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A mountain lion in Hollywood

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Kiwithrottlejockey
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Having fun in the hills!


« on: September 10, 2014, 05:16:35 pm »


from the San Francisco Chronicle....

Save the cat? Some want boy-attacking puma spared

By EVAN SERNOFFSKY | 2:14PM PDT - Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Senior Park Ranger Flint Glines uses tape to block off a hiking trail closed during the search for a mountain lion that attacked a 6-year-old boy on Sunday. — Photo: Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle.
Senior Park Ranger Flint Glines uses tape to block off a hiking trail closed during the search for a mountain
lion that attacked a 6-year-old boy on Sunday. — Photo: Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle.


THE HUNT was back on Tuesday for a mountain lion that attacked a 6-year-old boy Sunday west of Cupertino. But after officials announced they were intent on killing the animal, some outraged readers weighed in, urging the big cat be spared.

Officials said the cougar ambushed the boy as if he was prey Sunday afternoon while he was walking just in front of a large group on a hiking trail within the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District near the Picchetti Winery at 13100 Montebello Road.

The cat jumped from a hidden position before biting the boy’s head and neck and dragging him into nearby brush, said the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“It is very unusual for a mountain lion to approach a person and even more unusual for a mountain lion to attack a person, especially in a group,” said agency spokeswoman Kirsten Macintyre. “It is extremely concerning and a public safely threat.”

Wildlife officials set four traps, and two trackers with seven dogs were scouring the northern edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains hunting the animal.


Signs warn hikers of residing mountain lions at the opening of a hiking trail at Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve near Cupertino, where a 6-year-old boy was attacked by a mountain lion on Sunday. — Photo: Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle.
Signs warn hikers of residing mountain lions at the opening of a hiking trail at Picchetti Ranch Open Space
Preserve near Cupertino, where a 6-year-old boy was attacked by a mountain lion on Sunday.
 — Photo: Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle.


Some readers, though, are on the cougar’s side — and hope the animal gets away.

From Banned_4_life:
“RUN Mountain lion RUN!! Mountain lions were here first, we encroached on their territory not the other way around.

From B_4:
Kill the mountain lion??? WHAT? That’s crazy! There has to be another solution.

From Gr8_googly:
Why do we need to kill it? Can’t we tranquilize it and test for rabies? Then relocate it? Or are the manly men who bravely shoot things from a safe distance with high-powered rifles telling us that it needs to be killed because… guns.

From Marycareysf:
We have no right to kill wildlife. We don’t even kill someone who killed a person. Sheesh. Relocate it, maybe. But kill, absolutely not.

From Bee_traven:
I hope the child recovers completely, but the sad truth is that there are too many of us and too few mountain lions. We’re not their chosen prey, but we’re crowding and stressing them in the middle of the worst drought in years. Attacks like this are bound to happen to some of us.

Others, however, had less sympathy for the animal.

From NoReason:
Why kill the lion? Because once a lion discovers what easy prey humans are, it’s likely to go for another human next time instead of a deer or some other prey animal. Strange how many people have such a hard time understanding that.

From Grift:
I can’t believe how stupid people who live in cities are. This lion attacked a small child. It needs to be found, and euthanized. These lions don’t normally attack people, and when they do, it means the animal has started seeing us as prey, and we simply cannot have this. I can’t believe the level of questions here. ‘Why kill the lion?’ BECAUSE IT ATTACKED A SMALL CHILD. OK? my god.

Experts on Tuesday established a DNA profile of the animal and will soon know its sex. Trackers who spot a cat that they can identify as a different sex will not kill it, Macintyre said.

According to the Mountain Lion Foundation, those who encounter a cougar should do the following:

 • Don’t approach it;
 • Don’t turn your back on it;
 • Appear as big as possible;
 • Maintain eye contact with it;
 • Pick up any children;
 • Speak loudly and firmly;
 • Throw rocks and sticks at it;
 • Slowly create distance.


http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2014/09/09/save-the-cat-some-want-boy-attacking-puma-spared



from the San Francisco Chronicle....

Live traps set for mountain lion that attacked boy

By TERRY COLLINS - Associated Press | 7:50PM PDT - Tuesday, September 09, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO — Wildlife crews in Northern California added an extra live trap Tuesday in their ongoing search to catch a mountain lion that attacked a 6-year-old boy.

Biologists set a fourth live trap with roadkill carcasses as bait to go along with three others set Monday to help increase the chances of capturing the cougar, said California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Kirsten Macintyre.

The cat is believed to be male, Macintyre said.

“We think it is a sub-adult, a little bit older than a juvenile or not full grown. That's based on eyewitnesses and on paw prints,” she said.

Hiking trails remained closed as two search teams and seven tracking dogs continued to scour the rugged terrain for the big cat for a third straight day. While the cat has not reappeared since Sunday, crews stepped up efforts Tuesday after they discovered some lion tracks Monday estimated to be about a day old, Macintyre said.

The search has been difficult at times because a number of tracks crisscross in certain spots, she added.

“That's the nature of the beast, so to speak,” Macintyre said. “The dogs still have the scent of the cat. If they had lost the scent, they would have come in by now.”

If found, authorities intend to kill the lion and test it for rabies.

The attack occurred about 1 p.m., which is unusual, Macintyre said.

Cougars usually prefer to hunt and travel at dusk or dawn.

“This cat is not behaving like a normal cat,” Macintyre said.

The boy was released from the hospital Monday, a day after suffering bite wounds and scratches on his head and neck while hiking with his family and others near the Silicon Valley city of Cupertino. His name has not been released.

Before Sunday, the most recent mountain lion attack in California was two years ago in Nevada County. A six-day search failed to turn up a lion, Macintyre said.

However, there is no timetable on this latest search, she added.


http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Live-traps-set-for-mountain-lion-that-attacked-boy-5744248.php
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