mountain lion attack in gun free paradise

[MD_Willington]

They are lions, a lot of ignorant people think they are wild kitties...

This is courtesy: North Island Guide Outfitters, Campbell River, BC
Canada.

http://www.huntingvancouverisland.com/pop-ups/cougar11.html


We have a lot of Mt Lions back home, check the gallery out:

http://www.huntingvancouverisland.com/photo_gallery/cougar_hunting.html

 

[gunsmith]

I saw a huge mountain lion last year

On my way back from Virginia City, NV it was crossing the road as the sun went down.
I pulled the truck over and rolled the window and called out "here kitty kitty"
I guess big cats don't like pick up trucks.

 

[pax]

How sad.

Only one post lauded this 65-year-old woman for her fighting spirit, her lawfully-unarmed bravery and her cool thinking under stress.

To my way of thinking, this is just an amazing story that exemplifies the defensive mindset perfectly: she made do with what she had and she didn't quit or run away or go looking for someone else to do the dirty work that needed doing. She didn't whine about the perfect tools she didn't have, she simply did the job with what she did have.

Kudos to her!

pax

 

[Mr White]

No carry allowed in PA state parks, and the Game Commission adamantly denies that there are any mountain lions in teh state, yet there are sightings all over the state. There have been several sighting within 10 miles of where I live. If I ever see one when I'm in the woods, its getting shot. I'll take it to the local paper and call the Game Commission office once I get there.

I'm not saying that I break any laws or advocate breaking any laws, but my attitude toward restrictions to carrying in certain areas is that alive and in a world of s**t still beats the hell out of dead.

 

[The Viking]

FurnCliff: Thats a cute kitty you've got there . Jokes aside, I love animals, but I ain't a treehugger. Still think its a pretty cat .

 

[Sir Aardvark]

Unfortunately, Mountain Lion attacks are becoming sort of common in California.

A few years ago a lady was jogging on a trail near Irvine Company land in Orange County and was attacked, killed, and partially eaten by a mountain lion.

Last year, a mountain biker was killed in Orange County. Apparentely, he stopped on the trail to fix his tire and was jumped from behind by the Mountain Lion. Authorities found his body tucked under a bush nearby.
This same Mountain Lion, a couple hours later, attacked another lady who was out hiking with her friend, and started dragging her down a hill into the shrubbery; her friend refused to let go of her and kicked the Cat and beat on it with rocks until it finally gave up. Authorities tracked down the Cat and killed it.

Also last year, in Carona, right next to Orange County, an off-duty Sheriff's Deputy (or maybe he was retired, can't remember) saw a Mountain Lion in his backyard and pulled out his pistol and shot the thing dead.
Boy... did the environmentalists get pissed over that... "he was just minding his own business and wasn't threatening anyone, why'd you have to shoot him?".

They need to start handing out permits to thin out these big Cats before they get too impacted by population numbers to safely roam their own range without being pressed into the fringes of the cities.

Oh yeah... I also agree with everybody that California is run by a bunch of Whackos who are disassociated with reality.

As for the "Adventure Pass" - I'm pretty sure that this is a federal thing, not a state thing. Pretty much, what it is, is a fee of $30.00 a year to use our National Forests, and the money is supposedly to go to upkeep of said forests.
I mean, I already pay taxes to keep up the Forests - it's not my fault the Gov't can't stop spending my money on other stupid stuff - so this is a way for the Gov't to fleece even more $$ out of us citizens in the guise of "user's fees" instead of taxes.

 

[gunsmith]

What Pax Said

Many people would just scream, run and dial 911.
Many Kudo's to the lady who stood by her man and got close enough to poke it in the eye!

 

[Keith Wheeler]

"My concern was to get Jim out of there," she said. "I told him, 'Get up, get up, walk,' and he did."

Chazak V'ematz.

 

[Sharps-shooter]

acting as legal counsel for the devil...

See, this just proves that nobody really needs guns for self-defense against animals. Even a frail old lady who is unarmed can defeat a mountain lion.

Seriously, I think it's just awesome that this woman beat down a mountain cat with a stick. I hope that her descendants will tell this story for many generations. (back in aught-seven, great great grandma nell whupped a mountain lion when she was 65 years old...).

I hope that when I'm old, and get attacked by a mountain lion, that my wife will do the same for me.

 

[phoglund]

The "Adventure Pass" seems to be a Federal program but it must be a limited one because I've never heard of such a thing here in Montana and I spend lots of time in the National Forests. We have really fallen as a society when spending time in some of the millions of square miles of National Forest needs a license!

 

[MikePGS]

Since 1990, the 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions estimated to be in California have been protected from hunting, although residents can get special permits to shoot a lion if it is perceived as a danger to people, pets or livestock.

Does that mean that she would've had to quickly get a permit while the thing was chomping hubbies head in order to shoot it legally?

In all seriousness Kudos to her. Though i'm sure her husband would've preferred to have the option of simply shooting the attacking animal, as opposed to having to rely on his 65 year old wife to help him out. I can only imagine how much trash talk the guys getting from his friends and family

 

[davhina]

Lions and Tigers and Bears

Oh my! Not without my .45

 

[1911Tuner]

re:

Sharps-Shooter wrote:

>I hope that when I'm old, and get attacked by a mountain lion, that my wife will do the same for me.<
****************

Yeah...for real. Instead of standin' back and hollerin': "Elmer! Did you remember to pay the life insurance premium this month???"

 

[davhina]

All kiding aside

Many people would just scream, run and dial 911.
Many Kudo's to the lady who stood by her man and got close enough to poke it in the eye!

Agreed..That woman certainly has "big brass ones".
Hopefully the anti's won't say "see waht she did? we don't need guns":banghead:

 

[OLD DOMENION]

Mountain lion attack in gun free paradise

Bring back the natural preditors!
Then maybe, they will eat most of the ANTI-GUN people.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

I never heard of them doing that up here, I called Mendicino Nat Forest Headquarters a few years ago and they said guns are ok at campsites and to use common sense when shooting.
They were real nice about it.

I think you are confusing national parks with national forests. Carrying loaded firearms is illegal in ALL national parks, as well as national monuments (which are operated by the National Park Service.

National forests, on the other hand, for the most part defer to the laws of the state in which they are located.

 

[Deaf Smith]

Here in out Texas Parks we CHL holders are allowed to carry out guns. There as been ZERO incidence of CHL holders poaching. There have been ZERO incidence of CHL holders illegaly hunting or plinking in the parks. There as been ZERO incidence of CHL holders sticking up other park goers.

So what in the frigg'en heck is going on with those Californicators? People who go through the effort the get CCWs AIN'T GOING TO POACH AT NIGHT. They AIN'T GOING TO ILLEGALY HUNT. But they might just off some killer.

It's more than just mountian lions or bears or such critters. There are two legged critters in those parks that hurt other people. If you have the right to defend your self, then you have the right to the means of defense!

I guess in California they just do their 'numbers' and decide people must die to keep their ideal of utopia. Yea, rolling blackouts, riots, earthquakes and fires (but their parks are safe for the critters.)

 

[GaryL]

One lion, a female, was shot with a rifle Wednesday night. The other, a male, was killed Thursday morning, said Fish and Game Warden Rick Banko. Their carcasses were flown to a state forensics lab in Rancho Cordova to determine if either animal mauled the man, he said.

FWIW, I think it's sad that they killed 2 cats, hoping one of them was the guilty party. Now if they had proper laws, it's quite possible they'd have an easier time finding the right cat because it would have bullet holes in it's hide.

 

[Lupinus]

furn you two make a cute couple

 

[thexrayboy]

When hiking in big cat country common sense must be the order of the day.

First never hike alone. It is rare for cats to attack humans, it is more rare for them to attack when more than one human is present. Not unheard of but
quite unlikely.

Second be armed if at all possible. Even a big knife is better than nothing.
Do not however assume that your weapon is a magic talisman that will save your life. Big cats are stealth hunters. You will be attacked with virtually no warning. You may not be able to access your weapon. Help from another person would be needed.

Third have a dog with you. Not some yap yap lap dog but at least a mid size dog or larger. The chance of the cat being able to sneak up on you are good. The chances of it being able to sneak up on your dog are much smaller. Just don't let your dog wander a lot while you hike. Dogs can stir up trouble and bring it running straight back to you sometimes.

Fourth remember, you are far more likely to die in your car on the way to or from your hike than by an attack from a mountain lion.

 

[Art Eatman]

thexrayboy, there have been two lion attacks in Big Bend National Park where groups of people were involved. Parents and kids. The lions went after the children.

Dogs aren't allowed in BBNP; I assume that's probably the case in other national parks.

Art

 

[gunsmith]

no dogs no guns no fun single file only you must obey

gee whiz! why do they call them parks!

But if you're wondering around out in the woods with fido (I bring Sparky when I can)
be aware that some places have trapping, and they bait it with smelly stuff dogs love.
I spend time in mtn lion country but my friends huge Rotties keep me safe.
I think the cats are figuring out where it is safe to attack humans, Northern NV aint that place!
I'll still keep the rotties and the guns nearby

 

[Ryder]

I did some high school time up in Placerville, Ca. We had a stuffed one in a display case that was twice as big as this.

 

[chris in va]

I remember when I was a teenager living in Colorado, lions would come down out of the foothills and eat various small game when the deer population would become scarce.

In Colorado Springs one lion ate a lady's small dog and the homeowner shot it with a 22. The cat wandered around town a while, leaving a blood trail the animal control people could track it down with. They trapped it, patched it up, tagged it's ear, then took it back up into the mountains...and a week later it promptly ate someone else's pet in town. Could've easily been a small child playing in a back yard.

I don't miss the 'greenies' or neo-hippies or whatever they call those idiots.

 

[1911Tuner]

Cats

All joking aside...The best thing for the cats and the people is to have controlled hunting seasons. Pushing the cats...or wolves,or coyotes...makes them afraid, and they tend to maintain a safe distance from us. When the Fuzzy Shangri-La crowd took over and forbade the hunting of large predators, they laid the groundwork for the attacks that are occurring. The problem is that, now...after several generations of being "protected"...it will take several more to reinstill the instinctive fear of human beings.

There was a time that seeing a Cougar or a Wolf or a Coyote or a Bobcat in the wild was so rare that it was a memorable event to be cherished....and it was a usually only a fleeting glimpse at their backsides as they fled in terror. Now, it seems that they're actually seeking us out. While the encroachment of civilization can account for some of this...it doesn't cover all of it.

I love the predators. They're my favorites among all wildlife...but there should be a wide No Man's/No Critter's land separating us...and that ain't gonna happen until we make'em understand that WE are the dangerous species, and that death follows the human scent.