You might have something there, I don’t know.
I do know that in the foothill areas of Los Angeles county there have been cougar encounters with them coming out of the hills into residential areas in the last few years. A child was killed though pets have been the bulk of attacks.
I grew up and lived many years in communities that abutted the San Gabriel mountains and can’t remember a single incident from back then. Since (I believe) 1996 when the people voted to protect them there have been more and more incidents, of course there’s more and more people every year too.
>> “Since (I believe) 1996 when the people voted to protect them there have been more and more incidents, of course there’s more and more people every year too.” <<
Probably both, but I think the hunting ban is the first cause.
When we moved into the woods, we would see large herds of deer grazing n the fields (at dusk/night). After a dozen years, the large herds disappeared. The Game Dept claimed it was because they were afraid of people/houses.
I do not buy that, since the deer (small herds) would spend a lot of time in our yard, even though out dog would bark at them, from inside the fence. I believe that they stayed near houses, because the cougars kept away from people, and their houses. Sort of a safe zone for deer.
After our urban voters banned cougar hunting, the cougars increased, and the deer decreased. There was also much poaching, but the game dept did nothing to stop it.
Another factor is the Disney type movies about wildlife which teaches urbanites that large, wild predators are not dangerous.
DG