A Spotting Of Multiple Mountain Lions
Amador County, CA – Even with increasing numbers of surveillance cameras wildlife biologists were admittedly intrigued by a Mother Lode resident’s recent sighting of five prowling mountain lions.
California Fish and Wildlife officials share that they were recently contacted by the person whose surveillance system captured the nocturnal gathering in Pioneer.
CDFW spokesperson Ken Paglia tells Clarke Broadcasting, “It’s important to know that half the state of California is considered mountain lion territory, so it’s not too unusual to see…cats at night looking for food.”
He acknowledges, “Our biologists were surprised to see this many mountain lions in one location — five mountain lions together is pretty unusual –at least when it comes to being photographed.” However, with more cameras out there in the world he muses that the possibilities of capturing more such instances are obviously increasing.
As far as what might have been going on, Paglia shares, “Our biologists are pretty sure that…in the video are a mother and her four cubs…the younger lions in the group, even though they are only a little bit different in size, all appear about the same age.”
He continues, “A mother will let her cubs loose around this age and it is likely it had not happened yet…it would not be surprising for them to go off on their own soon.”
While Sightings Happen, Up Close Encounters Are Rare
While mountain lion sightings are reported from time to time, encounters are rare, because the cats are looking for deer, not humans, However, as reported here, close up incidents with one can be both startling and scary, as one local resident recounted after one in obvious hunt of someone’s pet crept up to within feet of her late one night while she was sitting on her porch.
CDFW advises folks as far as best practices go, to keep pets indoors at night and secure livestock not just with fences but roofs. Motion sensor-activated lights are helpful to have. Officials also recommend keeping grass short and brush trimmed back on properties to limit the number of hiding places.
He stresses, “It’s important to note that mountain lions do not typically seek out people. In general, they do their best to avoid us.” In the recent sighting of the five cats together, his agency says they were not considered a threat to people in the area.
“Mountain lions are looking for deer so if there is a place that has a lot of deer, likely there are mountain lions. Knowing that mountain lions are out there does not have to be a cause for panic. You just want to be mindful and diligent of what you are doing and protect your area.”
Clarke Broadcasting contacted the resident who sent the footage to CDFW and a Sacramento-area tv station for more details about the unusual assembly of big cats on his property and he stated that in three-plus years it was the first such sighting.
The resident also complained the video had gone viral, adding that he had initially posted it on a social media channel where it was additionally shared without permission. Regrettably, even now that the video is viral and widely searchable on the web, he said it is now under licensing and Clarke Broadcasting could not obtain permission from him to share here.
