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Residents looking for answers to attacks by hillside animals
By Jason Baker
Tensions between nature and man continue to plague the Saratoga hills as residents try to determine why the area's indigenous critters can't seem to stay on their own side of the woods.
On the morning of June 25, Carolyn Martin, a Tollgate-area resident, found more than leaves and grass on the creek property near her home above Saratoga Village. While preparing for his morning duties, Martin's gardener discovered the carcass of a fawn lying mangled and bloody on the grassy clearing close to a nearby gully. No predator was in sight, but that did little to ease the shock.
"It looked like something huge had killed it," she said. "Needless to say, it was scary."
Calls to Santa Clara County Vector Control and to the California Department of Fish and Game brought officials to Martin's property. Laurie Frazer, a wildlife specialist with the county, handled the search for clues along with representatives from Fish and Game.
"We determined that a fawn that size ... could have been killed by a bobcat, a mountain lion or a coyote," she said. The kill was fresh, but determining which wild hunter was responsible presented more of a task. The carcass was less than 24 hours old and the damage to the fawn was extensive.
"It could have been hit by a car and dragged there [by a predator]," Frazer said.
While canvassing the area, Frazer discovered several clues--coyote scat, coyote tracks and a large set of prints that could have belonged to a large wild cat.
"To me, those tracks were entirely unexpected," she said. But as any hunter knows, finding an animal's tracks and finding the animal are altogether different things, which meant Frazer could not determine beyond a shadow of a doubt that a mountain lion was responsible for the kill.
"I'm not Daniel Boone. Tracking and identifying an animal from one set of muddy prints is beyond the skills of even the most advanced wildlife experts. But these are impressive tracks."
Frazer said she has returned to the gully area on several separate occasions and has yet to spot any mountain lion activity. But investigators continue to research the area.
Trips to the Saratoga hills by wildlife investigators are becoming more frequent, as residents trying to peacefully coexist with their furry neighbors file reports of unwelcome four-legged visitors.
Reports of intrusive coyotes near Pierce Road have surfaced of late, closely linking the creatures with the disappearance of domestic cats.
"Ninety-five percent of these incidents are being caused by an excess of cats and pet food being left out," Frazer said.
Fliers seeking whereabouts of missing pets cover the area. Reports of wild animals strolling the streets in broad daylight are not uncommon. And as the spring rains yield to summer heat, residents fear more encounters with hungry animals.
Paula Reeve, from the Saratoga city manager's office, said officials are aware of the concerns and are looking for possible solutions. "We've had several calls from people who've reported seeing coyotes on Bankmill and Pierce roads," she said, along with the report of the killed fawn near the Martin home.
"We're looking at having representatives from Fish and Wildlife and vector control meet with residents to discuss how to deal with the various wildlife."
No specific date has been set, but Reeve anticipated the meetings should take place near the end of the month.
But what do neighbors do in the meantime? Martin said she's unsure.
"When these animals get in residential areas they don't behave," she said. "I've lived in this area 40 years and I've never heard anything about mountain lions. My concern is they're coming closer."
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Saratoga, California Since 1975
