The Canadian area of Prince George has experienced two recent cougar attacks. Here in the San Bernardino Mountains we also had a cougar enter a yard–going after two large dogs.
Why are the attacks on the increase?
A variety of reasons (which I have covered before at arkanimals.com and here on the blog–see the links below) but in our area I suspect that the recent fires have moved the cats into different areas. Their normal prey might be scarce–plus domestic animals are viewed as normal prey.
If you know a mountain lion is moving in closer into your area, take the care to keep your animals inside and don’t venture into the areas where cougars have been sighted.
Mountain lions have pretty large territories–you can check with your local wildlife biologist or game management office to check where the territories are.
Mountain Lion safety tips…
Cougar Incidents…
Mountain Lion Attack Historic…
Are dogs, cats and other domestic animals really “typical” prey or have they been increasingly targeted due to the disruption of the lions’ primary prey (deer, bighorn) caused by the fires?
Great question Andrew–thanks for leaving it.
Since animals adapt to their environmental changes, pets have become easy targets and I call them “normal” prey for a variety of reasons.
“Normal” prey characteristics are related to size, availability, and ease of access–ie., less risk to the predator.
In the past, pets didn’t get into the ranges of most predators with any regularity–now they are housed within territories and amble into it with their owners.
I think the trend of increased attacks on pets is an evolutionary adaptation. Pets are animals, animals are prey, hence my reference to “normal.”
They are the right size, they are available, and they don’t often pose much of a risk in the scheme of things.