Mountain lion snatches Leander boy in Big Bend; child survives

[roo_ster]

http://www.statesman.com/news/williamson/mountain-lion-snatches-leander-boy-in-big-bend-2157840.html#.TzKP54_ueZk.email

Taking all the recommended precautions wasn't enough to keep a mountain lion from snatching a 6-year-old Leander boy from his mother's hand and clamping its jaws on his face at Big Bend National Park on Sunday night.

...

The lion dragged Rivers Hobbs into a bush next to the walkway, Harris said. Jason Hobbs jumped on top of the lion and was hitting it while Harris gripped its hind legs; Hobbs eventually stabbed the lion's chest with his pocketknife, Harris said.

We (wife & kids) have camped & canoed at Big Bend.  I was armed the entire time, thanks.

Kudos to Dad.

[LadySmith]

Whoa, they weren't even in the wilderness when the attack occurred! 
Indeed, kudos to Dad...

We (wife & kids) have camped & canoed at Big Bend.  I was armed the entire time, thanks.

...and kudos to you.

[Jamisjockey]

Bad kitty!

Read on another forum there have been several recent incidents at big bend this year.  Last year was a severe drought, so I'd bet there is a shortage of kitty food this year.

[gunsmith]

Whoa, they weren't even in the wilderness when the attack occurred! 
Indeed, kudos to Dad...

...and kudos to you.

IMO lions are more dangerous in suburban areas where they are less likely to be shot at and where there is tons of deer that do not get hunted.
IMO lions lose there fear of humans in suburban areas.

Having lots of deer around is like having birdseed around, you'll get birds you like and ones you don't, deer are lion birdseed

[Boomhauer]

You aren't always at the top of the food chain, that's for sure.

Whoa, they weren't even in the wilderness when the attack occurred!

The NPS also doesn't take the steps to secure food attractions from wildlife that we do. Hence wildlife is going to be attracted to areas with such things as trashcans/dumpsters. And where there are trashcans and dumpsters there are people.

[roo_ster]

You aren't always at the top of the food chain, that's for sure.

The NPS also doesn't take the steps to secure food attractions from wildlife that we do. Hence wildlife is going to be attracted to areas with such things as trashcans/dumpsters. And where there are trashcans and dumpsters there are people.

IIRC, all BBNP's trash bins are the "bear proof" kind.  The established camp sites have bear proof metal cabinets for food, too.

The black bear & mountain lion population therebout's has increased something close to 10x over 10 years.

This won't keep us from going back to BBNP, but it may provoke SWMBO to re-up her CCL.

[wmenorr67]

Good for dad and glad the child is going to be ok.  Just too bad that they couldn't have killed the lion so as to test for rabies.  Going to suck for the child to go through the rabies regime.

[KD5NRH]

IIRC, all BBNP's trash bins are the "bear proof" kind.  The established camp sites have bear proof metal cabinets for food, too.

Haven't been there in years, but I seem to remember them giving some advice regarding animal-proofing food storage.  I'd love to get back there sometime.

[Boomhauer]

IIRC, all BBNP's trash bins are the "bear proof" kind.  The established camp sites have bear proof metal cabinets for food, too.

Yes, I know about the "bear proof" containers. The bears still smell food. They still have people feeding them. They still have a high population density of bears. We fix those issues with a common sense approach.

Our way? No trash cans inside or outside...pack it in, pack it out. I was very skeptical when I started working at this park...but it works. We actually have much less litter than we had back when we had trashcans. We fine anyone caught feeding wildlife. We also have bear hunting areas and seasons that keep the population density down and keep them afraid of humans. If you are camping, you hang your food away from your site and do your dishes away from your site.

These methods keep our bear population at the proper level (we still have about 300 bears in my park) and bears away from humans. We haven't had any problems. Certainly not like the NPS parks. We don't have to shoot bears like the NPS does. We don't have attacks.

 

[Boomhauer]

suck for the child to go through the rabies regime.

Hey, at least they don't give the shots through the stomach these days.

[Jocassee]

(we still have about 300 bears in my park)

 

That seems like a lot of bears for a park that size. Any idea on the total number in upstate SC?

[Boomhauer]

That seems like a lot of bears for a park that size. Any idea on the total number in upstate SC?

Jocassee, I don't know if you realize it, but we are about 12,000 acres in size. So that's 1 bear per 40 acres.

The bears also don't stay strictly on the park boundries. They roam a bit (but not that far, as far as we know)

When I get back to work, I'll try to remember to ask our naturalist.

[MillCreek]

So, what caliber for mountain lion?  Will my typical wilderness load of .357 158 grain SWC be enough?  I like the SWC in the woods for penetration more than the JHP that I carry in town.

[Boomhauer]

So, what caliber for mountain lion?  Will my typical wilderness load of .357 158 grain SWC be enough?  I like the SWC in the woods for penetration more than the JHP that I carry in town.

Honestly that'll probably be just fine

[Tallpine]

about 12,000 acres in size

A small ranch in Montana 

[Boomhauer]

A small ranch in Montana 

Your state is twice as big as mine.

Plus much different terrain.

[Tallpine]

Your state is twice as big as mine.

Plus much different terrain.

Takes 40 acres to feed a cow :(

[roo_ster]

So, what caliber for mountain lion?  Will my typical wilderness load of .357 158 grain SWC be enough?  I like the SWC in the woods for penetration more than the JHP that I carry in town.

Yes.  Cats are thin-skinned and almost always less than 200lbs.  I was fine with my wife's 9mm 1911.  Your load would tear through one.  Your load would likely be good enough for the black bears, too.

[Jamisjockey]

So, what caliber for mountain lion?  Will my typical wilderness load of .357 158 grain SWC be enough?  I like the SWC in the woods for penetration more than the JHP that I carry in town.

Compare animals to humans, except animals don't get hopped up on PCP or Crack.

Like Rooster said, pumas rarely exceed 200 pounds.  SWC is a good choice, as you may have to shoot one in the nugget when its crouched and looking at you like Rosie 'O eyes a big mac.  People have all our vitals up front, which is why HP ammo works better on us.

[wmenorr67]

Compare animals to humans, except animals don't get hopped up on PCP or Crack.

Like Rooster said, pumas rarely exceed 200 pounds.  SWC is a good choice, as you may have to shoot one in the nugget when its crouched and looking at you like Rosie 'O eyes a big mac.  People have all our vitals up front, which is why HP ammo works better on us.

Don't think anyone or anything can look at anything like Rosie eye's a Big Mac, except Michael Moore.

[Jamisjockey]

Don't think anyone or anything can look at anything like Rosie eye's a Big Mac, except Michael Moore.

If I was between Rosie and a big mac, or facing down a starving mountain lion....I'd rather take my chances with the cat.

[wmenorr67]

^^^QFT  +1

[MillCreek]

Yes.  Cats are thin-skinned and almost always less than 200lbs.  I was fine with my wife's 9mm 1911.  Your load would tear through one.  Your load would likely be good enough for the black bears, too.

And it is really the black bears that are the only predator of note in the damp areas of the PNW where I do most of my outdoor activities, and those are what I load for.  Although to my chagrin, with 40+ years of hiking, biking, XC skiing and snowshoeing up here, I have never seen a bear.  Although twice we did see some fresh tracks in the mud of the trail.  It was pretty impressive seeing the impression of the claws and their size compared to the rest of the paw.