispatched." Following the mountain lion attack today, Sat., March 23, 2024, in Georgetown, California, a mountain lion was euthanized near the scene of the attack. The mountain lion has been sent to the CDFW forensics laboratory to obtain DNA information and general health of the lion. — California Department of Fish and Wildlife (@CaliforniaDFW) March 24, 2024 CDFW recommends people do not hike, bike or jog alone or at dawn, dusk or nighttime. Crouching should also be avoided, as this may mimic four-legged animals that are more common prey for cougars. Should you encounter a mountain lion, never run away, as this may trigger its instinct to chase. “Face the animal, make loud noise and try to look bigger,” CDFW recommends. |
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44683
From: sher, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man in Northern California for first time in...
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When we lived on a ranch near Ft Tejon years ago, it sat at the end of a box canyon at about 4800 ft elevation. There was a female mountain lion that I would hear when she would go into heat up along the ridge behind the house. We never encountered her but I would see signs of her presence in the winter near the horses water trough in the pasture area, belly drag, tail drag and foot prints. We had horses, longhorn cattle and I raised Pygmy goats. Never once bothered our animals and I let them roam and graze the property. We had a lot of mule deer too. I had a pair of coyotes that lived on the property also. They had a den down near where the front gate was along side a deer trail under a bunch of sage and scrub oak. My son , when he was about four, and I had found it when we were out hiking looking for deer antlers. They had a collection of all his discarded balls, a flattened soccer ball, tennis ball, nerf ball, miniature football and even a zebra ball he got in a happy meal! To this day we still laugh about it. One day we saw them out in the pasture area tossing his old flattened soccer ball around. We were fortunate that we never had issues with any of the wild life that shared the property with us. Except an occasional rattlesnake. |
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44685
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man in Northern California for first time...
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Tejon ranch is on our western boundary of our neighborhood...yup, same area and same critters we deal with. We also have resident bobcat (Gracie..never bothers us--we see her hunting squirrels and rabbits regularly), foxes (a pair of gray foxes who live somewhere behind our property--only glimpse them at night, then they scamper off). The rewards of living in this area if you are a wildlife watcher are huge, with the dangerous encounter very rare. The most dangerous, frequent visitors are rattlesnakes. We've have our own snake grabber and snake bucket on hand between April and October when they're active. Our family has a long history of encounters with mountain lions. The most harrowing was my grandmother's tale. Her father was a farmer on the east side of the Santa Clara valley. She used to ride a donkey to their one room school, and back home after. One day while they were all inside, they could hear the donkey screaming. The teacher sent the children to an upstairs room and locked them in, then went out with a large stick to try to try to save the donkey. The mountain lion killed the donkey, then her teacher. The children, in the upstairs locked room, watched it all from the window. When grandma didn't return on the donkey, my great grandparents got very concerned...a group of parents went to the school and found the horrific scene. All the children were safe, though. I had an encounter in my back yard once, thinking the "eye shine" was my dog and attempting to call her in..then seeing this magnificent cat step out of the shadows and stare at me like I was nuts (was in my slippers and only holding a flashlight). It did not attack..and I slowly backed up to the backdoor. The cat seems as perplexed at my presence as I was at it's. He gave me a wide berth (wtf this crazy woman?). Another son encountered one while riding his bike up the street. He had stopped and having a drink of water when he spotted it laying on a boulder just above the road ahead of him. He remembered what we taught him, grabbed his 10-speed, lifted it above his head to make himself big and yelled. The cat got up and took off. |
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44717
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man in Northern California for first time...
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Found this article suggesting what you should do in case of a mountain lion encounter...interestingly enough, in the BBC (they have no mountain lions in "What humans should do if encountering a mountain lion There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach for dealing with wild animals. But Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, Wildlife Ecologist and Co-host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild, says you can come prepared. "I recommend familiarizing yourself with mountain lion behavior and habitats if you live or plan to visit areas where they are present and keep all your senses alert," she says. She also advises carrying sticks or noisemakers "so as not to startle an animal and to give them ample time to move away from you"..." Keith Bensen, a wildlife biologist at the National Parks Service, says that avoiding hiking solo is good advice to abide by in the great outdoors, as well. Still, some protocols differ from carnivore to carnivore. Typically, a mountain lion will immediately flee when it hears or spots a human, Bensen says. If it doesn't, your best bet is to be as intimidating as possible. "We recommend facing the lion, making yourself tall, shouting, waving arms and generally making yourself appear obvious," he explains. "Then back away while facing the animal, slowly, making noise and waving your arms or clothing the whole time." He says the animal attacking would be "extraordinarily rare" but if it does, "fighting back as hard as possible" is your best hope. |
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44687
From: sher, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man in Northern California for first time...
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Wow, Redhart! What a harrowing experience for your grandmother! With us it’s always been bears! And rattlesnakes, lol. But for the most part rattlesnakes are usually pretty passive and will move away. I always taught my kids the same and most importantly never run, even if encountering a stay dog. Stop, back up and move away. I still have my snake grabber, it must be at least 45 years old. Now I use it to remove wasp nests, lol. |
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44688
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man /rattlers
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Hey..those things are handy, yes? We did have our dog Joy bitten last year by a baby rattler that escaped our initial detection. We also look the yard over for snakes, stray rabbits, larger animals on the other side of the fence, etc, before allowing the dogs in their yard. This one was so tiny, it was hidden along the bottom of a line of block. Joy has had her rattlesnake vaccines, and luckily, she needed no antivenom due to that. She did need antibiotics and anti-inflammatories (bit on the muzzle) and it was still an emergency run to the vet. We're going to have to keep an extra sharp out since we now have a new, 12-week old puppy (Roscoe) who has NOT had his rattlesnake vaccinations yet. that'll take a few months to get him to the point where he's safer. The rattlesnake vaccines are worth their weight, I'm telling you. Snake antivenin can go for $400 a vial, and it can take 4-8 vials to treat a medium to large dog. Last year we caught 6 live snakes...one was nearly 4' long. We put them in the locking snake bucket and call our "snake guy". He comes and picks up the snake and takes them to UC Santa Barbara where they are working on new snake vaccines and better antivenins. The snakes get a cushy life and all the mice they want, and our dogs (and humans) are safer for their medical research. King and Gopher snakes we leave be (although will move to safer areas if they are in the dog yard or driveways). Those are good snakes. |
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44691
From: sher, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man /rattlers
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I’m so glad Joy did good! Roscoe has beautiful coloring! Is he a Rhodesian mix? I didn’t know they had rattlesnake vaccines now. Back in the day (about 30 years ago) our Rottweiler got nailed on the inside of his left front paw. We had just gotten done bathing the horses and were coming back from the barn. He was trotting along side me on my left and a rattle snake in a gopher hole on the side of an embankment shot out and got him. He jumped into the air and started howling and howling and howling. My husband and kids were further behind and he saw the snake come out. It was heart breaking because Bear dog was in so much pain he had tears in his eyes. And he kept looking at me to make it stop. Then I started crying because I couldn’t help him. We got him to a vet friend we knew in Castaic and got him treated. The flesh fell off his foot but with home care he healed and lived to be 14 years old. He was such a good dog. Another encounter was when it was in November and I was out sitting on the ground trimming up my flower beds. I had an old pair of short scissors I was using. I had scooped up dead leaves and put them in my trash bag and was getting ready to scoot down to the next row when I looked down and saw a baby snake laying along my left thigh. I looked at the head and then the narrow neck, heavy mid body and blunt tapered tail. I said to myself “shit, that’s a baby rattler” only thing I could do was use my dull bladed scissors and I grabbed it quickly behind the head. It instantly flipped out and was spitting venom everywhere. I then proceeded to the house where my kids were watching tv with a baby rattler dangling and coiling from my scissors. The scissors were too dull to do any damage and it just held it snug. I put it in a jar and then drove it down the road and dumped it in the forest. My kids said I was like a crazy woman , lol, running into the house yelling at them “ do you see this? It’s cold out but you guys still need to watch what you are doing and where you’re walking “! Oh the stories of ranch life! Lol. Thanks for sharing! |
44693
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man /rattlers
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Yes, the vaccine is great. I've had two dogs (Sadie the other one) bitten by a rattler, both vaccinated. Their bodies neutralize the venom itself once vaccinated, only requiring a booster every year. That skin sloughing off is common with unvaccinated dog as the affected skin dies. That doesn't happen when the dog's been vaccinated. There can be some initial swelling, but that goes back down very quickly as their bodies neutralize the venom. You still usually need antibiotics and the bite cleaned as you would any animal bite. The one they've been using here is for the diamond back rattler..but our pacific timber rattler is close enough related it works for them too. It does not work for copperheads, mojave greens, etc ...but those vaccines are being worked on. I've been told they're using the snakes I send them to work on a pacific timber rattlesnake vaccine that gives dogs even better protection. Anyone who lives in rattlesnake country and has dogs should definitely ask their vet about them. |
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44695
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man /rattlers
| Here's a link to the company that makes this vaccine. |
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44690
From: Eve, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man /rattlers
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Roscoe looks like he's going to grow up to be a big dog. |
44692
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man /rattlers
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Hoping so...he's going to be trained up to be husband's next service dog. He's half boxer and half aussie shepherd and starts Puppy Kindergarten classes in a week. Hubby's a big guy and needs a bigger helper. |
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44694
From: Eve, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man /rattlers
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Sounds like it's a nice match for hubby helper. |
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44689
From: The Hierophant, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man /rattlers
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I did not know that there was actual rattlesnake vaccine for pets. But then again, it has been since the 80's when I lived in the Mojave Desert and we just don't have any poisonous snakes here in Western Wa. |
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44674
From: Chuckles, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man in Northern California for first time in...
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I remember that older couple on a walk up in Redwood National Park where a young Mountain Lion attacked the husband pinning him to the ground trying to bite his neck as the wife frantically trying to get the mountain lion off of him with a stick. She was finally able to find a bigger stick and was able to the mountain lion to let go. They made it to the road where so.e Caltrans employees called for medical help as the man's scalp was torn away. He developed a bad infect from his wounds spending some time in the hospital. A trapper shot two you g mountain lions because they weren't sure which one it was. Turns out they were siblings. |
44679
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man in Northern California for first time...
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yeah, my (then 17 year old) son faced off with a mountain lion who jumped down out of an oak tree about 75 feet from the house. He had a weed whacker already and used it as a deterrant, sticking it towards the big cat's face...who finally turned and ran up the mountain. Had the local ranger out to try to file a report on them. It turned out he had dragged a kill up into the tree and was attempting to protect it. A couple weeks ago there were mountain lion prints in the fresh, fallen snow...he walked right past the front porch and around to the dog yard. He stopped, looked into the dog yard, then went off in another direction. Very glad we were not home (and dog not in the yard at the time). Most of the time they avoid humans. Every now and then you get a cat that's a little more dangerous. Whether they habituate to humans, sick, starved, is not always clear. |
44680
From: Chuckles, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man in Northern California for first time...
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Wow, it was a good thing your son had that weed trimmer in his hands, and glad he wasn't hurt! Sounds like you live in prime mountain lion habitat. When I was 13, me and my friend camped up at Sugarloaf State Park up above Kenwood California, and in the middle of the night with a full moon, a mountain lion walked bye me as I was laying on top of the picnic table. He was so quiet as I didn't hear a single step from it as it was only about four feet from me. But other than that in all my years of backpacking and hiking, I've never had an issue with them, including bears. But I always keep an eye for them by looking up in the trees and cliffs. I made some really nice hard walking sticks made out of Madrone and Black Walnut that give some protection from them, just like your Son having that weed trimmer on hand. |
44681
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man in Northern California for first time...
| i always thought the best strategy if you are attacked by a mountain lion is to make a fist and shove it as far down its throat as you can... |
44682
From: Chuckles, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man in Northern California for first time...
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Kind of hard to do something like that when you're trying to protect the back of your neck from the death bite once the mountain lion has you pinned down. Like the man who was attacked up in Redwood National Park, he was pinned down with the mountain lion on his back clawing at his head as it was trying to bite the back of his neck. If it wasn't for his wife, he would have been killed and dragged away somewhere. Even if you have a side arm or rifle on you, if that mountain lion does a surprise attack, it's going to leap on you to where you won't be able to even pull the trigger, they're too powerful and very quick. I guess if you see one in front of you, you're supposed act big and tall if possible, and make as much noise as possible. I grew tall at an early age ( 6'5") and probably why they never messed with me all these years hiking off trail. |
44684
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man in Northern California for first time...
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Yes, they're ambushers..like to sit in a high place (rock or tree) and jump down on the back or neck of the prey. While hiking, it's good to not only keep an eye on the trail and surroundings, but look up into large trees before you walk beneath them. We have taught all our kids wildlife rules up here and "what to do if (fill in the critter you meet)" For mountain lions..give a wide berth (common sense), do NOT run (this triggers they're prey response), look as big as you can and make noise (weed whackers work), carry something to defend yourself..even if it's a walking stick. Never hike alone. You have a much better chance fighting one off than running from it. Attacks are very rare, mind you. Most mountain lions would rather go after easier prey and are wary of humans. My neighbor once walked out to his driveway to get into his truck and met a mountain lion coming around the other side of his truck. They both stopped, screamed and ran the other way lol. |
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44686
From: Chuckles, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Mountain lion kills man in Northern California for first time...
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Over in Mono County there were two separate incidents, one in Walker and the other in Bridgeport where a woman was walking with her dog when a mountain lion came out of nowhere and ran off with her small dog. Then up in Walker, some of the local older men were at a friend's house and right in front of them all a mountain once again came out of nowhere and snatched the dog right in front of them. Also a coyote hunter down by Mono Lake was using a rabbit call when this mountain leaps at him from behind. The mountain lion over leaped him, and as the mountain lion was now in front of him, the man was able to raise his rifle and shot it. Hard to find people to go hiking with me sometimes, but your right, best not to go alone. |
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