This is from our local paper today........
Mountain lion sightings in foothills
September 22, 2009 05:33:00 PM
By Ben van der Meer/Appeal-Democrat
Two mountain lion attacks on livestock in recent days killed a spate of animals in the foothills east of Marysville, with one mountain lion still on the loose.
According to the state Department of Fish and Game, separate residents in Oregon House reported mountain lions killed their animals first last Friday and then again Tuesday.
In the first report, a resident said a mountain lion killed a pet goat, said department spokesman Kyle Orr.
A Fish and Game warden and state trappers tracked a 95-pound female mountain lion to about 100 yards from where the goat was killed, trapped the lion in a tree and killed it, Orr said.
That was followed by another report Tuesday of a mountain lion that killed five sheep at a residence on Frenchtown Road. The mountain lion did so sometime over the previous four days, Orr said. Two of the sheep were partially buried, he said, indicating the mountain lion planned to eat the kills eventually.
A trapping crew also pursued that mountain lion and found hair but could not pick up a scent, he said.
Officials don't believe the same mountain lion made both kills because the first lion was found so close to where the goat was killed, Orr said.
Residents in the area should take the normal precautions when there's a report of a mountain lion, he said, such as securing livestock, hiking in groups and being alert to one's surroundings.
"Mountain lions are known to take livestock," he said, though he said there's no noticeable trend so far this year suggesting mountain lions are doing so more than normal. "Generally speaking, mountain lion sightings this time of year tend to increase because people are out more."
Mountain lions are sometimes spotted more frequently when they journey out of their normal range because their food or water is in short supply, he said.
Two years ago, students in Challenge spotted a mountain lion as they rode horses to Yuba Feather School, prompting a school lockdown, though the lion ran from the students.
Because the animals generally avoid people, mountain lion attacks on humans are quite rare in California, with only 14 recorded since 1890, Orr said. Six of those attacks were fatal.
The population of mountain lions in California is estimated at 4,000 to 6,000, he said.