This is a story about a mountain lion in California which, for me, once again establishes the well-known fact that this beautiful wild cat species is quite shy and normally doesn’t want to attack people and very, very rarely does and it’s usually children or old people. In fact, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife say that a person is 1,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a mountain lion. People, therefore, should be resistant hurting these animals out of their own fear.
https://www.facebook.com/tuolumnecountysheriff/videos/555261458349009/
In this instance a mountain lion wandered into the home of Edward and Cathy Sudduth who live in the city of Sonora, California, USA. They were watching television at home on Sunday evening when the mountain lion came through their open front door. They believe that the mountain lion was chasing a neighbour’s pet.
As the cougar walk through their home it’s tail touched Edward. That contact combined with the couple’s presence and no doubt the noise they were making caused the animal to run into the bathroom where it became trapped (note the cat ran away and tried to escape). Simultaneously Mr and Mrs Sudduth in fear of their lives trap themselves in another room. Humans and mountain lions don’t mix very well do they?
They called the police who in turn called the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the County Sheriff’s offices. They arrived and released the mountain lion by breaking the bathroom window and coaxing the animal out.
In the video above, if you wait patiently enough, you can see the cougar exiting the window. It is the last thing you see in the video but it is worth waiting for. Apparently, no one has seen the cat again but a neighbour said that they had heard it and was worried about her own pet’s safety.
I sincerely hope that this cat is left alone. It’s pure chance that the animal ended up in this couple’s bathroom. It is also evidence that mountain lions become habituated to the presence of people which both endangers the mountain lion and the people living in the settlement. It’s a further example of how the encroachment upon mountain lion habitat by human settlements causes these frictions. I would argue that people have an innate fear of large cats which is understandable but a lot of people exaggerate the danger of the mountian lion. Pet dogs are thousands of times more dangerous.
SOME POSTS ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN LION:
