Native Animal Rescue of Santa Cruz County

Mountain lions (Felis concolor) are the largest native North American cat except for the slightly larger Jaguar.

The mountain lion is called by more names than any othermammal-cougar,puma,panther,catamount or simply-lion. Adult mountainlions are more than seven feet long with a 32 inch tail. Their color istawny with black tipped tail and ears. The males are generally largerthan females weighing 130 to 150 pounds. The females weight ranges 65to 90 pounds. Their height at the shoulder is 25 - 30 inches.

Mountain lions breed any time of year, spring being the peakseason.  Females usually breed every two to three years. Births aremost common in July.  The typical litter size is two or three one poundkittens, or cubs. They are covered with blackish-brown spots and havedark rings around their tails. These markings will fade as they grow.The cubs are weaned at six weeks of age and will then weight eighttimes their birth weight.

About half of California is prime mountain lion country. They livein many different parts of California, from deserts to the coastrange,remote mountains, canyons, or hilly areas with good cover. Theyare more at home in brushy areas than in open prairies.

They are most abundant in areas where deer are plentiful as mostoften deer is the lion's staple diet. However, they can survive preyingon small animals as well. Those animals may include wild hogs,rabbits,skunks,rodents and other small mammals, birds, and even fish.Mountain lions are solitary hunters and usually hunt at night . Theyprefer to ambush their prey from behind. Once a mountain lion haskilled it's prey, usually by swiftly and cleanly breaking the neck,  itwill gorge on the carcass until it can eat no more, then covers theremainder with leaves and dirt. The lion will now fast for a few days,digesting and resting. After fasting, the lion may come back to uncoverit's kill and feed over the course of a few days.

A mountain lion spends most of it's time alone and can live about12 years in the wild and up to 25 years in captivity. Their naturalenemies include other large predators such as bears and at one time inCalifornia, wolves. Unfortunately, mountain lions also fall victim toaccidents, disease and their chief enemy is people, with whom theycompete for food and territory.

We live in mountain lion country. Typically,mountain lions arecalm, elusive and quiet. Their generally secretive and solitary natureis what makes it possible for humans to live in mountain lioncountry. They typically avoid people, but like any wild animal,mountain lions can be dangerous.  Mountain lion attacks on humans areextremely rare. However, with the increasing human population expandinginto mountain lion habitat conflicts may occur. They will attack inself defense and to protect their cubs. Even so, the potential forbeing injured or killed by a mountain lion is very low compared to manyother natural hazards. For example, a person is one thousand times morelikely to be struck by lightning than being attacked by a mountainlion. 

With a better understanding of mountain lions and their habitat, we can coexist with these magnificent animals.

If you live in mountain lion habitat, the following is what youcan do to reduce the chances of encountering a mountain lion near yourhome:

What should you do if you meet a mountain lion?

• *First, do not hike, bike or jog alone: Go in groups with adultssupervising children. Avoid these activities when mountain lions aremost active, at dawn, dusk and night. Make noise when you hike, bike or jogto reduce the chances of surprising a mountain lion.
• *Always keep a close watch on small children: A child's small sizemay draw a mountain lions attention. Keep children within your sight atall times.
• *Never approach a mountain lion.: Most mountain lions prefer toavoid confrontations, so never approach them and make them feel cornered.
• *Never run from a mountain lion: Stand and face the animal. Raise your arms and open your jacket, if wearing one, to appear larger. Pick up small children if present without crouching or bending.  Never bend over or turn awayfrom a mountain lion.Wave your arms slowly and speak firmly in a loud voice. Convince thelion that you may be danger to it. Your objective is to make yourself look as LARGE and THREATENING as possible.
• *Fight back if a lion attacks you: A strong walking stick can be useful in warding off a lion.If you have a rock or stick, throw it atthe lion and back awayvery slowly. Lions have been driven away by prey that fight back.  
• Mountain are classified as "specially protected species," making mountain lion hunting illegal in California.  

They are an important predator at the top of the food chain,focusing on deer and elk thereby helping to keep these populations healthy and habitat from being overgrazed. They are essential to the lands in California. Without them, prey animals like deer will increase, resulting in a change of the vegetation. That would possibly have a detrimental effect on the land. Without mountain lions, the ecosystem would change forever.

Understanding the role of mountain lions and how to coexist withthem will greatly reduce public fears and persecution of this important predator.  

For information about our native wildlife call Native Animal Rescue at: 462-0726 or visit www.nativeanimalrescue.org

Vikki Simons-Krupp  

Native Animal Rescue

Wildlife Rehabilitator/Board member