Living in rural Rancho Santa Fe includes a menagerie of wildlife. A recent sighting of a mountain lion along with a coyote in the eastern part of the Covenant is a reminder that we must follow some safety guidelines around our area’s apex predator – the mountain lion.
Mountain lions roam across our local neighborhoods, but are usually quiet and elusive. Although your chances of seeing one of these secretive animals is slight, we can sometimes encounter them. Mountain lions are solitary animals, traveling alone except during mating season or when a female is supporting young. They can be seen at any time of the day or night, but are most active at dawn and dusk. They are carnivores and prey mostly on deer, but also eat small animals like porcupines, rabbits, squirrels, marmots, and skunks. We aren’t sure whether a meal was made of this recent face-off of our community’s two top predators — the mountain lion and the ubiquitous coyote.
The following are mountain lion safety guidelines from the U.S. National Park Service. If you encounter a mountain lion, remember the goals are to convince it that you are not prey and that you may be dangerous. Follow these safety tips:
- Do not jog or hike alone. Go in groups with adults supervising children.
- Keep children close to you. Do not allow children to play along river banks, in heavy vegetation, or alone at dawn or dusk. When hiking with children, watch them closely and never let them run ahead of you. Observations of captured wild mountain lions reveal that the animals seem especially drawn to children.
- Do not approach a lion. Most mountain lions will try to avoid a confrontation. Give them a way to escape.
- Do not run from a lion. Running may stimulate a mountain lion’s instinct to chase. Instead, stand and face the animal. Make eye contact. If you have small children with you, pick them up if possible so that they don’t panic and run. Although it may be awkward, pick them up without bending over or turning away from the mountain lion.
- Do not crouch down or bend over. A human standing up is just not the right shape for a lion’s prey. Conversely, a person squatting or bending over resembles a four-legged prey animal. In mountain lion country, avoid squatting, crouching or bending over, even when picking up children.
- Do all you can to appear larger. Raise your arms. Open your jacket if you are wearing one. Again, pick up small children. Throw stones, branches, or whatever you can reach without crouching or turning your back. Wave your arms slowly and speak firmly in a loud voice. The idea is to convince the mountain lion that you are not prey and that you may be a danger to it.
- Fight back if attacked. A hiker in southern California used a rock to fend off a mountain lion that was attacking his son. Others have fought back successfully with sticks, caps, jackets, garden tools and their bare hands. Since a mountain lion usually tries to bite the head or neck, try to remain standing and face the attacking animal.