You might have heard about the Mountain Lion attack that took place on Wednesday here in California. The incident happened North of where I used to live in Humboldt County (northern California). In fact, I talk about cougars following people in that area in my last book (ISBN 1893361845).
Jim Hamm was actually rescued by his wife Nell who was quick to grab a branch to club the cougar–while also stabbing it in the eye with a pen.
As related in my links of my recent posts, targeting sensitive areas (eyes, nose, groin, gills) is a technique that can be used to get an animal to release you.
Are attacks escalating? Perhaps.
I believe the problem is that we are encroaching more and more into wildlife habitat, providing fewer and fewer wildlife corridors…so our ventures out into parks and other places has escalated wildlife encounters.
As animals become more habituated to our presence humans become just another prey species…tender morsels essentially…and most predators target the young and the old. They also will run after fast fleeing creatures…such as bikes riders.
Didn’t catch the story? Here are a few links to coverage:
Mountain Lion Attack Report (San Diego)
Nell Hamm Drives Off Attacking Cougar
Two Humboldt Mountain Lions Killed After Attack
Pages of interest on this topic at the arkanimals.com website related to this story:
Cougar Attack Prevention Tips
Humboldt Cougar Attack Comments
Animal Expert Comments: Beastly Behavior–Cougar Attack
Beastly Behavior Audio: PSA 1.01 with animal expert and author Diana L Guerrero
Audio Copy: Animal behaviorist and author, Diana Guerrero comments on Beastly Behavior
Is nature crying out for attention…is that why animals attack?
Perhaps. There are two viewpoints on this issue before I get to those let me just say that all human behavior impacts animals.
I believe the problem is that the wilderness areas left are small and people invade those areas for recreation and animals are becoming habituated to humans…some, like those in southern California have become urban dwellers.
Humans have adversely impacted the oceans, the atmosphere, and the earth.
So, on the one hand you could say that we have detached from the nature world and nature is screaming for us to listen.
On the other hand, the pragmatic answer is that as humans are spending more time in wilderness areas which are the homes and yards of wildlife. Animals become habituated, or used to humans, and as a result have lost their fear of people.
The disturbing trend is that the attacks by cougars are now young, healthy animals in their prime. In the past, attacks have usually been associated with sick or handicapped animals.
Predators naturally seek out the weak, old, or young and will chase prey that flees but humans are now looking like nothing more than tender morsels.
Get more information on this issue at https://www.arkanimals.com
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