Settling worried minds (mountain lions, bears)

[tomba]

I think that by "our website", balzaccom means his (or their) website, not this forum.

[Schleppy]

The other thing is that I put out trail cameras to watch wildlife. Mountain lions and bears are common, along with a host of other animals. I usually check them about every two months or so. And when I do it doesn't escape me that the camera I am now on my knees to check has close-up views of mountain lions it just might cause me to look over my shoulder a bit more than I normally would.

Four cougars?

@z98, you feeling better yet?

[Shawn]

Yes, the Lioness and her three kittens (albeit just on the cusp of going out on their own).

[kpeter]

Proper use of bear canisters and limiting scented items makes a huge difference when it comes to bears. I have had bears attack my food twice in the years before canisters, and it was scary, although they had no intention of attacking me.

Just about the only chance to get a black bear to attack you is to put yourself between a cub and a mother and stay there. So when I see a bear the first thing I do is look for a cub, since that is the only real potential danger, and stay away.

Cougars are much more shy than bears. The cases of modern cougar attacks on humans are almost always mistaken identity--that is, the cougar is perched on a branch over a trail waiting for a deer, and pounces when a jogger runs underneath. But lumbering along with a backpack does not exactly make you seem fleet of foot or deer-like. Odds are that many of us have walked under lions before and not even known it.

[scottmiller]

The hills where I hike around where I live have a lot of mountain lions. Someone I know who lives there has seen them six times driving to work early in the morning. I'm not wild about them being there; when I was a kid there were hardly any. I have heard that you need to be wary when bending over to tie your shoes because that looks very inviting to them. Also, if attacked, fight back. That seems like weird advice, but that's what they say.