Mountain Lion living in Griffith Park

[El Chivo]

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/08/ ... fith-park/

Said not to be a danger to humans...heh heh heh.

[Pitchy]

Glad it wasn`t there in 1969 when a pard and me camped there in just sleeping bags on the ground
The herds of pigs running through camp was bad enough.

[madman4570]

Can't believe they would say(shouldn't pose a threat)
Last time we went up Mt.Baldy about half way up we saw this brand new lime green shiny mountain bike over a cliff----Thought----lion! Couldn't see no body!
Then 2 weeks later hiking in the San Bernardino Mts.Close to homes! (we saw one)
Heard they were even seen rarely at Crystal Cove Park! (if you have never seen a sunset there---you need to)
I miss not going to Californa lately----------------stunning State!

[Blaine]

They always say lions and bears pose little risk because they care for the animals more than they do the humans. When it runs out of Lion Chow, it will start taking dogs, little kids, and adults.

[Birdman]

Makes a guy feel mighty comfortable being assured that it won't hurt ya.

[rbertalotto]

Lots of folks jog in Griffiths Park....................Good luck to them!

[bdhold]

:sarcasm on:

there must be a way to ban the humans from the park to protect that poor animal.

[El Chivo]

it poses little risk if you stay in your air conditioned government office.

[bdhold]

and it CA it poses great risk to your air conditioned government office if you travel to ID for a cat hunt.

[model55]

It is a major hub for the blue part of the state so if something happens............stupid is as stupid does!

[rjohns94]

As Blaine points out, just how much cat chow is in that park? It be munching on pups on a tether mighty quickly

[Blaine]

and in CA it poses great risk to your air conditioned government office if you travel to ID for a cat hunt.

That is the most outrageous bit of PC I've heard in a long time. I wonder if that guy ever got his lawyer on that?

[jeepnik]

Last time this came up, last year maybe, the biologists did in fact say it was false. Even though they now admit to one being there, I'm surprised they didn't pull out the same old story they gave us when we had one running the canyon behind my place. Their usual story is that it is someones pet who was either released or escaped.

When the "experts" couldn't find the one down my way they decided it was someones pet that "went home". They never could explain why fluffy, scruffy, possums, bunnies and coons kept disappearing. Heck, possums and coons were practically nil. The reports of the cat ended, and now we have plenty of those critters.

Now in Griffith Park, in addition to domesticated cats and dogs, there are feral ones as well. There are a fair number of deer, coyotes, and all manner of small critters. A large cat could eat high off the hog as the coyotes are so lazy they've given up humting and the other critters should be easy pickings, at least for a while.

By the way, the coyotes in the park, contrary to the "experts" opinon, would rather eat out of the trash cans than chase a rabbit. And those things are fat, with no fear of humans. In fact, they have given up their nocturanl ways and wander about, quite openly, during the day.

As to joggers, hikers and other day trippers, even though they get ate from time to time, in the various "parks", I doubt you'll find one carrying any sort of spray, much less a firearm. But that's okay, I figure that every one that gets ate is one less granola munching Obama voter.

[Mike D.]

Cat in Griffith Park is a non issue. Leave it alone and it will move on. I don't expect any interaction with joggers or any other people. Dogs, now, are another story. Fair game there.

[jeepnik]

Cat in Griffith Park is a non issue. Leave it alone and it will move on. I don't expect any interaction with joggers or any other people. Dogs, now, are another story. Fair game there.

I too say leave it alone, but jogger/bikers are also fair game. In 2004 one mountain biker was killed (though the authorities tried to play it off saying he had a heart attack, even though he was young, healthy and no previous heart issues and the autopsy didn't list his death as a heart attack and the cat simply was eating his body). A few hours later the same cat attacked another biker, and dispite what they say about the cats being cowardly, continued to attack the biker even though another hit the cat with a bike and tried to keep the cat from dragging her off. Two other male bikers finally drove the cat off with rocks.

Some years earlier, a young girl was grabbed by a lion in another Orange county park. The girls mother finally drove it off. While one of our local newswomen (she's now a well known NBC anchorwoman) was doing her on the scene report, she wasn't as safe as she thought. When they got the film (yea it was a while ago) back for processing, someone spotted something behind her in the bushes. When the blew it up, there was a mountain lion (same one?) watching her from about ten feet away. Either the cat wanted to be on TV (like the idiots you see behind reporters making fools of themselves) or it was still hungry and was deciding whether the young lady would be tasty or not.

Make no mistake, mountain lions see people, even large adult people as food.

[El Chivo]

I've heard of a few instances of mountain lions going after bicyclists, probably because they are gliding along kind of the way deer do. Some give up when they realize their mistake but some press on the attack.

I was heading back after a day of scouting and came upon a young bearded man and his wife, toddler and toy dog. He started scowling when he saw my slung rifle, so I had him figured for a tree hugger. We were about two miles from civilization, so I pointed out to him that coyotes and mountain lions love toy dogs and toddlers. They tried to walk fast but dropped a Curious George soft toy which I picked up, "Is this yours?".

The wife walked back to me and took it, then we talked quite a bit about processing and cooking deer. While Prius boy was scowling and snorting and stomping about. Dude, get a gun and protect your loved ones! They think it's an amusement park and the mountain lions are attractions. They don't realize they're the attractions.