Three raccoons (Procyon lotor) gathered together Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, WA

A weekly walkthrough of what has been going on and a look at what is coming up!

“Crocodiles are easy. They try to kill and eat you. People are harder. Sometimes they pretend to be your friend first.”
― Steve Irwin

In the News Now

A week ago, in northern California, a fatal event took place and has lead to a spark in talk surrounding mountain lions and managing their populations. In the wake of a tragedy, when emotions are peaked, is not the time to make decisions, but it is does at least get the conversation going. On March 23, near the township of Georgetown, CA in El Dorado County, brothers Taylen (21) and Wyatt (18) Brooks were walking down a dirt road as they were out hunting for antler sheds. The situation became tense when a mountain lion emerged on the road leading to an event that hasn't happened in California for 20 years.

At roughly 1 pm, local authorities received a call from a distraught Wyatt Brooks to report that a mountain lion had attacked his brother and himself. The Brooks family explained the events as recalled by Wyatt.

• The mountain lion emerges onto the road in front of the Brooks brothers

• they began waving their arms, yelling, and throwing objects at the large cat

• The lion kept approaching the two young men and launched an initial attack on Wyatt, biting his face and taking him to the ground

• Wyatt was able to get on top of the lion while Taylen landed blows on the large felid

• The mountain lion then shifts his attention to Taylen, launching toward him and biting his neck

• Wyatt was trying to get the mountain lion to release its grip on his brother with no success, at which point he goes to find cell phone service and call the authorities.

   

When authorities arrived and searched for Taylen, they found the mountain lion crouched next to him. Firing a shot to scare off the mountain lion so they could render first aid to the injured man, they found Taylen had already passed by the time they arrived. Wyatt was taken to the hospital for treatment of his wounds and wildlife officials set out to locate the mountain lion responsible. Because their was a fatality involved, it is protocol to kill the mountain lion responsible, collect the body, and perform a necroscopy exam to try and discern what lead to the attack.

There has been many opinions shared and stances taken on how we should move forward in the wake of a wildlife encounter turned tragic. Some call for the removal of mountain lions, while others state that this is to be expected when you travel in lion country. However, without understanding the circumstances that lead to this particular fatal attack, it would be hard to draw conclusions of how we really should move forward. First, the mountain lion was a male. This is abundantly important as we look at the size and health of the lion. Weighing in at 90lbs and in good health, it is likely a young lion. Young males almost always undergo the process of dispersing from their natal home ranges where their mothers taught them to survive. Known as transients, young dispersing males are typically driven to use "transient ranges", which are typically situated along the fringes of human habitat and development due to dominant males in the area maintaining their home ranges with territoriality.

Because there may be limited prey resources throughout their transient ranges, mountain lions may adjust their risk management from what would be considered a typical baseline. These large felids have been found to be more likely to abandon a kill when presented with competition or even the mere presence of a human. However, when a mountain lion is facing survival conflicts at a higher rate than normal, it may be willing to go further to protect a kill. If the two young men were antler shed hunting and happened to come with in close proximity of a cached kill or the lion itself, the mountain lion may have a more aggressive response than we would typically see in this sort of encounter. An attack launched after trying to haze the lion away would indicate that the threat of injury was not enough to dissuade the lion from an attack.

These events become something of a frenzy due to the rarity of them. When you hear the headlines, the thought of being face to face with this efficient killer becomes real. Your weekend hike in the hills becomes something that brings more thoughts about what lies beyond your vision. The snapping of a twig or scrape of a branch all bring thoughts of a large predator waiting in the distance. However, the specific events that have to line up for an adverse encounter or attack to take place is highly unlikely. When it comes to how to use this unfortunate event to propel our management practices further and greater protect both humans and wildlife, we have to find all answers available in events like this. After authorities killed the mountain lion, the body was collected, DNA confirmed it was the same lion that killed Taylen, and necroscopy analysis will then be performed. The answers that come from the analysis of the mountain lion's body will confirm age class and help draw the important conclusions that will help moving forward.

Southern California Mountain Lion Project Update

Private Property Initiative

One of my observation sites is in Valley Center and had a wide variety of animals from the first collection of footage. However, on this recent visit, there was a lack in variety. Where I first saw coyotes, bobcats, skunks, oppossums, and mice all using the same game trail, were missing from this recent visit. Going through the footage I found a few captures of bobcats, but then I found the most probable cause of the lack in variety. A mountain lion (Puma concolor), moving down the bank and upstream, it was clear that with this top predator on the landscape, others may steer clear.

One of the stars of this area has been the bobcat (Lynx rufus). Getting up close looks at this species as camera bycatch has been pretty fascinating. They exhibit behaviors that are very similar with mountain lions specifically and other, more broad felid behaviors that remind me of the cats at my very own home.

Public Areas

At one of my public observation sites bobcats are more than just a occasional visitor, they are the pretty much the star of the show. At the TC007 site one particular bobcat has been very active and putting on quite the show. From posing right in front of the camera to one of its most recent sightings with a fresh kill.

This site also got some other cool visitors. From the big turkeys (Meleagris californica) to some young mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) moving through the area.

The Stinky Stray Dog and Our Quick Bond

As cute and happy as this guy up here looks running around the trails and through the water, it could actually be damaging the natural landscape and causing serious damage for the native plants and wildlife.

I was at Daley Ranch hiking last week and upon my return the Cougar Pass Trailhead, I ran into this gorgeous pup. There were only two people here and both said they had no idea who owned the dog. It was wet and covered in mud, so it was likely that it had been out exploring for a while. As I approached him, he let me get rather close, but as I reached out my hand he turned and began walking down the road. I needed to get a leash on him so I could look at the tags on his collar and try to contact the owner, so I began down the road after him. About half a mile up the road I finally caught up with the dog again, only to find him rolling in garbage that someone had decided to dump there right along the road. Other people were around the dog at this point, none knew who the canid belonged too and he wasn't letting anyone get close. I decided to just sit, close enough he knew I was there, but far enough he had space to feel comfortable. He eventually came over and let me pet him and build a bond. I immediately learned why the dog was attracted to the pile of garbage. There happened to be a dead goat carcass, that was as rancid as you could imagine, and this stray dog was eager not only to sniff around, but to roll its entire body in it. Because there was no way of knowing if this goat carcass was carrying any diseases that would cause excessive damages to local wildlife, it became even more important for me to get a leash on the dog and escort him out of the area. Even without rolling around in dead animals, dogs going off trail puts the local wildlife at risk due to their ability to carry and transmit diseases they themselves are vaccinated against, but the wildlife will surely succumb to. I needed to get some sort of restraint on the the dog and make sure he stays out of the sensitive habitat.

Using my camera sling, I hooked one side on the dog's collar and began walking back to my van. I made a call to the Humane Society and informed them of the current situation, smells included. Then it was time for me to brave this stinky pup in a close proximity for the 30 minutes it would take to get to the Humane Society's Escondido Campus. With the windows down and air on full blast, I still needed to wrap a scarf around my face to keep the scent from penetrating my nose. We made it there with limited incident and were both excited that the owners were located immediately, contacted, and were on their way to pick up their missing friend. It was definitely an eventful day, and we not only safeguarded the natural landscapes and wildlife of this area, but also reunited a family!

What's to Come?

New Blog Article

Keep an eye out for an upcoming blog article where I dive into the Southern California Mountain Lion Project observations and predictions, as well as upcoming and current plans to expand the reach of the project

Mountain Lion Seminars

 As the first full year of the project is coming to a close I am looking for new ways to reach the public, educate them, and inspire them to join the initiative of conserving the mountain lion. During these seminars I aim to take people out of their everyday human lives and immerse them in the mind of a mountain lion.

Hair Microscopy Seminars

Hair microscopy for wildlife is the examination of hair under a microscope to identify different species. I use this practice in the SCML Project to examine hair found in natural landscapes, but also the hair that occurs in mountain lion scat. By identifying the different species' hair within the scat, we gain a better picture of a mountain lion's diet in a certain region. These seminars will be geared toward educating those that attend on the gear and practices I employ to achieve these goals.

Supporting Local Art, Small Business, and Conservation all in one!

There is a lot of time, effort and expense that goes into creating images and working towards conservation goals that protect the wild places we visit. It would be an honor to have my work displayed in your home as a way to keep doing this work!

Sessions at JABCECC

Sessions at the Judith A. Bassett Canid Education and Conservation Center are able to be booked year round! Contact information for any questions on booking and pricing can be found through the "book now" link.