Lions Seen in San Onofre Area

At least two full-grown mountain lions have been spotted this week near San Onofre State Beach, south of San Clemente, but no warnings have yet been issued, authorities said Wednesday.

The coastal state park and campground site is in San Diego County about five miles south of San Clemente and about 20 miles from the Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park near San Juan Capistrano, where two children were attacked by cougars last year.

Charlie Geer, agent in charge of the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on the San Diego Freeway near the park and the San Onofre Nuclear Generating station, said agents using infrared night-vision telescopes for tracking illegal aliens saw the lions on two nights this week.

“On Monday, they saw a pair on this (the inland) side of the freeway,” Geer said. “Then the cats apparently used drainage tunnels to go under the freeway and come out in the shrubbery just south of the generating station.”

Geer said a single lion--possibly one of the first pair--was watched Wednesday night going through the same maneuvers.

“We’ve never noticed them until this week,” he said.

Authorities said the cats may have roamed from the hills and backcountry of Camp Pendleton.

Al Oliver, manager of the Pendleton Coast Area of the state park system, which includes San Onofre State Beach along the coast adjacent to the generating station, said rangers examined the location and found large cat tracks that “we think were made by lions.”

“We have not issued any warnings to campers yet,” he said late Thursday.

Oliver said regional state park authorities in San Diego were being notified, “and we’re working with them” to consider possible courses of action that could affect the 12 public campsites at the beach park. He said people who visit San Onofre State Beach generally are in large trailers or campers.

Oliver said he had no idea what, if any, action would be taken. In the meantime, however, he said there was “no concern” for the safety of park visitors.

Coincidentally, Orange County’s O’Neill Regional Park, northeast of El Toro, which was closed in December after a number of cougars had been sighted there, will reopen today but under the same restrictions placed on Caspers Park after children were attacked by cougars there.

At O’Neill Park, children will be restricted to fenced play areas and must be under supervision of at least one adult to prevent them roaming; hiking trails will be marked with warning signs, and all visitors must sign permits indicating that they are aware of possible encounters with cougars and other dangerous creatures.