Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/07/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]on 7/7/05 4:30 PM, Adam Bridge at abridge@gmail.com wrote: > If the "they" you are refering to are what I'd call a "mountain lion" > or a "puma" then I'd say there are dead joggers around Sacramento and > in the foothills who would feel differently if they could. > > People DO get pounced on and either maimed or killed by big cats out > here. I think there is an attack on a yearly basis, probably more > often, as the highly territorial big cats follow water courses down > from the moutains on either side of the Sacramento Valley and into the > more urban areas. They eat beavers and other critters, not to mention > pets and coyotes. > > Adam > Simple precautions based a little knowledge reduces the risk considerably, and in the vast majority of the attacks on humans these precautions were not taken. Mountain Lions are solitary animals; an injured Mountain Lion doesn't have any support system to feed and care for it so an injured Mountain Lion is at much greater risk of death. Anything a human can do that tells the Mountain Lion that it's risk of injury is increased will stack the odds in the human's favor: have a friend or a dog with you, and fight back. The people killed by Mountain Lions in this area almost always are alone. Doug Herr Birdman of Sacramento http://www.wildlightphoto.com