Kiwithrottlejockey
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« on: September 12, 2014, 12:25:16 am » |
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from the San Francisco Chronicle....Killed: Mountain lion thought to have attacked boyBy KALE WILLIAMS | 9:34PM PDT - Wednesday, September 10, 2014A MOUNTAIN LION that attacked a 6-year-old boy in a park west of Cupertino this week was killed by officials from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Wednesday morning, authorities said.
The 65-pound cat was chased up a tree and shot around 9 a.m. just 130 yards from where the original attack took place, said Kirsten Macintyre, a spokeswoman for the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Trails were closed after the boy was attacked at 1 p.m. Sunday west of Cupertino. The attack came on a trail within the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District about two miles from the Picchetti Winery at 13100 Montebello Road, said Sergeant Kurtis Stenderup, a spokesman for the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office.
The boy was taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and held overnight but was released around noon Monday in good condition.
The mountain lion attacked the boy as if he were prey, officials said, pouncing from a hidden position before biting down on his neck and dragging him into the brush. The boy's father and another man ran toward the big cat, shouting aggressively. They were able to chase it away.
Since then, state wildlife experts scoured the northern edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains, using tracking dogs, which got the cat's scent from the boy's clothing, and live traps.
On Wednesday morning, the dogs chased the cat up a tree, where it exhibited unusually aggressive behavior toward one of the wildlife officers, Macintyre said.
Because the cat was so aggressive and nearly 70 feet off the ground, their only option was to euthanize the cat, Macintyre said, as the fall from that height would have killed it anyway.
Officials always look for non-lethal ways to deal with problematic animals, said wildlife spokesman Clark Blanchard, but the fact that the cat had likely attacked a child marked it as a public safety risk.
The cat's territorial behavior and location indicated that it was likely a local cat and not one passing through the area, Blanchard said, leading officials to believe it was the same one involved in the attack.
A full necropsy will be performed in Sacramento to conclusively identify the animal.Related story:
• What To Do When You Meet a Mountain Lionhttp://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Mountain-lion-that-attacked-boy-killed-near-5746954.php
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If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space!   |
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