LAKEPORT ? Roaming behind a Kmart dumpster and along the east side of Highway 29 in Lakeport, a mountain lion attracted the attention of a few people and Lakeport police about 8:45 a.m. Wednesday.
The 4-foot cat returned to wooded areas west of Lakeport, without attacking anyone, officer Jim Bell of Lakeport police said.
A few people watched the lion walk from dumpsters near Kmart, behind the tribal office and off to the wooded area at the county courtyard, Bell said. By the time Bell arrived the mountain lion was gone. He then warned people in the area businesses.
“The food is coming down so they”re coming down after the food, looking for cats, dogs and deer,” Bell said. “Sometimes they like to get something to drink at the lake, then go back.”
In September, a mountain lion tried to attack a small dog at the Northport Trailer Resort in Lakeport and a lion attacked a deer in the backyard of a house in Clear Lake Riviera.
A lion was also sighted recently in the backyard of a house on 20th Street in Lakeport.
Animal control and the Department of Fish and Game wouldn”t respond Wednesday because the mountain lion wasn”t threatening anyone, Bell said. If law enforcement officers see the lions, they are supposed to watch the cats but not shoot them unless they attack.
Bell said mountain lions are “just about as afraid of us as we are of them.”
“If you see a mountain lion, don”t turn and run away. You”re going to act like prey,” Bell said. “Get as big as you can, pull your coat over your head and make a lot of noise.”
People should stand in groups and don”t let small children out without adult supervision, Bell said. Residents may want to keep small animals inside.
“If you”ve got a little poodle the size of a large house cat, that”s bait,” Bell said. “Easy prey and a full stomach.”
People should be wary of outdoor activities when mountain lions are most active, at night and at sunrise and sunset, Bell said. Part of living in Lake County includes having mountain lions around, Bell said.
“Don”t put yourself in harms way by becoming the victim or prey,” Bell said.
Contact Katy Sweeny at ksweeny@record-bee.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
