Dear Keith...
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
RIDING WITH COUGARS
After all my years of trail riding throughout California, I have run into all kinds of wildlife, but never a cougar – until several days ago and on a trail near my house! I’m pretty sure it was a young female who at first I thought was a Great Dane on the trail because of the size and color. She was magnificent and as I got closer, she appeared like a large Siamese cat with a dark face, much sleeker than the cougars in the zoo or movies. We were coming toward each other on the trail and she was as surprised at me as I was at her. She had probably been tracking a lady with a small white dog who had just passed me. (Small dogs, next to deer, are a favorite prey of these big cats, and the reason “NO DOGS”
signs are posted on favorite walking trails.)
Luckily my horse didn’t shy. Since she had never seen a cougar either, she probably thought it was a big dog as well. I knew you shouldn’t run from a cougar, so I charged her raising my arm, shouting as loud as I could. A hiker was coming at her from the other direction and he did the same and the cat turned and ran back into the undergrowth. I offered to escort the hiker back to the street, but he said he was ok and went on down the trail. Not as brave as I appeared, I galloped for home!
It was hard to believe that such a lovely creature would try to eat us and had actually been stalking the lady with the dog! I contacted Animal Control who referred me to Fish and Game who referred me to the County Biologist who deals with dangerous wildlife. We had a long interesting conversation and he sent me some booklets on cougars and bears. I was shocked to hear that in his 25 years walking the woods he had never seen a live cougar and was allowed to carry only a knife. (I’m not sure a knife would help in wrestling with a cougar unless you had the skills of
Tarzan.) He said he knew they were out there and were watching him, but were timid and frightened of people – normally – and that we had to learn rules about living with them. If you site a cougar, you should report it to “State Parks” who document the siting and deal with it appropriately.
If a cougar turns “rogue” and starts threatening humans or moving into residential areas, rangers will track it down and destroy it. Cougars can’t be “relocated” since their territory can cover over 100 square miles that is patrolled by one male. The dominant male will even kill off his own male offspring if they hang around as they get older.
Cougars live on deer and small game and that is why it is unwise to feed and attract deer to your property with rose bushes, water, salt and feed or to leave dogs outside at night. Cougars hunt at dusk, night and early morning, so these are times to avoid the trails.
Here are a few precautions to take:
1. Don’t ride at dusk or early morning
2. Don’t ride or hike alone
3. Keep children close to you
4. Don’t run away if you confront a cougar
5. Don’t ride with a dog
6. Realize cougars are out there and see you even if you can’t see them
7. Ride defensively and realize your horse could spook if it heard or
smelled a cougar.
8. You are pretty safe on your horse since you will appear larger,
but if you fall or get off you are more vulnerable. Don’t crouch,
squatt or bend over because you’ll appear more like a prey animal.
9. Do all you can to appear larger and dangerous (Raise your arms,
Open your jacket, Wave your arms slowly, Shout in a loud voice.
The bikers in our neighborhood have all run into cougars at some
time or other and hold their bikes over their heads to scare the
cougars)
10. Throw stones or branches
11. There is a loud handheld air horn available from Camping stores,
but make sure your horse gets used to it first or you’ll be in
more danger from falling off in front of the cougar as your horse
spooks
12. Pepper sprays are effective, but only if the cougar is almost on
top of you
13. Hand pellet guns are another option, but you don’t want to use
anything that would really injure a cougar. They are considered an
endangered species, but an injured one could be even more dangerous.
14. Don’t confront a cougar or corner him. Give him a way to escape.
Other names for the cougar are “mountain lion,” “panther,” or “puma.” We can coexist with these magnificent but potentially dangerous predators as long as we better understand them. There are between 4,000 – 6,000 cougars throughout California and are most abundant in areas with plenty of deer. A wild cougar will live about 12 years and can weigh up to 150 pounds. Cougar prints are similar to dogs without “toenails.” The pad has a distinctive “M” shape while a dog’s is more triangular. Our area is prime cougar country especially around water sources such as Big River. You can get more information on cougars and bears from the California Department of Fish and Game, 1416 Ninth St., Sacramento 95814, (916) 653-7203. |
|
Suggested Article: "Horses That Want To Bolt, Buck or Blow Up"
"So I ride back to the other spot, and I just keep changing directions. I keep asking and he keeps saying "Alright, alright, we'll have our wreck over here." I just keep moving him around and pretty soon, he decides it's too much trouble to blow up....
from our Learning to Ride a Horse series > read more |
|
