LAKEPORT?Last week a mountain lion was spotted in a Lakeport resident”s backyard. According to resident, who lives on 20th Street and wished to remain anonymous, the lion was spotted walking through her backyard at about 9:30 p.m. She said the lion weighed about 120 pounds. “At first I thought it was a big dog, but a closer look revealed it to be an adult mountain lion. I yelled at it and it ran into the bushes. Later my neighbor said he heard a loud catlike scream from the same area,” she said.
She said she called the Lakeport police dispatch but they told her they didn”t respond to wild animal calls and informed her to call the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) dispatch in Sacramento. The DFG dispatch in Sacramento told her they only respond to mountain lion calls when there is a danger to humans, pets or livestock.
This the third sighting of a mountain lion in the county within the past two weeks. Last week a lion was sighted in Lucerne and two weeks ago a fisherman took a photo of a mountain lion walking along the lakeshore at Wheeler Point.
Mountain lions are common in Lake County and wildlife biologists say that this year because of the severe drought in the nearby forests the deer, which are the primary prey of the lions, are moving into the urban areas looking for food and water. The lions follow the deer. Another reason lions are showing up around homes is because they will prey on house cats which are readily available.
The woman when the lion appeared last week said she is concerned because there are families with young children that live in the area. There are also a lot of hikers.
Mountain lions are extremely strong for their size. A 150-pound lion has been known to take down an adult 800-pound bull elk and kill it with ease.
The DFG policy is to only destroy a lion that has shown a definite threat to human, pets or livestock. In other cases they trap the lion and release it in a remote area. However, releasing the lion presents other problems. The areas where the lion is released normally already has a dominate lion in residence and the young lion is either killed or driven from the area.
Mountain lions are completely protected in California. They can only be killed with special depredation permit issued by the DFG. In the period of 1972 to 1999, the DFG issued 98 depredation permits for Lake County. Of the 98 permits only 36 lions were killed.
The DFG recommends that when hiking in known mountain lion areas people should take certain precautions to prevent an attack. Never hike alone or allow young children to hike alone in lion country. When hiking, keep small children close to you. Studies have shown that mountain lions are attracted to young children. If you see a lion, stand up straight and yell and wave your arms. Don”t turn and run. A lion may confuse you with its prey and the running stimulates his desire to chase. If attacked, fight back with anything you can get a hold of. Biologists say a mountain lion only attacks a human because it sees it as prey and wants to eat it.
