Posted on 08/20/2025 8:42:53 AM PDT by cuz1961
...“I felt really small,” said McDonald, a biologist and researcher who’s now the founder and president of the Bay Area Puma Project, a local wild cat research and conservation organization that’s part of the Felidae Conservation Fund. “I disrupted his opportunity to get a meal.”...
...And while she had fears, “he was not a threat,” she said. ..
...there have been only 26 total verified mountain lion attacks on humans in California in the last four decades — and four deaths.. ...“Mountain lions still live in the Bay Area and move through the Bay Area because we’ve preserved enough habitat to support them,” she said. “But along with that privilege comes the responsibility to coexist,”. ...It’s not anything to do with humans — it’s in spite of humans that they’re going into these areas.”...“It’s really important to keep your pets inside.”...That goes for outdoor cats and unsupervised dogs in yards as well as livestock ...“Mountain lions will come up and eat cat food off of people’s porches,” Smith said.
But for the most part, “the last thing most [mountain lions] want to do is encounter us,”...if the mountain lion has indeed spotted you, remember: “the last thing you want to do is run or show fear,” Benson said. Stand your ground, he said, and look as big as possible. If you have a dog or child with you, you can pick them up.
“If you have a backpack, you can put that over your head to make yourself seem a bit bigger,” he said. If the mountain lion is advancing toward you, you can even throw rocks or sticks at it, he said.
..
(Excerpt) Read more at kqed.org ...
... “There are certainly a lot of stories out there of people that successfully were able to fight the mountain lion off.”...remember: mountain lion attacks — especially fatal ones — are extremely rare....
/
The contradictions she made in writing this I'm sure never even occurred to her or her editor.
On the hiking trail?! I saw one in the alley behind my house. Life in Tucson. Luckily he was walking away from me and all was well. But it was a funny morning to go out in the alley and think “oh that’s a big cat” and then take a closer look and realize no no that is a Big Cat (tm).
Allow me to interpret her: 'I want your property to be a mountain lion playground' I want no accountability for what they might do so don't let your children play in your backyard. Your property is mine, all mine!'
“And while she had fears, “he was not a threat,” she said”
-
Oh really? That’s what Timothy Treadwell thought.
nothing about how to defend oneself, except “hold up your backpack.” That’s so SF Liberal.
What To Do If You See A Mountain Lion While Hiking in the Bay Area?
Run faster then your hiking buddy...
there have been only 26 total verified mountain lion attacks on humans in Calif. — and four deaths.
/
Only ?
Keep livestock inside ?
If they are no danger why should we keep our pets and livestock indoors and put our packs above our heads or pick up our children ?
She says they are coming onto porches but says they avoid us ?
That more and more coming into bay area ?
Co exist ?
/
These folks are seriously confused .
They’re wild animals. You pretty much got two choices if you live in an area that has big cats:
make your fencing full prison fencing
make sure you’re not leaving stuff they will consider food (your pets, maybe your kids) out there
That’s really all you’ve got. I’ve seen a bobcat (which really aren’t that big, two to three times the size of a house cat) hop to the top of a 10 foot wall and go down other side, probably looking for breakfast.
I remember when California banned the hunting of mountain lions. Now they seem to be everywhere. Reminds me of an old lament from the middle Ages modernized,
I raise sheep, the Mountain lions kill them.
When I defend my sheep I am arrested,
Because a GREAT MAN who is above raising sheep,
Would be in need of Mountain Lions.
“Throw your least liked child at it and run!”
...And while she had fears, “he was not a threat,” she said. Fookin’ idjit!
If there is an area that I’d root for the Mountain Lions, it’s the Schiff filled Bay Area.
Uh huh. “We can live with them. They’re not after us. Just our dogs, cats, and kids. The best thing to do is cower inside and hope they go away.” Great advice, but I’ll stick with Mr. Mossberg.
I have a hard time imagining where there would be mountain lions (cougars) in the Bay Area. Maybe down the peninsula and close to the ocean - Santa Cruz mountains but otherwise????? The writer should have been more specific as the Bay Area takes in a number of cities surrounding the City of San Francisco and across the bay...and I don’t believe people HIKE there....unless you call walking UP the streets in SF as hiking.
That’s why I always make sure my hiking companion is slower than me.
“It’s really important to keep your pets inside.”
Don’t be silly. You won’t have to run faster than the mountain lion. You’ll just have to run faster than your pets.
La Honda is generally thought of as the Bay Area (at least by people who don’t live in The City) and that’s a very wild area. And probably people drive from The City to hike there.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.