Mountain lion attacks bikers in Orange County, body found

[frylock]

LAKE FOREST – A mountain lion was shot and killed by authorities late Thursday after it attacked two bicyclists, injuring one woman in an Orange County wilderness park. The body of a man who may have been mauled by the same animal also was found nearby, authorities said.

The 2-year-old male cat, which weighed about 110 pounds, was shot shortly after 8 p.m. by an Orange County sheriff's deputy, said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the California Fish and Game Department. The lion had returned to the body of the dead man when he was spotted and shot, Martarano said.

<snip>

The lion grabbed the woman, believed to be in her 20s or 30s, by her head and began dragging her, Miller said. Her friend, Debbie Nichols, began screaming for help and grabbed the victim's legs in a struggle to free her.

"This mountain lion jumped on her back and started dragging her," Nichols told KCAL-TV. "He dragged us down ... about 100 yards into the brush and I just kept screaming. This guy would not let go. He had a hold of her face."

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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20040108-2138-ca-mountainlionattack.html

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Wow you build and build til animals have no habitat left

and then we're shocked when they don't exactly co-exist with us either. This is going to become more frequent as less and less of their habitat is available to them. And before someone tells me people's needs trump animals needs...I KNOW MY OWN COUNTY...there was plenty of room for people without the development of exclusive homes in wildlife habitats.

[xxqqqzme]

2. AMEN!

My son saw a coyote in the school yard across the street from us. And I don't live anywhere near natural habitat. We figured they must follow the Santa Ana River.

[PartyPooper]

4. Last summer a neighbor spotted a mountain lion in her back yard.

And, I live in "the country"...relatively "undeveloped" for the past 25 years. And, I see plenty of coyotes and foxes, too!

:scared:

[slackmaster]

9. Fires in San Diego County probably displaced many lions too

They have to go somewhere. About 1,000 square miles of potential mountain lion habitat was completely denuded of vegetation in October.

BTW see you tomorrow evening NSMA. I'm sure we share a lot of outrage at the sprawling development in OC and SD counties.

[mouse7]

3. Mountain bikers - The other white meat.

The SoCal wildfires burned all their habitat and food sources. Cats have to find food somewhere.

[AndyTiedye]

5. Must Be Awfully Tough And Stringy

[kutastha]

6. ah, Lake Forest

Was called "El Toro" for years, til it became extremely developed and all the new residents wanted to change the name.

I've livedin OC since 1980 and have been disgusted at what it's become. Animal attacks are nothing new, but this is one of the most severe I can remember. Nature has it's way of saying "stop".

[sybylla]

7. Suburbanites, the other white meat

This is a two pronged issue. Encroachment and decimation of habitat is only part of the equation. Population control is another. In the middle of the story the journalist points out that the population of Mountain Lions is not controlled in California. That means no hunting and no controls to keep them away from populated areas. So the Mountain Lion population can grow and grow until the rural areas of the state can no longer support them all and they start moving into the city looking for food and shelter. Just because a place is made of concrete and mowed laws, doesn't mean the animals will stay away. Adaptation is what has kept them on the planet for millions of years.

Its fine to prevent hunting and other means of population control, but then you have to live with the fact that once in a while fido, or a six-year-old girl or even a grown man will get dragged off into the woods by a 110 lb mountain lion.

[Suziq]

8. Lion Shot and Killed . . .

even though they were not sure if he was the culprit. This is an outrage!

Did I mention today how much I HATE PEOPLE!

:grr:

[demdave]

10. You hate people? What are you....an elf?

:evilgrin:

[SoCalDem]

11. Although I feel badly for the families

of the people injured and killed, I cannot help but wonder what on earth these fitness nuts are thinking when they go biking or hiking at dusk, in the hillsides..

Have they not heard that cougars live there(damned little habitat left for them), and that they are nocturnal predators??

These cougar are just trying to survive.. I wish they would not attack people, but I doubt that a cougar will ever sneak into someone's home and grab them from their bed..

Humans are greedy and must claim every single place as theirs..If people want to ride bikes, there are plenty of places for them to do it.. When they go into cougar country, they have to expect that there might be a mother cougar "shopping for food" to feed her growing cubs..

This issue is one that makes me crazy.. I live in California, and I would NEVER ...EVER... go hiking, biking, or climbing in the foothills.. Especially at nightfall.. Anyone who does, has rocks in their heads:eyes:

[Skittles]

12. I think the same thing

with all due sympathy, these people are idiots.