The Bay Area is a cradle of environmentalism and a region with a rich trove of health and medical research and resources. In this blog, we’ll report on the deepening understanding of how the places we inhabit and the lifestyles we adopt contribute to our own health and the health of our communities.
The mountain lion was seen in the backyard of a home in the 200 block of 42nd Avenue at about 9 p.m., officials said.
The witness reportedly scared off the big cat by making a lot of noise.
The cougar-sighting follows an puma incident Tuesday morning in Los Altos when a dog chased a mountain lion up a tree. NBC Bay Area has excellent video of the treed big cat here. Both the dog and the mountain lion escaped unharmed.
Hunting mountain lions in California has been illegal since 1990. Since last week, California's top wildlife official has been taking heat for posing for a photo with the corpse of a mountain lion that he shot in Idaho, where hunting the big cats is legal. The gory game photo is here.
Residents who see a mountain lion are advised to never approach the animal.
Anyone who encounters a mountain lion should face the animal, make noise and try to appear larger by waving one's arms and throwing rocks, emergency officials said.
More information about mountain lions is available at this Web site.
© The Bay Citizen, 2012
