[pct-l] cougars in San Gabriels

[Donna Saufley]

Good gravy, that's close. 

I've referenced this book before, "A Beast in the Garden", but it's an
excellent and definitive study of mountain lions and how/why they attack
people, focusing this study on attacks in Boulder, CO.  To summarize what
the book said, because they're unsure of us as prey, they check us out
stealthily and gradually become bolder as they learn they typically have
little to fear from us. 

To follow that theory, the cat that checked you out has been watching
people, and has become bold enough to get within inches of you. I just hope
there are plenty of deer and other game so hunger won't force this cat to
try people on the menu. Often, but not always, cats that attack people are
sick or young, but a mature healthy cat that is desperately hungry can
resort to eating people, too.

I have no doubts that the prey is scarce in the San Gabriels after the
severe drought we had last winter.  In '05, with the record rain, we had an
explosion in the population of all forms of life from bugs to mammals.  I'll
wager that the big cats flourished in those conditions, only to be left
hungry with the dearth of life that followed due to the drought.

L-Rod

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of Jeffrey Olson
Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2008 11:13 AM
Cc: 'PCT-L'
Subject: Re: [pct-l] cougars in San Gabriels

I was sleeping on sand high up near a pass in the Enchantments in 
Washington, a dozen or so miles east of the PCT.  I awoke and got up and 
stumbled around preparing to make coffee.  I went back to my sleeping 
bag and noticed some indentations six inches behind where my head had 
been resting all night long.  I looked closely and there were two paw 
prints about three and a half or four inches across.  I took pictures of 
them, wide awake at this point, waking everyone else up and insisting 
they look at the cougar prints.  Apparently it had come up behind me and 
put its front feet down in the sand and sniffed my head as I slept.  I 
took them to a wildlife biologist friend when I got back to Seattle and 
he confirmed they were cougar prints...

Jeff, just Jeff... 

Bob wrote:
> Apologies to all who have heard my cougar story too many times.  
>
> In 2004, my wife and I were a couple miles south of Pines to Palms Hwy
> (Paradise Café) on the PCT when a Mtn biker came up from behind and
stopped
> to chat. He asked if we had seen mountain lion tracks.   I said that, no,
so
> far we hadn't seen any.    He asked if we knew what they looked like.   I
> said, "Absolutely."   He then said something we will never forget: "Well,
I
> look for them too and I've seen some.  There are mountain lion tracks
behind
> you and they are INSIDE your boot prints."
>
> We had been followed.  Nothing unusual in that, but I sure do look around
> more now, especially when hiking alone.
>
> Dr Bob
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
> On Behalf Of bharve at dslextreme.com
> Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2008 1:54 PM
> To: montypct
> Cc: PCT-L
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] cougars in San Gabriels
>
> Several folks in my neighborhood have sighted cougars.  Now one has gotten
> a good picture of a cougar right next to a popular hiking trail.  The
> picture and story appeared in the Fri. Jan 26 issue of a foothills
> newspaper, and the story has been picked up a day later by the LA Times.
>
>
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cougar26jan26,1,1265883.story?ctrack
> =5&cset=true
>
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