Officials: Hiker’s encounter with mountain lion puts focus on safety

With BC-CNS-Mountain Lions-Box

Photos: 1 | 2 |3 (thumbnails, captions below)

By MEGAN THOMAS
Cronkite News Service

PHOENIX (Thursday, Oct. 30) _ A mountain lion will almost always back off when humans respond aggressively, by yelling and throwing rocks, for example.

This one didn’t.

The young female lion stalked a man and his chihuahua Oct. 25 as they hiked in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson. The man threw rocks, raised his arms and yelled, but the cat came closer. He pulled a pistol out of his backpack and shot into the ground, then at the lion, missing it but giving him time to escape.

While the man and dog avoided injury, officials decided that the lion represented a threat and killed it the next day.

It’s rare for mountain lions to attack humans, but experts say there’s greater potential for encounters these days because more people are living near and recreating in Arizona’s wilderness areas.

Tim Ellis, media associate for the Center of Biological Diversity, said people in the outdoors need to be aware that a mountain lion could be nearby.

“Part of the experience is that you run into wildlife, and you just have to exercise caution and awareness,” Ellis said.

Encounters between mountains lions and humans will increase as the cats’ habitat shrinks, said Matt Skroch, executive director of conservation group Sky Island Alliance.

“This issue is increasingly more common in this part of the world and in many parts of western North America, with increasing urbanization and development encroaching upon the natural habitats of animals like the mountain lion,” Skroch said.

Mountain lions become aggressive for different reasons, and it often is difficult to pinpoint a reason, said Aninna Thornburg, public information officer for Game and Fish.

Most of the recent stalkings in the Tucson area have involved young lions, and officials suspect those lions may have recently left their mothers’ care. Thornburg also also said pets and small children might encourage lions to stalk because they can look like prey.

“Maybe everything they see is a potential prey animal to them and they just don’t know that the human could be a potential threat yet,” Thornburg said.

Mountain lions can be found all around Arizona, but they are most common in areas with larger populations of deer, their preferred prey.

The Tucson area has seen more brushes between mountain lions and people in the past four years as the city has spread toward the mountains around it, Thornburg said.

In 2006, a mountain bike rider shot a mountain lion in the foot when it stalked him in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Sabino Canyon was closed temporarily by the U.S. Forest Service in 2004 after lions were sighted there.

Also in 2004, two bicycle riders in the Santa Catalina Mountains chased away a stalking female mountain lion that later was killed by wildlife officers.

Game and Fish advises those venturing into or living near areas with mountain lions to make themselves less vulnerable to stalking and to take steps that discourage lions from venturing near homes.

It says hikers, bikers and others are less appealing targets if they are in groups. They also should be aware that mountain lions are most active at dawn and dusk. Young children and pets should be kept close by.

Those who encounter an aggressive mountain lion should avoid running or crouching, which can provoke a lion. Instead, they should raise their arms to make themselves look bigger, speak loudly and move slowly. If the lion attacks, they should fight back.

Those living near wilderness areas should avoid feeding deer, javelina and rabbits, and they also should avoid landscaping with plants that those animals eat or that mountain lions can hide in. Pet food should be kept inside, and pets and small children should be watched closely, especially at dawn and dusk.

“As a community, as we encroach upon wildlife habitat, we need to take responsibility in helping these animals know that they’re wild,” Thornburg said.

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Web Link:
_ Arizona Game and Fish Department: www.azgfd.gov

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PHOTOS:

Click thumbnails to see full-resolution images and download; caption information is in the file under File>File Info.

CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-MOUNTAIN LIONS: A mountain lion is shown in this undated Arizona Game and Fish Department photo. A young female mountain lion was killed in October 2008 after stalking a woman and her dog hiking outside Tucson. Officials say such incidents are rare but serve as reminders that mountain lions can be nearby as people live and recreate near the wilderness. (Photo Credit: George Andrejko, Arizona Game and Fish Department)

CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-MOUNTAIN LIONS: A mountain lion is shown in this undated Arizona Game and Fish Department photo. A young female mountain lion was killed in October 2008 after stalking a woman and her dog hiking outside Tucson. Officials say such incidents are rare but serve as reminders that mountain lions can be nearby as people live and recreate near the wilderness. (Photo Credit: George Andrejko, Arizona Game and Fish Department)

CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-MOUNTAIN LIONS: A mountain lion is shown in this undated U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photo. A young female mountain lion was killed in October 2008 after stalking a man and his dog hiking outside Tucson. Officials say such incidents are rare but serve as reminders that mountain lions can be nearby as people live and recreate near the wilderness. (Photo Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)