Mountain Lion Killed in Backyard

An 80-pound female mountain lion, discovered resting on a resident’s patio early Tuesday, was shot and killed by state Fish and Game officials, who say the animal posed too great a threat to capture.

The incident began at 6:45 a.m., when Lori Powers, who lives in the 23900 block of Rotunda Road, encountered the mountain lion resting on her patio, just inches from her sliding glass door.

“She looked at me, I looked at her and it just moseyed away,” Powers said. “She didn’t seem to care very much about me and walked up our hill.”

A dozen Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and California Department of Fish and Game wardens responded to Powers’ call for help. Warning residents to stay indoors, they used tracking dogs and helicopters to pinpoint the cougar’s location.

The lion did not move, remaining in the yard even when she was confronted by the dogs.

With bloodhounds baying in the background, a game warden fired three blasts from a 12-gauge shotgun into the mountain lion after the animal was discovered crouched in a cactus patch, only yards from where it was first sighted earlier in the day.

A veterinarian from the Los Angeles Zoo angrily protested that the officers on the scene were “trigger happy,” saying that if they had waited only a few more minutes, he could have tranquilized the cougar with a drugged dart and saved its life.

According to Lt. Tony Warrington of the Fish and Game Department, there was no choice but to shoot the big cat after attempts to drive it into an open area failed. Warrington said the plan was to drive the cougar up a tree and then tranquilize it.

“We do have dart guns, but we didn’t want this cat running around through the neighborhood,” Warrington said. “We didn’t want to shoot it but our policy is, if we can’t get the cat treed, then the safest thing is to dispatch it.”

Gary Kuehn, the zoo veterinarian, and his assistant Jeanette Tonnies said they heard about the mountain lion from a Fire Department friend. They called the Sheriff’s Department to alert deputies that they were rushing to help capture it, Tonnies said.

“We were only several minutes away,” said Kuehn. “We were all set to dart [the lion] until someone got trigger happy.”

But Fish and Game authorities said they often find themselves in a no-win situation by trying to capture mountain lions, bears, bobcats or other large predators.

They are seen as villains when an animal is destroyed, but risk injury to themselves or others if they attempt to capture a potentially dangerous animal, they said.

A mountain lion attacked 10-year-old Laura Small in 1986 in Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park in Orange County, leaving her partially paralyzed and blind in one eye. Orange County lost a $2-million lawsuit, judged negligent for failing to post warnings that lions might lurk in the park.

Warrington added that tranquilizer darts are not always the best solution because many times the drug takes too long to immobilize a large animal or is completely ineffective.

“I wish they could find stronger tranquilizers,” Warrington said.

In January, a 300-pound black bear that wandered into a residential area of Canyon Country shook off the effects of several darts shot into him by game wardens. A deputy was sent to a local hospital to fetch more drugs, and the bear was finally rendered unconscious. It was carted into the Angeles National Forest and released unharmed.

The bear was spared in that situation because efforts to drive him into an unpopulated area were successful and there was no one around for him to harm, Warrington said.

In contrast, he added, it was very unusual for the cougar that was encountered Tuesday not to flee from the dogs and the officials when they arrived, indicating that the animal did not fear them.

“It’s sad that they had to kill it,” Powers said. “But my three kids play back there all the time. I’m glad it’s not there now.”

A necropsy will be performed on the lion’s body.

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Mountain Lion: AT a Glance

(Felis concolor)

Size: 4 to 6 feet long

Weight: 80 to 150 pounds.

Color: Yellowish, tawny or reddish brown, less often gray. Belly is white.

Voice: Like that of a domestic cat, only louder. Does not roar.

Longevity: As long as 19 years.

Habitat: Generally remote mountainous areas.

Habits: Most active at dawn, dusk and night, mountain lions are solitary and rarely seen.

Source: California Dept. of Fish and Game. Readers Digest. North American Wildlife.