Solvang officials are urging the public to be aware of their surroundings after a mountain lion was seen in and around Hans Christian Anderson Park on Sunday and Monday, according to Parks and Recreation Director Fred Lageman.

“We have three permanent signs in the park warning of mountain lions, however we put two more in the road to make sure the public sees them and knows what to do if they spot one,” Lageman said.

State Fish and Game officials were called to the park Monday but weren’t able to find the animal, which was reported to be about the size of a Labrador retriever, Lageman said.

Lt. Julie McCammon of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department said the easiest way to report a wild animal sighting is to call 9-1-1 so deputies can contact Fish and Game or county Animal Control if necessary.

Although wild animals are Fish and Game’s responsibility, it’s possible that deputies “can corner him and keep him calm until they get there,” McCammon said.

According to Fish and Game, more than half of California is mountain lion habitat, and they generally live wherever deer are found. They are solitary and elusive, and their nature is to avoid humans.

Mountain lions prefer to eat deer but sometimes they also eat pets and livestock. Mountain lions that threaten people are killed immediately. Those that prey on pets or livestock can be killed by a property owner after the owner gets the required depredation permit from Fish and Game.

Mountain lion attacks on humans are extremely rare, the agency says, but conflicts are increasing as California’s human population expands into mountain lion habitat.

Fish and Game advises anyone who encounters a mountain lion not to run, but instead to face the animal, make noise and try to look bigger by waving arms, and even throwing rocks or other objects. If attacked, people are encouraged to fight back.

For more information on mountain lions and other wild animals, visit www.dfg.ca.gov.

via Mountain lion seen in Solvang park.

Link

MOIRA, N.Y. — A northern New York man is recovering after being attacked by a 10-point buck while he was loading firewood. Authorities said Gerald Dabiew, 56, was cut and bruised from head-to-toe by the buck outside his house in Moira, 200 miles north of Albany.

“He got me down on the ground, and it was then I knew that he really wanted to kill me,” Dabiew told The Watertown Daily Times.

Dabiew’s house is surrounded by woods, so he didn’t think twice Friday when he saw the buck crossing the road — until the animal charged and knocked him down.

Dabiew wrapped his legs around the animal’s neck and held onto its antlers as it battered him. Every time Dabiew tried to wrestle himself loose, the buck would ram him again, he said. The attack on Friday lasted several minutes before the buck ran off.

“I don’t know why he came around. All I was doing was throwing wood,” he said. “I’m not even a hunter.”

He said wood he was dropping into a bucket could have sounded like the antlers of jousting deer knocking together, a noise hunters often mimic to lure deer during rutting season.

Deer attacks are uncommon, but not unheard of, said wildlife biologist Ed Reed of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

“This is breeding season for whitetails, and they get pretty aggressive, usually with other bucks,” Reed said. “They have been known to attack people. If he sees something moving, he feels like it’s somebody encroaching on his territory.”

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FLORISSANT – A woman called a deer and tried to pet it, but the deer lowered its head and charged her instead, according to the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

The 63-year-old woman was at her sister’s house Monday evening when the attack happened. The sister’s family had seen the deer at their home several times.

The attacked happened at the home on Colorado Road 31 near Florissant on Monday. A driver on the road saw the attack and tried to stop the deer. The person was able to scare the animal away.

The Teller County Sheriff‘s Office responded and while medical workers were helping the woman the animal kept coming back to the area.

One of them said, “We had to constantly harass it away from us.”

The woman, Joan Nutt, was transported to Pikes Peak Regional Medical Center in Woodland Park where she was treated for cuts and bruises.

Nutt says she had grabbed hold of an antler of the animal and tried to fend it off, but it knocked her down.

Wildlife Officer Aarno Flohrs says the animal walked right up to him when he arrived at the scene. The animal was tranquilized and later euthanized because it was “deemed a threat to human safety.”

“There was no direct evidence Nutt was feeding the animal, but this deer’s behavior was a clear indication that someone in the area had tried to domesticate a wild deer and treat it as a pet,” Flohrs said.

Nutt’s brother-in-law, Ervin Stohl, told the DOW this particular buck came to their house every afternoon. He says there is usually a bunch of females nearby.

Stohl said, “There were no does today and the buck was angry.”

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I know it seems hard to believe, but they can be dangerous. 

Deer attacks 2 men, 7-year-old in Pulaski County

By LINDSEY WARD

Published: May 20, 2009

UPDATED: 9:23 
Monday morning Jimmy Yopp was walking across his hill top property.
    
What started out as a peaceful walk turned into a nightmare, when he realized he wasn’t alone and was being followed by a deer.
    
Yopp turned to face his stalker when, “he just give me an evil look like and he just charged me,” explained Yopp.
    
It knocked the grown man to the ground, repeatedly pounding his back.
    
Before he could get to his car the deer knocked him down two more times.

“It’d raise up and just hit me with his front hooves,” Yopp said.

“I ran and jumped up on top of my vehicle here and I thought he was going to come up on top of my hood.”

Yopp wasn’t the only one running from a deer. 

According to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries a man and his child were attacked in this same area on Saturday morning. 

When a conservation officer came searching for the aggressive suspect on Wednesday morning he too was approached by the attacker.
    
Yopp says people may laugh when they hear he was attacked by a deer, but there’s nothing funny about fearing for your life.

“I was thinking gosh this thing’s going to kill me,” said Yopp 
    
Luckily it didn’t and Yopp will have a story of survival like none other.

I’m talking with the second man attacked by the deer.  Watch what he has to say tonight on WSLS at 11:00 p.m.

A deer attack on a man and his 7-year-old son in Pulaski County, is being investigated by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF).

The VDGIF says the attack happened this past Saturday, May 16th, in the Delton section of the county.  The man called the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, who call a conservation police officer.

The officer foudn the man had a broken left arm and bruises, while the boy had a cut on his face.  The man and his son told the officer that the deer came at them in their frontyard, just after they had driven home and gotten out of the car.

The officer searched for the deer, but could not find it.

Then this past Tuesday, the Pulaski Co. Sheriff’s Office called the VDGIF about a second attack that happened on Monday.  In that case, a man told a conservation officer that he had been kicked and bitten by a deer while clearing brush on his property Monday morning.  The man did not go to a doctor until Tuesday, when he heard about the other attack.

The conservation officer spotted three deer when he interviewed the second attack victim.  Two of the deer ran off, but one circled and showed aggressive behavior toward the officer.  Then the deer approached the officer, at which point the officer shot and killed the deer.

The conservation officer called to have the deer taken to a Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services lab in Wytheville.  Tissue samples have since been sent off to the Virginia Department of Health for rabies testing.  VDIGF investigators hope to have test results by Friday.

Conservation police officers are asking people in Pulaski County if they’ve seen any unusual deer behavior, experienced a deer encounter, or are aware of deer being fed or held in captivity illegally in the area.  The VDGIF says, “Wildlife biologists in other states have observed aggressive behavior by deer in captive situations. When deer lose their natural fear of humans, they can become extremely aggressive.“

 

Link

Great site with very useful information about wild animals in California. Here’s an excerpt about Mountain Lions.

You may be attracting mountain lions to your property without knowing it!

More than half of California is mountain lion habitat. Mountain lions generally exist wherever deer are found. They are solitary and elusive, and their nature is to avoid humans.

Mountain lions prefer deer but, if allowed, they also eat pets and livestock. In extremely rare cases, even people have fallen prey to mountain lions.

Mountain lions that threaten people are immediately killed. Those that prey on pets or livestock can be killed by a property owner after the required depredation permit is secured. Moving problem mountain lions is not an option. It causes deadly conflicts with other mountain lions already there. Or the relocated mountain lion returns.

Help prevent deadly conflicts with these beautiful wild animals.

Living in Mountain Lion Country

• Don’t feed deer; it is illegal in California and it will attract mountain lions.
• Deer-proof your landscaping by avoiding plants that deer like to eat. For tips, request A Gardener’s Guide to Preventing Deer Damage from DFG offices.
• Trim brush to reduce hiding places for mountain lions.
• Don’t leave small children or pets outside unattended.
• Install motion-sensitive lighting around the house.
• Provide sturdy, covered shelters for sheep, goats, and other vulnerable animals.
• Don’t allow pets outside when mountain lions are most active—dawn, dusk, and at night.
• Bring pet food inside to avoid attracting raccoons, opossums and other potential mountain lion prey.

Identifying Mountain Lion Tracks The mountain lion track on the left can be distinguished from the dog track on the right by the absence of toenail prints and by the “M” shaped pad

Staying Safe in Mountain Lion Country

Mountain lions are quiet, solitary and elusive, and typically avoid people.

Mountain lion attacks on humans are extremely rare. However, conflicts are increasing as California’s human population expands into mountain lion habitat.

• Do not hike, bike, or jog alone.
• Avoid hiking or jogging when mountain lions are most active—dawn, dusk, and at night.
• Keep a close watch on small children.
• Do not approach a mountain lion.
• If you encounter a mountain lion, do not run; instead, face the animal, make noise and try to look bigger by waving your arms; throw rocks or other objects. Pick up small children.
• If attacked, fight back.
• If a mountain lion attacks a person, 
  immediately call 911.

click to enlarge 
 Mountain lions can be found wherever deer, their primary prey, are found. They are a Specially Protected Mammal in California and cannot be hunted.