Lion’s Boldness Prompted Its Capture, State Official Says

Big cats such as the female mountain lion captured Saturday in Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park are becoming bolder, a characteristic that state wildlife officials on Monday attributed to a rising mountain lion population.

The problem is that the big cats, also known as cougars, now number about 5,000 statewide because they have not been hunted for 14 years, said Patrick Moore, a spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game.

Because of the “glut,” Moore said, the 4-year-old lioness and her five-pound cub, which were captured near San Juan Capistrano, won’t be released to the wild. Instead, the state will seek a suitable home for the two, which were taken to the department’s Rancho Cordova laboratory near Sacramento for further study.

“The population has expanded, and they become more bold and they are no longer as afraid of people as other animals in the wild,” Moore said.

The 75-pound lioness, described as “very feisty,” did not threaten anyone before it was captured near the site where another lion mauled a 5-year-old El Toro girl. But after the animal continued to come close--within a dozen yards of a park employee last Wednesday--the state decided to trap it.

“The animal was getting kind of bold, and we thought it best to remove the animal from the area,” Moore said.

Since then, the 7,500-acre park’s hiking trails have been closed, and signs warning the public of danger have been posted, a county park spokesman said.

The big cat was spotted Saturday after it jumped to the branch of a tree and remained about 30 feet above the ground. Hunters used a tranquilizer dart, but the animal fled to another, shorter tree.

After a second dart hit, she became drowsy and traveled a few yards more before collapsing in thick, five-foot tall brush. The cub was found later inside a cave after hounds picked up its scent. Half a deer carcass was found nearby, Moore said.

Although county officials want to reopen the park’s trails, a state wildlife supervisor knowledgeable about the behavior of the big cats said that it is common for one lion to claim another lion’s habitat when it becomes available.

“Studies indicate that their home ranges overlap and they sometimes share home ranges,” said Terry Mansfield, a department wildlife management supervisor.

“As a lion dies, is killed accidentally or removed, it’s not unlikely that another lion, possibly a young one, will come in to fill the void,” he said.

Habitats can vary from 50 square miles for smaller cats to 200 square miles for larger, male mountain lions. An estimated 25 mountain lions range in Orange County’s brushland, said Harold J. Krizan, county parks director.

Numbers Growing

Because mountain lions are secretive and most active at night, they are difficult to study, he said.

But their numbers are growing.

Based on evidence found in the wild and on the number of lions killed by vehicles or hunters, mountain lions are more numerous today than in 1970.

In 1972, the state Legislature imposed a moratorium on state hunting until January of this year, when regulation was referred back to the state Fish and Game Commission.

The commission could have opened season on mountain lions this spring. Instead, it excluded the lions from an approved list of game animals following a recommendation from the Department of Fish and Game that more study was needed.

The state has contracted with UC Berkeley to develop ways to more accurately estimate the lion population, estimated at about 5,000 in 1984.

Girl Attacked

On March 23, Laura Michelle Small and her mother, Susan, were wading in a shallow creek near the end of a nature trail in a remote section of Caspers park when a lion grabbed the girl by the head.

A hiker who heard cries for help drove the animal away by clubbing it with a branch. A cat believed to be the animal that attacked the child was shot to death the day after the incident, when a tranquilizer dart failed to subdue it.

The family has filed a $28-millon claim against the county for allegedly neglecting to warn park visitors about the hazards of wildlife. A $28-million claim has also been filed against the state.