Mountain Lion Suspected in Goleta Livestock Deaths

CATHERINE SHEN, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT     February 10, 2011 5:44 AM   A kill order has been issued for a bobcat or mountain lion that may have destroyed livestock at a Goleta home on Monday.  The animal, according to an e-mail sent out by a local resident as a warning to the community, took several chickens and a pet pig from a Winchester Canyon property on lower Vereda del Ciervo.  Fearing the animal may pose a serious threat to the family and the surrounding areas, the Department of Fish and Game and an agent from the U.S. Department of Agriculture determined that a bobcat or possibly a mountain lion killed the livestock.  Traps have been arranged by a federal trapper. The action has outraged many people in the community who fear the traps could capture innocent wildlife.  Some experts don’t believe it is necessary to kill the animal.  Amy Rodrigues, outreach coordinator for the Sacramento-based Mountain Lion Foundation, said that many times when a family loses livestock to a mountain lion, the first reaction is revenge.  “The idea that ‘I need to kill the animal’ allows them to believe that’s the solution, but it’s not,” said Ms. Rodrigues. “This isn’t going to solve the problem. A lot of times when the assessments are made by the agents, they see the family is upset, then the default solution is to kill it.”  She said lions are territorial and killing one will only open the landscape for more animals to move in.  “It’s like opening up real estate,” Ms. Rodrigues said. “More mountain lions will come through to check out the new habitat and kill each other for it. This will also affect the younger lions as well, who will be looking for free space, and they will most likely go after pets and livestock, at least until they are finished fighting over the open space.”  Officials with the Department of Fish and Game did not return telephone calls Wednesday.    Julia Di Sieno, executive director of Santa Ynez-based Animal Rescue Team, said her organization will try to persuade the family to reconsider the depredation permit, which allows the predator to be killed.  “The sad thing is most of the mountain lions in the area are mothers,” Ms. Di Sieno said. “They are either trying to feed their family or they are currently pregnant because it’s baby season. The animals want nothing to do with us; the lion who got into the coop was probably a mother looking for food to feed her cubs.”  Ms. Di Sieno said that the remote north Goleta area is filled with wildlife.  “Just last year, we had to deal with a bear that was in the area, but the warden involved at the time felt it wasn’t going to do the community harm so we let it do its thing,” Ms. Di Sieno said. “If people live within a wildlife habitat, you must anticipate the animal’s appearances. You are simply inviting them in if you have livestock.”  Adult lions generally avoid people, she said.  They also keep the younger lions as well as coyotes away from human population, so if an adult lion is in the area, it is wise to keep it alive, according to the Mountain Lion Foundation.  “The best thing to do right now is to remove any attractant, which means bringing any roaming pets indoors at night and covering up garbage cans. Securing pet food and removing any fallen fruit will also help keep ‘lion food’ like raccoons and possums away,” said Ms. Rodrigues. “If there is no food, the lion will move on.”  There are several nonlethal ways to approach the issue, she said.  Hazing can be used if an animal is sighted,” Ms. Rodrigues said. “We have animal control officers who use pepper-spray bullets that have non-lethal irritating substances that could cause a slight pain, but it scares the animals. They learn from the experience to not come back to where they got shot.”  According to the Department of Fish and Game website, from 1890 to 2007, 17 mountain lion attacks on humans in California have been verified. Six were fatal.  The Animal Rescue Team will be hosting an “Education Day for Mountain Lions” on March 4 in Solvang.  “We will be teaching the community how to react if you encounter a wild animal, non-lethal techniques and how to co-exist with these animals,” Ms. Di Sieno said. “We highly encourage the community to attend and learn from our professionals.”  The location of the workshop is to be announced. For more information, go to: www.animalrescueteam.net      e-mail: news@newspress.com     Mountain Lion Suspected in Goleta Livestock Deaths   CATHERINE SHEN, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT     February 10, 2011 5:44 AM   A kill order has been issued for a bobcat or mountain lion that may have destroyed livestock at a Goleta home on Monday.  The animal, according to an e-mail sent out by a local resident as a warning to the community, took several chickens and a pet pig from a Winchester Canyon property on lower Vereda del Ciervo.  Fearing the animal may pose a serious threat to the family and the surrounding areas, the Department of Fish and Game and an agent from the U.S. Department of Agriculture determined that a bobcat or possibly a mountain lion killed the livestock.  Traps have been arranged by a federal trapper. The action has outraged many people in the community who fear the traps could capture innocent wildlife.  Some experts don’t believe it is necessary to kill the animal.  Amy Rodrigues, outreach coordinator for the Sacramento-based Mountain Lion Foundation, said that many times when a family loses livestock to a mountain lion, the first reaction is revenge.  “The idea that ‘I need to kill the animal’ allows them to believe that’s the solution, but it’s not,” said Ms. Rodrigues. “This isn’t going to solve the problem. A lot of times when the assessments are made by the agents, they see the family is upset, then the default solution is to kill it.”  She said lions are territorial and killing one will only open the landscape for more animals to move in.  “It’s like opening up real estate,” Ms. Rodrigues said. “More mountain lions will come through to check out the new habitat and kill each other for it. This will also affect the younger lions as well, who will be looking for free space, and they will most likely go after pets and livestock, at least until they are finished fighting over the open space.”  Officials with the Department of Fish and Game did not return telephone calls Wednesday.    Julia Di Sieno, executive director of Santa Ynez-based Animal Rescue Team, said her organization will try to persuade the family to reconsider the depredation permit, which allows the predator to be killed.  “The sad thing is most of the mountain lions in the area are mothers,” Ms. Di Sieno said. “They are either trying to feed their family or they are currently pregnant because it’s baby season. The animals want nothing to do with us; the lion who got into the coop was probably a mother looking for food to feed her cubs.”  Ms. Di Sieno said that the remote north Goleta area is filled with wildlife.  “Just last year, we had to deal with a bear that was in the area, but the warden involved at the time felt it wasn’t going to do the community harm so we let it do its thing,” Ms. Di Sieno said. “If people live within a wildlife habitat, you must anticipate the animal’s appearances. You are simply inviting them in if you have livestock.”  Adult lions generally avoid people, she said.  They also keep the younger lions as well as coyotes away from human population, so if an adult lion is in the area, it is wise to keep it alive, according to the Mountain Lion Foundation.  “The best thing to do right now is to remove any attractant, which means bringing any roaming pets indoors at night and covering up garbage cans. Securing pet food and removing any fallen fruit will also help keep ‘lion food’ like raccoons and possums away,” said Ms. Rodrigues. “If there is no food, the lion will move on.”  There are several nonlethal ways to approach the issue, she said.  Hazing can be used if an animal is sighted,” Ms. Rodrigues said. “We have animal control officers who use pepper-spray bullets that have non-lethal irritating substances that could cause a slight pain, but it scares the animals. They learn from the experience to not come back to where they got shot.”  According to the Department of Fish and Game website, from 1890 to 2007, 17 mountain lion attacks on humans in California have been verified. Six were fatal.  The Animal Rescue Team will be hosting an “Education Day for Mountain Lions” on March 4 in Solvang.  “We will be teaching the community how to react if you encounter a wild animal, non-lethal techniques and how to co-exist with these animals,” Ms. Di Sieno said. “We highly encourage the community to attend and learn from our professionals.”  The location of the workshop is to be announced. For more information, go to: www.animalrescueteam.net      e-mail: news@newspress.com