Lion Sightings Work of More Than 1 Big Cat

Residents reported seeing mountain lions prowling in neighborhoods throughout the San Fernando Valley on Wednesday, leading wildlife experts to conclude that more than one of the big cats are at large in the area.

Based on animal tracks and witness reports--including a lion attack on a dog in Granada Hills--authorities now say that three to six mountain lions are responsible for more than a dozen reported sightings that have kept them scrambling in recent days.

Local wildlife officials say it’s the largest number of confirmed sightings in such a short time in recent Valley history.

Some wildlife experts said the current breeding season is driving animals long distances from nearby mountain ranges in search of mates. Others blame the expanding population and shrinking habitat of the protected cat, also called cougars or pumas.

Whatever the reason, residents were taking the sightings seriously Wednesday. Across the Valley, people living in communities abutting undeveloped mountain ranges were keeping pets indoors, supervising their children more closely and cutting back on outdoor activities.

Joseph Blanco learned firsthand how dangerous the animals can be. Late Tuesday night, the 53-year-old real estate agent heard his Shih Tzu, Pizanno, yelping in the backyard of his house on McLennan Avenue. When he ran to investigate, he came face to face with a mountain lion.

The estimated 150-pound cat was holding the 15-pound dog between two big paws, mauling its neck. Blanco flipped on the yard lights and the cat bolted. The tiny dog was still alive, though barely.

“The dog was lying there, bleeding and catatonic. I thought he was dead,” said Blanco, who rushed Pizanno to an animal hospital for stitches that saved the dog’s life. “He’s a very lucky animal.”

The Granada Hills incident came after confirmed sightings of a mountain lion in West Hills this week. And Wednesday, officials received reports of several other sightings they said could represent up to six different lions, although they cautioned that some of the sightings may be false or multiple encounters with the same animal.

The number of lions had officials cautioning residents to be careful during outdoor activities. They said people encountering a mountain lion should back away slowly, raise their arms and spread clothing to make themselves look as large as possible, avoid eye contact and keep the animal from getting behind them--cougars kill by biting the rear of the neck.

“The mountain lion has the potential of doing great bodily harm or even killing a human,” said Dennis Kroeplin, chief wildlife officer for the city. “They are a potential threat.”

Officials believe the Granada Hills lion showed up again at about noon Wednesday at a house just down the street from Blanco’s, located in a neighborhood where one-acre backyards are common.

Sheryll Martinson came home for lunch Wednesday and heard her dog and a neighbor’s dog barking out back. When she went to look, she saw a big cat prowling on a hill that overlooks the fenced yard, apparently trying to figure out how to get inside.

Martinson brought in the dogs and called police, but the lion vanished before animal control officials were able to catch it.

John Martinson said he and his wife were shaken by the encounter.

“If I saw it in my backyard again and I had a gun, I’d probably shoot it. I do think it’s a definite threat,” said Martinson, 48. “Obviously, it’s pretty serious about getting some food.”

In addition to the two Granada Hills incidents, Los Angeles Animal Services officers scrambled to answer several other reported mountain lion sightings Wednesday.

There were still-unconfirmed reports of an animal near Knapp Ranch Park in Canoga Park, another in Shadow Hills and yet another in Tarzana. Also, Animal Services confirmed another cougar in West Hills, larger than one previously seen in the 23500 block of Community Street in that neighborhood earlier this week.

Debbie Capko was driving home for the day when she saw a tan blur dart across Valley Circle Boulevard near Deer Lick Drive. When wildlife officials went to check the site, they found a faint paw print of a cat much bigger than the scrawny 50-pound beast that approached a woman Friday as she got out of her car on Community Street.

Still, the two could be related. Lt. Richard Felosky, senior officer at the West Valley Animal Shelter, said the big cat could be the mother of the smaller cat, which may be striking off on its own in search of new territory.

“At some time, they do have to separate,” Felosky said.

Mountain lion encounters have been a growing problem since a 1972 law outlawed hunting the animals. At the time the law passed, a census showed 2,400 animals in the state. A 1989 census came up with a total of 6,000 animals and experts now believe the number has surpassed 10,000 and continues to grow.

The surging population may also explain an increase in attacks on humans. Between 1909 and 1986, there were no documented attacks on humans by mountain lions in California. Since 1986, there have been 10 attacks, two of them fatal.

The growing numbers have also led to political battles. Hunters and livestock groups have pushed to allow renewed hunting of the cougars, while conservation groups continue to insist the animal deserves protection.

Currently, wildlife experts believe that cougars have saturated their habitat in the wilderness. That means that young cougars in search of territory and older, weaker cougars driven from their turf by competitors get pushed into agricultural or suburban residential areas.

Doug Updike, senior biologist for the state Department of Fish and Game, said a recent study could find no single reason for an increase in the number of sightings. Instead, experts believe three factors are at work: more people, more lions and more places for contact to occur as both species expand their territory.

The resulting clash means that the department must put to death up to 12 cougars a year, he said.

Indeed, even those animals that pose no threat to humans are usually killed. With no free habitat left, animals captured and turned loose in wilderness areas either starve, die in a fight with a competitor or return to residential areas, starting the cycle again. Since any outcome results in a cougar’s death, wildlife officials believe it is more humane to put captured animals to death rather than free them.