Black mountain lion in Marin

[maillotpois]

My DH swore he saw this on a ride, and I thought he was simply suffering from lack of oxygen, but he has been vindicated:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...&sn=016&sc=180

[Veronica]

Great - now all my childhood fears of the dark will come back to haunt me. I was always convinced that there were black panthers hanging out in our pine trees that overhung the pathway to the chicken coop. They were only there at night of course.

V.

[maillotpois]

So don't ride Tam in the dark!

I did see a regular bobcat up on Tam in Dec or Jan - it was VERY cool. Stacy said a bobcat or mtn lion rode alongside her on Skaggs back in 2006. We definitely have our share of interesting wildlife. Fortunately, closer to our house it seems to be confined to turkeys, deer and raccoons.

[mimitabby]

aw, no photo!
how wonderful. I hope it doesn't get shot.

[jobob]

Wow, I just noticed this thread and read the article.

Kind of timely - as I was riding by myself on Calaveras Road (in/near the Sunol Wilderness) last Sunday morning, the thought came over me, what if I rolled around a corner and came face-to-face with a mountain lion? I had no idea what I would do (besides s#!+ in my pants or have a heart attack). It gave me the willies.

[maillotpois]

I've seen large bobcats on Tam.

DH was all excited - the SF Gate quoted his letter regarding the lion. What a geek.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...sn=001&sc=1000

(About halfway through the page.)

[Trekhawk]

Yikes!!!
I must admit that whenever I fell off mountain biking in the USA thoughts would cross my mind that I was bait just lying on the ground ready for any passing Cougar. I fell a lot so this thought was always haunting me.

At least I don't have to worry about that anymore. As long as I don't fall on any snakes I should be fine.

[salsabike]

Awesome! Cougars are beautiful.

[Duck on Wheels]

So don't ride Tam in the dark!

I did see a regular bobcat up on Tam in Dec or Jan - it was VERY cool. Stacy said a bobcat or mtn lion rode alongside her on Skaggs back in 2006. We definitely have our share of interesting wildlife. Fortunately, closer to our house it seems to be confined to turkeys, deer and raccoons.

The bobcat RODE alongside her? WOW!!! What kind of bike did it have? (hmmm, mebbe a cat would choose a recumbent?)

Cool to see a wild cat, tho'. Closest I've come is a wild canine -- a coyote posed on a boulder smirking at me once when I was hiking Warrington Rd. (up Mt. Taylor from the Petaluma Hill Rd. between Petaluma and Santa Rosa).

[Duck on Wheels]

Wow, I just noticed this thread and read the article.

Kind of timely - as I was riding by myself on Calaveras Road (in/near the Sunol Wilderness) last Sunday morning, the thought came over me, what if I rolled around a corner and came face-to-face with a mountain lion? I had no idea what I would do (besides s#!+ in my pants or have a heart attack). It gave me the willies.

Every entrance to the UC Santa Cruz campus is marked with signs telling you what to do if you meet a mountain lion. The answer is:

Look as big as you can, and try not to resemble a deer. So: Stand off the bike. Stand tall. Spread out your arms and jacket to look bigger. Speak to the cat in a loud, determined voice ("GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE! GO HOME! GO CATCH A DEER OR SOMETHING!"). If you have something handy that you can throw, without having to bend down to pick that something up, then throwing something (keys, bike tool) at the cat can be helpful, but only if the cat has an escape route that doesn't entail running right past you. Do NOT try to outrace the cat (they're fast and like running prey). If you're in a staredown situation, keep your eyes on the cat and back off slowly. If worst comes to worst and the cat attacks, fight back (as opposed to with bear, where some say playing dead with vulnerable bits (belly, face, neck) covered can help).

The year I was there one mountain lion encounter was reported by student headed home at night across a footbridge right near my office. He came up against a big cat towards the end of the bridge. The cat did take a swat at him, but he followed the recommended procedures and the cat turned and ran away.

[maillotpois]

The bobcat RODE alongside her? WOW!!! What kind of bike did it have? (hmmm, mebbe a cat would choose a recumbent?)

Duh - I meant ran. S/he was off the road.

Good catch.

[jobob]

Look as big as you can, and try not to resemble a deer.

Thanks for the tips, Duck!

(No deer-in-headlights look. Check.)