Mountain Lion Attack

[Old Proflexer]

in one of my favorite riding parks nearby, Whiting Ranch, a mountain biker riding alone was just attacked and killed.  two women which came along a few minutes later saw the bike on the trail and stopped to look for the rider and the two were injured as well by lion.  one woman saved the other by throwing rocks, grabbing her friend and pulled her away from the cat.

a next to arrive group cell phoned for help and the paramedics which were airlifted in were also under close scrutiny of the mountain lion looking to recover it's kill.  this was just before dusk.

hopefully at full light in the morning they'll be able to track down the female lion and destroy it.

this is sad, please be careful out there and always try to ride with a friend.  

right in my back yard

this is not good

i was going to ride today - by myself

a really sad   OP

[Matno]

Holy mackerel! That's scary! Makes me want to start riding with my 9mm again... (Okay, not so much here in New York). Just goes to show that you never know what can happen to you on the trail. Another reason why I hate riding alone.

[kiwi]

sheesh..better get a bigger pack op or rig up a "gun rack"we dont have to worry about ANYTHING like that here!!!!

[Phillip]

Op,
Call me paranoid, but if i was on trails with something that could kill me, I would add a defense item to the list of contents in my backpack. Maybe a small Glock 9mm. I realize that this is a rare situation, but I like peace of mind. By the way, that lion was killed.  

Matno,
You are  probably riding in a more dangerous area than OP. Does NY have CCW permits?

[RoentgenRanger]

We had that happen up here in WA a few years ago.  This one had a happier ending.  Seems the guy was a rather skilled martial artist as well and was able to fend off the cat with only minor injuries(a few stitches here and there).  Only real downside was that he was poaching a National Park trail.  As I remember, no charges were pressed.  Guess they figgered he had been punished enough!  Where did this incident of yours happen?

[Phillip]

This current  attack was in Orange County, CA.

Since my initial post, I saw Jack Hanna, the wild animal expert on CNN. He said that the lion was probably sick or old because this is extremly rare to attack a human. It's unfortunate that it had to be destroyed to prevent further attacks.

OP, you are probably in more danger driving down the freeway than riding on those mountain lion infested trails!  

[Mr.Ed]

  I would carry a 9 mm if I lived in NYC !

 

 Lots of Lions here, also some attacks, hikers and riders. However I have yet to have an encounter.
 
 Almost stepped on a rattlesnake, narrowly escaped a bull elk at about 12 feet away, and almost struck by lightning. All within a weeks time.  


 I've also had enounters with irate horse riders, even when I stopped with plenty of space between us.

Every once in a while, nature shows us that when we destroy land by putting subdivisions up, there just isn't enough room for man and beast.

[debaucherous]

It is saddening that this happened,  but keep this incident in perspective.  These attacks are very rare.  Granted there is research that shows some large predators are becoming accostomed to people and aggressive, but there are ways to train wild animals to fear people.  1) Don't feed 'em - ever. 2) Put a bike bell on and make a little noise when riding 3) Get some mace or pepper spray.  4) Be mean when you see 'em.  Everyone loves to see 'em in the backyard.  But you should throw rocks, make noise, use a BB-gun, or whatever to scare 'em off.  Make being around humans unpleasant.  It will make human-critter interactions much safer.

IMHO - I am more scared of some of the people carrying weapons I meet on the trails than I am of any animal.  More people are harmed by 9 mm weapons on populated trails than animal attacks stoppped.

[Scott]

Very sorry to hear of this...when I lived in Reno I once came within 20 feet of a very large cat resting atop a rocky overlook, luckily a strong wind in my face kept him from scenting or hearing me but I can tell you the pepper spray I carried was small comfort.  Shortly after a lion was hit on 395 and it weighed in excess of 200 lbs.  My guess is Mr. Hanna will be wrong and that it will be a young cat driven out of decreasing terriortory by  larger lions.  It's a very competitive area, cat wise, out there on account of urban sprawl. See udap.com for a spray much more effective than mace or standard pepper sprays and  some graphic testimonials too.  It's what I carry now.

[debaucherous]

Does anyone know if this is an area that was burned by the fires?  

[Mr.Ed]

 Hey Scott, that pepper spray at udap.com looks like it would be a good choice......thanks.  

Too bad the unfortunate rider in So.Cal. wasn't equipped with some protection.

or was he? and was the attack that sudden?

Ed

[Old Proflexer]

no fires locally in a while -

the cat knocked the female rider off her bike and drug her into the bush, by the face - her friend got her loose.  the first rider, a local male was killed earlier.

it was in the Whiting Wilderness park - homes on 3 sides of most of the park.

we have probably 1 attack every 2-3 years or so - sometimes small children in the Wilderness (camping) parks

OP

[Matno]

Matno,
You are  probably riding in a more dangerous area than OP. Does NY have CCW permits?

Yes, probably lots more dangerous. But not really dangerous at all when you're with other riders.

As for CCW permits, NY state has them. NYC does not, for all practical purposes. My dad has applied for a NYC license 3 times now and been denied all three times, in spite of having very good reasons. His most recent application was denied in spite of the fact that he is now a federally deputized air marshall licensed to carry a firearm on any airplane (he's a pilot for Continental)! The second time he applied, the person working the front desk in the applications department actually told him to his face that the ONLY people who get a CCW permit in the city are people with a personal connection to the commissioner and members of the mafia! Apparently they've never heard of the 2nd amendment here...

More people are harmed by 9 mm weapons on populated trails than animal attacks stoppped.

What the...
I've never heard of ANYONE getting shot by a 9mm on a populated trail. Somehow, I don't think there is any actual data to back that up. In fact, I doubt there's much data at all on the number of people who use a firearm to scare off animal attacks.

Personally, my scariest moment on a trail was getting charged by a bull moose with a rack about 4 feet wide! He would charge to within about 10 feet, lower his head, snort, and paw the ground. I didn't even try to reach for the little .22 pistol I was carrying! I slowly edged my way along the trail until he went away. Then, when I looked down the mountain from a switchback just a little farther up the trail, I saw a group of school aged kids (probably 8-10 3rd or 4th graders) in the same place! Tried to yell to them to stay away, but they couldn't hear me. Fortunately nothing happened. From my elevated vantage point, I could see that there was a cow moose with two calves in the bushes right behind where the bull was standing guard. Those things aren't afraid of anything!

For what it's worth, when I lived in Utah, the remote canyon area I lived in had the highest mountain lion concentration per square mile in the state (and possibly beyond the state). According to the fish and game department, there were approximately 30 of them in a relatively small area. Never saw one in 11 years, and in spite of spending a LOT of time outdoors alone, I never really worried about them. I suppose the incidence of "incidents" goes up when the human population is higher. I imagine the trails are somewhat more crowded in California than they are in rural Utah!

[Phillip]

Matno,

As for CCW permits, NY state has them. NYC does not

How does that work? Those yankees never did have any brains. [smiley=disbelief.gif]
Phillip (ex Texan too)

[debaucherous]

I've never heard of ANYONE getting shot by a 9mm on a populated trail. Somehow, I don't think there is any actual data to back that up. In fact, I doubt there's much data at all on the number of people who use a firearm to scare off animal attacks.  

You are likely correct that there have been no studies: I should have been more clear in my point.  More people die from guns accidentally or purposefully - than ever die from animal attacks.  





Though, I do not expect to convince anyone that guns on the trails are more dangerous than animals on the trail.  Nor am I trying to limit your second ammendment rights.  I am pointing out my interpretation of what virtually every wildlife attack and gun death statistic implies.





gun death info here



http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/weapons.htm