Posted on 01/18/2006 9:00:36 AM PST by kiriath_jearim
Homeowner shoots mountain lion in Orange County back yard
ASSOCIATED PRESS
1:44 p.m. January 17, 2006
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – A homeowner shot a mountain lion in the back yard of a Trabuco Canyon home Tuesday and authorities then tracked down the wounded cougar and killed it.
The mountain lion fled from the residence into a ravine near an elementary school where by sheriff's deputies and state Department of Fish and Game wardens had no choice but to shoot it, said Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino.
"A wounded cat is an extremely dangerous cat," Amormino said.
The incident will be investigated to determine whether the initial shooting was justified, he said.
Resident Laurie Hill said she saw the 90-pound mountain lion in the back yard of her Cimarron Lane home at about 7 a.m. and her husband went to investigate. The residential area is next to Cleveland National Forest, about 30 miles southeast of Santa Ana.
Bill Hill, a former Stanton police officer and now a private investigator, told TV reporters he shot twice with his 9 mm pistol.
"I grabbed my gun and as I looked back, I'm looking about 20 feet, 15 feet from this cat and it sees me, crouches down, bares its teeth," he said. "I don't hear any growling or anything and at that time it started to move and I just instinctively cranked off two rounds at it. The first one I know I hit it because ... the way it jumped."
The mountain lion then fled through a wrought iron fence, he said.
Sport hunting of mountain lions in California has been barred since 1972, initially through moratoriums and then when voters approved a ballot initiative in 1990 and rejected an attempt to overturn it in 1996. The state, however, does issue permits authorizing the killing of mountain lions that pose a risk to people and domestic animals.
Well, last night I shot an elephant in my pajamas...never mind.
"The incident will be investigated to determine whether the initial shooting was justified, he said."
OMG. I hope he has an atty already.
So you have a mountain lion bearing down on you but you have no permit. Tell the lion to hold on while you run down to city hall?
...once it's actually killed something first as proof.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1559762/posts
I think once a Mountain lion is in a heavily populated area and is in someone's back yard, it is a de-facto risk, and a high one, too.
Beautiful animals, but they are a predatory cat, and cats from house cats to tigers have many of the same characteristics, in the larger cats, fatal to humans.
A bureaucrat's universe.
Typical lazy reporting. This should read:
Bounties on mountain lions in California were discontinued in 1972. Hunting was outlawed in 1990 when voters approved a ballot intiative. A proposition to overturn this regulation did not pass in 1996. State employees of the Department of Fish and Game are allowed to issue depradation permits authorizing people to protect themselves and livestock from an expanding mountain lion population.
Wow - how did an elephant get into your pajamas???
A 12 ga. shotgun would have been a better choice. A head shot at that range would have been the end of the cat. Even a mid-body shot would have killed it. The 9mm needs better shot placement.
"Bill Hill, a former Stanton police officer and now a private investigator, told TV reporters he shot twice with his 9 mm pistol."
He should have tried a .45
It's a mountain lion, it's killed lots of things or it wouldn't be alive. Now they must determine if it killed something they don't approve of. This is crazy, a mountain lion in your yard is a danger to anyone with half a brain.
Most of the lions alive today have never been shot at...thus they have lost their fear of man to a certain degree. In our area, single males with no territory often are found wandering residential streets looking for pets to eat. Another example of why letting nature take it's course is not the best policy choice.
Like a Jogger with two children?
I would recommend he modify his wrought-iron fence. If the rails are wide enough for the cat to squeeze through, they're wide enough for a kid to squeeze through.
My father in law and his wife live in Trabuco Canyon - and I went walking with them when we visited them a couple of weeks ago into the little farm area. Now I'm worried about them, his stepchildren, and their dog - that they leave outside while they are gone...
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