GILROY
– To help quell increasing concerns over local mountain lion
sightings and recent maulings in Southern California, police are
mailing up to 300 informational flyers to residences that abut the
Gilroy foothills on the west side of town.
GILROY – To help quell increasing concerns over local mountain lion sightings and recent maulings in Southern California, police are mailing up to 300 informational flyers to residences that abut the Gilroy foothills on the west side of town.
Gilroy Police Sgt. Kurt Ashley this week will send out an eight-page brochure from the California Department of Fish and Game. The mailer tells people what to do if they encounter a mountain lion and how to avoid contact with the feline altogether.
Ashley said police do not want residents overly alarmed, however at least three mountain lions make the Gilroy area home and officials wanted to be more safe than sorry. Ashley said, based on historical and recent sightings, two mountain lions inhabit the hills abutting Gavilan College southwest of town and another lion lurks around the Country Estates in the northwest quad.
“We don’t believe there is a reason to be alarmed, but as the city grows into (the mountain lions’) habitat, sightings are going to increase,” Ashley said. “The mountain lions have been around for years, but people don’t always notice them.”
Ashley said lion sighting calls made to police late last week were of little surprise after a mountain lion attacked two separate bicyclists Thursday in an Orange County park. One of the victims was killed.
“After I heard about the incident in Orange County, I prepared myself for a whole bunch of calls. And those calls did come in,” Ashley said. “We want to disseminate some information that people can use to feel safer.”
At least two lion sightings occurred last week. One was at dusk outside a Gavilan College basketball game. The other was in the Bridalwood development of the Country Estates in the morning.
No one was injured or threatened in those sightings.
The mailers include several tips for those who encounter a mountain lion, based on studies mountain lion behavior and past attacks. The tips include:
• Hike in groups.
• Keep children close to adults. Analysis of captured cats reveals they are especially drawn to children.
• Give the animal a way to escape. Most mountain lions try to avoid contact.
• Don’t run. Running stimulates a lion’s instinct to chase.
• Do not crouch or bend. A person squatting or bending over looks more like a cat’s natural prey (four-legged mammals) than a standing human.
• Appear larger. Raise your arms; pick up children; open your jacket; and speak in a firm, loud voice to convince the lion you are not prey. Throw stones or branches, but don’t crouch or turn your back.
• Fight back. Try to remain standing and facing the attacking animal. Many victims have successfully fended off an attack using rocks, jackets, garden tools and their bare hands.
Tips are also listed for people who live in lion country. They include:
• Don’t feed wildlife: By feeding animals in your yard you attract their predators, such as the mountain lion.
• Deer-proof landscape. If you have plants that deer prefer, it’ll attract mountain lions.
• Remove dense vegetation. Thick brush provides safe hiding places for mountain lions.
• Install outdoor lighting around the perimeter of the house and along walkways to keep lions visible.
• Keep pets secure. Roaming pets are easy prey.
• Don’t feed pets outside. It will attract mountain lions.
The Department of Fish and Game also describes the feline as calm, quiet and elusive.
“So far, none of the animals that have been sighted (around Gilroy) have exhibited any aggressive behavior (to humans and pets),” Ashley said.
