Mountain lion sightings on Santiago Truck Trail/Luge?

Kay and I were night riding Old Camp Luge about 3 weeks ago and we spotted a juvenile mountain lion in 3 different places so it seems we were being watched. It was an attention getter thats for sure. Amazing to watch it climb up such a steep incline. Two deer also spotted last friday night so there's a food source. Just so long as the deer are dinner and not us!

 

The black garbage bag was full of fish, looked to be tuna. I suspect the bag fell out of a truck since they were nice size fish.

 

Growing up in the foothills of CA, I've always been told that (1) mountain lions have very large territories and they hunt alone; and (2) the best thing you can do in a stand-off situation is to make yourself look as "big" as possible and take an aggressive posture towards the cats. Can anyone back me up on this?

 

This spells it out:


What to do if you encounter a mountain lion; often known as cougars, pumas or panthers, to protect yourself and your children from a fatal attack.
If you spot a mountain lion while out in the wilderness, awareness of a mountain lion's proximity to you, and its behavior, may save you from a potentially dangerous situation if you are prepared to respond appropriately.
Mountain Lion Proximity and Behavior
If you see a mountain lion:


100 yards away or more that is unattentive to you;

• Avoid rapid movements, running, loud, excited talk.
• Stay in groups; keep children with adults.
• Probability of risk is slight, provided your response is appropriate.

-50 yards away with its ears up and attentive to you;

• Hold small children; keep older children close to an adult.
• Do not turn your back.
• Look for sticks, rocks or other weapons and keep them at hand.
• Watch the cat at all times.
• Probability of attack is slight for adults given proper response.
• Probability of attack is serious for unaccompanied children.

-less than 50 yards away, staring intensely at you, or hiding;

• All of the above steps, plus place older children behind adults.
• Seek a safer location, or one above the lion, if available.
• Do not run.
• Appear larger. Raise arms, objects, or jackets above your head.
• Prepare to defend yourself.
• Probability of attack is substantial.

-intensely staring, crouching and/or creeping toward you;

• Take all the above actions.
• Moving slowly, position trees, boulders or other large objects between yourself and the lion.
• Do not lose sight of the lion.
• Smile! Show your teeth. (A woman attacked at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park may have saved herself by baring her teeth, growling and staring the lion down as it approached her).
• Make loud, menacing sounds, like yelling and growling.
• Throw things if the lion is close enough to hit.
• Use lethal weapons if you have them.
• Pepper spray may be effective if lion is downwind and close enough.
• Probability of risk is serious if within 200 yards.

-poised to attack;

• Prepare to defend yourself in close combat
• Fight back.
• Make menacing noises.
• Keep eye contact with the cat.
• Act aggressively toward the lion.
• Use a stick to charge the lion, thrusting the stick toward its face.
• No stick? Yell loud and run toward the lion with arms high.
• Stay beyond striking distance of its paws.

>>>> Points to Remember <<<<

• ALWAYS keep children in your sight, and preferably in reach.
• Group together so you'll be less interesting as potential prey.
• Without kneeling, pull a small child up on your shoulders to appear larger, to keep the cat from herding its target from the group, and to keep the child from running.
• Gather older children closely around you.
• Do not allow children to wander far from adults.
• Instruct children to fight back if attacked.
• Instruct children not to run, crouch or turn their backs.
• The high pitched voices, rapid movements and small size of children may attract a nearby lion.

Campsite Safety

• Do not feed deer, raccoons or other animals that are common lion prey.
• Do not leave pet food out where other wildlife has access to it.
• Avoid early morning, dusk and night excursions.
• Call your desitination ahead of time to inquire about lions in the area.

Other Dangers Lurking in the Wilderness:

• Babes in the Sun
• Bear Safety Tips
• Coyote Attacks On People in the U.S. and Canada[/FONT][/SIZE]
  [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif](most of which were on small children)
  [*]Florida 'Gators Menace Pets and Children
  [*]General Bear Country Safety Tips
  [*]Obnoxious Plants -- Poison Ivy and Nettles
  [*]Snapping Turtle Takes Toe Off Child
  [*]Mountain Lion Attacks On Children Since 1995
  

[/FONT]

 

here we go again...

(note to worried mtbers--there have been no sightings of mtn lions on any golf courses or bowling alleys in the last 100 years).

:xanax:

 

There was a guy who was attacked in Vancouver BC and killed a mountain lion with a 3 inch bladed knife. If you can get in enough stabs you're going to inflict some damage, may even kill it or get it to back off. These animals are all muscle though and chances are if you are attacked it'll be from behind. People who have been attacked say it was like getting hit by a truck. They didn't know what had happened at first.

I call BS! There's known cougars at every bowling alley. I think it's a law or something. Just look in the bar!

 

If possible, the eyes are always a good target, even with a small blade.

 

I always aim for the eyes. They usually get mad though.

 

A Mountain lion requires a lot of room—only a few cats can survive in a 30-square-mile (78-square-kilometer) nationalgeographic.com

 

one of the guys we were riding with up blackstar mentioned he saw a cat maybe a juvenile run across the trail...dont know how credible that is but perked our interest right away

 

Hmm, not true. The Fish and Game Commission shot and killed a mountain lion on the Coto golf course either last summer or the summer before.

 

okay...so it looks like the safety-first/paranoid folks still have the option to bowl (for now).

and, c'mon- did they really have to kill the cat in coto? couldn't they have just paid a ton of money to make the problem go away. :lol:

:strike:

 

Yesterday afternoon I saw a cougar on the road that was running from me into the bushes coming down from Hal's place yesterday. She/he was definately more scared of me than I was of him... but lets just say my cadence picked up a bit for the next half mile till I hit Live Oak.

Based on what I've learned though, I'm sure it was scared enough of me that it wanted nothing to do with me, which is comforting, but I still was a bit spooked.

 

Hmmm.. are you not young enough?

 

I just saw an episode of when animals attack on animal planet or discovery, and one of them was a mountain lion attack. The man being attacked was sitting on a rock by his house somewhere in washington or canada. When the mountain lion ambushed him, it attacked him from behind going for the back of his head. The dude had a small pocket knife and was able to stab it into the mountain lions throat killing it. There were pictures of the dead cat. However, the guy lost an eye and was severely injured. He probably would have died if not for having the knife.

I think this was the same story as the one I saw I didn't know how long the knife was that he used, just goes to show you that even 3 inches can be deadly :lol:

 

No doubt Mark Reynolds thought the same thing before his fateful ride in Whiting Ranch.

Mark's tragic death changed my perspective on solo rides in the woods.

I still ride solo regularly, but those rides are now closer to home and closer to civilization. I'll ride Turnbull solo in the daylight, and the Fullerton Loop solo day or night.

Of course, you can't live in a box, and there's no guarantee you'll be safe anywhere.

Years ago, my work schedule had me working weekends and free on weekdays. I had to choose between riding solo or not riding. I rode solo.

I'm glad I've returned safe from the solo rides I've taken...so far...

 

You may have a point here. It is hard finding a ride closer to civilization than Whitting...well except the Loop. Cats that come in close to houses maybe more dangerous. The cat that killed Mark had been killing livestock (a goat and chickens) in Modjeska Canyon in the weeks before Marks attack. Residents in the canyon had been complaining and the government hunter had been sent out...just too late.

I believe I am more a risk of a cat attack in So-Cal than in other areas because of the lack of aggressive policies toward the cats. In Prescott which has a large Mountain lion population they are very aggressive toward cats that wander into populated areas. They do not wait for a cat to get used to being near people. Once one comes close to town or kills livestock the government hunter with dogs are out there within hours. Locally we may have created our own problems by tolerating cats that come out of the hills and prey on our pets and livestock. It is my believe that there are many more cats locally than the local land managers let us know about....maybe more than is safe for humans being in their habitat. A Cat is fairly desperate to come into a area like Whiting to hunt.

Dean

 

Smelt cat urine/spray REALLY STRONG the other night at San Clemente Single Tracks. My girl and I were riding at night. Our ride stopped after that. It was right near the entrance. We were gonna do one more small loop to end the ride, but decided to head out after that.

btw. I broke my neck (C1, C4) on a solo ride in Vail, CO. I walked to the trail head holding my neck...long story. I'm extremely "lucky." I still ride solo, but do prefer 'urban rides' solo. I still get flashbacks of the neck accident, and now I'll probably get cat pee/spray flashbacks as well.

Being eaten alive is not how I want to go. I suppose it is not bad being a prey item in that I would contribute to the cat's survival, but I am sure the cat would be killed eventually, so I would rather not have it happen.

It's probaby a matter of time before someone gets attacked at SCST or another OC trail. I recently saw signs at San Elijo/La Costa really close to houses warning of a cat sighting.

 

Last time i rode my favorite trail in aliso, i swear i heard something off my right shoulder maybe 200 feet away walking slowly in the leaves...it scared the shit out of me. It also made me wonder why anyone in their right mind would wear headphones on a mountain bike ride. :?:

 

I'm not sure that they are desperate to go into Whiting. Whiting and caged animals are like a drive-through for a cat.

They know there is food there, and it's easy pickings.

One of Whiting's problems is that it's close to civilization, the residents love the deer, so they feed the deer, cats love to eat deer, so they go where they know there are deer, which is where they are fed.

Where there is prey, there is a preditor.

The only problem with this is that there is no way for you to know if the signal has reached the satellite when you're in need.