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Fatal mountain lion attack in Washington State
- Thread starter GromsDad
- Start date
I'm in the woods of the PNW every day... have been for years. It's pretty unusual for a cat to go after a human other than a small child. Their survival instinct tells them to avoid prey that might cause them harm. There was almost certainly something with this animal... but that something might have been that it was starving.
Solo hiked in Caspers park last week... only car in the lot. Was coming down the trail after sunset and got a spooky feeling like I was being stalked. Everything was silent, birds stopped singing and the air was very still. Stopped, turned around and waited for a bit then moved along and kept looking over my shoulder. Nothing... I had a large walking stick and a water bottle but would be no match of a charging lion!
I wonder if an air horn would frighten it off?
I wonder if an air horn would frighten it off?
We see them regularly on my dad's property. Last summer I was out walking on his property late in the afternoon by myself and went through a wet, natural spring. Looked down and saw a paw print the size of a small dinner plate. Fresh, the spring water was just starting to leak into it. Time to do a 180 and head back the way I came.GWS said:
this post is real talk, and makes me feel like less of a botch for bailing on my plans of going solo bike packing in the national forests around here as a weekend get away. I bought the bike and then learned about mountain lions and black bears the next day, and logic just told me look dude, as one guy on a bright red bike you’re just a fvcking target for a predatory cat. Never even went bike packing, sold the bike recently because I don’t wanna be cat food. Chances might be slim, but I just couldn’t justify regularly putting myself into a potential situation which I would be inevitably unprepared for. As much of a badass life changing time those weekend trips could have been, it’s still just dumb to do, odds notwithstanding.shiver_me_timbers said:
I remember searching videos when I was trying to gauge the threat and learn about their behavior. I saw this one specifically and it was really interesting to me how in the beginning the guy turns his back and runs away and the cat is just THERE, ready to pounce. But then at the end he shows confidence and the cat backs away.
I think people tend to think wild animals are just like humans - if I run away maybe I’ll be fast enough to get away, or find someone else who can help me, or maybe the other guy will be slower than me. But it isn’t like that. That wild animal would tear you to shreds in a one on one fight. But unless you trigger its aggressive response it doesn’t know that! Run away, you’re a weak, slow meal on a fvcking platter. But treat the wild animal like your next meal and it will run for its life. Idk, I’m sure it’s not universally true, but I just hate hearing stories of the mountain biker running away. Like, dude, that cat would be scared shitless if you if you just sprinted up to it and kicked it in the face while it was eating your friend. They aren’t fighters, they’re ambush predators. I mean you might be fucked if you don’t have a knife but still, you’re not helping your cause by turning and running. Or like when I go hiking with women and any time something rustles in the bushes they show the weakest body language of curling up into a ball and running away or screaming or hiding or whatever. Like, you’re just making things so damn much worse for yourself.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=jWpleN562WE
Fairly regular sightings in the woods around the town I teach in. And, multiple sightings last week on the Lower Deschutes near Warm Springs.
Here kitty kitty...
Here kitty kitty...
One other factor that might come out is if the cat was sick. There was an incident some years back where a mountain lion attacked some people up in Sonoma county.
They were camping in a tent in the yard and woke up hearing their dog freaking out. Jumped out of the tent in time to see a cougar dragging their dog off into the brush.
The people in the house woke up and came outside. 4 full grown adults standing in the yard, trying to make sense of what had happened and BAM! Cougar came rocketing out of the brush and attacked all four of them. They fought it off and ended up killing it with their bare hands. One guy had a bunch of his fingers bitten off. Later on after the county authorities got involved it turned out the animal tested positive for rabies. Mandatory shots for all.
They were camping in a tent in the yard and woke up hearing their dog freaking out. Jumped out of the tent in time to see a cougar dragging their dog off into the brush.
The people in the house woke up and came outside. 4 full grown adults standing in the yard, trying to make sense of what had happened and BAM! Cougar came rocketing out of the brush and attacked all four of them. They fought it off and ended up killing it with their bare hands. One guy had a bunch of his fingers bitten off. Later on after the county authorities got involved it turned out the animal tested positive for rabies. Mandatory shots for all.
Unless the article is inaccurate, a 100lb 3-4 y/o male sounds a wee bit (understatement) emaciated, no?Leaverite said:
and...
http://tchester.org/sgm/lists/lion_attacks_ca.html
"A 9-year-old boy, Darron Arroyo, was attacked by a cougar as he was hiking on a trail with his two brothers in Gaviota State Park, Santa Barbara County." etc etc etc. "His parents sued the State of California"
A lion attacked a 5-year-old girl, Laura Small, in Caspers Regional Park, Orange County, resulting in a $2 million court judgment against Orange County. Laura remains blind in one eye and partially paralyzed.
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/mar/26/local/me-cougar26
"The parents of a 35-year-old mountain bike enthusiast killed last year by a cougar in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Orange County, alleging that officials should have known the park was dangerous. "
Our modern day world is riddled with bad genetics. Watch this video about a french guy who runs away and leaves his family behind in a wildlife park._____ said:Unless the article is inaccurate, a 100lb 3-4 y/o male sounds a wee bit (understatement) emaciated, no?Leaverite said:
and...
http://tchester.org/sgm/lists/lion_attacks_ca.html
"A 9-year-old boy, Darron Arroyo, was attacked by a cougar as he was hiking on a trail with his two brothers in Gaviota State Park, Santa Barbara County." etc etc etc. "His parents sued the State of California"
A lion attacked a 5-year-old girl, Laura Small, in Caspers Regional Park, Orange County, resulting in a $2 million court judgment against Orange County. Laura remains blind in one eye and partially paralyzed.
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/mar/26/local/me-cougar26
"The parents of a 35-year-old mountain bike enthusiast killed last year by a cougar in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Orange County, alleging that officials should have known the park was dangerous. "
He's already bred so its too late...
UCSC study is interesting. 36M checking the brussel sprouts at 4mile. Article in the murky news several years ago said they can run 45mph, vertical leap of 25 feet and horizontal leap of 45 feet. If they want you your pretty much done.
I was biking up on a fire road above Lexington Reservoir about 10 years ago getting towards dusk, pretty high up and all of the sudden I got a weird sketchy feeling out of nowhere. I stopped, looked around all is quiet. I turned around and headed down. I still remember the weird feeling and who knows what it was. Big time GPS plots up in the hills there on the Puma site. Looking at the tracks on the UCSC site, I hike a lot at Big Basin over the years and a lot of walks solo. You just never know. I remember the attack in the OC park, guy was bent over working on his bike. Damn what a way to go.
http://santacruzpumas.org
I was biking up on a fire road above Lexington Reservoir about 10 years ago getting towards dusk, pretty high up and all of the sudden I got a weird sketchy feeling out of nowhere. I stopped, looked around all is quiet. I turned around and headed down. I still remember the weird feeling and who knows what it was. Big time GPS plots up in the hills there on the Puma site. Looking at the tracks on the UCSC site, I hike a lot at Big Basin over the years and a lot of walks solo. You just never know. I remember the attack in the OC park, guy was bent over working on his bike. Damn what a way to go.
http://santacruzpumas.org
Ahahaha.shiver_me_timbers said:
What gun do you carry when you go surfing?
You know there are predators in the ocean too, right?
There is a reason our forefathers eradicated deadly predators like mountain lions, bears, wolves and coyotes in populated areas. Now everyone acts like these animals are cute and harmless.
