A desert park has had to close its doors to visitors after several mountain lion encounters.
What’s going on?
Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in Southern California closed in early November after two reported mountain lion sightings, according to Hey SoCal. The sightings took place on November 3rd and 4th, and on both occasions, the mountain lions were spotted following the people who reported the incidents before they left. It is not clear if it was the same mountain lion or two different ones.
The park typically does not close when mountain lions are sighted, but due to the animal’s behavior in these cases, the OC Parks department erred on the side of caution and closed the park.
OC Parks, which oversees Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, worked with experts from UC Davis Wildlife Health Center to gather more information about mountain lions and their behavior. They used cameras to monitor their movements and carried out fieldwork, including searching for tracks and scat.
Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park reopened Nov. 26, according to the OC Parks website.
Why is it important for the mountain lion to find?
The behavior of the mountain lion(s) was considered “super out of the ordinary” by Cort Klopping, a Fish and Wildlife spokesman who spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the park’s closure. Mountain lions tend to avoid people, so much so that the outlet said a person is more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked.
This means that the mountain lion was likely being drawn or driven towards humans in the park for any number of reasons, including curiosity, protection of cubs, or, in the worst case scenario, hunting for food. That food does not include humans, but people have been attacked after getting too close either by accident or intentionally.
Resource scarcity driven by climate change and habitat destruction by humans are common factors pushing animals and humans closer together, according to the BBC. They can also occur when people in parks get too close to animals, such as bears and bison, which can result in some animals being euthanized if they attack humans.
Thankfully, mountain lion attacks are incredibly rare, with only seven recorded in California, according to the LA Times, including one within Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park.
What is being done about mountain lion sightings?
With the reopening of the park, officials took the opportunity to remind people to take precautions when walking to avoid encounters with mountain lions. Those include never going alone, staying within your group – especially with children – making noise to alert mountain lions to your presence, and walking during the day when mountain lions are less active.
If you encounter a mountain lion, it is crucial that you do not run and instead hold your ground, make noise, and make yourself look bigger by waving your arms. You can also throw objects at her to scare her.
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