Experts say mountain lion sightings still rare on central coast
In the wake of a mountain lion attack in Cupertino, experts say those incidents are still rare occurrences.
Researchers at UC Santa Cruz say they are still studying whether the drought has had an impact on a mountain lions’ routine but so far they haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary.
A 6-year-old boy was grabbed and dragged by one of the big cats Sunday as he was hiking with his family.
While they emphasize that such incidents aren’t common, experts do note that especially this time of year, male mountain lions can be very territorial.
The Puma Project at UC Santa Cruz tracks and researches the animals.
“What we could be seeing is that, in this time of year, it could be the age that mountain lions are hitting where they leave their parents,” said Veronica Yovovich, a graduate student working with the Puma Project.
She says that when mountain lions reach a certain age, they start looking to gain their own territory.
“When you are male you want to exclusively hold your territory and defend it against other males,” she said.
Yovovich says the reason that most of the local mountain lion sightings haven’t involved attacks is that the animals were in unfamiliar urban territory and were scared of that unknown.
She says the incident in Cupertino struck her as odd.
The Puma Project recommends that if you encounter a mountain lion, make yourself appear as tall as possible and don’t run away.
Yovovich says you can throw rocks or sticks in its direction to try to scare it away, and in the event it does attack, you should try to fight back.
In the release from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife about the release, the state agency reiterated that attacks on humans are rare. A full list of verified attacks can be viewed online here.
