Mountain Lion - Human Interactions
Interactions between humans and mountain lions have increased during the last 2 decades throughout most of the western United States and Canada (Beier 1991). Although mountain lion attacks are extremely rare, there were 9 fatal and at least 44 non-fatal attacks reported in North America between 1890 and 1990 (Beier 1991). The majority (66%) of the humans attacked were either unsupervised children or lone adults. Approximately 30% of the attacks occurred within sight of some type of developed area. Fitzhugh et. al. (2003) updated this information through 29 2003, and determined an additional 7 fatal and 38 non-fatal attacks had occurred since Beier(1991) published his data. The first recorded physical injury resulting from a human-mountain lion encounter in Wyoming occurred in 2006 near Laramie; fortunately, the injuries were minor. It appears younger-aged males, primarily yearlings, accounted for 42% of the attacks on humans(Beier 1991). Increased mountain lion numbers along with increased recreational use and urbanization of mountain lion habitat has created greater opportunity for mountain lion-human encounters. For example, new homes have been built on traditional mule deer winter range in Boulder County, Colorado, resulting in increased mountain lion sightings along with a dramatic increase in mountain lion predation on domestic pets (Sanders and Halfpenny 1991). Typically, when a mountain lion interacts with another animal, including a human, it determines whether the other animal is either prey or non-prey. If the animal is determined to be non-prey, it might become the target of aggressive behavior as the mountain lion may think the animal is a threat. Humans should attempt to maintain eye contact with an aggressive mountain lion and attempt to increase one’s potential size by standing erect. It appears that attacks can be reduced if the mountain lion is aware that you are not a typical prey species. If an attack does occur, humans should fight back as aggressively as possible. Several attacks have been broken off due to this type of response (Fitzhugh et al. 2003). If humans have the ability to observe a mountain lion prior to an attack, they can interpret specific mountain lion behavior to assess the level of threat from the mountain lion (Appendix IV).