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
