Mountain Lion Attack in Seattle

[Old No7]

Sad story for the bikers involved, especially the one who was killed; but in a way, it's sad for the animal too.

Seattle: Cougar Attacks 2 Cyclists, 1 Killed (click for link)

While a quote in the article says "...Something was wrong with this cougar", I'm certainly no expert, but I'm not sure I can agree with that statement... Either way, it wasn't good for anyone/anything involved.

For sure, I don't think I'd bike/hike/hunt in that region without at least a high-cap 9mm or .357 Mag.

Old No7

[Blaine]

I don't think I've ever hunted in Washington when I didn't see cougar and/or bear sign. On the other hand, I've never seen one, either. My SWAG (scientific wild azz guess) is that the cat saw something whizing by and thought it was a deer. I do know that when walking out the woods after dark the hair stands up on the back of my neck and my rifle is at the ready.

[AJMD429]

So.....a mountain lion kills one person, who went into the lion's turf, and we summarily hunt down a suspect and execute it.........but a psychopathic human premeditated a mass murder of ten children, minding their own business in school, and is caught in the act.......so he'll be given food, housing, and medical care, and will still be alive in ten years.......but we will go after the NRA of course right away before the victims are buried...

[jeepnik]

Attacks of this nature have happened here a few times. Running or riding humans trigger the instinct to attack prey. I do have to agree that if you provoke a predator and it attacks, it's your own darn fault.

[FWiedner]

IMO, this is something all mountain bikers should experience.

[Tycer]

IMO, this is something all mountain bikers should experience.

Why?

[GunnyMack]

I'd lay even money that the powers that be will have a necropsey done on the puddy tat and they find it was either wounded or extremely old and starving.
Cats are opportunistic hunters...I'm old, tired my teeth are shot hey look those things dont have any antlers or fangs and they move fairly slow- that'll fill my belly!

[Blaine]

I'd lay even money that the powers that be will have a necropsey done on the puddy tat and they find it was either wounded or extremely old and starving.
Cats are opportunistic hunters...I'm old, tired my teeth are shot hey look those things dont have any antlers or fangs and they move fairly slow- that'll fill my belly!

It was reported that it was emaciated.

[FWiedner]

IMO, this is something all mountain bikers should experience.

Why?

Had a group of these Spandex clad a-holes organize a series of "events" in a prime hunting area every Saturday in November (local deer season open first Saturday in November) a couple years ago.

Who am I to deprive them of encounters with nature?

[crs]

Fred may be on to something.

[2ndovc]

Fred may be on to something.

[.45colt]

We need some big cat's here. We can hardly walk on the trails at the state park without getting hit by these clowns on bikes doing 30mph on them. If one hits Me or the Grandkids they will find out why I carry a walking stick.

[GunnyMack]

I believe the proper term is
BIKEHOLES

year or so back the mountain bike people had scheduled a trail ride on the same day the road bike folks had a road race. Lots of words then profanity then the fists started. Whole bunch of police to break it up. Quite a few went to ER fir fractures and sutures.
What was the cause you ask?
What was the better bike...MORONS!

[Blaine]

I believe the proper term is
BIKEHOLES

year or so back the mountain bike people had scheduled a trail ride on the same day the road bike folks had a road race. Lots of words then profanity then the fists started. Whole bunch of police to break it up. Quite a few went to ER fir fractures and sutures.
What was the cause you ask?
What was the better bike...MORONS!

Just my opinion, but motorcycle and bicycle group rides are similar in that for every 10 riders, the group IQ is cut in half. Around here, the cyclists think they are Oh, So Noble, and will ride so as to block an entire lane of traffic. Bikeholes, indeed. (I ride bicycle, by myself, but somehow manage to keep to the side and not cause a problem)

[Tycer]

IMO, this is something all mountain bikers should experience.

Why?

Had a group of these Spandex clad a-holes organize a series of "events" in a prime hunting area every Saturday in November (local deer season open first Saturday in November) a couple years ago.

Who am I to deprive them of encounters with nature?

Good reason!

[Ysabel Kid]

I don't think I've ever hunted in Washington when I didn't see cougar and/or bear sign. On the other hand, I've never seen one, either. My SWAG (scientific wild azz guess) is that the cat saw something whizing by and thought it was a deer. I do know that when walking out the woods after dark the hair stands up on the back of my neck and my rifle is at the ready.

I agree - but based on the survivor's story, I suspect they may actually have provoked the cat, then he made up the story to avoid the truth.

There is a reason cougar attacks are so rare. They are smart predators, and want nothing to do with humans. If two humans were actually facing the cat, yelling and keeping their eyes on it, it is not likely to have attacked unless it was rabid. Like other big cats, they are stalk/ambush predators.

[geobru]

I saw a pic of the lion. It was a three year old, and it was skinny.

The article said that there have been more attacks in the last 20 years than the previous 80. Somewhere around 20 -25 years ago, Washington voters banned hound hunting for bears and cats. In the mean time, the cats and bears have reproduced and have caused a decline in local deer populations in the Cascade Mountains. In this case there are two things at play in my opinion.

1. When hounds and people were hunting and pursuing Mt. lions, people were associated with hounds and the big cats avoided them. Now there isn't that connection. the question being, are they losing their fear of man?

2. A there is a natural carrying capacity for prey and predators. In the industrial timberlands that are being managed for timber, clearcutting is the best way to manage the forest because the Douglas-fir is shade intolerant and thrives in the open. This mimics a catastrophic forest fire in which the Doug-fir would naturally come back in the initial seral stage. Along with the open area comes a large amount of biomass in the form of shrubs and forbes that make ideal big game habitat. This causes an increase in the deer and elk populations in those areas. As the predator population increases, the young individuals are forced out of the home ranges of the dominant cats and they move into other unoccupied areas. At some point, the available food supply is depleted and the predators are forced to seek an alternate food source. maybe that's why a three year old cat was emaciated and was 40-60 pounds under weight.

I work for a timber company, and am surrounded by people who are in the woods every day. My days in the woods are few and far between now, but in the last 40 years, I have seen 4 cougars in the woods when I was out and about. Last March, 2 of my coworkers saw 2 cougars each. Five weeks ago, another coworker was checking his property line within 200 yards of his house, and he confronted a big cat the closed the distance to 12 yards before it melted into the forest. He doesn't leave his house unarmed any more! Two others have had cats following them out old road grades back to their rigs.

In Washington, there are more cats, less deer, more people out in the woods, and more opportunities for man/hungry cat interactions. There still is a certain enmity between cats and man, but they aren't afraid of man. I stopped hunting one honey hole that yielded many deer over the years, but the cats moved in and there are no longer huntable numbers of deer in that area. Before the cats reduced the population, it wasn't unusual to see mutliple bucks during the late season. The last time I hunted there, I saw one doe in 3 days of hard hunting. The teller of the tale was the lack of tracks in the snow.

Bottom line is that encounters between man and beast will increase, and if a cat is hungry enough, it will attack a human.