Mountain Lion Released At Current River Ca

[Tim Smith]

If you are spending time worrying about you or someone you know being attacked by a mountain lion in Missouri my guess is you worry about just about everything. On the list of outdoor Missouri dangers I'd say mountain lions wouldn't crack the top 1000 on my list, put this on my tombstone if I get killed by one!

Exactly.

Roxborough State Park was opened just outside Denver several decades ago with a hundred thousand + visitors a year. When I moved here I assumed it would be just another boring urban park and I could barely be bothered to visit it. But when I walked the trails it was clear this was not the case.

On the trails, mixed among the stroller tracks and the footprints of groups of kids from local schools are bear and mountain lion tracks. I find them almost every time I visit and I visit often because not only is there the possibility (certainty) of seeing huge mule deer here, there is also the possibility of finding a mule deer kill, or perhaps spotting a moutain lion. I've seen bears twice, including once with my daughter. The visitors center has a tally of sightings and they're almost constant.

And in all that time and among all those people there has been a total of one attack. It was against a 135 pound man who was jogging on a trail and panicked and ran when he encountered a mountain lion. Eventually he fought it off and he survived. And that's it. Millions of chances to attack a human and that's all that ever happened. Parks and stories like this are all over the west.

Yes. You can get attacked by a mountain lion but you're at far more risk from your neighbor's dogs and far more risk than that from your own dogs. In fact, if your kids are going into the woods or out onto the streets without the capacity to deal with HUMAN predators you're already taking crazy risks. If your're prepared for that, you're in relatively good shape to handle mountain lions. Mountain lions don't add appreciably to the risk that's already there.

Is it really a valid argument to try to eliminate all risk...especially from areas that are supposedly wilderness?

[Wayne SW/MO]

One only has to look at the stats. I believe CA is probably the most dangerous considering the chances of contact. Their fatality rate is three per century I believe. I believe it's less than 60 for the US and Canada in the last 100 years.

Not bad odds.

[duckydoty]

If your gonna go, might as well be by a mountain lion attack. People will write stories about you and maybe even make a movie. You'll be famous

[Kayser]

I was backpacking Paddy Creek Wilderness this week, and mountain lions were the furthest from my mind, even when I saw a pair of eyes in the dark. Turned out to just be a gray fox, but I was more worried about local dogs and coyotes than any type of cat.

Also, thought this might be relevant -http://tchester.org/sgm/lists/lion_attacks.html

And this- http://historylist.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/human-deaths-in-the-us-caused-by-animals/

Apparently, you're 5 times as many people die from spiders compared to mt. lions every year, you're 20 times as likely to be killed by a horse, and equally as likely to die from a shark attack (and we all know how "common" those are) compared to mt lions. I'm not worried about them, even with as much as I'm out in the more remote parts of the natl forest.

Rob

[hank franklin]

Okay, here is my list of worries on a typical trail run / orienteering outing:

1. Twisted ankle from root / rock. Major concern.

2. Slip and fall, etc.

3. Poison ivy.

4. Rogue teenager with gun.

5. Vicious spider in web.

6. Rattlesnake / copperhead on trail / under rock. Worse scenario, snake hanging from tree!

7. Tree falling on head. Worse, falling rock from bluff nailing you.

8. Wild dog, especially pack of wild dogs.

9. Drunk hillbilly on ATV with gun.

10. Drunk hillbilly on ATV w/out gun.

11. Feral hog(s).

12. Ghosts / spooky things / MoMo or equivalent.

13. Mountain lion.

14. Asteroid / space junk etc. falling from sky.

As you can see, mountain lion is rather low on my list.

I just wish it wasn't on my list at all.

[Outside Bend]

Okay, here is my list of worries on a typical trail run / orienteering outing:

1. Twisted ankle from root / rock. Major concern.

2. Slip and fall, etc.

3. Poison ivy.

4. Rogue teenager with gun.

5. Vicious spider in web.

6. Rattlesnake / copperhead on trail / under rock. Worse scenario, snake hanging from tree!

7. Tree falling on head. Worse, falling rock from bluff nailing you.

8. Wild dog, especially pack of wild dogs.

9. Drunk hillbilly on ATV with gun.

10. Drunk hillbilly on ATV w/out gun.

11. Feral hog(s).

12. Ghosts / spooky things / MoMo or equivalent.

13. Mountain lion.

14. Asteroid / space junk etc. falling from sky.

As you can see, mountain lion is rather low on my list.

I just wish it wasn't on my list at all.

But you can't control mountain lions any more than you can ghosts, twisted ankles, or drunken hillbillies. That's my whole point. Even if we killed every mountain lion sighted in the state, it doesn't prevent more lions moving in from the west. And given that the risks posed by mountain lions is practically nil, is it really worth the effort?

[jdmidwest]

Carry and gun and be aware of your surroundings and you really shouldn't have to worry about much. Stumble thru life not paying attention to your surroundings will get you in to trouble no matter what the threat.

You can wear orange during hunting season and prevent accidental shootings. You wear protective clothing for poison ivy and avoid it, you spray for ticks. You watch where you step and put your hands to keep from getting snake bit. You wear a bell to signal hungry bears that it is dinner time. And you pack heat for the rest.

[hank franklin]

jdmidwest, I forgot to mention bears. They're above feral hogs, below drunk hillbillies.

Outside Bend, all I said is if you catch a mountain lion in Reynolds County, dump him in Arkansas. I didn't say kill him.

I'm not going to carry a gun while trail running. I highly doubt a mountain lion would take interest in me but you never know.

I don't want mountain lions around. Sorry.

[Outside Bend]

jdmidwest, I forgot to mention bears. They're above feral hogs, below drunk hillbillies.

Outside Bend, all I said is if you catch a mountain lion in Reynolds County, dump him in Arkansas. I didn't say kill him.

I'm not going to carry a gun while trail running. I highly doubt a mountain lion would take interest in me but you never know.

I don't want mountain lions around. Sorry.

I understand, but it's just not that simple. I'm not trying to boo you down Hank, and at the end of the day your opinion is your own. I'm just trying to understand why mountain lions are so outrageous, while all these others, more dangerous critters, are an acceptable risk.

[Feathers and Fins]

I grew up Hunting and Fishing in California, I have had more than 1 encounter with them and honestly never was to concerned about them. Hollyweird has made them out to be much more than they really are IMO. I use to hunt an area I knew full well had a female cat in it and often would see her and even seen her with cubs.

I made it a point to be very aware of my surroundings that included stopping more often then normal and listening. When I did feel the hairs on my next stand I made sure to get to an area I had clear fields of view or the high ground. When I did run into them I made it a point to let them be fully aware I knew they were there.

It is actually IMO a privledge to see one of these cats in the wild. They are a very dilibrate animal yet very playful. They are looking for easy prey and an adult is not easy prey. Young children should never be allowed in the wild alone or unattended at any time and attacks on Joggers can be avoided if people would not wear the dam ear phones.

Missouri has very abundant prrey for them unlike southern california, also part of the problem there is population of people vs the lions. They have lost their fear of us there IMO.

I would be more concerned about venomous snakes or running into a hornets than a lion. But if you do just stand your ground and make them aware you know they are there, suprise is the key to their attack.

Oh and if bit by a venomous snake dont suck out the venom! You wont like what happens if you have a cavity or open cut in your mouth.