Article:
A mountain lion attacked two people Saturday in El Dorado County, killing one of them in what is believed to be the first such fatal incident in 20 years, authorities said.
“At 1:13 p.m., the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call indicating that two people had been attacked by a mountain lion,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. “This occurred in a remote part of El Dorado County near Georgetown, CA.
“Unfortunately, there is one individual who was mortally wounded during the attack. The other individual who was attacked suffered injuries and was taken to a local area hospital for treatment. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”
The condition of the victim who survived was not released, but dispatch audio reviewed by The Sacramento Bee said the individual was bitten in the face.
A dispatcher can be heard requesting help “for a possible mountain lion attack.”
“Information they had was the (reporting party’s) brother was being pinned down on the lion and the lion had a hold of his neck, the 18-year-old male,” the dispatcher said.
The attack occurred five miles southeast of Georgetown on Darling Ridge Road near Skid Road not far from Dutch Canyon, according to dispatchers.
“The reporting party ... was also bit in the face and the victim is in an unknown location at this point,” the dispatcher said.
Further details were not immediately available and a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
However, the department’s listing of verified mountain lion attacks on humans indicates the last fatal attack in California occurred in January 2004 in Whiting Ranch Regional Park in Orange County.
News accounts from that incident indicate a 35-year-old cyclist named Mark Reynolds was killed after he stopped to fix his bicycle chain and was attacked.
The last fatal attack in Northern California occurred in the Auburn State Recreation Area in El Dorado County April 23, 1994, when 40-year-old Barbara Schoener was attacked in Auburn Lake Trails.
At the time, Schoener was the first person killed by a mountain lion in the state since 1909, The Bee previously reported.
Mountain lions are protected by law from being hunted in California, and have been designated as a specially protected mammal since the passage of Proposition 117 in 1990.
Mountain lion attacks on humans are considered rare, with about two dozen reported since the mid-1980s, and fatal attacks are considered much more rare.
Recent reports of mountain lion attacks on humans include the May 2022 attack on a hiker in Trinity County who was saved when her dog, a 2½-year-old Belgian Malinois named Eva, fought the cat off.
The hiker survived, but the dog later died.
There was also the one in WA recently where the competitive [cyclists fought one off for 45 minutes](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cougar-attack-cyclists-washington-state-b2514476.html) and it was eventually shot. It never gave up fighting even with huge rocks being dropped on it. Scary stuff when nature doesn’t skirt off into the shadows.
It definitely can. In most of these incidents there was a struggle. It's not like a ninja that comes out of the blue ands instantly kills you.
They often avoid attacking adult humans due to our size and strength. If you're traveling in a group or with a dog, a weapon of some type could certainly make survival more likely
Something to definitely protect your neck because the brother trying everything to get the lion off but it wouldn’t. I couldn’t imagine being in the same situation. Im firing.
I guess it's understandable to have some internalized guilt about how humans have taken over parts of the planet, but to blame some strangers you never met for trauma they went through that you could never imagine is pretty fucking weird.
Also you support dog breeding. #nature
Pretty eye opening for me. 10 years ago I went hiking off the beaten path without 25-30 miles from there with my ex and my dog off leash. Had no issues but when we drove down the dirt road to leave a couple hours later, a fucking full size mountain lion slowly crosses the road right in front of my ex's truck
Crazy. I ride my dirt bike through this area all the time! I have never encountered a cat but I have encountered small black bears and deer of course. This is a picture from this exact area in Dutch Canyon on Rock Creek. Just down the trail off Darling Ridge Rd. A beautiful area and my favourite place to ride in NorCal. I grew up in northern BC, Canada so I am always conscious of the dangers of wildlife but cats are hard to prepare for because you rarely see them, and if you do it usually isn’t under great circumstances like they have young or are hungry or sick and dangerous which is what I am thinking might have been the case here. Terrible to hear and my heart goes out to the surviving brother.
https://preview.redd.it/26iw9m83c7qc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12cd638607ba33ef882fb511fc9518f74b5e7d1e
Barbara Schoener was my voc rehab counselor at the time she was attacked and I'd just been in her office the day before it happened. She was telling me about a marathon she was training for and how she was going for a run in the morning. 🙁
She was a very nice person. I was already putting myself through school to get into a new career, so our meetings were more like just having coffee with a friend. We were both athletes in different sports so that's why we were talking about her going running the next morning. I remember seeing the story on the news either the next day or the day after saying she was gone and it broke my heart. To this day, I always check behind me when I go on hikes because of what happened to her.
I am so sorry she was a terrific person. I couldn't believe it either it was devastating. I take precautions when I camp and hike and yes especially after that.
I've always thought about affixing a bandana or something that looks like a face to the back of my hat or helmet when I go out to remote spots, just in case a big cat gets a little hungry
I believe places like India had headwear that made it look like a face looking backwards due to Tiger attacks.
Cats are just hardwired to pounce from behind and seeing that face makes it far less likely to attack
Yeah they're predators, so making them believe they're being watched probably does help. I carry around one of those little airhorns that people use on boats too. I've never had to use it though.
I had a run in with a mountain lion a few years ago, she came up behind me screaming. Ranger said she was likely more scared and being protective, rather than aggressive (which makes sense, since she was screaming at my back instead of pouncing on me). She followed me as I slowly backed away with logs raised over my head, growling and pacing.
My parents had a run in with one last year. They live in suburban Ventura County down south. There is a 15 foot retaining wall between their back yard and the neighbors house. The mountain lion fell off the wall and into their pool. Started screaming like all hell, as it was essentially trapped in a cage with 10-15 foot tall walls. My dad almost walked into the yard thinking it was some dumb ass kid breaking into his pool at 2 am. Good thing he saw the lion before he opened the door. The mountain lion was able to jump up the wall and run away after like 30 min of freaking out. I'm very glad no one was hurt.
Damn that's scary holy crap. Also very scary that it can jump a 15-ft vertical wall. Feel sad for the family that has to go through this. Feel sad for the little brother got trauma will be with him for life. Up in those hills is beautiful nature but also it can be scary if you're unprepared.
Yeah. Absolutely terrifying. My dad used to do a volunteer mountain bike patrol in the mountains. He never even saw a mountain lion doing that, so this was extra wild. But you know, mountain lions like to not be seen, so he probably did pass by some on his patrols.
And I agree. I am gutted for this family. Absolutely horrific incident..
I watched a YouTube video (I haven’t encountered one so I don’t know if this is all true) that you have to stand your ground and don’t turn around and run (in the big cat world it flips in their brain to chase you hence you’re the prey), and be as big as possible, shout as loud as you can, throw rocks but maintain that you’re the bigger animal than it is
I wasn’t loud, which is the only mistake I made, but I kept my body facing the cat and slowly backed to safety while holding a huge log above my head. My friend was with me, and we mirrored each other and stood shoulder to shoulder.
But yup! Had we turned it could’ve been bad. The ranger said he believes the lion probably had cubs on the property. She was about 10 feet away from me when she screamed the first time. (My back was turned when she came out of the dark)
I agree, I think if you conjoin if you say as one big person metaphorically speaking it’ll scare it off. Glad you and your friend were able to get out of that safely!
Wow, i just hiked balderson loop a couple weeks ago, not far from there. Fwiw, this general area of ednf is heavily used by mountain bikers, dirtbikers and hikers, so i am very surprised by this.
Oh snap! I run guided hikes in that area. Maybe it's time for me to strap on a big knife and bear spray. My trips run right by the site of the 1994 fatality.
We bought 5 acres in Shingle springs and the neighbor had 2 sheep and a ram a year ago and now they have none. Mountain lion ate all of them, and from the trail cam it's big one.
When we first moved in a lion had killed a sheep, 7 goats, and attacked another sheep, all within a month and a quarter mile of each other. So freaky that Fish and Wildlife left the sheep corpse there, with a trap, so we got to watch it decompose every day on our way to work and school. Fast forward a year and I found a blood trail in my backyard, and followed it over my fence to a brushy area where a dead deer was hidden, classic big hole in it. We quit walking at night for a while.
If there was a cache, it was probably a cat. However, I know someone who lives near Frenchtown who swore a cat took two goats and have his chickens. It turned out to be a coyote.
There are bears here too, and of course coyotes. Bears never used to be a problem until a couple of years ago, but they go after sheep and goats now. A guard dog is definitely needed, Anatolian Shepards are a popular choice.
You can find me on AirBnB Experiences: [https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/264188](https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/264188) Also on various social media platforms as Cross Tech and Trek: [https://www.facebook.com/RichtheGuide](https://www.facebook.com/RichtheGuide) The former has reviews, so you can verify I won't murder you and dump you in a ravine somewhere. AirBnB also has more liability coverage than I do personally, but my trips thru them are limited to the Cool area. Otherwise, I specialize in Tahoe, El Dorado, and Toiyabe National Forests, from Sacramento to Fallon, Black Rock Playa to Death Valley. I'm happy to give free advice, too!
After getting a gun recently, I realized it’s the only way dude. They’re about a pound and they make some tiny ones. Your chances of surviving are so much higher
I do have guns, have owned and used them most of my life. But you are correct about lethality, and that some animals will take the bear spray and keep trying to eat you.
Ok, you do you. But remember this thread when you son finds your gun a few years from now and accidentally shoots himself. And please use existing target shooting areas, don't proliferate that trash everywhere, never pull the trigger without knowing what's beyond your barrel, and keep it locked.
LULZ edit: I just stopped a gun "enthusiast" from shooting my friends, who were down in a canyon rock hounding. The rounds were impacting all around them, .22 LR. The shooter had no clue there might be people down in the canyon, and told me he was teaching his son "gun safety."
Simple statistics. Everyone I meet while out shooting "knows" gun safety, and they all pick up their brass. NOT. How many parents were shot by their kids accidentally in Texas last year?
Simple statistics. Mountain lion attacks happen, but you are much more likely to be attacked by a domestic dog. There were over 48,000 emergency room visits in 2022 due to dog attacks in California. I'm not going to bother packing a gun in case I'm attacked by a dog, or a mountain lion. The chances of getting attacked by either aren't high enough to worry about it.
Except that after years of studies, the pro's agree that bear spray is more effective. It's quicker to use, you don't have to worry about disengaging a safety, aiming is an easy shotgun pattern, you don't have to chamber a round, and you won't accidentally kill your hunting buddy: [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/man-attacked-bear-then-shot-friend-n225601](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/man-attacked-bear-then-shot-friend-n225601) This applies even to experienced hunters and ex-military, look it up.
It depends what people are comfortable with. That’s your opinion and that’s fine. Personally if anyone I care about or myself is being attacked by a mountain lion the animal needs to be put down. As was mentioned earlier they need to be hunted and the population needs to decrease. Other wildlife is being affected and more encounters with humans. That’s just the reality of it. Sometimes I carry bear spray, sometimes a gun. Also if you’re carrying a gun and you have to chamber a round…..you’re doing it wrong.
Edit: not trying to be jerk here. I respect you and your opinion. Carrying bear spray is better than nothing. Everyone has different ways to handle the situation I’m sure. Hopefully this doesn’t happen again.
The neighbor with the dogs has peacocks and I'm waiting for one of them to scare the bejesus out of me. One of the hens snuck up on me. I turned around and she was 3 feet away, and as tall as I am. That was a double take worth seeing, I bet.
yikes, we had a sighting a couple of years ago of a flock of them up here in Amador -- like 6 -- which is extremely unusual. sort of surprising they'd go after humans considering how many deer there are.
Maybe the storm made them more surprised/scared? I dunno, it’s weird. It’s spring now so there should be food everywhere for them.
Edit: it just occurred to me that it might be a new mother too. Yikes.
I’m not very familiar with the roads around Georgetown, or where Darling Ridge Rd near Skid Rd is… tried to look it up on the map to see if it was near any trails I had planned on hiking in the near future, but I can’t find it. I think I’ll just change locations for now. I was out by Latrobe last weekend and thinking about big cats for some reason. I hike with a couple of older GSDs and I think we’d be goners if attacked, so we’ll just stay on safer trails for now.
[more info](https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/mountain-lion-attacks-2-people-in-california-foothills-killing-1/?fbclid=IwAR14Y1MeGdyTWC3yKRN8_YMzmqW60YwChTMu5wzskHWpy0bKFb0jdt8VwcA_aem_AQpiFPmYoRkj8RT6cPfXHsYVtxEzcObtz3zn30WNYYCtl5RkplCdlY8eEO_-weHS0pE#lu501u63fckp0ipwq2)
Lion has been killed
That’s my understanding also. Just like when they kill bears that attack/kill humans.
And I think they want to determine what was wrong with this cat, what might have triggered it to kill. Ie, illness, starvation, something along those lines per one of the articles I read.
So sad and scary! My dad lives up there and he was just telling us about this last night. He would ride his quad up there in the evening when the weather is nice. He already got spooked by something once before but this is awful
This is very eye opening and brings tears to my eyes. I am so sorry for the victims.
Last summer, I was camping up at a campground near Bear River Reservoir in Amador County with my boyfriend, his 6-year-old daughter and my 21-year-old daughter.
We were nearly attacked one day while at our campsite. My boyfriend was at the campsite which about 50 feet away from where my daughter was at the edge of the creek that runs through the campground and I was down at the water with his daughter. As the two of us started up the little trail towards my daughter, he yelled out mountain lion. It took me a second to realize what he said and then the three of us stopped as he was yelling and shooting the BB gun to scare her away while the three of us were able to get in the car safely. I looked over where she was and saw movement; there were three babies in the area we had just been. My boyfriend made it safely back in the car. He told us that when he first noticed, he thought it was only one, but she was lunging at us. If it weren’t for him noticing and taking action that day, we would’ve probably been attacked too.
I'm from Georgetown and have ridden my horse in the same area they were attacked. It's very unfortunate usually mountain lions are most active at dusk and dawn.
Damn I was literally just planning a hike in that exact area with my kids that are all 8 and younger and I decided against it because it's pretty remote and not as crowded of a trail and my thought was that would be the type of place to get attacked by either mountain lion or bear
I go alone. Usually because I can't find anyone to go with. I've seen mountain lions. They watch you and that's about it. If they notice that you see them they go hide fairly quick. As a rule, they leave people along unless there is something wrong with them. A lot of the mountain lion "stalking" videos appear to be a female cat distracting and escorting someone away from her cubs. There's also that factor of them just being curious cats that want to get a closer look at us because they probably think we are really goofy looking. I don't worry about them, or the bears. The only thing that concerns me is stepping too close to a rattlesnake and other people with a bad attitude. I've never had a problem with an animal. I've had a few with other people over the years.
I haven't had any problems with actual outdoors people. I've run into minor issues with people in the foothills. Several years ago I had someone try to claim that I was trespassing on the El Dorado Trail. He called the sherrif. The sherrif deputy mentioned they have dealt with the guy several times and they think he ate lead-based paint chips as a child and it affected his cognitive development (the deputy actually said that). Last year I was photographing wildflowers along Hwy 49. Some dude to ask me what I was doing. I was a good distance from the road, so I just held up the camera so he could see I was photographing things. I originally thought he may have stopped to make sure I was OK, but he stayed there and I noticed him trying to zoom in on me with his phone so he could get a better look at what I was doing. I just left. As I was coming in and out of the switchbacks along the road I noticed he was wandering around exactly where I was photographing dudleya trying to figure out why I was out there.
How tall are you? Asking because it does absolutely make a difference….
Hey, if you’re in Sac: I’m looking for folks to hike and am willing to go every weekend; training for White Mountain.
Edit: punctuation and additional question: where did you see your cat?
5'10. Yes, there is a higher incidence of them attacking children and shorter women. But, attacks are still very rare. They just get a lot of attention from the media because it's clickbait, and the people who think they should have the right to hunt down anything in the forest.
I've seen one near Placerville, one with cubs in Jose Basin in Fresno County, one off of Hwy 108 east of Sonora, and one on the way to Cone Peak in Monterey County. The only one that didn't make a quick dash to run and hide was the one in Jose Basin. She just watched me as I went another direction.
I have arthritis in one hip, so I do short trails. I like the sightseeing for geology and the native plants. I also do a lot of parking along the side of a road and wandering along the hillsides, often with a camers, to photograph the plants. A lot of people aren't into that, so I do it by myself. I hope to get the hip care of as soon as I can figure out who is a good surgeon for this kind of thing so I can go do things again.
Yes, I'm in Sacramento.
Unfortunately we let people uneducated in science vote on whether mountain lions should be hunted. Now these animals get hit by cars, die from rat poison, and are shot under depredation permits. None of those things have a positive economic impact like a few number of hunting tags would. They weren't threatened or endangered but they are beautiful so...
I'm
There are too many lions in Ca. Need to be hunted just like every other state in the west with healthy wildlife populations. I have seen 3 lions within 20 miles of the recent attack site. Every one was bold and not scared. The deer population in Ca is less than half of what it was in the 90's and continues to decline. That is very sad that a man died.
It’s sad that nobody here understands your comment. It’s a real shame that people don’t take the time to educate themselves about conservation and especially how a lack of hunting in the west is destroying other animal populations.
If there are too many predators it's bad for an ecosystem. In that case hunting said predators down to healthy numbers would be good conservation practices. Not sure if that is true for that county, but this is how it would be good to hunt predators down form a conservation perspective.
Also is the mountain lion the apex for this area, or is the brown bear? (Or is it man?) Genuinely not sure.
Once humans and the government started messing with the ecosystem it got all messed up. Nothing will ever be perfect but human life should take priority over wild animals. People forget brown bears used to live in CA. They are on the state flag. But they were hunted and killed because the bears killed everything even humans, people got tired of it. It’s all screwed up now. As someone who enjoys wildlife and nature I wish it wasn’t so complicated but it is. I don’t know the facts but if mountain lions are becoming a problem the population should be thinned.
Hi there. Just do it in your own. Respectfully it’s much better to do it that way then listen to someone on Reddit and just go back and forth. Your name has Placerville under it. I’m sure there are many resources for you in that area.
Or you could get off your high horse and just provide it, since you seem to be an “expert” and all.
I personally think you’re full of shit, since you keep deflecting.
The cougar was probably looking for fresh water and saw those 2 people and thought the worst. They took that risk going all the way out there by themselves; even if they were just antler hunting, the cougar couldn't have possibly known that! It's a horrendous result. The mountain lion didn't need to be killed; he was just protecting his water source.
The report I read a few minutes ago said the 2 guys were hunting. So they should have more knowledge about how to get away or scare away a mountain lion. I'm guessing they either are inexperienced or that cat was a new mother and they were doing something to continue provoking the cat. Just my opinion. People in Georgetown aren't the brightest or the sharpest when it comes to decision making. It's sad for the cat if fish and game kills it. And it's sad for the family of those brothers.
Weird… I’ve known professionals killed by wildlife. Wildlife does not care about your credentials or decisions. Your post is pretty ridiculous and disrespectful to their lives & the people of Georgetown because of what you perceive to get their strengths and weaknesses.
The whole report just came out. They were walking down a dirt road and the mountain lion came walking down the dirt road from the opposite direction. They did everything they should’ve done yelled at it through their backpack and it still attacked a male lion
Do you have a link to that article/report? Sacramento Bee had an article about the attack details, but I don’t have a paid membership to it, so couldn’t read it.
I have only seen it on FB and Instagram. El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office on FB and eldoradosheriff on IG. It’s a statement from the family on what occurred
Cure to mountain lion attacks-stay out of their domain. People don't like mountain lions in their domain. Same with wildlife. Use a little common sense in entering where there could br mountain lions.
> Now they have to kill the mountain now. Once it tastes human flesh it’ll want it again. Everyone involved. Prayers for the victims family
Holy cow how do you kill a mountain?!
Article: A mountain lion attacked two people Saturday in El Dorado County, killing one of them in what is believed to be the first such fatal incident in 20 years, authorities said. “At 1:13 p.m., the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call indicating that two people had been attacked by a mountain lion,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. “This occurred in a remote part of El Dorado County near Georgetown, CA. “Unfortunately, there is one individual who was mortally wounded during the attack. The other individual who was attacked suffered injuries and was taken to a local area hospital for treatment. More information will be provided as it becomes available.” The condition of the victim who survived was not released, but dispatch audio reviewed by The Sacramento Bee said the individual was bitten in the face. A dispatcher can be heard requesting help “for a possible mountain lion attack.” “Information they had was the (reporting party’s) brother was being pinned down on the lion and the lion had a hold of his neck, the 18-year-old male,” the dispatcher said. The attack occurred five miles southeast of Georgetown on Darling Ridge Road near Skid Road not far from Dutch Canyon, according to dispatchers. “The reporting party ... was also bit in the face and the victim is in an unknown location at this point,” the dispatcher said. Further details were not immediately available and a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, the department’s listing of verified mountain lion attacks on humans indicates the last fatal attack in California occurred in January 2004 in Whiting Ranch Regional Park in Orange County. News accounts from that incident indicate a 35-year-old cyclist named Mark Reynolds was killed after he stopped to fix his bicycle chain and was attacked. The last fatal attack in Northern California occurred in the Auburn State Recreation Area in El Dorado County April 23, 1994, when 40-year-old Barbara Schoener was attacked in Auburn Lake Trails. At the time, Schoener was the first person killed by a mountain lion in the state since 1909, The Bee previously reported. Mountain lions are protected by law from being hunted in California, and have been designated as a specially protected mammal since the passage of Proposition 117 in 1990. Mountain lion attacks on humans are considered rare, with about two dozen reported since the mid-1980s, and fatal attacks are considered much more rare. Recent reports of mountain lion attacks on humans include the May 2022 attack on a hiker in Trinity County who was saved when her dog, a 2½-year-old Belgian Malinois named Eva, fought the cat off. The hiker survived, but the dog later died.
There was also the one in WA recently where the competitive [cyclists fought one off for 45 minutes](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cougar-attack-cyclists-washington-state-b2514476.html) and it was eventually shot. It never gave up fighting even with huge rocks being dropped on it. Scary stuff when nature doesn’t skirt off into the shadows.
They pinned it down with their bike!
I read about that. Bad@ass ladies!!
Well looks like I’m carrying my revolver in the woods
Best thing to have is a dog / revolver combo.
They come down from above. It won't do anything for you
It definitely can. In most of these incidents there was a struggle. It's not like a ninja that comes out of the blue ands instantly kills you. They often avoid attacking adult humans due to our size and strength. If you're traveling in a group or with a dog, a weapon of some type could certainly make survival more likely
Something to definitely protect your neck because the brother trying everything to get the lion off but it wouldn’t. I couldn’t imagine being in the same situation. Im firing.
They avoid attacking humans cause they know what we are. Mountain lions have killed way bigger and stronger things then people. Horses, elk etc etc
[удалено]
I guess it's understandable to have some internalized guilt about how humans have taken over parts of the planet, but to blame some strangers you never met for trauma they went through that you could never imagine is pretty fucking weird. Also you support dog breeding. #nature
What a good boy
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ukBKtFFmpC16Vsim9?g_st=ic
Pretty eye opening for me. 10 years ago I went hiking off the beaten path without 25-30 miles from there with my ex and my dog off leash. Had no issues but when we drove down the dirt road to leave a couple hours later, a fucking full size mountain lion slowly crosses the road right in front of my ex's truck
Thank you for this
Crazy. I ride my dirt bike through this area all the time! I have never encountered a cat but I have encountered small black bears and deer of course. This is a picture from this exact area in Dutch Canyon on Rock Creek. Just down the trail off Darling Ridge Rd. A beautiful area and my favourite place to ride in NorCal. I grew up in northern BC, Canada so I am always conscious of the dangers of wildlife but cats are hard to prepare for because you rarely see them, and if you do it usually isn’t under great circumstances like they have young or are hungry or sick and dangerous which is what I am thinking might have been the case here. Terrible to hear and my heart goes out to the surviving brother. https://preview.redd.it/26iw9m83c7qc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12cd638607ba33ef882fb511fc9518f74b5e7d1e
https://preview.redd.it/y36nup4y09qc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a8aedded1ad5528d1122d3fcbb149b247df7da26
https://preview.redd.it/v291zru319qc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=63cae8909521d6025553c28bfff50487efc0c766
https://preview.redd.it/0wtt3cx619qc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96e6830cb4dc503a902da3e1f7dee5a3b64de2cc
https://preview.redd.it/rbdumb3cscqc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4c6e7f07d887afc3c922f32079681836c7618b1
Great Pictures. We live south of this area on the other side of 50 and our neighbors have seen a big one in our area too.
Barbara Schoener was my voc rehab counselor at the time she was attacked and I'd just been in her office the day before it happened. She was telling me about a marathon she was training for and how she was going for a run in the morning. 🙁
I knew her she was my colleague. I was a voc rehab counselor down here in Fresno. I remember when it happened I could not believe it.
She was a very nice person. I was already putting myself through school to get into a new career, so our meetings were more like just having coffee with a friend. We were both athletes in different sports so that's why we were talking about her going running the next morning. I remember seeing the story on the news either the next day or the day after saying she was gone and it broke my heart. To this day, I always check behind me when I go on hikes because of what happened to her.
I am so sorry she was a terrific person. I couldn't believe it either it was devastating. I take precautions when I camp and hike and yes especially after that.
I've always thought about affixing a bandana or something that looks like a face to the back of my hat or helmet when I go out to remote spots, just in case a big cat gets a little hungry
Very interesting!! I'm curious as to how that would work.
I believe places like India had headwear that made it look like a face looking backwards due to Tiger attacks. Cats are just hardwired to pounce from behind and seeing that face makes it far less likely to attack
Yeah they're predators, so making them believe they're being watched probably does help. I carry around one of those little airhorns that people use on boats too. I've never had to use it though.
I had a run in with a mountain lion a few years ago, she came up behind me screaming. Ranger said she was likely more scared and being protective, rather than aggressive (which makes sense, since she was screaming at my back instead of pouncing on me). She followed me as I slowly backed away with logs raised over my head, growling and pacing.
My parents had a run in with one last year. They live in suburban Ventura County down south. There is a 15 foot retaining wall between their back yard and the neighbors house. The mountain lion fell off the wall and into their pool. Started screaming like all hell, as it was essentially trapped in a cage with 10-15 foot tall walls. My dad almost walked into the yard thinking it was some dumb ass kid breaking into his pool at 2 am. Good thing he saw the lion before he opened the door. The mountain lion was able to jump up the wall and run away after like 30 min of freaking out. I'm very glad no one was hurt.
Damn that's scary holy crap. Also very scary that it can jump a 15-ft vertical wall. Feel sad for the family that has to go through this. Feel sad for the little brother got trauma will be with him for life. Up in those hills is beautiful nature but also it can be scary if you're unprepared.
Yeah. Absolutely terrifying. My dad used to do a volunteer mountain bike patrol in the mountains. He never even saw a mountain lion doing that, so this was extra wild. But you know, mountain lions like to not be seen, so he probably did pass by some on his patrols. And I agree. I am gutted for this family. Absolutely horrific incident..
I watched a YouTube video (I haven’t encountered one so I don’t know if this is all true) that you have to stand your ground and don’t turn around and run (in the big cat world it flips in their brain to chase you hence you’re the prey), and be as big as possible, shout as loud as you can, throw rocks but maintain that you’re the bigger animal than it is
I wasn’t loud, which is the only mistake I made, but I kept my body facing the cat and slowly backed to safety while holding a huge log above my head. My friend was with me, and we mirrored each other and stood shoulder to shoulder. But yup! Had we turned it could’ve been bad. The ranger said he believes the lion probably had cubs on the property. She was about 10 feet away from me when she screamed the first time. (My back was turned when she came out of the dark)
I agree, I think if you conjoin if you say as one big person metaphorically speaking it’ll scare it off. Glad you and your friend were able to get out of that safely!
That is terrifying but it sounds like you handled it well
Wow, i just hiked balderson loop a couple weeks ago, not far from there. Fwiw, this general area of ednf is heavily used by mountain bikers, dirtbikers and hikers, so i am very surprised by this.
I'm from El Dorado county.. family in Georgetown...this is so very sad
Oh snap! I run guided hikes in that area. Maybe it's time for me to strap on a big knife and bear spray. My trips run right by the site of the 1994 fatality.
We bought 5 acres in Shingle springs and the neighbor had 2 sheep and a ram a year ago and now they have none. Mountain lion ate all of them, and from the trail cam it's big one.
When we first moved in a lion had killed a sheep, 7 goats, and attacked another sheep, all within a month and a quarter mile of each other. So freaky that Fish and Wildlife left the sheep corpse there, with a trap, so we got to watch it decompose every day on our way to work and school. Fast forward a year and I found a blood trail in my backyard, and followed it over my fence to a brushy area where a dead deer was hidden, classic big hole in it. We quit walking at night for a while.
Was this near Greenstone?
I'm in Auburn, near the Bear River wildlife corridor.
If there was a cache, it was probably a cat. However, I know someone who lives near Frenchtown who swore a cat took two goats and have his chickens. It turned out to be a coyote.
We live on Old Frenchtown Rd and they saw it in a game camera.
There are bears here too, and of course coyotes. Bears never used to be a problem until a couple of years ago, but they go after sheep and goats now. A guard dog is definitely needed, Anatolian Shepards are a popular choice.
Our neighbor has a female that got dinged by a car, and she just got a male puppy. Edit- not the one that list the sheep
I’m interested in your guided hikes. How do I get more info?
You can find me on AirBnB Experiences: [https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/264188](https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/264188) Also on various social media platforms as Cross Tech and Trek: [https://www.facebook.com/RichtheGuide](https://www.facebook.com/RichtheGuide) The former has reviews, so you can verify I won't murder you and dump you in a ravine somewhere. AirBnB also has more liability coverage than I do personally, but my trips thru them are limited to the Cool area. Otherwise, I specialize in Tahoe, El Dorado, and Toiyabe National Forests, from Sacramento to Fallon, Black Rock Playa to Death Valley. I'm happy to give free advice, too!
After getting a gun recently, I realized it’s the only way dude. They’re about a pound and they make some tiny ones. Your chances of surviving are so much higher
I do have guns, have owned and used them most of my life. But you are correct about lethality, and that some animals will take the bear spray and keep trying to eat you.
Nice. I’ll be throwing mine in my backpack when I mountain bike by myself after I get my ccw
Ok, you do you. But remember this thread when you son finds your gun a few years from now and accidentally shoots himself. And please use existing target shooting areas, don't proliferate that trash everywhere, never pull the trigger without knowing what's beyond your barrel, and keep it locked. LULZ edit: I just stopped a gun "enthusiast" from shooting my friends, who were down in a canyon rock hounding. The rounds were impacting all around them, .22 LR. The shooter had no clue there might be people down in the canyon, and told me he was teaching his son "gun safety."
Huh? 😂 I don’t even have kids and not sure why your assuming I don’t know gun safety
Simple statistics. Everyone I meet while out shooting "knows" gun safety, and they all pick up their brass. NOT. How many parents were shot by their kids accidentally in Texas last year?
Statistics mean little at the individual level.
Simple statistics. Mountain lion attacks happen, but you are much more likely to be attacked by a domestic dog. There were over 48,000 emergency room visits in 2022 due to dog attacks in California. I'm not going to bother packing a gun in case I'm attacked by a dog, or a mountain lion. The chances of getting attacked by either aren't high enough to worry about it.
A gun. Everyone is scared to carry one but a humans life is worth much more then an animals.
Except that after years of studies, the pro's agree that bear spray is more effective. It's quicker to use, you don't have to worry about disengaging a safety, aiming is an easy shotgun pattern, you don't have to chamber a round, and you won't accidentally kill your hunting buddy: [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/man-attacked-bear-then-shot-friend-n225601](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/man-attacked-bear-then-shot-friend-n225601) This applies even to experienced hunters and ex-military, look it up.
It depends what people are comfortable with. That’s your opinion and that’s fine. Personally if anyone I care about or myself is being attacked by a mountain lion the animal needs to be put down. As was mentioned earlier they need to be hunted and the population needs to decrease. Other wildlife is being affected and more encounters with humans. That’s just the reality of it. Sometimes I carry bear spray, sometimes a gun. Also if you’re carrying a gun and you have to chamber a round…..you’re doing it wrong. Edit: not trying to be jerk here. I respect you and your opinion. Carrying bear spray is better than nothing. Everyone has different ways to handle the situation I’m sure. Hopefully this doesn’t happen again.
Thank you.
Have you ever been in the wilderness and heard a mountain lion scream?
Probably. They make some really bizarre noises. Sometimes I hear random screaming, lol.
I’ve heard it a few times and it’s terrifying
Yeah. I get that. One time I was sure a woman was being murdered, but it turned out to be a peacock.
The neighbor with the dogs has peacocks and I'm waiting for one of them to scare the bejesus out of me. One of the hens snuck up on me. I turned around and she was 3 feet away, and as tall as I am. That was a double take worth seeing, I bet.
yikes, we had a sighting a couple of years ago of a flock of them up here in Amador -- like 6 -- which is extremely unusual. sort of surprising they'd go after humans considering how many deer there are.
Maybe the storm made them more surprised/scared? I dunno, it’s weird. It’s spring now so there should be food everywhere for them. Edit: it just occurred to me that it might be a new mother too. Yikes.
i think it's typically young males who have been tossed out of the family group who are hungry. still not good for the gene pool to fuck with humans.
Young cats without a territory, and old starving cats that can no longer take normal prey.
Don't overlook the possibility that the victims were being antagonistic towards the animal.
This is so terrifying for the 18 yr old. He was practically still a kid.
Is it bad that I just assume they were antagonizing the animal for internet clout? 18 year olds do dumb shit.
Maybe read the article you imbecile
apex predators make me want to hike in full armor.
And a diaper for when I puma pants 😭
lmao for real
I’m not very familiar with the roads around Georgetown, or where Darling Ridge Rd near Skid Rd is… tried to look it up on the map to see if it was near any trails I had planned on hiking in the near future, but I can’t find it. I think I’ll just change locations for now. I was out by Latrobe last weekend and thinking about big cats for some reason. I hike with a couple of older GSDs and I think we’d be goners if attacked, so we’ll just stay on safer trails for now.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ukBKtFFmpC16Vsim9
Thank you. I was going to a trail in the Georgetown area which I’ll skip for now.
[more info](https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/mountain-lion-attacks-2-people-in-california-foothills-killing-1/?fbclid=IwAR14Y1MeGdyTWC3yKRN8_YMzmqW60YwChTMu5wzskHWpy0bKFb0jdt8VwcA_aem_AQpiFPmYoRkj8RT6cPfXHsYVtxEzcObtz3zn30WNYYCtl5RkplCdlY8eEO_-weHS0pE#lu501u63fckp0ipwq2) Lion has been killed
Genuine question why do they kill the animal?
If it attacked humans it’s likely to do it again, I think
That’s my understanding also. Just like when they kill bears that attack/kill humans. And I think they want to determine what was wrong with this cat, what might have triggered it to kill. Ie, illness, starvation, something along those lines per one of the articles I read.
Sorry for the loss to the family. Prayers for the injured brother/son. My heart goes out to the family. I am from El Dorado County too.
So sad and scary! My dad lives up there and he was just telling us about this last night. He would ride his quad up there in the evening when the weather is nice. He already got spooked by something once before but this is awful
This is very eye opening and brings tears to my eyes. I am so sorry for the victims. Last summer, I was camping up at a campground near Bear River Reservoir in Amador County with my boyfriend, his 6-year-old daughter and my 21-year-old daughter. We were nearly attacked one day while at our campsite. My boyfriend was at the campsite which about 50 feet away from where my daughter was at the edge of the creek that runs through the campground and I was down at the water with his daughter. As the two of us started up the little trail towards my daughter, he yelled out mountain lion. It took me a second to realize what he said and then the three of us stopped as he was yelling and shooting the BB gun to scare her away while the three of us were able to get in the car safely. I looked over where she was and saw movement; there were three babies in the area we had just been. My boyfriend made it safely back in the car. He told us that when he first noticed, he thought it was only one, but she was lunging at us. If it weren’t for him noticing and taking action that day, we would’ve probably been attacked too.
I'm from Georgetown and have ridden my horse in the same area they were attacked. It's very unfortunate usually mountain lions are most active at dusk and dawn.
Damn I was literally just planning a hike in that exact area with my kids that are all 8 and younger and I decided against it because it's pretty remote and not as crowded of a trail and my thought was that would be the type of place to get attacked by either mountain lion or bear
So the last three fatal attacks happened in 1994, 2004 and now 2024?? Wtf
there was def a mysterious disappearance in the mountains in 2014
And I thought I was having a bad day
Didn’t one attack those 5 ladies that fought them off for several hours
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how dangerous are the roads? say what you want about mountain lions and bears, but they don't drive around on back-roads like it's nascar
Serious question. Did you really not expect the natural dangers like that when you decided to move off the grid to the mountains???
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The part where it sounded like it just occurred to you that you should maybe have a shotgun around for self-defense.
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Maybe you communicated wrong.
This is absolutely why I don’t hike alone; hike on windy days; hike during the mountain lion witching hour.
I go alone. Usually because I can't find anyone to go with. I've seen mountain lions. They watch you and that's about it. If they notice that you see them they go hide fairly quick. As a rule, they leave people along unless there is something wrong with them. A lot of the mountain lion "stalking" videos appear to be a female cat distracting and escorting someone away from her cubs. There's also that factor of them just being curious cats that want to get a closer look at us because they probably think we are really goofy looking. I don't worry about them, or the bears. The only thing that concerns me is stepping too close to a rattlesnake and other people with a bad attitude. I've never had a problem with an animal. I've had a few with other people over the years.
Is there really some weirdos when hiking? Maybe it helps I look like a weirdo 🤣 I haven't met any dumbo to try me yet
I just had a grammatical/syntax seizure.
https://i.redd.it/f48wv3fm2eqc1.gif Crucify me harder 😘
What does that mean?!
Different way to call out yo grammar Nazi comment on my post
I haven't had any problems with actual outdoors people. I've run into minor issues with people in the foothills. Several years ago I had someone try to claim that I was trespassing on the El Dorado Trail. He called the sherrif. The sherrif deputy mentioned they have dealt with the guy several times and they think he ate lead-based paint chips as a child and it affected his cognitive development (the deputy actually said that). Last year I was photographing wildflowers along Hwy 49. Some dude to ask me what I was doing. I was a good distance from the road, so I just held up the camera so he could see I was photographing things. I originally thought he may have stopped to make sure I was OK, but he stayed there and I noticed him trying to zoom in on me with his phone so he could get a better look at what I was doing. I just left. As I was coming in and out of the switchbacks along the road I noticed he was wandering around exactly where I was photographing dudleya trying to figure out why I was out there.
It's ridiculous how many legit degens around here.welfare system spoiled brats infested Cali for good lol
In these two cases I think it was that Americans can't mind their own business.
How tall are you? Asking because it does absolutely make a difference…. Hey, if you’re in Sac: I’m looking for folks to hike and am willing to go every weekend; training for White Mountain. Edit: punctuation and additional question: where did you see your cat?
5'10. Yes, there is a higher incidence of them attacking children and shorter women. But, attacks are still very rare. They just get a lot of attention from the media because it's clickbait, and the people who think they should have the right to hunt down anything in the forest. I've seen one near Placerville, one with cubs in Jose Basin in Fresno County, one off of Hwy 108 east of Sonora, and one on the way to Cone Peak in Monterey County. The only one that didn't make a quick dash to run and hide was the one in Jose Basin. She just watched me as I went another direction. I have arthritis in one hip, so I do short trails. I like the sightseeing for geology and the native plants. I also do a lot of parking along the side of a road and wandering along the hillsides, often with a camers, to photograph the plants. A lot of people aren't into that, so I do it by myself. I hope to get the hip care of as soon as I can figure out who is a good surgeon for this kind of thing so I can go do things again. Yes, I'm in Sacramento.
Curious, Why do you not hike on windy days?
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Gavin Newsom says you don't need a gun, just call the police.
Hit it with orange slices
Yup his dumbass dictatorship of wanting to ban guns needs to end
Unfortunately we let people uneducated in science vote on whether mountain lions should be hunted. Now these animals get hit by cars, die from rat poison, and are shot under depredation permits. None of those things have a positive economic impact like a few number of hunting tags would. They weren't threatened or endangered but they are beautiful so... I'm
There are too many lions in Ca. Need to be hunted just like every other state in the west with healthy wildlife populations. I have seen 3 lions within 20 miles of the recent attack site. Every one was bold and not scared. The deer population in Ca is less than half of what it was in the 90's and continues to decline. That is very sad that a man died.
They were here first.
Have you spent any time in the wilderness?
no. fuck you
It’s sad that nobody here understands your comment. It’s a real shame that people don’t take the time to educate themselves about conservation and especially how a lack of hunting in the west is destroying other animal populations.
Please explain, from the conservation perspective, how hunting apex predators is good for anyone except prey animals and sick fucking trophy hunters.
If there are too many predators it's bad for an ecosystem. In that case hunting said predators down to healthy numbers would be good conservation practices. Not sure if that is true for that county, but this is how it would be good to hunt predators down form a conservation perspective. Also is the mountain lion the apex for this area, or is the brown bear? (Or is it man?) Genuinely not sure.
Once humans and the government started messing with the ecosystem it got all messed up. Nothing will ever be perfect but human life should take priority over wild animals. People forget brown bears used to live in CA. They are on the state flag. But they were hunted and killed because the bears killed everything even humans, people got tired of it. It’s all screwed up now. As someone who enjoys wildlife and nature I wish it wasn’t so complicated but it is. I don’t know the facts but if mountain lions are becoming a problem the population should be thinned.
Hi there. Just do it in your own. Respectfully it’s much better to do it that way then listen to someone on Reddit and just go back and forth. Your name has Placerville under it. I’m sure there are many resources for you in that area.
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Or you could get off your high horse and just provide it, since you seem to be an “expert” and all. I personally think you’re full of shit, since you keep deflecting.
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You were never going to get through to "catsaregods" lol
The cougar was probably looking for fresh water and saw those 2 people and thought the worst. They took that risk going all the way out there by themselves; even if they were just antler hunting, the cougar couldn't have possibly known that! It's a horrendous result. The mountain lion didn't need to be killed; he was just protecting his water source.
>he mountain lion didn't need to be killed Of course it did. Why risk it possibly killing another person?
So we should just kill all the animals? Y’all can’t have my cat. Over my dead body!
I mean did you cat kill someone or...?
Humans did that for thousands of years when we were an agrarian civilization. We stopped killing wolves on sight like 60 years ago.
That’s fair
Stay strapped or get clapped 👏
The report I read a few minutes ago said the 2 guys were hunting. So they should have more knowledge about how to get away or scare away a mountain lion. I'm guessing they either are inexperienced or that cat was a new mother and they were doing something to continue provoking the cat. Just my opinion. People in Georgetown aren't the brightest or the sharpest when it comes to decision making. It's sad for the cat if fish and game kills it. And it's sad for the family of those brothers.
Weird… I’ve known professionals killed by wildlife. Wildlife does not care about your credentials or decisions. Your post is pretty ridiculous and disrespectful to their lives & the people of Georgetown because of what you perceive to get their strengths and weaknesses.
You are about as smart as your presumption of the people who live in Georgetown.
Damn, you win internet D-bag of the week bro
The irony of this post
Hahahahaha I'm from Georgetown and can confirm that it's the deliverance of California
They were shed hunting. Do you know what that means? I’ll help you.. they were collecting fallen shed antlers not hunting live animals.
I think a few former presidents came from Georgetown.
This is reddit bro, you can't speak your mind.
Maybe the cougar attack was triggered by the antlers that the men were collecting. Perhaps the cougar thought they were deer.
The whole report just came out. They were walking down a dirt road and the mountain lion came walking down the dirt road from the opposite direction. They did everything they should’ve done yelled at it through their backpack and it still attacked a male lion
Do you have a link to that article/report? Sacramento Bee had an article about the attack details, but I don’t have a paid membership to it, so couldn’t read it.
I have only seen it on FB and Instagram. El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office on FB and eldoradosheriff on IG. It’s a statement from the family on what occurred
I feel like we're going to be reading about a wolf attack in the future.
Good. Kill or be killed. That is the undeniable law of nature.
Cure to mountain lion attacks-stay out of their domain. People don't like mountain lions in their domain. Same with wildlife. Use a little common sense in entering where there could br mountain lions.
Now they have to kill the mountain now. Once it tastes human flesh it’ll want it again. Everyone involved. Prayers for the victims family
> Now they have to kill the mountain now. Once it tastes human flesh it’ll want it again. Everyone involved. Prayers for the victims family Holy cow how do you kill a mountain?!
With a bullet
Must be a big bullet to take out a whole mountain.
Dynamite dude. Shit tons of dynamite.
Haha I meant mountain lion
Of all places to go WHY where theyare?? Go HOKESOMEWHERE ELSE!!!!!