I saw a mountain lion today

“I was on patrol in the San Gorgonio Wilderness today. We entered thru a locked gate off of Jenks Lake Road only the Forest Service uses and drove 4 miles to Poopout Hill. As were leaving on the road, a mountain lion crossed, turn up the road, ran few feet then took off into the forest. It was quite a surprise and a thrill. The first mountain lion I have ever seen in the wild!

Then, about a minute later a large buck (six point?) jumped on the road and ran up for a few seconds. Then he bolted.

Overall, a trip full of surprises!

Great day patrol. Hiked up to Dollar Lake Saddle, had lunch and hiked out. Met lots of nice people along the way (who all had taken out permits!!)”

“You're a lucky guy!!!”

“navi - I never expected to ever see a mountain lion. They are hard to spot.

I think that spot was really a corridor that many large animals use to go east-west thru that part of the forest.”

“I've spent a lot of time in mtn lion country and know from reports that they are around, never seen a sign of them.”

“Happy for you Phil....must've been a real thrill.”

“A special event for sure....congratulations!”

“as some would say...

Way cool”

“that's awesome!”

“Cool! What a great opportunity for you! They are beautiful animals.”

“How close was it to you? That must have got the adrenaline pumping! That's great!!”

“Rrrrrrrowl!!”

“The mountain lion was probably 100-150 ft. in front of us. The buck was probably less than 50 ft.

What added to the thrill was that my patrol partner and I had been talking about mountain lions quite a bit. He had two previous sightings (over 10 years on patrol), which is very unusual.”

“Wow, that's really close!”

“There was an interesting article on mountain lions, maybe a year ago or so. I think it was in Outside magazine. Really enhanced my fascination with them. Worth looking up if one is really interested in it.”

“Cool. I have always wanted to see one in the wild, but never have.

Are the Jaguars still roaming into Arizona?”

“Must be one hell of a place to have deer stalking mountain lions.”

“RE: jags.

Last I heard there are rumors and suspicions of them in southern AZ and NM, but no confirmations. 'Zoners, do you know?


RE: cougar. I suspect I have been watched many a time, maybe even stalked. I check my back look big and carry two carbide tipped spears.”

“LOL, gear slut. That was kind of my initial thought.

That would be cool and scary to see a mountain lion. Great, Phil!”

“The question here is;

How did the mountain lion and deer get a key to the locked gate?”

“One area of the SBNF where I've seen plenty of evidence of mountain lion activity is the area around Onyx Peak, east of the San Gorgonio Wilderness. The dirt roads in the area get occasional use by 4WD enthusiasts and mtn bikers, but not a lot of hikers. If you look carefully while walking some of the lesser traveled dirt roads you'll find plenty of deer, coyote, and mtn lion tracks. I've seen deer and coyotes in the area, but never a mtn lion. However, I do get a strange sensation they're watching me VERY closely . . .”

“top dawg = I believe that Onyx summit is somewhat aligned with an east-west corridor along the northern edge of the wilderness. I believe that many large animals use this corridor to roam from east to west. Many bear and deer sightings have been in this "corridor". It also has good water, few hiking trails, and lots of places that berries and other food can grow.”

“Way Wavy Cool
Also a dream of mine, not to be had in the NE”

“I've seen one mountain lion in Big Bend. Seen scat lots of times. I see a lot more bobcats in Texas. Last week I saw a baby bobcat on the bank of a river from about 15 feet away. It was soooo cute. Mama must have been hiding near - I kept moving.”

“Hell, I'm still waiting to see a bear. Good for you Phil.”

“Wow Phil - what a lucky sighting - I've spent a good bit of time in the San Gorgonio Wilderness, but I've never spotted a mountain lion or even a bear while out there.”

“I'll bet you were happy that you were in a car at the time! That is a rare sighting Phil, congrats!”

“Very cool Phil.”

“currahee - I saw 4 in Cades Cove weekend before last. Very cool.

chili - NG Adventure, I think it was, published a picture of a jaguar that a camera with a motion detector had taken. It was around the Mexican border with AZ. I believe this was published about a year ago.”

“Phil, we have a lot of Cougar in our area. It's actually becoming quite a problem. They have been seen in neighborhoods. I've seen a lot of sign (tracks, scat) and have heard them scream (One foggy morning when walking down the country road, I heard dogs barking and the Cougar screaming at them... eerie.. I cut the walk short!), but never seen an actual cougar. Saw a bobcat once in my driveway....

I've also seen more fawns this year than I have ever seen!”

“This year in the San Gorgonio Wilderness I have see a herd of bighorn sheep, a bear, a mountain lion, and several deer. Cool!

Seeing wildlife is one of the things I look forward to on hikes. I was hiking in the Chino Hills State Park (5 minutes from my house) and came across a rattlesnake who rattled at us. I see rattlesnakes about once a year somewhere in So. Cal, but they usually don't rattle. This guy was letting us know he was there.”

“One of my hopes is to someday see a mountain lion in the wild - you're a lucky guy, Phil!”

“Actually, I wonder how many mountain lions have seen me....”

“that is the question”

“Bowlderman - It would probably be alarming to know how many times we have been stalked by a mountain lion!!”

“That's too cool Phil! Mountain Lions are my favorite...but I have never seen one in the wild. I know they are there I see the tracks all the time in the GTW.

After those recent Montain Lion attacks...I was hiking down off of Little Baldy (Sequoia)after sunset when I heard a noise above me in the rocks...I turned to see what it was and there were two bucks standing side by side starring right at me. I laughed and said out loud...well if there is a lion around here...he'll go after you two!”

“I don't know WW. It's sort of like the old bear joke. Those bucks don't have to outrun the lion, they just have to outrun you!”

“I didn't see a live mountain lion, but I did see a track that one left behind, probably this morning, in a patch of snow that hasn't melted yet.

Walking in Lory State Park, just west of Ft. Collins. Lots of dog tracks in the trail, but just off to the left of the trail was this "different" looking track. The lack of claw marks and the shape of the heel lobe told me it was a mountain lion. The whole track was about the size of my full palm.

Very cool - i looked around, but of course didn't see the cat.”

“Boy are you lucky! Aren't just the size of their paw prints awesome? I have not seen one, nor a track in such a long while. Out here, people are so into killing them and the black bears. I have had mountain lions follow me when i am playing my flute...just curious i think.”

“Yeah! It looked HUGE when you think of the fact that its a cat! Much bigger than the house kitty, lol.”

“How much does an adult weigh, do you know? I saw a cub once, (it was trying to hide behind a little bush, but really curious! Pretty darn cute!), and it was all head, paws and tail! Those tails are SO long!”

“Wow, Cool”

“whats up pu$$y cat whoa whoa?”

“no idea what an adult might weight, but i'd guess, from comparing paw size to dogs that i know, around 80-120 pounds. But the cat may not be as "bulky" as a labrador is.”

“Mountain lion killed by car on Connecticut highway
June 11, 2011|By Rachel Garrett, CNN

Officials say the mountain lion is likely the same one that was seen this week in nearby Greenwich.

A mountain lion was killed in a car accident in Milford, Connecticut, on Saturday and authorities say the cat may have been the same one spotted this week in nearby Greenwich.

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection says it responded to a State Police call about 1 a.m. Saturday morning reporting a collision between a 2006 Hyundai Tucson SUV and a mountain lion in the area of Exit 55 of Route 15 in Milford. The mountain lion died of injuries in the crash, but the SUV driver was uninjured.


Minuteman News Center (minutemannewscenter.com)

Fairfield > News
Only one confirmed mountain lion sighting, mayors, police chiefs
and DEP talk mountain lions

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

By Meg Learson Grosso

Mountain lions were the topic of a conference call that included the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Mayors, First Selectmen and Police Chiefs from various Connecticut towns Monday afternoon.

Fairfield’s Police Chief Gary MacNamara was in on the call along with Fairfield’s First Selectman Mike Tetreau. MacNamara told the Minuteman that the DEP, for its part, considers that the only confirmed sighting of a mountain lion is of the one that was struck and killed by a car on the Merritt Parkway in Milford last week.

At that time, most people assumed it was the same mountain lion, or cougar, as they are sometimes called, that had been sighted more than once in Greenwich.

“We learned there were three or four sightings in Greenwich,” MacNamara told the Minuteman.

On Tuesday, June 14, after the mountain lion had been killed on the parkway, a Fairfield caller reported sighting a mountain lion near Redding Road and Old Academy Road in Fairfield. Then last Friday, Fairfield’s Director of Finance, Paul Hiller, sighted a mountain lion at Mine Hill Road near Verna Hill Road at about 8 a.m.

The DEP is examining the carcass of the dead cougar, trying to determine whether it had at one time been taken care of by humans, or whether it has always been wild, since mountain lions are considered extinct in the Eastern part of the United States—with the exception of Florida.

While the CT DEP may consider the animals extinct in this state, a publication in Putnam County, LoHud.com, quoted Alan Rabinowitz who has a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology, and who headed the science and exploration division of the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society for almost 30 years. Rabinowitz has lived in Putnam County, New York for the past 17 years, and he said that during that time, he has heard of numerous sightings of mountain lions in that area. He thinks there is a population of mountain lions who were originally captive, but have bred and maintained themselves in the wild, since then.

The DEP told the Mayors and Police Chiefs that if the cat was found in a neighborhood where you wouldn’t normally see a mountain lion, and if it presented an obvious danger to humans, it could be euthanized, MacNamara said.

Mountain lions are most likely to kill by ambushing their prey from behind, then sinking their jaws into the prey’s neck and twisting it. Someone moving fast, such as a runner, bicyclist, or small child, would be considered prey by the large cats, which normally weigh between 65 and 200 pounds.

There have been approximately 75 confirmed attacks on humans by wild mountain lions in this country and Canada since 2001. Most have been in the West, particularly in California, where there are estimated to be 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions. They have attacked bicyclists and hikers as well as people taking out their garbage.

Because mountain lions are capable of attacking both people and domesticated pets, Fairfield police released a set of guidelines last week.

They recommend that residents:

• Keep children indoors around dawn and dusk

• Do not feed wildlife that would be a potential prey

• Install or use motion detector lighting, especially near sidewalks and pathways

• Scatter mothballs and ammonia-soaked scraps of cloth around your yard

Face to face with a mountain lion:

• Do not approach

• Gather and protect your children

• Keep eye contact and back away slowly, without running

• Give the mountain lion an avenue for escape

In wooded areas:

• Hike with a group, not alone

• Hike with a dog on a leash

• Keep children in close proximity

• Keep standing, even if you pick up a child

• Carry a walking stick or pepper spray, stones – any weapon that comes to hand.

Any sightings should be reported to the Police Department’s emergency communication center at 911 or 203 254-4800 immediately, so officers can be dispatched to the area.”

“Poor kitty...no chance a 180+ lb. cat is going to win against a 2000+ lb. car.”

“One of my buddy's students was deer hunting a few seasons ago and saw a mountain lion (eastern cougar). He had the presence of mind to leave immediately and call wildlife officials who confirmed the species by DNA tests on hair left on trees and a barbed wire fence.

This is southwestern Quebec just north of New York State (pretty much on the border). Sightings have been reported. but this was the first confirmation in our area.

I believe there have been similar confirmations in our Eastern Townships, just north of Vermont.”

“We have em in MI too. =)”

“I was night hiking with a bunch of friends maybe 10-12 years ago and at one point the trail goes through this tunnel underneath the highway - well, there was a mountain lion in that tunnel. It took off the other direction, and we also turned tail. Except the entire way back to the car, whenever we turned the flashlights back, we'd see its eyes out there in the dark. Scared the crap outta me”

“all i've ever seen are tracks in teh snow. Last winter TMac and i followed some fresh tracks (new snow) for about a 1/4 mile off trail before we gave up and decided we were being foolish.”

“Seen tracks but no live puma.”