A college student reading a book on a bench in a Humboldt County, California bench saw movement in the corner of her eye and when she looked up she locked eyes with a lingering mountain lion. The following encounter occurred in Arcata Community Forest at the junction of Trail #6:
“She had been sitting on the green bench, reading went out of the corner of her eye. She saw what she thought was a dog approaching. She had the presence of mind to turn on her camera and seconds later to stand up and fully reveal how big she could be and as you can see the lion trundled off down the trail.”
The student did the right thing by standing up and presenting herself as a human which in many cases is enough to deter a curious mountain lion. Mountain lion attacks in California are exceeding rare with roughly two dozen verified attacks on humans in the past 40 years despite an estimated population between 3,200 to 4,500 lions. Learn more about how to stay safe in mountain lion country below.
National Park Service Mountain Lion Safety Guidelines:
- Do not jog or hike alone. Go in groups with adults supervising children.
- Keep children close to you. Do not allow children to play along river banks, in heavy vegetation, or alone at dawn or dusk. When hiking with children, watch them closely and never let them run ahead of you. Observations of captured wild mountain lions reveal that the animals seem especially drawn to children.
If you encounter a lion, remember the goals are to convince it that you are not prey and that you may be dangerous. Follow these safety tips:
- Do not approach a lion. Most mountain lions will try to avoid a confrontation. Give them a way to escape.
- Do not run from a lion. Running may stimulate a mountain lion’s instinct to chase. Instead, stand and face the animal. Make eye contact. If you have small children with you, pick them up if possible so that they don’t panic and run. Although it may be awkward, pick them up without bending over or turning away from the mountain lion.
- Do not crouch down or bend over. A human standing up is just not the right shape for a lion’s prey. Conversely, a person squatting or bending over resembles a four-legged prey animal. In mountain lion country, avoid squatting, crouching or bending over, even when picking up children.
- Do all you can to appear larger. Raise your arms. Open your jacket if you are wearing one. Again, pick up small children. Throw stones, branches, or whatever you can reach without crouching or turning your back. Wave your arms slowly and speak firmly in a loud voice. The idea is to convince the mountain lion that you are not prey and that you may be a danger to it.
- Fight back if attacked. A hiker in southern California used a rock to fend off a mountain lion that was attacking his son. Others have fought back successfully with sticks, caps, jackets, garden tools and their bare hands. Since a mountain lion usually tries to bite the head or neck, try to remain standing and face the attacking animal.
About Arcata Community Forest:
A redwood forest just blocks from downtown Arcata.
Arcata’s Community Forest is comprised of approximately 790 acres of woodland recreation, with an exceptional network of developed trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding (check the trail maps to determine which trails are open to bikes and horses). Trail Maps are available at the parking lots.
A number of bridges, stairways and corduroy roads allow the trails to cross steep ravines and traverse forested hillsides. Elevations range from 250 feet at Redwood Park to 1010 feet at the eastern most boundary near the Long Loop Trail #17. This intensively managed forest, combined with developed trails, has an overall effect of a magical, manicured parkland.
Redwood Park is adjacent to the Community Forest and offers trail access into the forest. The Park has a playground, picnic areas and restrooms as well as public meeting spaces.
The Forest Guild, a national organization of professional foresters has declared: The City of Arcata’s combined Arcata Community and Jacoby Creek forests as a “Model Forest,” the guild’s top designation for excellent forestry in the United States. Arcata’s forests are now one of 20 in the country, which share the title, including Pioneer Forest in Missouri, Tree Shepherd Woods in Washington state, and Baxter State Park’s Scientific Forest Management Area in Maine among other Forest Guild Model Forests across the United States.
