After a pleasant conversation with a Santa Monica Mountains Ranger wherein I described the fox I saw in Mandeville Canyon, I was informed that there are SEVEN tagged mountain lions roaming the area that they monitor 24/7. That made me happy, but also wary. In light of this information, and because many of you ride the local mountains daily, I thought I'd write down some big-cat info.
To describe them in a sentence, mountain lions are nowhere and everywhere. It's various names even elude confinement. Names like cougar, puma, panther, catamount, and even "painter" seem so widely different, one even wonders if they are the same animal. Well adapted to their environment, they are part of a growing number of carnivores in North America.
With a fifteen foot leap and color pattern to match the dry brush of the Western States, we have all probably been watched by one at some time or another. Kittens eyes are blue at ten days old, but turn a yellow/amber soon after. They are born with spots to help protect them as babies, but these fade after ten months or so.
With instincts and proper parenting, they can become fierce hunters in their habits. They kill deer and elk periodically, and they tend to limit their numbers to meet available territory. Only so many cats will live in a given area.
Currently each U.S. state regulates the killing of lions except Texas. While their numbers are now on the rise due to this legislation, it was not always so. Between the years of 1820 and 1845, it is estimated that 600 mountain lions were killed IN ONE COUNTY ALONE(Centre County, Pennsylvania)! In Florida today, it is argued whether the Florida Panther is actually extinct. In 1992, it was beleived that only 29 remained, but many fel they are actually transplants from Montana, and not the native Florida species at all.
As our population centers grow, and we expand into the hills and mountains for shelter, one thing is certain. We will see more and more of them, and they will see much more of us. They typically attack from high ground, using their body weight and gravity to assist in felling their prey. If you see a mountain lion, he's seen you for a long time. Unlike bears where we are told to play dead, if you do not fight for your life with a lion, you won't be playing dead at all. Remember to never ride alone at night, and always tell someone where you are going to go..EXACTLY. Now here comes the hard part for the mountain bikers....you need to actually stick to the route plan you left your spouse/friend/significant other. If you change the route, and ANYTHING happens to you (lion, crash, flat tire, dehydration) you greatly reduce your chance of being found. Just a little 411 on our feline friends, hope it helps!
"Lord of stealthy murder, facing his doom with a heart both craven and cruel."
Theodore Roosevelt, on the mountain lion
Super Dork
