Predators in Action: Bear Attack Commentary Link

The bear attack in Big Bear is not too far away from my location. Read my commentary about Predators in Action and the Grizzly bear attack here.

Mountain Lion Attack Commentary

Locally, one of my neighbors just shared that a mountain lion was up on her roof. She lives on the edge of the forest and mistakenly went out to investigate why her dogs were going crazy.

Fortunately, the cougar took a 20 foot leap away from her and ran away. I've been thinking of carrying a firearm when I hike and this confirms that it probably would be a good idea.

Here we are seeing an increase of predators into the human populated area for a couple of reasons--the main one is that the large fires that swept through the area last fall left vast terrain uninhabitable to most of the larger wildlife.

So, the critters have relocated to adjacent areas and mountain lions, bobcats, and bears are being seen and encountered with more frequency because of it.

I've touched on this topic before but am revisiting it based on the two mountain lion attacks that have been in the news over the last week.

The first cougar attack allegedly took place in South Dakota on March 3, 2008. I dismissed it when I heard the preliminary reports but now I've taken a look at the photo of Ryan Hughes and the two tooth marks on his face--it could have been a younger, inexperienced cougar.

I spoke to a reporter yesterday and then took some time to review the cougar attack accounts I've been ignoring. Currently the attack was not confirmed by officials. I believe this is for a few reasons.

First, it would be the first documented cougar attack on a human in South Dakota history (at least we think it would be), then there is a bit of concern because of the alcohol content found in the blood of Ryan Hughes, and finally the investigative team that went out with lion dogs (these are dogs that specifically track mountain lions) did not pick up the scent.

Usually there will be some sort of sign or scent left in the area. Pug marks (mountain lion tracks), fur, scat, and in this case--Hughes reported that the cougar had a kill in its mouth (red fox). I would expect to hear of an area where the kill took place.

So unanswered questions are: Were there any signs of a cat in the area? Did Hughes really surprise the cougar? If so, was the cougar defending its prey--and did it pick the prey back up? Was it a different type of animal instead of a mountain lion? And why would Hughes make up the attack?

People often mistake smaller predators for larger ones. In fact, here in California people have mistaken house cats for cougars and reported bobcats as mountain lions. However, Hughes did describe an irritated tail twitch. As of yesterday, the South Dakota cougar attack is still unconfirmed and under investigation by wildlife officials.

The lesson to be learned here is that you should have someone with you when out in the wilderness. I already gave you some mountain lion safety tips and encourage you to review them if you travel out into the wilderness or live in areas adjacent to wild lands.

Next, a rabid mountain lion attempted an attack on 10-year-old Paul Schalow. The family was celebrating Paul's birthday on Saturday when the older female cougar launched her attack. You can catch the interview video about the cougar attack encounter here.

Cougar attacks are not so rare as they once were. However the risk to humans is pretty low in comparison to other animal injuries and attacks--check out this older Bureau of Labor Statistics page.

Finally, I have not updated my statistics on cougar attacks in a while (2004) but if you are looking for more info, links, and books related to the topic drop by.

Homeless Pets & the Mortgage Crisis: More Links

So, I guess my little rant was well timed. Here are a couple of other links if you are thinking about a related story about homeless and abandoned pets from the mortgage crisis.
NBC Video on Homeless Pets & the Mortgage Crisis

Foreclosure Pet Crisis Article

Homeless Pets: Innocent Victims of Foreclosures & Housing Market

I just read an article in the Sacramento Bee about homeless pets as innocent victims of the California housing market. Wow, where have they been?

In September of 2007 the Press Enterprise took a look at local shelters and humane societies who were seeing the trend of increased numbers of relinquished animals and the speculation was that the homeless pet increase was due to the mortgage crisis hitting San Bernardino and other parts of California.

Everybody has reported it--but what are they doing about it?

What can you do about it if you lose your home?

One thing to do is to prepare a pet resume. What is a pet resume? It is a document you present to potential landlords with a summary of a companion animal's best qualities and that also highlights your qualities as a good tenant and pet owners.

Pet resumes should include an appealing picture of your pet, state the animal's age, activity level, breed or pedigree, good behaviors, participation in training, and the standards of care he or she receives.

Get letters of recommendation from your pet's trainer, groomer, activity groups, kennel or pet sitter. It wouldn't hurt to also get letters from your immediate neighbors stating how your pet is a great canine or feline citizen and neighbor.

As for you, obtain letters of recommendation from past landlords and your realtor about your qualities as a home owner, tenant--and ask your community pals to write notes about how you are a good pet owning neighbor.

In addition, more and more pet friendly rental databases are popping up on the web. Try searching:

People with Pets
Move dot com

You can access my audio on pet resumes here or on iTunes under Ark Animal Answers.

Elmendorf, Alaska Wolf Pack Troubles

Here is a link to the CNN Video on the two women who were surrounded by a wolf pack while walking their dogs. The wolves were known to be an issue in the area so why did they venture out anyway?

This report from Fort Rich talks about several incidents with the same wolf pack.

As wild animals become more habituated to humans and we continue to squeeze them into smaller and smaller territories, continue to build within wildlife habitat, such events will continue to increase.

Here is an interesting summary on wolf attacks, I am not familiar with the author.

In response to the recent attacks on dogs and then the women with the dogs, the area has been restricted to entry due to the Elmendorf wolf pack incidents.

On a side note, urban coyotes make snacks out of pets regularly.

Incident Logs & Other Questions

The report from the San Francisco Chronicle makes me wonder how often the zoo actually has emergency drills.

Another question crossed my desk yesterday, what were three guys of that age doing at the zoo on Christmas day? Isn't that unusual--wouldn't they be hanging out with their buddies or people of their own age group?

Perhaps they were wildlife enthusiasts--but I doubt it.

Zoos across the nation are being asked about their safety practices and are reassuring the public. However, accidents do happen and so drills and training are essential.

The other issue that keeps getting raised is that regarding the zoo employee actions. First, only trained personnel can handle fire arms and tranquilizers. Second, tranquilizers do not work fast enough to safely contain a predator when there is danger to humans or other animals.

I am a bit shocked that it looks like the Security department delayed entry to the municipal rescue agencies--did they not have a mutual aid agreement in place? Were the rest of the non-animal employees left out of the disaster planning review drills?

Yes, there is only speculation over the taunting of the Siberian tiger , however the animal would have needed high motivation to climb out of her enclosure.

I get sick of visitor behavior at animal parks and zoos--maybe Tatiana will be the new poster tiger for "Don't Disturb the Animals."

BTW: Did anyone get their mitts on the Dhaliwal or Sousa cell phones to see if anyone was video taping or snapping pictures?

Sources for Tiger Jumping Distances

Okay, in my library I found in Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia Volume 12, Page 349 (copyright 1972) that tigers have been found to jump down up to 10 meters (32.8 feet) with the average of 5-6 meter jumps (16-19.7 feet).

In Walker's Mammals of the World, Fifth Edition, the citation in Volume II on page 1209 says, "It (tiger species) has been reported to cover up to 10 meters in a horizontal leap."

Based on these citations, it would have been completely feasible for Tatiana, the San Francisco Zoo's Siberian tiger to have jumped out of her enclosure.

Big Cat Jumps

I thought this video might be of interest to you

Also, I found this citation but have no idea who the person is who has quoted the distances. Still looking for sources I can verify. According to Maxine Anbabell, there have been instances recorded of tigers leaping widths of as much as twenty feet, with one tiger seen to leap thirty feet.

Lucky Leap Theory...Part Two

So, by now you probably heard that the moat and the wall at the San Francisco Zoo's Tiger Grotto was substandard.

How can that happen? Easy, same way the Lion House was a safety hazard--the place is old.

One of the jokes that used to be made at one private zoo and animal acting facility I worked for was that if you distracted the inspector enough, you could get away with most anything.

Sometimes they didn't really know the standards, either. Unless you measured you wouldn't know.

Reminds me of those lions who had to be locked up when the dirt flowed down to one end of the enclosure--just enough motivation and they would have got out.

Tatiana had the motivation and did.

So, I am guessing it really was a lucky leap--and can't wait to hear the statements from the two hospitalized victims.

SF Zoo Tiger Grotto Wall Fails to Meet Stated Recommendations

Lucky Leap Theory...

I enjoyed reading the NY Times article on the San Francisco tiger attack this morning but I also posted a theory for my readers about the taunted tiger and a lucky leap. Waiting on Critter CSI for the verdict...

Which brings me to the question, who will be liable if that is the case? Would teasing a member of an endangered species to the point of retaliation that results in the death of the tiger (and the alleged instigator) put the liablity outside of the zoo and city of San Francisco?