http://www.rgj.com/article/20090419/NEWS/90419014/0/%5CIn California, 16 mountain lion attacks on people were recorded between 1890 and 2007, six of them fatal. The closest to occur near Reno happened in 1994, when a woman jogger was fatally mauled in the Sierra foothills of El Dorado County.
Coss examined cougar attacks on 185 people in the U.S. and Canada between 1890 and 2000. His goal was to identify what kinds of activities people were doing during an attack and how those activities were linked to severity of their injuries.
Such information becomes increasingly important as more people move into lion habitat, increasing likelihood of encounters with the potentially deadly predators, Coss said.
Among the study’s conclusions were that chances of a person being killed or injured by a lion are dramatically increased if they are separated from a group. And individuals who remained stationary during an attack were “much more likely to be injured severely,” the study said.
But running might not always be a good idea, Coss said. He said it would likely produce the best results when a person is in a flat area that allows them to run in a sure-footed fashion. That could allow them to move gracefully away as do deer when near a lion, which is a “major discouragement” to attack, Coss said.
“Deer do a very graceful, high-stepping walk, almost like a ballet,” Coss said. “I think that’s done in such a way as to suggest to a mountain lion that, ‘I’m in good health.’”
But a person running in a rocky, muddy or snowy area could be forced to “wobble,” appearing as promising prey to a cougar.
“You’re not going to be moving in a graceful manner. It makes you look vulnerable to them,” Coss said.
Coss said he is not recommending wildlife agencies change their advice to people encountering lions based on his research. Harry Morse, spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game, said his agency has no intention of doing so.
“At this time, we’re not advocating any changes based on the information that’s been released,” Morse said. “We stand by our recommendation. Stand your ground, make yourself look big and don’t run.”
