Mountain lion sighting at White Ranch Open Space

[Rontele]

holy shit

[ColinB]

Kitties!

[Ccard257]

must be there for the middle aged ladies group ride.

[boobookitty]

What do you do if a cougar's chasing you?


Wait for it...


Slow down, they're not as fast as they used to be.


Seriously, though. Scary. Several? Together? Daylight? Plain sight? That just ain't right.

[rideit]

Hopefully they are ripping out water bars and putting in grade reversals. That would be rad.

[truth]

That's awesome. Hope they leave them the fvck alone.

[brettf]

Seriously, though. Scary. Several? Together? Daylight? Plain sight? That just ain't right.

Yeah... that's the scary part IMO. My guess is that they haven't left mama yet and are big enough to look like three adults... but who knows.

I've had a few run-ins with lions in Jeffco. Mostly just hearing them nearby, but one really scary incident on Apex at night. Almost ran over a bat that night too... weird shit.

[babybear]

pffft- mountain lions are not that scary
http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.a...45054&nav=3w6o

[rudy]

they scare the shit out of me. I assume this was in the upper lot?

[Tech Tonics]

a few years ago down here in NM I rode up on a lion in the bottom of a little drainage right below me....no more than 15' away but I was above it. It had a deer with it's throat ripped out. It looked at me. skulked a bit, then took off up the opposite side, quiet as a ghost.

I almost shat myself right there. fully the scariest moment I've ever had on a bike.

be careful, make lots of noise.

[wrinkledpants]

Time to bust out the Sex Panther Cologne. Not sure how that would help, but if there was ever a time to use it, it's now.

[leroy jenkins]

I didn't think mnt lions hung out together like that? They look like adults too, not sure about the mother and her cubs comment?

There are known to be some big cats in one of my favorite riding areas, and sightings have been more and more common recently, so last year I started wearing one of these on certain rides where I know there are cats.



I wear it out in the open, in a holster on my hip. 22 rounds (with an extended mag) of 9mm speer gold dot hollow points, and I am confident in my skills to defend myself against a single cat, but three? Fuck me.


Call me crazy, but I think the cats are getting more and more used to people, sightings are on the rise just about everywhere, and I think that attacks will go up in the next few years. Now, they aren't used to people enough to view them as a food source, but its not like they're scared of us.

The chances of being attacked are still pretty low, but I'd rather just wear a gun and relax. I already own the gun and the holster, and I just about never fall, its perfectly safe and legal (even if I get some funny looks) so I figure why not.

be careful, make lots of noise.

Thats good advice to avoid startling a black bear, which can be dangerous, but cats stalk people, even if they don't attack, they have a habit of stalking people, it happens ALL the time. Making noise will just arouse their curiosity.

Better advice is to educate yourself about where the cats are known to be, and either avoid those areas, or arm yourself. If you choose the later, know that it takes a lot of time and money to develop enough skills to be of any use.

Or just say fuck it, even if you bike through mnt lion territory every day, the chances of getting attacked are still very low, so just enjoy the scenery and try not to worry about it.

[TBS]

^^^ You are right Leroy. Mtn Lions are stalkers and ambush hunters. If a cat wanted you for lunch, it would have you on the ground chewing on your throat before your brain even registered "must retrieve gun, release safety, point and fire", let alone execute that sequence.

Just sayin...

[spicy cha cha]

you know what also piques their curiosity?


blowing off your own nads in the middle of the woods

[Dside11-11]

#1 on the Threatdown: CATS!

Seriously, Leroy, let me say as a lifelong gun owner - that's a retarded idea. That will get you absolutely nowhere in defending yourself against a mt lion. Might shoot yourself in the foot in a crash though.

[Crinkle]

i am not calling shenanigans, but I am not sure where this is. I am not aware of Aspens near any of the roads or lots.

[Rontele]

i am not calling shenanigans, but I am not sure where this is. I am not aware of Aspens near any of the roads or lots.

I have actually heard this was up near Centennial Cone.

[Crinkle]

I have actually heard this was up near Centennial Cone.

where did you get the pic? source that said it was WR?

I have a close friend that was stalked by a mtn lion at white ranch a few years ago. And I believe that they are most certainly there, but most likely in the northern part of the park.

[truth]

#1 on the Threatdown: CATS!

Seriously, Leroy, let me say as a lifelong gun owner - that's a retarded idea. That will get you absolutely nowhere in defending yourself against a mt lion. Might shoot yourself in the foot in a crash though.

Yep, couple of large dogs are your best bet. FYI: Lab's ain't large dogs, nor are retrievers.

[Crinkle]

tru-dat, there have been a few labs taken by cats around here, even one was taken out of a house up in Idledale last summer.

cats want nothing to do with humans, statistically you are 10 times more likely to be killed by your neighbors dog, than by a big cat.

[LaBelle23]

Yep, couple of large dogs are your best bet. FYI: Lab's ain't large dogs, nor are retrievers.

What is a large dog then? Mine is 100 lbs of leanness, and I consider her pretty large compared to other dogs. I got her becuase I was living alone in the mountains and needed something to alert/divert/protect me from mountain animals and weirdos in the woods.

When I grew up in Jeffco a ranger came to talk at our school and told us 1 in 5 times you're in an open space park you a sighted by a lion or bear, so this doesn't seem so odd. I guess the better question is what to do on the rare occaision you actually see them. Personally, I ride alone with my dog quite a bit at dusk and am more likely to wear my full face (both for animals and extra safety when by myself). Maybe I'm a scaredy cat girl, but it makes me feel better.

[truth]

cats want nothing to do with humans, statistically you are 10 times more likely to be killed by your neighbors dog, than by a big cat.

I don't think that stat is valid. There's no way it reflects only the population that actually enters land occupied by big cats. Just about everyone in the country has a neighbor with a dog.

Labelle, no one dog is gonna stop any cougar. I'd say to about attitude more than anything but 100# would be on the small end. That said I'd take 2 60 # bull terriers vs. 2 100# labs. Still, I'm talking about big dogs. Rotts, Ridgebacks, a Boerboel like mine (see pics). Dogs built for the task of protecting things from large animals, not for fetching dead birds.

shameless chance to post pics of my dog...

145#


one of the last things you'll see if you break into my house at night...




human for scale...he ate that bandanna a few minutes after this image was taken


If I had 2 of Tonka they might fend off a motivated Lion. Might. Lions will fuck shit up. It's what they do. More than likely you'd lose the dogs but they'd buy you some time to flee.

[Dangerous E]

where did you get the pic? source that said it was WR?

I have a close friend that was stalked by a mtn lion at white ranch a few years ago. And I believe that they are most certainly there, but most likely in the northern part of the park.

I live about 2 miles south of the lower WR parking lot and had one in my yard about not too long ago (actually ended up on 9 News when the same cat lunged at some lady's sliding glass porch door the same night). Point is, there are mtn. lions in this area for sure, and not just in the open spaces. I literally watched this cat run down the street after it sauntered through our yard. Probably the coolest thing I've ever seen.

I just hope they stay away, otherwise people will start calling for their heads.

[Crinkle]

Over 300 people have been killed by domestic dogs in the U.S. between 1979 and the late 1990s. This means that your family dog or your neighbor's dog is ten times more likely to kill you than is a mountain lion and hundreds of time more likely than is a coyote.

source: http://tchester.org/sgm/lists/lion_attacks.html#stats
granted the stats end in 03. California is another story, but rarely is it a biker. A person on a bike would look too big and moving too fast for a mtn lion (i would think)

Seriously, mtn lions are not really interested in people as food. I would guess that most attacks are due to people being solo or people being near cubs. Reading about the different attacks in the past, there was one where someone was picked off a horse, most were hikers. Then on top of that most hikers had dogs. So the only benefit having your dog with you is going to do is buy you some time to get away.

[Parvo]

Leroy - if you can clear leather and shoot a mountain lion (with a handgun no less) that is closing distance fast and kill it before it rips your throat out, then you're a smoove-dead-eye-dick-bad-motherfucker!

I think my bike would be a better weapon/shield to fight off a cat.