Posted on 05/20/2022 11:56:20 PM PDT by LibWhacker
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) responded to a report of a mountain lion attack in Trinity County on May 16, 2022. The incident occurred approximately 3:00 p.m. along State Route 299 near Big Bar.
A woman was driving on State Route 299 when she stopped beside the road near a picnic area and exited the vehicle with her dog. She began walking down a path with the dog slightly ahead of her. She noticed movement beside her as a mountain lion swiped her across her left shoulder, causing injury. She screamed and her dog, a Belgian Malinois, immediately returned and engaged the mountain lion. The mountain lion bit the dog’s head and would not let go. The woman attempted to throw rocks, tug and pull them apart, and even attempted to gouge the eyes out of the lion, to no avail.
The woman went back up to the road and flagged down a passing vehicle. A passerby stopped, retrieved a can of pepper spray and sprayed the lion in the face with little to no effect. The mountain lion was attempting to move off the trail and drag the dog to a different location. The woman and the passerby eventually retrieved a piece of PVC pipe and began hitting the mountain lion with it until it finally released the dog.
The woman drove her dog straight to a veterinarian for emergency treatment. The dog’s condition is guarded, and it is unknown if she will survive. The woman then drove herself to receive medical treatment in Redding. Her injuries consist of bite wounds, scratches, bruises and abrasions, but are non-life threatening.
Wildlife officers have interviewed the victim, the passerby, the veterinarian and the emergency medical physician, and have worked with each of them to collect appropriate samples for analysis. The samples were delivered to the CDFW Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Sacramento and are being processed. Although DNA analysis from samples taken during the investigation are the most reliable way to conclusively prove an attack has occurred, initial evidence from the investigation is strong enough to allow wildlife officers to treat the investigation as a legitimate attack.
Those in the area should be aware that CDFW’s Law Enforcement Division is working with allied agency partners to trap the offending mountain lion and will further evaluate the situation if it is caught. As a reminder, people should always be vigilant when recreating in mountain lion habitat.
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I live just over the mountain from Big Bar, my dogs are KANGLE, GERMAN SHEPARD, ROTWEILER, and a very large NEW FOUNDLAND/BLACK LAB mix.
The only welcome here on my farm for mountain lions and bears is a full magazine of 308!
I carry a 44mag revolver in the mountains around Pocatello. Lots of mountain lions. I also carry a few knives. Whacking the lions with rocks and PVC is lame. I’m happy the dog was freed.
Any working firearm in a situation like this would have done the job from 22 short on up.
Even any decent sized edge weapon.
I read this story the other day. The poor dog was hurt really bad, but she instantly sprang to the defense of her owner. The dog breed is “Belgian Malinois” but she looks like a German Shepherd.
The dog may survive. She has skull fractures. The lady tried to save her dog and finally, with the help of a passerby, they managed to scare the cat away. Really dramatic story. My last dog, now deceased, was injured after he attacked a coyote. He was just a really little dog and saw this coyote (it was just passing along the road) and my dog was like “RARRRRR HAVE AT YOU!” and chased him, and finally the coyote turned and bit him.
I agree that the lady should have had a weapon. Everyone should carry a weapon esp now. A friend of mine said that back in the 1940s-50s his aunts were in school and they used to get bullied. His grandma, their mom, gave them a little packet of cayenne pepper on a thing like a locket that they wore around their necks, with instructions for use. The next time a bully confronted one of them, she opened the locket and blew the cayenne into his face. It did solve the problem at the time.
It takes a bit more than a piece of PVC to beat off a mountain lion.
“Although DNA analysis from samples taken during the investigation are the most reliable way to conclusively prove an attack has occurred, initial evidence from the investigation is strong enough to allow wildlife officers to treat the investigation as a legitimate attack.”
Sounds like multiple witnesses, extended close range contact, and severe injuries is barely enough for Idaho wildlife officials to concede that a mountain lion attack occurred.
California, not Idaho.
“California, not Idaho.”
My mistake.
My dad grew up in the mountains of Kentucky in the early 1900’s. He said the trails he had to follow to the store or schools had perches with handholds on large rocks for them to climb to escape wolves. Said he spent a night on one once. Ever hear of Saldee? Talk about a small town - farms and a general store/post office. All perched on the side of the mountains.
Oh wow. O.o I don’t imagine it’s like that now. Or is it?
Did not California make it illegal to hunt mountain lions a few years back?
I have driven Highway 299 probably 100 times over the years. I would certainly never get out of my vehicle unarmed anyplace on 299. Bad vibes.
I have lived in California all my life and never knew of Big Bar. I had to check it out on Google maps.
Here's an pretty good, but old, article I found while looking it up => Should Mountain Lions Be Hunted in California?.
Can't believe those liberal whackos ran it or allowed it to remain up.
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