Living with mountain lions, OMG!

San Francisco Chronicle/SF Gate/Kevin Schultz, 7/1/16. "Pacifica residents put on alert after mountain lion spotted."

Very big cat in a Pacifica garden

"Pacifica residents are being warned that a mountain lion, measuring at least 6 feet long, was seen prowling a residential neighborhood in the oceanside community Wednesday night and leaping over a backyard fence. Police were called to the 700 block of Big Bend Drive (Park Pacifica) at 8:30 p.m. after the big cat was spotted in the backyard of a home. The homeowner told officers the lion jumped a fence into an adjacent yard. Officers quickly checked the yards of several nearby residences, but did not find the cat.

One of the residents who initially reported seeing the mountain lion showed officers a video of it. The footage, officials said, was of an adult mountain lion five to six feet long. Officials notified the California Department of Fish & Wildlife. They have advised all residents to use caution in the area and released a list of safety recommendations that include:
• Not feeding deer. It is illegal in California and it will attract mountain lions.  • Not approaching a mountain lion if one is seen, especially one that is feeding or with offspring. Most mountain lions will try to avoid confrontation.  • Avoiding hiking or jogging through wooded areas at dawn, dusk or at night when mountain lions are most active. • Keeping a close watch on small children when hiking or traveling in or around wooded areas. • Keeping all pets and pet food indoors at night."

Related article. ABC7 news, 7/1/16, "Pacifica police issue warning after mountain lion spotted in homeowners backyard." ... Just as quickly as the mountain lion appeared, it disappeared. "It hopped the fence next door," Micah DeLaCruz (Big Ben Drive resident) said.  Note: the Mountain Lion was photographed Micah DeLaCruz, and was posted on this related ABC7 news article.  

Reference, Mountain lion.  California Department of Fish and Wildlife, "Keep me wild: Mountain Lion. You may be attracting mountain lions to your property without knowing it." "More than half of California is mountain lion habitat. .... Mountain lions prefer deer but, if allowed, they also eat pets and livestock. In extremely rare cases, even people have fallen prey to mountain lions.

Submitted by Jim Wagner

Posted by Kathy Meeh