Park Ranger Weighed Lion Warning : Trial: A witness in the lawsuit by Laura Small’s parents testifies that he ‘became pretty concerned’ several weeks before the mauling because the animals seemed to be unafraid of humans.

The senior park ranger at Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park testified Thursday that he and his supervisor discussed the idea of warning the public about mountain lions, several weeks before one attacked a 5-year-old girl in 1986.

Bruce E. Buchman, now a supervising park ranger with Orange County, was the second ranger in as many days to testify that there had been several unusual mountain lion sightings before the girl’s attack. In each case, the large cats seemed to be unafraid of humans and actually threatened them.

“I became pretty concerned,” Buchman said.

He said that on March 12, 1986, he went to his immediate supervisor with his concerns and discussed the possibility of posting warning signs throughout the park or verbally cautioning park visitors as they entered the area.

Buchman’s supervisor said he would present the idea to the county’s Risk Management Office for discussion, Buchman testified.

But on March 23, before any decision was made, Laura Small was mauled by a mountain lion while she was looking for tadpoles. Laura, whose skull was crushed by the cat’s jaw, survived the attack but was blinded in one eye and partially paralyzed.

Laura’s family is suing the county, alleging that it failed to adequately warn the public about the threat of mountain lions in the park.

Wylie A. Aitken, the Smalls’ attorney, said Buchman’s testimony was significant because it showed that the county knew there was a danger of mountain lions but failed to adequately respond to it.

The county’s “lack of warning is certainly negligence,” Aitken said.

Defense attorney Barry Allen, however, said Buchman and his supervisor acted properly. He agreed that they were concerned about the strange mountain lion sightings but had no reason to believe that the animal would attack a human.

Allen said the conventional wisdom before Laura’s incident was that mountain lions were “shy, secretive animals with a healthy aversion to humans.” He added that before Laura, a mountain lion had never attacked a human in Southern California.

County officials have denied any wrongdoing.

On Thursday, Buchman testified that he became troubled about the mountain lions on March 4 when one of them approached a pair of hikers on a trail and circled them in a threatening manner. The couple had to throw rocks at the cougar to make it leave, he said.

When the couple told him about the incident, he and other park staff members went to investigate, he said. They found the cougar in a tree near the trail.

“It seemed very comfortable with our presence,” Buchman said. “Almost like it was no big deal that we were there.”

Buchman’s experience closely matched that of Darrell Bennett, another park ranger who was on staff before the attack on Laura.

Bennett testified that he was conducting a hike for 10 children and four adults in November, 1985, when a mountain lion was spotted in a tree above the trail. He said the animal appeared unconcerned by the hikers’ presence and left only after Bennett pelted it with broken twigs.

Both rangers testified that there had been at least three sightings of mountain lions in the three months before March 23, 1986.

The trial is scheduled to continue on Monday.