Cougar sighting Shasta County - Lower Clear Creek

[NeoTokyo]

Heya everyone;

Just a heads up to the folks that prospect on lower clear creek in Shasta County.

Yesterday (4-15-15) I was metal detecting the tailings piles out where the old shooting range use to be on lower clear creek, the one behind the concrete walls and yellow BLM gate.
I walked in and followed the road that is now clear creek trail to where the small unsupported mineshafts go into concreted deposits.
We followed right at the split in the trail and went slightly north. There we stopped at the short, fairly level tailings piles to detect.

A group of people had passed us and they had 2 dogs and were about 100 feet ahead of where we stopped to detect.

I hear them yelling and could see that their dogs had just found a Full Grown Mountain Lion hiding in a bush about 15 feet off the trail.
The Lion took off not wanting to deal with 2 dogs and 6 people.


Mountain Lions are smart, it was waiting for and Animal to come down the trail alone to ambush, maybe a person if they were alone.

So just be aware if you are out on Lower Clear Creek, there is a big one roaming around.

 

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[AuSomeness]

Good info to know. I'm glad I didn't go down there recently!

 

[NeoTokyo]

Just bring backup with you if you can, 4 legged or thunderstick.

All I had was my knock off Buck pocket knife, my pick, Jobe Scoop, RS pinpointer and FORS Gold.
Not much protection from a hungry kitty cat.

 

[DigIron2]

I would imagine there would be nothing more scary then being stalked by a big cat.I don't even like the thought of running into a angry black bear.yikes

 

[beekbuster]

another reason not to wear headphones. i need to hear when im in the woods. ive avoided a couple bears by hearing them before i saw them. spooking a bear 5 yards from u is when a bear may attack you, but u might look more vulnerable to a cat if you are zoned out with your ear muffs on.my opinion of course.

 

[NeoTokyo]

yeah, I don't hunt with headphones either because of that exact reason.
My FORS Gold Pro Package came with headphones, but I still don't use them.

I like to hear what is around me and the FORS Gold is loud enough for me on its own.

 

[Alkanira]

Might seem like a stupid question, cause we dont have mountain lions in Norway were i live; What CAN you do should you be attacked? I can only imagine walking out detecting with my headseat and suddenly being overrun by this beast!

 

[Clay Diggins]

You can physically fight back. Most of these cats that attack humans are too weak or sick to hunt their natural prey, otherwise they would stalk tastier meals. Fighting back works.

The odds of being attacked are infinitely small. A total of 9 people have been killed by mountain lions in the United States in the last 100 years. Your odds of dying by getting lost or falling and injuring yourself are thousands of times greater than being killed by mountain lion attack.

These big cats are naturally curious. They are rarely stalking when they are seen, they simply want to know who is in their neighborhood. Many times I have had mountain lions follow me while hiking. None have ever even indicated they thought of me as anything but a smelly curiosity.

No humans have ever been killed by a mountain lion here in the huge and largely wild State of Arizona. There are an estimated 3,000 mountain lions in Arizona. Only two people have ever been attacked here. Hunters here kill more than 150 mountain lions each year. The reality is that mountain lions in Arizona fear men and rarely are seen near humans except where people encourage them (see below).

In California mountain lion hunting is illegal by popular demand. The lions aren't endangered but they are overpopulated in many areas. They also have lost their fear of humans in many areas due to "nature lovers" feeding the local wildlife. These feeders create concentrations of mountain lion food (deer, rabbits) and then scream "danger" when they see one of these cats. In California the majority of attacks are in rural park areas and the lions favorite human snack are bicycle riders who they always attack from behind and above while the bike is in motion. Bike riders in that position closely resemble the lions natural prey - sick slow deer.

Heavy Pans

 

[kayakpat]

I hear they pounce on riders from the rear while biteing the neck to kill quickly, makes me wonder why people go to these areas unarmed? My neighborhood has had black bear attacks, although I think people are a bigger threat in places.

 

[russau]

What you put in print on the net CAN come back to bit you! but if my life in endangered by a animal or some jerk , I awlawys follow the 3 s' rule and go on my way!

 

[kayakpat]

?? 3 rule?

 

[beekbuster]

rattle snakes are #1 on the lookout list or falling if in steep country. the next threat i think is people, look what happened at paynes creek one year ago may 15. like stated above the chance of being attacked by a lion are slim to none. more likely to be hit by lightning or cross paths with a murderer. unfortunately its the world we live in.

?? 3 rule? ... your profile pic explains the second s in the three s rule. i am breaking the third s in the s.s.s. rule

 

[NeoTokyo]

Exactly what Clay said.

I had my two youngest girls and my Ex Wife with me, she freaked out because she didn't see where the cat was after I said there was a cougar, she scooped up the kids and got back on the road.

I put both kids on my shoulders and walked back, a cat wont attack something that big or strange looking.

 

[NeoTokyo]

Going back out tomorrow, my sniping buddy is coming along with his bird dogs to see if they pick up on the scent.
We aren't going to track it, he just wants to see how his dogs react to the scent.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Clay is spot-on.

Being predators, a cat knows that if it is badly injured and can't hunt,
that it could starve, so they prefer to kill critters as fast and safely
as they can. Ambush, usually from above, + throat grab = dinner.

Most of these cats will bail-out of an area once they know their
cover is blown, but if the cat continues towards your direction
or is acting aggressive, then be prepared to defend yourself.
Even if I carried a handgun, shooting the cat would always be
the last option. The cat ain't done nuthin' wrong, yet.

Depending on how far away the cat is, I would also be inclined
to go on offense rather than just wait for the cat to make up it's
own mind. If the terrain allowed it, I'd make a false charge at
the cat while waving a big freakin' stick and calling it every nasty
name in the book as loud as I could holler. It'll scare the crap
out of the cat as that's the last thing it would expect..they're
used to their prey showing fear and running away.

At this point, providing the cat had ill intent on it's mind to start
with, it knows you are not going down without a fight, and that
you are prepared to defend yourself. In either case, 99% of the
cats will be taking the A Train out of the area.

Make damn sure the cat has a way out, away from you. If
it feels cornered it will fight like any animal would.

That other 1%? Use that handgun, or if ya don't have one
(and have time) grab a healthy stick and let that cat know
just how angry a human can get.

Best rule in all cases: Don't act like prey, and ya won't be prey.