Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Mountain lions still live in the hills

Neighbors report seeing a cougar on Cypress Way

By Shari Kaplan

The wildcats from whom this town got its name are not just pictures and stories relegated to the annals of local history--their distant relatives are still Los Gatos residents.

Rita and Gene Fisher, who live in the east Los Gatos foothills, met one of these feline neighbors just the other week.

The Fishers were driving along Cypress Way, heading toward their Blackberry Hill Road home at about 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 30, when what they both say was a mountain lion leapt across the road. It then went up a nearby embankment, where it paused to check out the Fishers' car.

"It walked along the cyclone fence at a very natural pace. We followed along in the car. It was not the least bit concerned; it was very calm and not afraid of us," recalls Rita, who describes the large cat as a light roan color and estimates its weight at between 100 and 135 pounds.

"We've lived here 45 years and have never seen [a mountain lion] before. There was no doubt in our minds that this was a mountain lion. We were just mesmerized by it," Rita says.

When it seemed the cat was going to hang around for a while, the Fishers continued home. Rita also recalls seeing some deer--a buck and a doe--a short while later, and surmises the mountain lion might have been on their scent trail.

This incident doesn't surprise Robin Schaut, who works for the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department as interpretive services coordinator.

"Anywhere there's sufficient [tree] cover for them and enough deer could be potential mountain lion habitat," she says, explaining that many areas of the Santa Cruz mountains fit this description. Hiking trails, open space preserves, county or state parks and especially mountain homes all encroach on the mountain lions' territories, so it's only natural that people see the big cats every once in a while.

Also known as cougars or pumas, mountain lions are very territorial, so there may be only one living in a given area. These territories can range from 10 to 100 square miles, according to Schaut. She emphasizes that unless the cats are sick, starving or protecting their cubs, they do not hunt people and would much rather avoid human contact.

Mountain lions also hunt mainly at night and tend to shy away from well-used hiking trails. If hikers stay on marked trails and remember that parks and trails are closed from dusk to dawn, this also lessens the chances of human and feline contact, Schaut says.

In the event that people do come across a threatening mountain lion, there are several dos and don'ts suggested by the California State Department of Fish and Game, whose brochure, "Living with Mountain Lions," is available at many Santa Clara County park offices.

Among the safety tips are the following:

* Do not hike alone, as there is safety in numbers.

* Keep children under supervision.

* Do not approach a mountain lion; never approach a mountain lion cub.

* Do not panic or run away from a mountain lion, as this may stimulate its instinct to chase.

* Never bend down, as this makes humans look more like the four-legged animals the mountain lions prey upon.

* If confronted, people should make eye contact with the cat, stand tall, raise their arms, spread out their clothes and do everything they can to appear larger and convince the cat that they are not prey. Speaking in a loud, firm voice can also intimidate a mountain lion, as can throwing sticks and stones.

* If attacked, people should try to remain standing, as mountain lions usually try to bite the head or neck. Hikers have successfully fought off mountain lions using sticks, clothing, garden tools and their bare hands.

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