Four Lions’ Ranges in County Mapped

Scientists studying mountain lions in Orange County since two children were mauled in 1986 have established that there are four female lions permanently living near the south county site of the attacks, including one that has two 50-pound cubs, according to an interim report released Thursday.

By tracking the lions with radio collars almost constantly--often 7 days a week, and sometimes 24 hours a day--the scientists have determined each lion’s “home range” of up to 77 square miles within the county.

They have also found that all of the adult cats are extremely competent deer hunters, dispelling a theory that the children were attacked by lions who could not catch more difficult prey.

The scientists said, however, that their findings are preliminary and that they are still learning about the lions’ behavior.

May Be Many More

Dave Fjelline, a tracker for the state Department of Fish and Game who is working on the Orange County study, added that the four adult lions are by no means the only ones inhabiting Orange County. Fjelline, of rural Placer County in Northern California, said there may be as many as two dozen lions in Orange County and a total of 50 to 60 in the Santa Ana Mountains straddling Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties.

Fjelline also said that the lions don’t all necessarily stay within the boundaries of one county. He noted that four lions have been collared by scientists in Camp Pendleton and that those animals most likely cross into adjoining Orange County on a regular basis.

The four female lions documented in the report, Fjelline said, were found in “a small study area” that encompasses the Ronald W. Caspers Regional Park, where the two attacks took place in 1986, and parts of Rancho Mission Viejo and a ranch owned by the Audubon Society. Fjelline said lion tracks and other signs have been found elsewhere throughout the county’s backcountry.

“We’ve found lion signs pretty well wherever you want to name,” Fjelline said.

The lions in Orange County are unique in California and important to study because they are in an area of rapid human development, according to Terry Mansfield, a Department of Fish and Game biologist.

Mansfield, along with scientists from UC Berkeley, said the study, involving four lions that previously were trapped and then set free wearing the radio collars, is about halfway through its 2-year term.

“We didn’t have any specific knowledge of the lion ecology in Orange County,” Mansfield said. “Are there too many? Is that why they’re biting kids? Are they too used to humans? Is that why they’re biting kids? It’s only speculation until you go out there and find out.”

At Least 3 Other Lions

Before the study, Mansfield said, some people assumed there were more than four adult lions in Orange County’s Santa Ana Mountains because of the seemingly frequent sightings. Within the past 2 years, he said, there have been at least three additional lions in the county that were “transients” or were killed, including a lion that was believed to have attacked one of the children.

With four adult females, however, Mansfield said it is likely there will be a male lion attracted to the area. He said studies elsewhere suggest that male lions have larger home ranges than females, and can easily roam between between San Diego and Orange counties.

At present, according to the interim report, it appears that the four females and two cubs are the only permanent-resident lions in Orange County. The report says, however, that the tracks of another lion have been found.

“In all likelihood there may be a male moving around the vicinity that we don’t know about,” Mansfield said.

Like other mountain lions, the Orange County study has found that the four females are mostly nocturnal. Interestingly, though, scientists have found that they mainly travel in the canyon bottoms, whereas lions in other areas travel regularly atop ridges.

Mansfield said their most preferred route depends on several factors, such as the vegetation.

The four home ranges the scientists have attributed to each lion are up to about 77 square miles. Generally, they are located from Trabuco Canyon on the north to San Diego County on the south, the cities of Mission Viejo and San Juan Capistrano on the west and the Cleveland National Forest on the east.

On March 23, 1986, 5-year-old Laura Small of El Toro was just steps away from her mother near a stream in Caspers Park when a lion snatched her up in its mouth and carried her away. The lion dropped the little girl when a passing hiker rushed at it with a branch. Laura suffered severe puncture wounds to the head and has undergone numerous operations.

Seven months later, Justin Mellon, 6, of Huntington Beach was mauled by a mountain lion in the same park. He suffered bites to his head, leg and stomach and claw scratches on his arm and ear.

LOCAL LIONS AT A GLANCE

A report issued Thursday contains these findings about mountain lions in Orange County:

* Four female lions live permanently in the county, including one that has two 50-pound cubs.

* Each lion has a “home range” of up to 77 square miles within the county’s boundaries.

* The adult cats are extremely competent deer hunters.

* In the past 2 years, at least three other lions have passed through the county or were killed here, including one believed to have attacked a child in a south county park in 1986.

* The four females are mostly nocturnal.

* These lions travel mainly along canyon bottoms, whereas lions in other areas travel regularly on ridge tops.