Mountain lion defense for a CA friend of mine

[Search]

Great picture Search! Where did you find this?

Was at work about 4 or 5 months ago and it came in a forward to a supervisor. Today someone said there was a picture in the paper or somewhere of a mountain lion in a neighboring town dragging a deer by it's neck somewhere to eat it.

Seeing this thread made me think of that mountain lion which led to the cougar from long ago. Google turned up a picture.

"To make a long story short.." probably would have worked


I bet when that camera flashed the deer and the car bolted. I wonder if the cougar had the skill to stay on it's target. Either way, it doesn't look like the flash would affect their night vision too much as they are looking the other way. I'll bet 10 dollars one of them pissed themselves though.

 

[TedTheLed]

last night at 2:30 AM the motion sensing outdoor led lights came on to light up a fox sniffing and nervously darting here and there -- either a fox or a coyote pup; big bushy tail..

mtbk; yes greenish gold is what I hear the eyeshine of mntn. lions is.. the same as coyotes, though..so you can't be too sure, though the gait usually gives it away..

I got somewhat dressed went outside to light up the 'fox' with a flashlight, but he was gone..

..and yes they have a few banded lions, North of here, though there was a report of one killing and eating a deer on the Peppdine campus a couple years ago..the cat was scared away, and the carcass moved away -- (they usually come back, looking for the leftovers..)

there are also bob cats here. I have come face to face with them, completely unarmed, and though on the smaller side, believe me, it's unerving when after observing each other for a minute or two, the cat starts walking towards you!! "OH SH*T!" are the exact words that came to my mind..after about ten steps, though the cat veered off to the left..this is standard OP for big cats evidently, he was showing me he was friendly, but unafraid of me.
I hear this is how you should try to get past lions in Africa, if you need to try...

 

[outersquare]

i think firearms are generally legal to carry in unincorporated areas of CA

bring a shotgun

 

[TedTheLed]

evidently you missed the posts that discuss the futility of guns against most mountain lion attacks.. armor would be more useful..

 

[270winchester]

i think firearms are generally legal to carry in unincorporated areas of CA

eh...

state parks: generally no. i don't know how hunting regulations work with state parks.

national forest: yes with restrictions

national parks: CCW legal starting next year but permit impossible to get for most counties

unincorporated area under county jurisdiction: many localities have their own prohibitions.

ALways check before you go, stay legal.

 

[NA8]

I always liked this one:

http://www.grizzlyflatsca.com/strategy.htm

 

[pipspeak]

good advice in the thread... noise is perhaps the best and easiest deterrent IMO... maybe carry a boombox

The only bit of advice I would not take is to take a dog -- the dog ain't necessarily gonna sense a big cat stalking you and an adult ML will easily take out even the biggest, meanest dog. In fact, the dog might even attract a ML.

 

[Patriot]

I always liked this one:

http://www.grizzlyflatsca.com/strategy.htm

Some of those signs were pretty funny! :laughing:

 

[Bullzeyebill]

good advice in the thread... noise is perhaps the best and easiest deterrent IMO... maybe carry a boombox

The only bit of advice I would not take is to take a dog -- the dog ain't necessarily gonna sense a big cat stalking you and an adult ML will easily take out even the biggest, meanest dog. In fact, the dog might even attract a ML.

Dogs are often used to tree Mountain Lions.

Bill

 

[Patriot]

The only bit of advice I would not take is to take a dog -- the dog ain't necessarily gonna sense a big cat stalking you and an adult ML will easily take out even the biggest, meanest dog. In fact, the dog might even attract a ML.

I would say that's true with regards to domestic pets. Most or trained in a way that would help their owners. Like Bullseye touched on, dog which have been trained to hunt lions are extraordinary at it. They're further advantaged because they're used in packs and can out flank the cat until they're tree'd. Most dedicated cougar hunters looking use dogs exclusively. I'm not really a big supporter of this type of hunting since to me so much of the work is accomplished by the dogs. Often the hunter with the game tag only has to shoot it out of the tree. To me, this is really pushing the boundries of sportsmanship, even taking into account that there's a lot of training and dog handling skills required, not totally unlike a sled team. While I would probably really enjoy an experience of tracking dog an large cougar I'd probably just have to take a camera along since I wouldn't enjoy shooting one.



Regarding the carrying of a shotgun as mentioned by another poster, I have little doubt that even someone lightly practiced could dispatch a cougar if they had to with this method. I just don't think it's a practical hiking solution for many reasons. Even in areas were you'd be allowed to carry it you'd probably be frightening other hikers on the trail. I used to visit my bro a couple times a year when he was in CA. So I know the average "yellow shoe lace, i-pod listening, trail mix popping, utopia" types. Sure, you could carry a "gauge" around but you'd be getting constant dirty looks, sharp comments or just a lot of questions. While a young snotty type may not might that sort of attention and perhaps even welcome it, most reasonable people wouldn't want to stand out like the proverbial sore thumb. I have no problem carrying a shotgun in the open when I'm actually hunting but it seems hardly practical for the person who just wants to hit the trail for fresh air, exercise and some sight seeing. A concealed firearm makes far more sense and you just can't do that with a shotgun. This said, I would always carry spray in conjunction with a firearm since I would much rather chase a large predator away than to kill it, in a non-hunting situation. To be perfectly honest I'm not much of a predator hunter anyhow and I prefer the meat of deer, elk, antelope and some others.

 

[Mr152]

I have encountered mountain lions while hiking alone in Northern California on two separate occasions. Both times, the lions were observing deer and only checked me out for a few seconds before re-focusing on the deer. I blew a loud whistle at my first encounter and this had no effect on the lion, other than to glance at me. My standard gear now consists of a small aerosol can of pepper spray, a collapsing hiking pole, and an automatic knife with a 5" blade. I used to carry a small air horn, but I noticed that whenever I blasted it at deer, they would start walking towards me rapidly. This seemed strange until I realized the horn sounds exactly like a fawn in distress. This is probably not a good sound to repel a cougar, so I leave the horn at home now. The walking stick is very effective at repelling many types of animals when it is swung through the air to make a loud swooshing sound. I have tried this on coyote, bob cats, deer, and fox. They all quickly scamper away. I have not tried it yet on a mountain lion, but this would be my first line of defense. Mountain lions usually attack from behind with no warning and grip the back of your neck until you stop struggling. You will be knocked forcefully down to the ground and will be disoriented. Anything you were carrying in your hands will have been dropped. This is why I carry the automatic knife in my pocket. It can be retrieved and activated with one hand and may be used to get the cougar off your back, hopefully. Also, I always make a lot of noise while hiking alone.

 

[Lebkuecher]

This is why I carry the automatic knife in my pocket. It can be retrieved and activated with one hand and may be used to get the cougar off your back, hopefully. Also, I always make a lot of noise while hiking alone.

I'm not sure what kind of chance someone would have if a cat the size in the picture jumped you from behind even if you had a 5 or 6 inch blade. I was in Yellowstone National Park on vacation a few days ago and while I was there I carried bear spray when hiking. Bear spray has been used in the past to fend off mountain lions.

Check out the YouTube link below at about 30 seconds, the guy sprays two charging cougars with bear spray.


Dual Cougar Attack in Northern Alberta

 

[KeepingItLight]

A couple of years ago, someone in this thread asked about the color of a mountain lion's eyeshine. You can see the green or blue-green in this video from YouTube:

 

[Mr152]

I'm getting some bear spray even though it can't be shipped to California.