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Mountain Lion On Loose After Fatal Attack
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Posted on 01/08/2004 6:33:50 PM PST by SoCal Pubbie
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To: lepton
people stopped hunting them with guns Officials were initially trying to capture the animal, but because it keeps coming back and is described as "very, very aggressive," they are now considering it for termination
like deer and geese on the golf courses soon.
41
posted on
01/08/2004 7:47:08 PM PST
by
alrea
To: SoCal Pubbie
Mountain Lion On Loose After Fatal Attack I don't know whether to say "what a bizarre title" or "only in the mind of liberals".
Of course the animal is "on the loose". That's what he does.
Maybe liberals think that cats , once it's explained to them, respond to reason and turn themselves in voluntarily after having committed the "sin" of trying to survive.
To: lepton
Keep me out of this.
What a tragedy this was. A few years ago, a woman jogger was killed. These are not little pussy cats.
43
posted on
01/08/2004 8:11:09 PM PST
by
doug from upland
(Don't wait until it is too late to stop Hillary -- do something today!)
To: SoCal Pubbie
>>Mountain lions have actually been seen in my housing track at times.
Got kids? Any live in the neighborhood?
Shoot, shovel, and shut up.
44
posted on
01/08/2004 8:17:25 PM PST
by
FreedomPoster
(this space intentionally blank)
To: SoCal Pubbie
"In all honesty, I'm not sure a gun would have helped that much. The lion leaped on a woman's back, then got a hold of her face. Yes, shooting the beast may prevent it from killing others, but they're so stealthy I doubt a victim would have much time to react."
Concur. This is what startles me most about this story.
A few years ago, we were hiking alone in a State Historical Park in the afternoon when we saw one of the Park Rangers leaving. I asked the Ranger if it was safe to be hiking alone as long as we stayed on the path.
She said "Actually we have had several sightings and reports from hikers of a female cougar walking along the path in the past few weeks."
"If you see it, don't run and don't stoop down for any reason. That's what deer and rabbits do before they try to run away from the cougar. Keep your kids close to you."
"In fact, it would be good to carry a big stick with you. Forget looking for one after you spot the cougar - it's too late."
"Just try to 'look big' by waving your arms in the air and by keeping your kids close to you. She'll probably leave you alone."
Despite the Ranger's "probably" we hiked up hill on the path for about another 10 minutes then sanity overcame my bravery and we hightailed it back down the trail to safety.
On another occasion I asked another Ranger in a different park if cougars generally were considered not very dangerous especially if you leave them alone. He replied:
"Cougars are lions, carnivores, just as dangerous as those lions found in other countries, although they are much smaller. The average cougar can take a 130 pound deer in its mouth over a 7 foot fence. If a cougar is hungry, a 130 pound or smaller sized human is equally vulnerable, although not a cougar's typical meal choice. Cougars are rarely seen, but that doesn't mean that they are not in the bushes watching."
This cougar attack tonight could serve as an important reminder for those who may still feel completely safe on hikes in the wilderness or who may still feel that a cougar would never leap out of the bushes at them.
I love wildlife and respect wildlife as much as I respect other wonders of nature. I also think that it's perfectly okay to give the creatures an extremely wide berth.
These people in today's attack were on bikes, probably going a lot faster than the average hiker. I've been on long walking hikes since the two quasi-warnings I heard from the Rangers. I hiked in the heart of cougar country, carrying no sticks, no big rocks and with the idea that it could never happen to me. Shudder.
45
posted on
01/08/2004 8:19:30 PM PST
by
bd476
(New Year's Resolution: Decrease FR online time to 1 hour a day... 23 more to go!)
To: bd476
Safety in numbers, herd mentality, and all that.
46
posted on
01/08/2004 8:28:28 PM PST
by
FreedomPoster
(this space intentionally blank)
To: Nick Danger
LOL - I'll have to remember that one and use it on my husband. He makes that same mistake from time to time in his writings.
Comment #48 Removed by Moderator
To: FreedomPoster
Yep. The cats get hungry up in the hills. It's hard to fathom one attacking someone on a bike. Two bicyclists would seem to be
big prey going rather fast, when compared to someone walking.
And the other victim was a man. Most male bicyclists weigh more than 130 pounds, right?
49
posted on
01/08/2004 8:36:01 PM PST
by
bd476
(New Year's Resolution: Decrease FR online time to 1 hour a day... 23 more to go!)
To: Constructionist; SoCal Pubbie
So Cal, ping to #48...and good. Glad they got it.
50
posted on
01/08/2004 8:36:06 PM PST
by
Brad’s Gramma
(MY GOD is bigger than some dead dude named mohammed)
To: SoCal Pubbie
I used to live in Mission Viejo, just above the green belt area that runs from the rec center through the south part of town, and people used to see the mtn lions roaming through the area all the time. So, now they have matured and multiplied.
Remember when that girl was mauled at Ortega?
51
posted on
01/08/2004 8:39:24 PM PST
by
Eva
To: Constructionist
Thanks for the update. Somehow though, I don't feel safer and probably won't be going on any wilderness hikes in the near future. The cats have less and less territory and not a lot of food.
Coyotes come down from the hills looking for food. They stay when they find pets cocker spaniel size and smaller. Then Wild Animal Control people come out with live traps, catch the coyotes and kill them. Once coyotes find a good feeding area with plenty of pets in the suburbs, they always find their way back.
52
posted on
01/08/2004 8:42:01 PM PST
by
bd476
(New Year's Resolution: Decrease FR online time to 1 hour a day... 23 more to go!)
To: bd476
>>And the other victim was a man. Most male bicyclists weigh more than 130 pounds, right?
Hungry cat, momma cat with a cub hidden away and needs food, small guy, lots of reasons why such an attack might come to pass.
53
posted on
01/08/2004 8:44:11 PM PST
by
FreedomPoster
(this space intentionally blank)
To: SoCal Pubbie
Officials were initially trying to capture the animal, but because it keeps coming back and is described as "very, very aggressive," they are now considering it for termination. Considering???
Becki
54
posted on
01/08/2004 8:48:49 PM PST
by
Becki
(Pray continually for our leaders and our troops!)
To: Nick Danger
I'm glad you explained that -- that particular rule has always confused me. Seems to me it should be the other way around. Now I have mental picture. :-D
To: NotJustAnotherPrettyFace; Nick Danger
"It's kill", is correct. The apostrophe is showing ownership as in "Nick's kill".
56
posted on
01/08/2004 8:53:52 PM PST
by
Shooter 2.5
(Don't punch holes in the lifeboat)
To: Shooter 2.5
Not so. Possessive form of it is "its".
The It's vs. Its page
If you're confused by these two little words, you've come to the right place.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's is a contraction for it is or it has.
Its is a possessive pronoun meaning, more or less, of it or belonging to it.
And there is absolutely, positively, no such word as its'.
A simple test
If you can replace it[']s in your sentence with it is or it has, then your word is it's; otherwise, your word is its.
Another test
Its is the neuter version of his and her. Try plugging her into your sentence where you think its belongs. (It's better to use her for reasons I may explain someday.) If the sentence still works grammatically (if not logically) then your word is indeed its.
Examples
It's been good to know you. Contraction: it has
It's a bird! It's a plane! Contraction: it is
The dodo bird is known for its inability to fly. Possessive pronoun: its inability = the dodo bird's inability
To: Shooter 2.5
Actually, "it's" is a contraction for "it is". "Its" is the adjective meaning "of or relating to it or itself " FYI.
To: bd476
As an aside, and a shameles plug, I am finalizing a paleontology exhibit to debut at the Old County Courthouse Museum in Santa Ana, CA the first week of February. Thecolection includes one specimen from an American Lion, now extinct. These lions were BIGGER than their almost indentical African cousins. They lived at the same time as the Sabre Toothed Cat, so prevelant in the nearby Le Brea Tar Pits. Considering the bison and rhinos who lived here, along with Imperial Mammoths and Mastodons, the LA basin was quite a wild safari land 15,000 years ago!
To: SoCal Pubbie; NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
The things I learn on FR. Thanks for the information and I'll try to remember the rule.
Now back to our regular programming.
60
posted on
01/08/2004 9:12:16 PM PST
by
Shooter 2.5
(Don't punch holes in the lifeboat)
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