Brentwood Bikers, Hikers and Dog Walkers: Beware of Bold Mountain Lion

The Bel-Air Patrol is warning bikers, hikers, dog walkers and residents about a bold mountain lion spotted Sunday night in Topanga State Park, adjacent to Brentwood. Here's the email:

Hello All,

While preparing to go off-duty on Sunday night at approximately 2146 hours at our shift change location at 1200 Palisades Drive, Officer Lovo and myself observed a large adult mountain lion, approximately 130-140 lbs., with a 3-3 1/2 foot tail, run down the common area hillside (from the rear yards off of Calle de Sevilla) clear the five foot cinder block wall with ease and trot across all lanes of Palisades Drive, clear a second five foot wall and into the brush just south of the access road to the Santa Yenz Canyon Park. The cat emerged once again on top of the flood basin and walked down the embankment and out of sight into the brush headed West into the flood channel toward the hillside.

As someone who has worked in the Highlands for nearly 10 years now at all times of the day and night, I have never observed this type of activity or actually witnessed a mountain lion first hand. I believe this behavior in such a well lit and noisy area is quite uncommon for this type of cat. I will be notifying the State Park Rangers this afternoon and seeking guidance on who else would be notified. I will put together a bulletin for distribution to the homes around the area where the cat was sighted and post the same information at the entrance to the Santa Yenz Canyon Park.

Please get this information out to as many residents in the area as possible as I know that particular trail is highly traveled by many of our residents, and often times with dogs. I will include safety tips in the bulle tin and try to get it out this evening as well as having the Officers distribute verbal warnings to any hikers or dog walkers entering the area. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any suggestions or want more information.

Have a Great Day
Sgt. Aaron Sias
Team Manager
Palisades Highlands
ADT/Bel-Air Patrol
21171 S Western Ave
Torrance, CA 90501
Tel: (310) 619-2311
Fax: (310) 619-2254
Cell: (310) 466-4344
tsias@adt.com

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And now back to your regularly-scheduled this week in crime:

MOUNTAIN LION 101

Have you ever seen a mountain lion while hiking in the local mountains? Hardly anyone ever has and you probably never will, but that does not mean they are not around.

The freeway makes a pretty effective barrier to mountain lions. They just don't want to cross it. For the dozen or so that live on the far side of Highway 101, many will actually come up to it and then turn around and head back. If you are afraid of being attacked by a mountain lion, just remember that the chances are much greater of getting killed by someone's dog.

The mountain lion needs more than 100 square miles of wilderness—an amount the Santa Monica Mountains cannot provide—and lives on a diet of deer. One deer catch can last as long as a week for a mountain lion. 

Mostly, mountain lions live in clearly defined territories where they hunt for food and a mate. When a male finds a female to mate with, he does not care whether she is related or not. If he gets her pregnant, he leaves it up to her to raise their offspring.

Until only recently, every known lion in the Santa Monica Mountains was produced by inbreeding of related animals, mostly P-1 with his own descendants. Unfortunately, inbreeding produces genetic weakness for an animal population, which will result eventually in loss of the group.

In spring 2009, P-12 was able, for the first time, to cross the 101 freeway on his way from the Simi Hills into the Santa Monica Mountains. He traveled into the Malibu Creek State Park area and was soon able to mate successfully with a resident female, P-13. They produced three new offspring, P-17, 18 and 19, one male and two females, all born near Peter Strauss Ranch near Kanan Road.

The good news was the fact that P-12 was genetically unrelated to P-13, and so produced genetically viable offspring. The fact that P-12 could travel from one habitat to another was due to the existence of the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Corridor. Without such a passage, the survival of the Santa Monica mountain lions would be at considerable risk.

Have you ever wondered how organizations such as the National Park Service can learn all of these things about wild animals? In the case of the local mountain lions, it's done with radio collars. Each cat is trapped, anesthetized and then fitted with a GPS satellite tracking collar.

The new cubs were outfitted with radio chips and tracked locally with hand-held antennae. The cubs do not travel as far as the adults and the collars are heavy. During a 24-hour period, each cat's GPS position is determined several times and their activities and interactions tracked.

This GPS data indicate their well-defined territories, as well as the fact that they avoid populated areas. Also, the data show that lions do not follow hiking trails, crossing them only when there is no other way. And they almost always travel at night.

So what should you do if you (are lucky enough) to see one on the trail?

First of all, don't hike alone. The larger your group, the safer you are. Never crouch into a submissive position. Stand up straight and raise your jacket up and out to look larger. Carry a hiking stick. You can actually use it to fend one off like a lion tamer. Try to appear larger and more menacing to the cat by raising your arms, your pack and/or your jacket above your head, so as to look bigger.

If you are smart enough to hike with friends, stand shoulder-to-shoulder and coordinate your yelling and moving. Lastly, never run. Stand and face the animal. Remember that their favorite food is deer, so unless you can outrun a deer, all you will do is make them think that you are prey. If you are loud and obnoxious, they will hear you coming and probably hide or flee.

–Robert Couts

This article first appeared on Agoura Hills Patch.