It was a she, and weighed in about 110-120 lbs.
I wonder how many letters of support the mountain lion will receive,
Interesting that it attacked a group of four. Even considering the woman was probably the smallest, it doesn't seem like ordinary behavior for a predator. Maybe the rangers are right about its condition
If we don't shoot at them, they will come.
Maybe she will learn from her mistake.
If she was packing heat, mountain lion de jour would be pushing up daisies like Osama bin Laden......
What would Ms. Parker do if she had been a member of PETA?
She chose her hiking companions well. They seem to have done a good job in a tough situation. Prayers for her healing from this horrible attack.
Have hiked there;now I view moose from this chair in Maine.
Thank God Mountain Lions aren't permitted to carry firearms.
According to this article, there have been 15 attacks in CA in the past 114 years -- and 20% of them happened in the past 6 months. They better be thinking about a solution to this little problem.
Hmmmm.....time to setup metal detectors on hiking trails. We can't have these kinds of lunatics around decent, disarmed citizens.
</sarcasm>
I also doubt whether anyone would have had a chance to draw a weapon. Unless this predator was very sick, the initial attack would have already happened before anyone had time to react. It sounds as if they did the right thing after that.
I wonder what she did to provoke the attack.
I carry a gun when hiking in mountain lion areas. But because of the stupid CA gun laws I have to settle for a smaller caliber so it can be concealed.
In other news, attorneys for the mountain lion have filed suit in California Civil Court for medical expenses and unspecified punitive damages for injuries suffered in what prosecuting attorney Greg Packer described as "an unprovoked act of senseless violence against an innocent woodland creature."
Both moral and financial support for the lawsuit have been announced in press releases by the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, PETA and the Animal Liberation Front.
Sierra Club spokesperson Sheila Dyke also called for authorities to arrest what she called "the vicious animals who stabbed and beat this poor cougar," and vowed to push for the death penalty for the assailants.
People who hike in Mountain Lion COuntry should always go in pairs and be armed.
And they should re-instate the hunting season they had for them a while back.
There is no need for large predators in the lower 48 states. I recommend the three S's...Shoot, Shovel and Shut-Up.
This morning I recieved a call from a land holder where I have a bee yard telling me that a neighbor had a bear feeding on a suet ball on her bird feeder this morning. Two years ago, when I put in the yard, I asked about this possibility. Oh No, she said. No such thing existed anywhere near there. Well, now she knows.
Three years ago, in a Minnapolis suburb, police shot and killed a cougar. Nine years ago, the Minnesota DNR denied that cougars were present in the state.
IN THE IMMORTAL WORDS OF ROBERT ROARK, USE ENOUGH GUN!
Three male friends and one women. Woman gets attacked. Ten bucks says the woman was at the "time of Month". Animals have ways of knowing this.