A mountain lion has been shot and killed after it was reported stalking a family on a cycling trail near Placerville in Northern California.
A couple called 911 and reported they had been followed by a cougar for 10 minutes on the El Dorado trail, a 32-mile trail that links Placerville to Folsom. The couple were walking along the trail with two children in a stroller and two large dogs.
The lion did not retreat when shouted at by the family, other trail users or by a deputy who responded to the call. The lion was pacing back and forth on the trail when the deputy arrived but after he shouted it started walking towards him instead of running away as a normal healthy mountain lion would.
According to a Facebook post from the
El Dorado Sheriff's Office, "In a last effort to scare the animal away, the deputy fired a warning shot into the ground in front of the lion. The lion continued in its path toward the deputy, further showing that it was not well and dangerous to the public. The deputy had no option other than to put down the animal."
Only one lion was observed during the incident and it has now been taken by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for further study. The post also stated that "It is important to note that mountain lions live throughout El Dorado County and should be allowed to live undisturbed."
Mountain lion attacks remain extremely rare and there have only been seven fatal attacks in the United States since 1994. The only one in Northern California was on a trail near Auburn about 20 miles from the site of Monday’s incident.
Thanks professor science, but screaming at a predatory animal shows fear. Women with male kids and metro-sexuals might be predisposed to screaming, but for the rest of us SHOUTING at the animal while making yourself look bigger-standing your bike up in front of you- is your best bet. Even better, having a K-bar handy for when the lion who knows his business jumps on your back from above, and stabbing/slashing at his throat/neck area (it's gonna be closest since he'll have his ginsu knife set clamped down around your neck) as violently and quickly as possible. If you're successful with this, the last thing left to do is to drag the carcass to your friendly neighborhood taxidermist so you have something to scare the kids with when they won't go to sleep at night
But you're right the pavement is super nice!
People are outdoors with children and a predator approached. This can happen with our without overpopulation, with too many or with too few predatory animals. I'm not even making any stand on these topics.
Just that any dad/mom that sees a predator close to a small child is likely to have a strong reaction, and people like to judge
It happens in Washington state a fair amount with farmers protecting livestock.
California has no shortage of mountain lions.
Next week whistler sub species the Garfunkle
Or maybe you would have given the bear your life so they could grow up big and strong. I doubt that.
Did you actually see a bear when you were in that area? I haven't seen anybody saying all bears or lions need to be shot because they may be dangerous, but it is normal to kill bears or lions (bears are usually relocated multiple times and it's usually for getting into garbage or homes) once they've shown no fear of humans.
What about turning around and walking away?
The article doesn't sound like there was a imminent life-or death situation. The family called a ranger who probably took at least half an hour to get up to that remote area. And then the dude decided to kill the animal as a trigger happy precaucious matter that we all know from that police cam videos.
You guys blow the danger potential of these animals out of proportion. In 100 years there have been 27 deadly attacks in north america. That's literally nothing.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_cougar_attacks_in_North_America
When you convince him or her that they are a bad kitty and should go hunt their natural prey I will believe in your method and no longer think non endangered animals acting dangerously can be saved.
You are correct that mountain lions account for a TINY amount of attacks/fatalities with humans. However, if you ever visit lion country, do yourself a favor and read up on what to do if you encounter one, because what you just said is the EXACT opposite oh how to handle it.
What is the better option in that situation? Let the cougar maul the officer and eat him? I hate the idea of killing the cougar but if it’s me or the cat...
They spotted me, they ran away.
I can provide an "on the scene" update as the protests, following the tragic killing of an unarmed lion, are starting to get wild.
Earlier I saw animals of all species come together to paws and remember their fallen comrade. It was as this vigil was taking place that Animal Patrol & reinforcements of Park Rangers moved on the crowd using bear spray and "snatch crates" to detain and remove the "mostly peaceful but firey" protesters.
It's been several hours since that flash point. Several hours that have seen a large number of Racoons, Bears & Elk occupying the Town Hall demanding and end to to enforced relocation, destruction of habit & Pic-a-nic basket confiscation.
As night falls here, tensions are rising and more animal continue to flock to the area and I fear things, in this otherwise peaceful town, can only get worse.
Here's Tom with the weather...
That is a fact which have managed to verify via our "unknown sources" & embedded reporters with those affiliated with "Animal Iustitiae Nunc" movement, currently holding strong in the Town Hall.
A needless death of a vegan father of 3 cubs...
Next tonight on Animal News Network,
"Inside the Hive - is your honeycomb communist?"
I also love seeing them, at a comfortable distance where I have time to draw on it if necessary. I’ve dealt with one where I woke it up by accident, while it was taking a nap in the sun. Not so fun to see unexpectedly two feet in front of you, glad it chose flight instead of fight.
Australians: "Yes, our animals are deadly, but only crocs and sharks will eat you. The rest of the deadly animals will leave a corpse. So unless you are cycling in a river in far north Queensland or the Northern Territory, or in any of the oceans, you will be found"
Rest of the world: "But you sre still dead.
Australians: "True, but least you wont become bear, wolf, cougar, or mountain lion $h!t."
Ambush predators rely on stealth....this guy was having some problems if he was mingling w. humans like that. & If it did it once, it will probably do it again. It's easy to see why they unfortunately had to destroy the animal.
What next, burn down a few trees, harass a bush. Maybe roll some boulders down a hill
Ex-game ranger here. Taught that if you are out in the bush walking and come across lions, stand your ground, shout and make yourself intimidating. Don’t run, you become prey. My first encounter was terrifying. I could feel my legs wanting to run. Luckily mr kitty cat didn’t meet my .308 and wandered off into the bush.
Sit down. Shut up. And let the professionals handle it.
And the water police couldnt find water in the middle of the ocean (at least in QLD anyway, couldnt even locate a 20' cruiser on a river)
Yeah true, I guess my point was nobody freaked about it as old mate was in the water and knew the risk. If you are out there, be aware. Also, my bike hurts me regularly and that’s a risk I take. Same same
And the shark wasn’t drinking mid strength while swimming that’s why the water police couldn’t be arsed finding him
:facepalm
Google 'Zimmermann telegram'. It is a very interesting story.
Downvote this
edition.cnn.com/2013/02/21/world/europe/switzerland-bear-killed/index.html
These cats should not (and normally don’t) view people as a food source. This is unlikely to be a one time behavior for this animal. So simply “pepper spraying” them is a very temporary fix. The cat could very well go stalk someone else who doesn’t see it, or doesn’t have a means of protection. The results of that could be terrible. You might not care, but the parents of a child who could get attacked would certainly care.
Pepper spray is meant for bears who are charging due to being surprised or protecting cubs. Not for large predatory cats that are acting outside their normal behavior.
Here in North America (where we have wilderness and large dangerous animals) the majority of these animal-human interactions end just fine for both parties. But sometimes an animal poses a threat and will be dealt with (don’t worry, we won’t kill off all the large animals like in Europe). You are forgiven for spewing judgement without having any clue what you’re talking about.
So why f*cking shoot it?
The lion was there before the ass hat family walking around it's home.
Why didn’t they shoot Trump - he’s far more dangerous
MOUNTAIN LION: Hey, what's up?
HUMANS: oh my god, 911 - quick, shoot it!
But in all seriousness I don't pretend to know what I'd do in the situation, but at the same time, saying a lion didn't show 'normal lion behaviour' is a classic human reaction to WILD animals not being able to be 'controlled'. It's sad that many species will have their territory reduced, there's less prey, they learn that humans are a good source of food, more and more interactions will happen, and unfortunately more will be 'put down'.
Gotta love most of the comment lamenting an animal being shot come from people who live in places where large wild animals, especially predators, have been widely extirpated.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5198013/Grinning-Canadian-TV-presenter-bags-huge-mountain-lion.html
you are the same type of person that says shoot an attacker in the leg, huh? #dingus
...but you don't care about all that, anything to take a crap on the US, right?