Mountain Lion at Whiting

BigTex

BigTex

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There are signs at the Borrego trailhead warning of a mountain lion sighting. Ran into a couple of rangers who said it was spotted yesterday evening, don't know where.

Otherwise, it was a lovely lunchtime spin around the park. Except it was hot. And the braking bumps on Cactus are heinous. Live Oak was beautifully shady after the grind up Mustard. That is all.
 
Rode at dusk the two nights ago with a group, we spotted some decent sized M tracks... :) Its their house, i'm just visiting.
 
Rode it tonite, conditions are good. Although they closed the bottom part of the park and detour us up Line Shack road where it meets Serrano. They closed Serrano trail with a note that said the lion was spotted down there. Serrano is the trail where there are a bunch of dips with the low overhanging trees correct? If so, that part was closed.

Other than doing the 3rd unplanned extra credit up line shack, it was a good ride. Also at the top of line shack we ran into a herd of 4 deers crossing the trail. Amazing!!
 
I thought from FB posts that the kitty sighting was in Sleepy Hollow. Either way, it seems funny to me to close just one segment - Sleepy Hollow, Serrano, Live Oak, or whatever. They have a territory of up to 200 square miles, so why wouldn't it cover a couple hundred yards from one day to the next, especially when there's food and water throughout that canyon?
 
Waldo said:
I thought from FB posts that the kitty sighting was in Sleepy Hollow.
Click to expand...

It was on Sleepy Hollow and it's the same sighting as it was reported by 1 of the riders in that group. OMR was on that ride with 15 others, maybe he'll chime in. The pics are Vickie's and she no longer post on STR, but here's a blown up pic of one of the photos posted on FB:

552609_10151028139267351_1758185747_n.jpg
Photo Credit: Vickie
 
I think the lesson here is: Don't tell the rangers you saw a mountain lion unless you want trails and/or the park to be closed.

At least if the lion was acting normally--like this one was, just drinking water out of the creek. It's kind of like closing the beach when a shark is spotted; it might make some people feel like we're asserting ourselves over nature, but it really doesn't affect our overall safety. That lion was probably back in the Santa Anas before the warning signs were even posted.

What really chaps my hide is that I almost always ride in small groups or solo, and I've never seen a big cat. But a 15-pack of riders thunders through Whiting and they all get to watch the kitty lapping water. <<kicks dirt>>

:beer:



VV Dean- Lions roll through that area on a regular basis, so maybe they should just permanently close the park? There's already a sign at the entrance warning people that they're entering an area that contains wild animals. How much hand holding should we do? Rattlesnakes and coyotes pose a far greater risk to public safety than big cats. Should we call the ranger about them?! I appreciate where you're coming from. Nobody wants anyone to get hurt. But temporary trail closures don't really solve the "problem". Maybe I'm just naive since I grew up near Disneyland and the only thing I feared was giant mice. :lol:
 
You're right we should not tell the ranger and risk loosing trail temporary access. We should let the neighborhood kids wander down there and find out on their own. Or maybe a toddler following their parents on an afternoon walk. No a federal game warden should be brought in and the cat should either be trapped, chased off or killed.

Dean
 
Yep rode there yesterday and was not happy to have to ride up Line Shack since they closed the one trail only, I thought as I was riding Line Shack okay that trail they closed is just on the other side of this, so the mountain lions don't travel daily? Oh well, no sitings. Still a fun, hot ride.
 
You're right we should not tell the ranger and risk loosing trail temporary access. We should let the neighborhood kids wander down there and find out on their own. Or maybe a toddler following their parents on an afternoon walk. No a federal game warden should be brought in and the cat should either be trapped, chased off or killed.

Dean
Click to expand...

a-****ing-men. tacos?
 
I was having this conversation with a friend last night.

As cool as it was for the group to catch a glimpse of the cat in the wild.....the group was there for some time. From the sounds of it, the cat was not even bothered by the group standing there watching. Sounds like the day is not affraid of us....and that could be a danger.

Unfortunately I wasn't there and didn't get to see it....but did talk to a few that were there.
 

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