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» Hatrack River Forum » Active Forums » Books, Films, Food and Culture » 65-year-old woman fights off mountain lion who attacks her husband

   
Author Topic: 65-year-old woman fights off mountain lion who attacks her husband
katharina
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http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/25/mountain.lion.ap/index.html

This, I love. I hope I could do the same thing under similar circumstances.

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Omega M.
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Me too. I hope I can marry a woman like that.
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Farmgirl
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that is a very cool story. He is very fortunate to be alive.

FG

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Jim-Me
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good Lord. Much courage this one has.
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Noemon
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Mountain lions have recolonized the area of Kansas where I grew up (and where my parents still live). The state hasn't officially recognized that this is the case, but the signs of it, from finding scat to sightings to a dog mauled in ways consistent with cougar attack to a half eaten sheep carcass having been found in a tree, are unmistakable.

Given that, and given that my parents like to go on walks at the crack of dawn, I've done some reasearch on the best ways to respond to and prevent mountain lion attacks. It's all pretty much common sense stuff, but what I've found is that the best way to get rid of a cougar is to scare it. Make yourself look as big as possible. If you're carrying an umbrella, open it. Make a lot of noise. Pelt it with rocks. If there is a big stick nearby, wave it around. Be aggressive. Whatever you do, don't run.

At my urging, my parents now carry air horns when they go on walks. I've been trying to get them to do so for years, ever since their neighbor's dog was mauled, but it was only when the sheep carcass was found in the tree that they really started taking it seriously.

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Dan_raven
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This reminds me of a conversation I hade on a trip to Alaska. The guide on our hike, "Now the rumor is that if you make a lot of noise while walking, you'll scare away the dangerous bears. That's why you'll find people in town selling those wrist/jingle bell bracelettes. I gotta tell you those things do work. Why just last week we found a big old grizzly bear had choked himself to death on one of them. As soon as we find out who's missin the hand that it was on, we'll return it to em right away."

A few days later, as we were on an official "horse ride" the guide was asked, "Should we be afraid of bears?"

"Nah," she said. "Why, last time a bear came around the stables one of the horses broke free and chased it for a few hours, until the horse got bored."

"Which horse was that?" my wife asked.

The guide pointed to mine, which I was in the middle of trying to convince not to run off, whith me on it, to the river for a drink. "He's the stubbornist, trickiest, and meanest one in town."

"And the horse isn't much better." my wife added under her breath.

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Storm Saxon
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Zing!
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Tinros
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This bothers me:

quote:
After the attack, game wardens closed the park and released hounds to track the lion. They later shot and killed two lions found near the trail where the attack happened.

The carcasses were flown to a state forensics lab to determine if either animal had mauled the man.

I can understand using a tranquilizer gun, until they run tests to determine whether or not either of those lions mauled the man. But shooting and killing two lions? At least one of them didn't harm him, possibly both. A good scientist doesn't need the animal dead in order to determine whether the blood around it's mouth was human or not.

It's the same kind of prejudice people have about wolves- one rotten apple spoils the bunch. And while I agree that the specific animal that mauls a human should be put down, I find it disgusting that the entire species would be targeted for one animal's action. If we punished all humans for the crimes of one murderer, where would we be?

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Ron Lambert
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Tinros, next you'll want us to put them on trial. Animals do communicate, and even teach each other by example. If one mountain lion freely attacks humans, that may be a behavior shared by others of its kind that it associates with, especially if they frequently hunt in pairs.

The forest rangers did not target the whole species, they only killed two, who were in the vicinity of the attack.

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JennaDean
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This is one really cool woman. You do what you have to do, I guess. I'm impressed.

This was surprising:
quote:
Jim and Nell Hamm, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next month,
They got married when he was 20 and she was 15????? Wow.
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Tinros
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It MAY be a shared behavior. And the people who are associated with murderers MAY be murderers themselves. DOes this mean we should freely accuse Eminem's daughter for drug addiction, because her father had a drug addiction? No. That's why I say use a tranquilizer- if no evidence whatsoever is found that the animal attacked a human, then let it go, or place it in a zoo or wildlife preserve. But killing animals simply because they're in the wrong place at the wrong time? That's jsut wrong.
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rivka
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Mountain lions are a big problem in several parts of California. In those areas, killing them when they are found in human-inhabited areas is encouraged. Given that I consider human life more precious than animal (yes, I am a specieist) I have no problem with that.

It's a great story, and the woman is amazing. But did anyone else do the math and figure out their ages when they got married?

[edit: *laugh* Guess so!]

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The Pixiest
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Getting married at 15 wasn't unheard of in the 50s.
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BlackBlade
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Before saying this let me just say I COMPLETELY empathize and agree with the womans actions in this instance and any instance where a mountain lion attempts to eat a human being.

I guess there are things to nit pick about when it comes to anything that happens, but 2 things.

1: Mountain Lions have been mercilessly killed and have reached a point where there just are not that many of them left. If people want to press into their territory they have to accept the risks of living amongst them.

2: From the article
quote:
They later shot and killed two lions found near the trail where the attack happened.
This absolutely unacceptable to me. 2 deaths for one attack? Why did they even kill the mountain lions, why not tranquilize them and move them? Usually a mountain lion attacks a human being because it is injured, sick, or too old to hunt traditional game. One of the lions they killed was completely guiltless of any wrong doing and yet they killed it.

Maybe its a soft spot I have for cougars but park services are notorious for doing so much damage to the very animals they are supposed to have a stewardship over.

But back to the topic, I applaud the woman's bravery. It was most fortunate she was able to locate an efficient weapon that she could use to adequately deter the cougar from continuing its attack.

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BlackBlade
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quote:
Originally posted by The Pixiest:
Getting married at 15 wasn't unheard of in the 50s.

True Story, my own grandparents were secretly engaged when my grandfather and grandmother were 15 and 14 respectively. They were married when they were 18 and 17 respectively. It was an interesting world back then [Smile]
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Boon
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My grandparents will celebrate their 70th Anniversary this year. When they married, Grandpa was 18 and Grandma was 16. They courted for a year before they married. Grandpa would get off work and then walk 6 miles to her house, go for walks and stuff, then walk the eight miles back home. Eventually, he bought a bicycle. [Smile]
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ketchupqueen
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quote:
a dog mauled in ways consistent with cougar attack to a half eaten sheep carcass having been found in a tree, are unmistakable.

Unless you have ALIENS in the area! Someone call Agent Mulder! [Angst]

(Then call me, 'cause he's hawt. [Big Grin] )

quote:
Mountain lions are a big problem in several parts of California. In those areas, killing them when they are found in human-inhabited areas is encouraged. Given that I consider human life more precious than animal (yes, I am a specieist) I have no problem with that.
They're a big problem where my mom lives, but killing them is not encouraged there. In fact, unless it is proved (okay, not proved, but it's pretty well established) that they have attacked a human or begun preying on pets (once they find out how easy it is some of them will come back regularly), or they become too violent to be tranqed or tranqs are ineffective during capture, they are not killed right away. They are taken for observation. If they're sick and can't be treated, they are put down, but generally if possible they are either relocated to a remote area or, if necessary, taken to an animal rescue facility (such as the Wildlife Waystation, although I am not sure if they specifically are still accepting new animals since their funding got cut.)
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