From: Wild Sanctuary <>
> Only 18 humans have been iced by mountain lions since the 1890s in
> the US although several more have been injured. The lions and bears
> are (generally) more afraid of us then we of them and they get a
> terribly bad rap in the press. I just tell my students and interns to
> be especially aware of their surroundings - to listen, look and sniff
> the air for signs of change or tension that is often expressed within
> the biophony, by the way. My wife and I live on 10 acres surrounded
> by oak savannah and scrub and enjoy the 200 lb male lion that lives
> and wanders (along w/ coyotes, foxes, deer, skunk, possum, hare,
> gophers, moles, voles, etc.) at the ridge about 50M from our house.
> Our cats, YoYo Meow and Eddie-puss-Rex, are indoor/outdoor critters
> and have never yet been bothered. I run 4 miles every other day along
> the rural county road at the bottom of the hill and have caught
> glimpses of the lion at dusk and early AM on occasion and have never
> sensed that I was in danger. I am certainly aware of him, though, and
> stay alert.
In the late 60's I did my stint in the army in Fresno, CA. I had a lot
of free time, and roamed the Sierras quite extensively. Being a field
biologist, I was in contact with a number of biologists working the area
and got to poke around with them. One of those was radio tracking
mountain lions to research their daily activity habits.
One of the lions they tracked for years was interesting in regards this
subject. Very healthy, he'd been collared in the wilderness well away
from people. But, it turned out that was one end of his territory. The
middle of his territory contained a sort of resort area, campgrounds,
rental cabins, day use areas, a store and restaurant and so on. Every
day that lion went right through the middle of that, but had never been
seen by anybody there. Often not much separating him from the people.
One of his favorite midday nap places was behind a large bolder, with
the other side being the local swimming hole, which was crowded. I
camped all through that area. Some of the spots I camped were right on
his path. Naturally, the biologists did not tell the folks in the area
what the lion was doing, the same as the ones studying rattlesnakes in
western oregon and washington don't tell folks about them either. Far
too much unwarranted fear.
I would think running or jogging through past a lion would be one of the
more risky things to do. They are deer specialists, and someone running
could set off their hunting mode. The fact that many folks do this
safely says a lot about just how safe we are, even imitating a prey
animal running away seems pretty safe.
Walt
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