Issue date: July 07, 1999
JENNIFER KAVANAUGH
While riding her horse in Woodside last week, a Palo Alto woman said she had a surprise encounter -- with a mountain lion lurking in the bushes nearby.
Jenny Chapman said she was riding along a trail between Woodside and Mountain Home roads when she heard "dogs barking like crazy." The animal appeared, Ms. Chapman said, but it didn't attack her. She also said there was no mistaking the animal for any other form of feline.
"I've seen a lot of bobcats, and this was no bobcat," Ms. Chapman said. "It was a mountain lion if ever there was one."
According to wildlife agencies, encounters like the one Ms. Chapman reported are not rare for this area. And they're not usually life-endangering, according to the Peninsula Humane Society and the California Department of Fish and Game. The agencies said the number of human-mountain lion interactions is likely to rise as people and mountain lions increasingly inhabit the same regions.
Kristen Carlson of the Peninsula Humane Society said people living in rural areas should be cautious but not panicked, because mountain-lion attacks on humans are rare.
"They're going to do everything they can to avoid confrontation," Ms. Carlson said. "They're not searching us out as prey."
Likewise, household pets are not immediately on the mountain lion's hit list. Ms. Carlson said the predators typically favor large animals such as deer, sheep and elk.
But in Portola Valley, one woman reported that several cats have been missing in her neighborhood. And she spied a very large cat-like print in the dirt one recent day, she said. Ms. Carlson said it's rare, but possible, that mountain lions would attack small pets.
Despite the rarity of attacks, people should try to minimize the chance of encountering the tawny-colored animal, which can grow as large as 7 or 8 feet long. On their properties, people should remember to do the following:
**Avoid feeding pets outside, and don't feed wildlife.
**Remove dense and low-lying vegetation that may provide hiding places for mountain lions, especially near children's play areas.
**Install outdoor lighting.
**Keep pets and livestock secure, particularly at night.
Ms. Carlson advises people to avoid hiking alone if possible and to make sure children are supervised. And if you do meet a mountain lion, she advised, keep these tips in mind:
**Never approach a mountain lion -- give it a way to escape.
**Don't run. Running may trigger the animal's instinct to chase.
**Avoid crouching down because it may make you look more like four-legged prey. Also, pick children up so they can appear as large as possible.
**And if the mountain lion attacks, fight back.
The California Department of Fish and Game encourages people to report mountain-lion encounters by calling (707) 944-5500.
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