Safety meetings scheduled in Monrovia
By Marshall Allen, Staff Writer
Article Published: Monday, August 08, 2005
MONROVIA -- In January 2003, a 140-pound male mountain lion was found in front of a house just north of the Foothill (210) Freeway.
The animal one of the largest of its kind ever encountered by California Department of Fish and Game officials was spotted in the 200 block of Central Avenue by a deliveryman wheeling a hand truck to the home's front door. The man brushed from his face what he thought was a rope hanging from an avocado tree.
It was a tail.
Lt. Marty Hall of the California Department of Fish and Game tranquilized the mountain lion with a dart. But subduing the animals with drugs is not always possible because they are so charged with adrenaline, he said.
Such a complication occurred at 4:53 a.m. Thursday, when a young mountain lion was hit by a car in the 3300 block of East New York Drive, Hall said. The animal was badly injured internally but could not be tranquilized. Authorities had to kill it with blasts from a shotgun, police officials said.
Mountain lions are rarely seen in the foothill communities. But they , bears and rattlesnakes are frequent visitors whether seen or unseen in neighborhoods adjacent to Angeles National Forest, authorities said.
To address the problem, the city of Monrovia is sponsoring a series of meetings to provide safety guidelines for residents. Hall will be the featured speaker at the sessions.
The animals generally avoid people, but they are unpredictable and can be dangerous, said Sgt. Alan Sanvictores of the Monrovia Police Department. Yet some residents do not take proper precautions.
The worst offenders leave food outside their homes for the bears, which encourages them to come out of the hills and can lead to unexpected confrontations, Sanvictores said.
"It can be very unsafe if you're walking out of your house and come face to face with a bear,' he said.
Wild animals roam in neighborhoods year- round, though calls about them increase in the summer because there is more daylight and residents spend more time outdoors, Hall said.
Compared to other cities, Monrovia has a higher number of calls there were 91 calls about bears in 2004 because a natural drainage from the San Gabriel Mountains leads into the city, Hall said. Sometimes animals live in neighborhoods surprisingly far from the mountains.
Hall said the bears in Monrovia are black bears, which are generally not aggressive toward humans. There have only been 13 documented cases of mountain lions attacking humans in the past 100 years, he said.
The animals are wild and unpredictable and people should give them space, Hall said. He recommends that residents remove all food, water and shelter the things that attract wild animals from outside their homes. They should never feed the animals, and if they encounter them should give them the respect they deserve, he said.
During a drought in 2003, the city of Monrovia placed seven water receptacles in the foothills, in hopes that providing animals water in the forested areas would keep them from roaming neighborhoods looking for a drink. But Hall said such measures actually encourage bears and other wild animals to stay in the area.
"He'll get a drink of water up the hill, but he'll go get an avocado down the hill,' Hall said. "He's got more reason to stay in the area because he's got water.'
The upcoming meetings on safety guidelines are for hillside residents only and are planned for 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at private homes. For the location of each meeting, call Lt. Rick Miglia of the Monrovia Police Department at (626) 256-8056.
A town hall meeting for all residents will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 31 at Monrovia City Hall, 415 S. Ivy Ave.
You and Karl have a conspiracy going, don't you?
Go to bed. Both of you.
Now.
Scram.
RATTLESNAKES????? EEEEEEEEK!!