KELSEYVILLE — A mountain lion was spotted crossing the road on its way up the mountain in Kelseyville Tuesday morning on its way out of a densely populated subdivision.
Clear Lake Riviera resident Cynthia Shore said she was driving along Konocti Bay Road when she saw the big cat run across the road toward the mountain between her and an oncoming car. “It was big enough to be concerning,” she said.
Shore said it was about 7:50 a.m. when she saw the lion, which is prime time for children to be waiting at bus stops.
According to local experts, sightings are common and not cause for alarm. “Ninety percent of the time the lion runs,” said Record-Bee outdoors columnist Terry Knight.
Captain Wayne Kidwell of the Department of Fish & Game said the mere presence of a mountain lion does not pose a public threat. “Normally you don”t have to worry about them, you just have to be aware,” he said.
Kidwell explained that a standing human doesn”t normally appear to be viable prey for a mountain lion. If a person on foot should spot a mountain lion in their path, said Kidwell, “Do not run away; try to make lots of loud noises.” He added that making yourself appear taller and bigger is a good deterrent; a jacket or sweatshirt waved above your head can do the trick, he said.
“What you don”t want to do is bend down to pick something up, unless you can do it quickly enough that you don”t look like a prey item,” Kidwel added.
As to when a sighting should be reported, Kidwell said to look for unusual behavior such as moving toward a person with apparent lack of fear.
“If it (the lion) did something aggressive like attacking a person, pet or livestock, we need to know about it,” said Kidwell.
The number to call is (916) 358-2900 for the DFG”s North Central Regional Office in Rancho Cordova. If the sighting is simply that and does not include aggressive behavior, staff will take the information for a report.
“The other thing we would need to know about is if it was in an unusual area like the middle of a subdivision or near a school,” said Kidwell.
A January DFG estimate put Lake County”s mountain lion population between 200 and 300, although Kidwell said they have no way of tracking specific numbers. The department relies on reported sightings for its estimates.
Most recently, a young female mountain lion was hit by a car in Clearlake Oaks earlier this month.
Knight explained that mountain lions have a home range of anywhere from 20 to 100 square miles, and adult males will run other males out of their territory. This behavior may be partly to blame for the younger lions coming down into civilization.
Another reason, said Kidwell, is the age-old pursuit of food. “Anyplace that has deer is going to have mountain lions,” said Kidwell, noting that while they are not common in the Central Valley, they tend to roam foothill and mountain areas. He named Lake County and other surrounding rural counties as “prime mountain lion habitat,” and said it it is entirely possible to spot one of the big cats anywhere in the county.
Knight said the dry weather draws deer down to the residential areas for its watered, green lawns, which in turn draws the mountain lions. Summer is a common time of the year to see them, he said, and this year”s lower-than-average rainfall may be a contributing factor.
If a mountain lion is aggressive toward people, DFG staff will immediately shoot the animal. If it attacks pets or livestock, a property owner can shoot the animal after getting a depredation permit from the DFG.
Information about living in mountain lion territory is available on the Web at www.dfg.ca.gov. A brochure at the Web site warns not to leave small children or pets outside unattended, among other common-sense practices that may inadvertently attract the lions.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
