Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2006 • Mountain lion sighting reported in Westwood

Publisher’s note: This story originally appeared in the Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2006 edition of the Lassen County Times.

The California Department of Fish and Game received a report of a mountain lion sighting in Westwood Thursday morning, Dec. 22.

Lisa Stone, a lieutenant with the Department of Fish and Game, said a man passing through town made the report when he stopped to have breakfast at the Old Mill Café. The eyewitness told Stone he saw the lion crossing the railroad tracks near Ash Street and it had an arrow sticking out of its mid-section.

To expedite the search, Stone, who was in Susanville at the time she received the call, notified the local sheriff’s department in Westwood.

Resident Deputy Sheriff Benny Wallace said a local citizen armed himself and went looking for the lion from a vehicle traveling south down the alley between the railroad track and Ash Street but did not find anything. Wallace said he joined the search as well along with his son, Greg, and two officers from the Lassen County Sheriff’s Department that included Lt. Growdon and Deputy McCormick.

Stone said when she reached Westwood the search continued while they waited for the local federal trapper to join them. A federal trapper who owns dogs trained to hunt mountain lions was also called.

After the dogs arrived at the scene Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad agreed to stop their trains during the hunt as a safety precaution. The trains were held back a mile on either side of Westwood. The search covered both sides of the tracks from Highway 36 to Delwood Street. They also searched through all the thick willows along Robbers Creek and in the mill pond, within empty boxcars along the tracks and in tunnels at the old mill site.

The search for the lion ended about 4 p.m. on Thursday and Stone returned with trappers on Friday, Dec. 23 at 7 a.m. and continued to search throughout the morning. Stone reported they saw no lion tracks either day and the dogs failed to uncover a scent.

“I can’t say conclusively there wasn’t a lion because the guy did tell me he saw a lion. I can just tell you we never found any tracks and the dogs were not able to locate any scent,” said Stone.

The rain during the time period could have had some impact on the scent. That is why they returned on Friday morning, said Stone. Also the dogs were transported from the valley so they were not immediately on the scene.

However, the ground was soft enough for the lion to leave tracks and large dog prints were found in the area, said Stone.

The fact the lion was reported to have been wounded caused great concern for public safety, said Stone.

She said residents should immediately call the Department of Fish and Game if they see the wounded lion.

Proposition 117, the mountain lion initiative passed by California voters in 1991, prohibits the shooting of a lion unless it is endangering life or threatening or attacking livestock or pets. Stone said the big problem in Westwood is that it is illegal to discharge a firearm within 150 yards of an occupied dwelling.

Therefore, someone could have shot the lion with an arrow because it is quiet and no one would hear it.

If someone did shoot the lion with an arrow they should have notified Fish and Game that it had run away wounded, said Stone.

Wallace said although the lion was not found there is no reason to believe the report is false.

Safety tips for people living in cougar habitat
Although the recent reported sighting of a mountain lion in the Westwood area has not been confirmed, the town is located in lion habitat.

Therefore, it is wise to know a little about the animal’s behavior and how to avoid an attack.

According to the Mountain Lion Foundation located in Sacramento, California, the animals prefer dense undergrowth and cover. Therefore, residents should remove vegetation that provides cover for lions.

Leaving food out or doing other things to attract wildlife could attract a cougar for it is a predator and deer and other animals are its prey.

It is fairly easy to distinguish mountain lion tracks from other animals for they have a distinctive “M” shaped pad. In addition, the hind foot track will overlap the fore foot track.

Mountain lions can run at speeds up to 50 mph, leap 15 feet up a tree and scale a 12-foot fence. When running they can bound up to 40 feet.

The Mountain Lion Foundation offers several tips on what to do in case of an encounter

• Always hike, backpack and camp in wild areas with a companion.
• Never run past or from a cougar. This may trigger their instinct to chase.
• Make eye contact.
• Stand your ground.
• Pick up small children without, if possible, turning away or bending over.
• Never bend over or crouch down. Doing so causes humans to resemble four-legged prey animals. Crouching down or bending over also makes the neck and back of the head vulnerable.
• If you encounter a cougar, make yourself appear larger, more aggressive. Open your jacket, raise your arms, throw stones, branches, etc., without turning away. Wave raised arms slowly, and speak slowly, firmly, loudly to disrupt and discourage predatory behavior.
• Try to remain standing to protect head and neck and, if attacked, fight back with whatever is at hand (without turning your back) — people have utilized rocks, jackets, garden tools, tree branches and even bare hands to turn away cougars.