OUTDOOR NOTES : Mountain Lion Shot After Killing Dog

In a sequel to last week’s report of mountain lion signs and sightings in the foothills around Glendora, a 140-pound male lion was treed and killed after carrying off a 60-pound Doberman in that city last Sunday.

Damien, the Purkiss family dog, was asleep in his usual place atop the spa cover when Wesley Purkiss, his wife and son Josh, 13, heard a ruckus at 1:15 a.m. They watched helplessly as the lion carried--not dragged--their pet a couple of hundred yards into the brush, repeating a recent pattern of pet disappearances--including the Purkiss’ 35-pound cockapoo Henry four months earlier.

California Department of Fish and Game wardens arrived at mid-day to investigate. Looking for the dog, they instead flushed the lion, then called Joel Shows, a contract hunter. Late in the afternoon Shows tied a radio motion-alarm device between the dog’s carcass and a tree and retreated to wait for the lion to return to his prey, as mountain lions usually do.

The alarm went off at 9:30 p.m. Shows’ four Bluetick Hounds jumped on the scent and had the lion up an oak tree by 10. At about 10:20 it was shot.

An unusual point about the incident was that while tracking the lion, Shows came across a small herd of deer--normally, a mountain lion’s preferred prey. But this lion had toes missing from one paw and might have been unfit to live in the wild. It had to risk rare encounters with humans to prey on domestic pets that are easier to catch.

Animal rights advocates protested that the lion--estimated age 8 or 9--should have been captured and released in a wilderness area or, if crippled, sent to a facility such as the Wildlife Waystation in Little Tujunga Canyon to live out its days.

The DFG cites factors such as exposure to domestic diseases, altered eating habits and the prevalence of such incidents as reasons for killing outlaw lions.

Prop. 117 last year outlawed mountain lion hunting, except for depredation permits. Meanwhile, the residents of Glendora remain alert. Shows said he also found bear signs on a nearby ridge.

“The wildlife goes with the territory here,” Purkiss said. “But with a mountain lion, it takes you into a whole different area.”

Briefly

SALTWATER FISHING--San Diego’s fleet is still awaiting a significant show of exotics. The medium-range counts are improving steadily, which is a good sign. The Vagabond returned from the San Martin Island area Sunday with 41 bluefin tuna, 41 yellowfin, 112 dorado and 90 yellowtail. The American Angler found the fish closer to home, about 160 miles south of the landings, returning Monday with 185 bluefin, 136 yellowtail and a few yellowfin and yellowtail.

Cabo San Lucas: Some of the best fishing of the year is 3-5 miles outside the harbor, according to Darrell Primrose of the Finisterra Tortuga Fleet. Striped marlin are the primary catch and the fish are extraordinarily large, Primrose said, adding that one weighed 283 pounds. Blue marlin are averaging 300 and tuna about 50, but catches have been reported at 176 and 132. Dorado are plentiful. Sailfish activity is increasing, according to Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters.

East Cape: Dorado are actively feeding “all over,” according to San Diego’s Mike Estrada, who returned from Hotel SPA Buenavista last Sunday. The fish reportedly average between 10 and 50 pounds and are being caught as close as a quarter-mile from shore. Sailfish are starting to cooperate, with boats reporting as many as six a day, according to the hotel’s Richard Castaneda. Blue marlin are occasionally making “blind strikes” on bleeding mackerel lures. The roosterfish bite is fair along the coast.

Loreto: Dorado are averaging about 14 pounds and the yellowtail season is getting under way, with fish hitting the scales at 18-24 pounds. Sailfish and pargo fair, according to Gordon Prentice of Baja Fishing Adventures.

FRESHWATER FISHING--Volunteers are being sought by the Federation of Fly Fishers Southwest Council to assist the Department of Fish and Game with a creel census and electrofishing studies in the Eastern Sierra. Details: (714) 793-7845, daytime. . . . Guide Jeff Boghosian of Fresno reports good smallmouth bass fishing in the Merced River and expects the South Fork of the Kings to remain good for fly and spinner fishing for brown trout to 12 inches into October, with pressure dropping after Labor Day. Details: (209) 229-5640. . . . Evening classes at the East Fork Fly Fishing Store in Irvine: Flies for the beginner, tonight, 6:30 ($10); Basics of fly tying, Aug. 21 ($10); Fishing local waters, Aug. 28 ($20). Details: (714) 724-8840.

HUNTING--DFG wildlife biologist Denyse Racine will lead a tule elk tour of the Owens Valley Saturday at 8 a.m. from the wildlife viewpoint seven miles south of Big Pine on California 395. Walking shoes, water, lunch, cameras, binoculars recommended. . . . The California Wildlife Federation protested the regulation requiring handicapped hunters to have an able-bodied companion, give 48-hour notice and buy a special $25 permit. The Fish and Game Commission says it will remove the 48-hour requirement next year and will review the $25 fee and able-bodied companion clauses. . . . The Colorado Division of Wildlife reminds California hunters they must show a hunter-education card--not just a California hunting license--to buy a Colorado license this fall.

NAUTICAL--The DFG’s $800,000 research vessel Mako, idle for lack of funds to man it since it was delivered to Long Beach 13 months ago, will be commissioned Aug. 30.