Mountain Lion Attack

Trespassing in mountain lion habitat is a dangerous idea. Mountain lions do not share their territory, and they will not hesitate to stalk, pounce, and bite to defend it. Read about people who are lucky to be alive after brutal battles with mountain lions.

This book describes the mountain lion, a predator that hunts by ambush, and recounts documented mountain lion attacks.

The same number of mountain lion attacks has occurred in the past 10 years as had occured in the preceding 100 years. What's happening? Cat Attacks is the first unflinching look at what happens when mountain lions and people cross paths. The riveting stories of heroes and victims tell readers what to fear, what to ignore and what to expect when encountering North America's most effective large predator.

Attacks on humans by mountain lions have been infrequent in the history of the United States. Of the 64 authenticated attacks since 1890 in North America, there have been 13 fatalities. This paper reports a case of an adult mountain lion which attacked and killed a female jogger during the spring of 1994 in California. The lion left an imprint of its teeth on the victim's chin. The authors used this bite mark to aid authorities in profiling the approximate age and gender of the attacking animal. The authors subsequently utilized bite mark analysis to establish that the lion actually responsible for the attack had been removed from the area.

Bloodcurdling encounters between the big cats and their most reluctant prey--humans.

A mountain lion's ability to pounce 40 feet (12.2 m) makes it a fearsome predator. But this big cat has more adaptations to keep it well fed, including sharp claws, a flexible spine, and large, padded paws. It also has interesting habits, such as hiding its prey from other animals so it can come back again and again for a bite to eat. Readers will learn much more about these fierce animals of North America, including the endangered Florida panther, in this book's fact-filled pages and colorful photographs.

Provides information about cougars, relates actual encounters, and offers survival strategies.

The relationship between humans and mountain lions has always been uneasy. A century ago, mountain lions were vilified as a threat to livestock and hunted to the verge of extinction. In recent years, this keystone predator has made a remarkable comeback, but today humans and mountain lions appear destined for a collision course. Its recovery has led to an unexpected conundrum: Do more mountain lions mean they’re a threat to humans and domestic animals? Or, are mountain lions still in need of our help and protection as their habitat dwindles and they’re forced into the edges and crevices of communities to survive? Mountain lion biologist and expert Mark Elbroch welcomes these tough questions. He dismisses long-held myths about mountain lions and uses groundbreaking science to uncover important new information about their social habits. Elbroch argues that humans and mountain lions can peacefully coexist in close proximity if we ignore uninformed hype and instead arm ourselves with knowledge and common sense. He walks us through the realities of human safety in the presence of mountain lions, livestock safety, competition with hunters for deer and elk, and threats to rare species, dispelling the paranoia with facts and logic. In the last few chapters, he touches on human impacts on mountain lions and the need for a sensible management strategy. The result, he argues, is a win-win for humans, mountain lions, and the ecosystems that depend on keystone predators to keep them in healthy balance. The Cougar Conundrum delivers a clear-eyed assessment of a modern wildlife challenge, offering practical advice for wildlife managers, conservationists, hunters, and those in the wildland-urban interface who share their habitat with large predators.

“Awe. It’s the overwhelming emotion 20 authors express for the cougar—or mountain lion or panther or puma—in [this] beautiful literary anthology.” —The Durango Herald Foreword by Jane Goodall This spellbinding tribute to Puma concolor honors the big cat’s presence on the land and in our psyches. In some essays, the puma appears front and center: a lion leaps over Rick Bass’s feet, hurtles off a cliff in front of J. Frank Dobie, gazes at Julia Corbett when she opens her eyes after an outdoor meditation, emerges from the fog close enough for poet Gary Gildner to touch. Marc Bekoff opens his car door for a dog that turns out to be a lion. Other works evoke lions indirectly. Biologists describe aspects of cougar ecology, such as its rugged habitat and how males struggle to claim territory. Conservationists relate the political history of America’s greatest cat. Short stories and essays consider lions’ significance to people, reflecting on accidental encounters, dreams, Navajo beliefs, guided hunts, and how vital mountain lions are to people as symbols of power and wildness. Contributors include: Rick Bass, Marc Bekoff, Janay Brun, Julia B. Corbett, Deanna Dawn, J. Frank Dobie, Suzanne Duarte, Steve Edwards, Joan Fox, Gary Gildner, Wendy Keefover-Ring, Ted Kerasote, Christina Kohlruss, Barry Lopez, BK Loren, Cara Blessley Lowe, Steve Pavlik, David Stoner, and Linda Sweanor. “Puma. Cougar. Mountain lion. Panther. These words and the creatures they represent inspire awe, wonder, excitement, terror, and reverence in the writers whose contributions make up this anthology.” —Library Journal