"Whiting Woods" (Verdugos) Cougar tracking 11/28/1
Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 3:44 pm
I recently noticed a news item about two (two!) mountain lions being sighted in the Verdugos. I tend to be skeptical about sightings, because so often they are just misidentified dogs, coyotes, or bobcats. But, the people who live in the foothills have seen plenty of bobcats and should know the difference, so with encouragement from Matt, we went to check it out.
Conditions were great - it had rained lightly the night before, making the fire road a clean slate of soft, damp dirt. I really had no expectation of seeing lion tracks (because I didn't think they could survive in that tiny range, and even if they could, it's always a needle in a haystack trying to find them). We instantly saw a very fresh bobcat scrape. (As Matt described, "still smoking!"). We then followed Bob's cute tracks all the way up the trail/firebreak to the road at the top. About halfway up was a pile of feathers where he had breakfasted on morning dove.
Tiny cat tracks - about 3cm across at the heel pad
I was surprised and excited to see the first lion track. (I think Matt spotted it first).
(that is a doubled track - the back foot landed on top of the right)
Super thrilled to follow a line of them a short distance (that never happens!).
(The small tracks are the bobcat)
Jumped around like a kid in a candy store when we saw the path split into two parallel lines of tracks. TWO LIONS! Both adult, and both very close in size. (Probably brothers, dispersing, but not yet gone their separate ways.)
It was at this point Matt started expressing his thoughts on perhaps choosing a different place to ride his mountain bike in the evenings after work.
Poop!
We followed the tracks for quite a ways, when they suddenly disappeared. A little searching found disturbed dirt over the embankment - the lions had come up to the road from down in one of the canyons, where they no doubt have a lair full of crushed mountain bike helmets, and the bones of neighborhood pets and small children.
I kid of course. There is nothing to fear but fear itself. And being jumped on from behind and having your neck vertebrae severed. Fear....and that. 8)
Conditions were great - it had rained lightly the night before, making the fire road a clean slate of soft, damp dirt. I really had no expectation of seeing lion tracks (because I didn't think they could survive in that tiny range, and even if they could, it's always a needle in a haystack trying to find them). We instantly saw a very fresh bobcat scrape. (As Matt described, "still smoking!"). We then followed Bob's cute tracks all the way up the trail/firebreak to the road at the top. About halfway up was a pile of feathers where he had breakfasted on morning dove.
Tiny cat tracks - about 3cm across at the heel pad
I was surprised and excited to see the first lion track. (I think Matt spotted it first).
(that is a doubled track - the back foot landed on top of the right)
Super thrilled to follow a line of them a short distance (that never happens!).
(The small tracks are the bobcat)
Jumped around like a kid in a candy store when we saw the path split into two parallel lines of tracks. TWO LIONS! Both adult, and both very close in size. (Probably brothers, dispersing, but not yet gone their separate ways.)
It was at this point Matt started expressing his thoughts on perhaps choosing a different place to ride his mountain bike in the evenings after work.
Poop!
We followed the tracks for quite a ways, when they suddenly disappeared. A little searching found disturbed dirt over the embankment - the lions had come up to the road from down in one of the canyons, where they no doubt have a lair full of crushed mountain bike helmets, and the bones of neighborhood pets and small children.
I kid of course. There is nothing to fear but fear itself. And being jumped on from behind and having your neck vertebrae severed. Fear....and that. 8)
