Lion Sighted at Park; New Warnings Issued

Rangers warned hikers and campers Sunday to be on the lookout for prowling mountain lions after one of the big cats was spotted late Saturday near a campground at Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Regional Park near San Juan Capistrano.

On March 23 a mountain lion attacked and seriously injured a 5-year-old girl hiking with her parents on a trail in the 7,500-acre park. A lion believed to have been that animal was killed a day later.

Mountain lion tracks were found by park rangers weeks after the incident, and other cats have been sighted in remote parts of the park since the attack on the girl. But Saturday’s sighting was the first so close to the populated heart of the park, rangers said.

“They did have a sighting, and we are asking people to be prepared and have their children tended to at all times,” park attendant Chris Malagon said Sunday.

The animal was spotted at about 9:30 p.m. near Live Oak Campground by a camper who immediately notified park rangers. Park personnel began patrolling the area and other populated areas of the park grounds, although there was no official search for the lion.

Laura Michele Small of El Toro suffered brain damage after one of the big cats attacked her, grabbing her head in its mouth. A hiker beat the cat repeatedly with a large stick, finally getting the animal to release the girl’s head.

After undergoing extensive surgery for severe puncture wounds and cuts to her face and skull, Laura was released from Mission Community Hospital in Mission Viejo on May 1.

The park was reopened April 14, and signs were posted warning visitors that mountain lions may be found in the area.

Laura was attacked on a trail in a wilderness area about 1 1/2 miles from the campground where the mountain lion was sighted Saturday, rangers said.