Several people have reported seeing a mountain lion in Foothill Regional Park in Windsor, Sonoma County, California over the weekend sheriff’s officials reported.
The beast was spotted just south of the lower pond on Three Lakes Trail, an area behind homes on Cayetano and Buena Tierra courts:
“This is just an advisory to keep an eye out for the mountain lion as the park is used by many people, especially on the weekends,” sheriff’s officials said in a statement.
According to experts, mountain lions are calm, quiet and elusive, and prefer to avoid human contact. They are most commonly found in areas with plentiful prey and adequate cover – conditions that exist in mountain subdivisions, urban fringes, and open spaces.
If you do see a mountain lion, try and follow this advice:
- Stay calm. Hold your ground or back away slowly. Face the lion and stand upright.
- Do not approach a lion. Never approach a mountain lion especially one that is feeding or with kittens. Most mountain lions will try to avoid a confrontation. Give them a way to escape.
- Do not run from a lion. Running may stimulate a mountain lion’s instinct to chase. Instead, stand and face the animal. Make eye contact. If you have small children with you, pick them up if possible so they don’t panic and run. Although it may be awkward, pick them up without bending over or turning away from the mountain lion.
- Do not crouch down or bend over. Biologists surmise mountain lions don’t recognize standing humans as prey. On the other hand, a person squatting or bending over looks a lot like a four-legged prey animal. If you’re in mountain lion habitat, avoid squatting, crouching or bending over, even when picking up children.
