Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Excitement in Orange County - the Cougar Way!

Evidently the mountain lions are out...

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/dog-campground-deputies-2393886-downing-department

sounds like the cat was looking for some scooby snacks.....

I'd rather deal with the rattlers..

The details in that story, and other accounts, seem like the behavior of a coyote and not a mountain lion. No tracks except the dogs? (coyote tracks can easily be mistaken for dog tracks). Did the vet/forest officials look at the bite pattern on the dog to see what it looked like? I've seen dogs run after a coyote, and if the dog won't stop, the coyote turns on it and makes a quick 'shock-and-awe' attack that surprises the dog and allows the coyote to finally get away. If that was a mountain lion that dog wouldn't o had a chance. Sounds really suspicious to me.

The dogs owner and his wife saw the cat. I believe the dog saw the cat, ran after it and the cat defended itself then ran off. I don't think a coyote would open up the belly of a large dog with a quick bite.

This incident made national news. I watched it here in Charlotte. The dog owners were all tearful about their hero dog, who "saved their lives." However, having read the "facts" on this board, the dog was not a hero. The cat and dog spied each other simultaneously and the big cat ran to get away, but the dog chased after it. The cat turned on the dog and attacked. The owners turned out to be the real heros, in my opinion, as they ran to their dog and scared away the cat in the nick of time.

The sad thing is now they will probably kill the cat.

Its common for folks who occasionaly visit the backcountry to mix up coyotes and mountain lions. Look at the evidence in the stories, too; no evidence of a cougar were found around the scene, no fur, no mention of a warning growl was heard, and especially no paw prints in the dirt - a coyote's tracks could easily be mixed in with the dog's prints. Pictures of the dog show its not very large (a mountain lion would make quick work of it), and a coyote, which is about the same size as that dog (as shown in the pictures), would definately try to get away rather than risk injury. Don't forget that today's newreports are not known for their accurate details; reporting a mountain lion/dog encounter will get better press (a "heroic dog" story) than reporting a coyote/dog encounter.

IT all seems a little too suspicious to me.

from the la times:
"Wildlife officials normally hand down death sentences for dangerous mountain lions, but this one was acquitted for lack of evidence.

"If a mountain lion attacks a human being or attempts to attack a human being, we treat that as a public safety incident and we have to destroy the animal," said Kevin Brennan, a Fish and Game wildlife biologist. "That's not what happened here. We are not actively searching for the mountain lion in question....

In this case, none of the mountain lion's behavior struck experts as out of character or dangerous.

"The dog chased it and was mauled," said Fish and Game's Morse. "This was just a lion being a lion."

People like to have "heroes" and it sounds better to say "my dog saved our family" than "my dog was stupid enough to chase after a mountain lion, and we managed to scare him off".

Now they can make a hero out of the dog, the local paper will show photos and tell the story with a 'slight' bias, along with a photo of dog recovering surrounded by treats and get well cards 8^). Over the years, the story will get better and the dog will have become a legend...

Reminds me of a story in Yellowstone, I think back in the '40's or '50's. A lady was griping to the ranger how her beloved small dog wasn't able to run free without a leash, and how unfair it was. The ranger pointed out a sow bear sitting with her cubs playing in a tree, and explained that was one of the reasons that the leash law was absolutely necessary. "Oh, if that's all you're worried about" she said as she unsnapped the leash, "my (dog) won't hurt the bear."

And she was right. The dog immediately took off running full speed directly at the sow across the meadow, who appeared to pay no attention to him. Until he got right up to her, when she turned and gave him a swat that killed him instantly.

The woman, of course, sobbed uncontrollably and wondered why they allow such vicious animals to be in the park, and why they're not put down.

Omg LOL! WE as humans are the ones "allowed" into the "home" of these so called vicious animals...