Bolder Cougars Making Forays Into the Open

In the wild, mountain lions are known as sly, stealthy animals that creep through the landscape unseen, usually shunning all human contact.

But in the past two months, the U.S. Forest Service has recorded 11 encounters between the big cats, also known as pumas or cougars, and humans in the Angeles National Forest. None have resulted in an attack.

On Sunday, two hikers who ran into a mountain lion in Walnut Canyon in the Angeles National Forest above Altadena fled to a rocky precipice, where they became stranded. They were rescued by a Los Angeles County sheriff’s helicopter crew after about an hour.

Then, Monday night, a motorist spotted one of the big cats strolling down Loma Alta Drive in Altadena, about a mile from where the incident with the hikers occurred. The cougar was spooked by headlights, but authorities later found it wrestling with a raccoon in a tree on Rubio Crest Drive. The lion fled into the hills.

Although none of the recorded encounters, also reported above Pasadena and Sierra Madre, have resulted in injury to humans, forest rangers and biologists are concerned about the potential for trouble.

They recall a 1986 incident in which an El Toro girl suffered severe head, leg and eye injuries when a mountain lion attacked her in an Orange County wilderness park. Earlier this year, a boy was mauled in Santa Barbara.

To try to avoid such problems in the popular 700,000-acre national forest recreation area above the foothill communities of the San Gabriel Valley, the state Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Forest Service are trying to track the lion, or lions, responsible for the latest incidents and to determine why they have become so bold.

“We want to take whatever actions we can come up with to forestall any negative results,” U.S. Forest Service Ranger Terry Ellis said.

Wildlife biologist Larry Sitton of the Fish and Game Department said crews will survey the region to verify that the animals are mountain lions. They will then try to determine whether the same animal has been spotted repeatedly, or whether there are several in the area. Finally, they will evaluate whether the big cats have shown any unusual aggressiveness and should be killed.

“If somebody’s safety had really been threatened, and there’s a lion out there that looks at people as prey, then we’d have to remove it from the population,” Sitton said.

So far, though, “we have not found the lions being overly aggressive toward people,” said Chuck Shamblin, the law enforcement coordinator for the Arroyo Seco District of the national forest.

In Sunday’s incident, one of the two male hikers started yelling at the animal and throwing rocks to scare it away, then both men fled. The animal did not follow, Shamblin said, but the men got stuck on a steep ledge while trying to find their way out of a box canyon without having to pass the animal.

“They were extremely alarmed--definitely frightened, but they did not feel that the mountain lion was in the attack mode,” Shamblin said.

Officials said they will probably try to drive the lions deeper into the wilderness unless the cats appear to present an unusual danger.

Theories abound as to why the mountain lions may suddenly be bolder. Some scientists speculate that a drought-related decline in deer herds has forced the big cats to become more opportunistic in feeding and less concerned with hiding. Others say cougars have simply grown accustomed to hikers and campers and have lost their fear of people.

Generally, mountain lions do not consider humans as prey, said Glenn Stewart, a zoology professor at Cal Poly Pomona. If a lion spots a human, it may briefly follow the person out of curiosity but is likely to slip away unseen, he said.

“There are lot of times when the lion sees you, but you don’t see it,” Stewart said. “They tend to be very shy.”

A person’s chance of being attacked by a lion is “probably about equal to being struck by lightning,” he added.

But experts agree that young children, who often dart in and out of bushes, laughing in high-pitched voices--can trigger a lion’s predatory instincts. All three cougar attacks that resulted in serious injuries in California in the past several decades have involved small children.

“The behavior of children is characteristic of prey animals,” Stewart said.

Although still not common, sightings of mountain lions are on the rise across the state, experts said. Since 1983, the cats have been a protected species, and the population is estimated at about 5,000 statewide, Sitton said.

In the San Gabriel Mountains, the population is estimated to be between 77 and 110 for the 1,094-square-mile region, he said.

As more urban dwellers flock to the lions’ habitat for recreation, contact between humans and felines is likely to increase.

As scientists evaluate the situation, officials who monitor the recreation area are trying to inform hikers how to respond if they encounter a mountain lion.

Ellis said authorities are designing signs and flyers advising visitors how to “avoid having the cat think you were something to eat.”

If You Happen Upon a Mountain Lion

Generally, mountain lions do not consider humans as prey, but park authorities are designing signs and flyers to post in the Angeles National Forest on what to do if you encounter one of the cats. A few suggestions: * Hikers who run into cats should stand up straight and pull out their clothes to try to appear large in stature. Then they should slowly back away from the animal.

* Parents with small children are advised to pick up their youngsters. Experts agree that the behavior of young children--darting in and out, laughing in high-pitched voices--can trigger a lion’s predatory instincts. The three mountain lion attacks that have resulted in serious injuries in California in the last several decades have involved small children.

* People with pets also should hold their animals.

* Residents of neighborhoods adjacent to the forest should take care in feeding their pets and not leave food that might attract wild animals.

* Some scientists say that people who run into the cats while on a wilderness walk should appreciate the glimpse of one of nature’s more elusive creatures.