SAN MARCOS: Mountain lion sighting prompts warnings at Cal State San Marcos

By SARAH GORDON - Staff Writer | Wednesday, September 24, 2008 6:59 PM PDT ∞

SAN MARCOS ---- Campus police at Cal State San Marcos sent an e-mail Wednesday warning the campus community that a mountain lion had been spotted, officials said.

University spokeswoman Margaret Lutz said that a custodian saw the mountain lion about 1 a.m. Wednesday in Parking Lot K, which backs up against Barham Drive on the southeast end of the campus. The worker saw the animal only briefly before it left the area, she said.

There also have been a handful of sightings in nearby Elfin Forest.

Lutz said it was the first time a cougar has been spotted on campus since December, when multiple sightings prompted California Department of Fish and Game wardens to set traps in an unsuccessful attempt to capture the animal.

The campus contacted the Department of Fish and Game on Wednesday to report the sighting and seek assistance, Lutz said.

Harry Morse, a spokesman for the Department of Fish and Game, said the next step depends on whether anyone sees evidence of the animal again. The solitary cats have a large range and tend to hunt in a location for a period of days or months before moving on in search of new food sources, he said.

"If it wanders through, that is not a public safety issue," Morse said. "But if it hangs around or exhibits any kind of stalking behavior, that heightens our concern."

As a precaution, people should avoid walking alone on campus at night, campus police warned faculty, staff and students in its Wednesday e-mail.

If people do encounter a mountain lion, they should not run away. Instead, they should try to appear as large as possible, keep eye contact, wave their arms and make noise, the warning said. Running may trigger the animal's instinct to chase.

California is home to between 4,000 and 6,000 mountain lions, according to the Department of Fish and Game.

Deer comprise the bulk of their diet, but they also eat smaller animals like rabbits and coyotes and occasionally livestock and pets. On rare occasions, they attack people.

There have been 16 verified mountain lion attacks in California since 1890, six of them fatal, according to the Department of Fish and Game.

In Elfin Forest, the rural community that lies to the southeast of Cal State San Marcos, eight residents have reported seeing a mountain lion over the last five months, said Karen Gardner, who edits a newsletter and maintains an e-mail list for the community. She said the animals were generally spotted at night near Escondido Creek.

Morse confirmed that residents in the areas around Cal State San Marcos had reported mountain lion sightings to the department, not surprising given the animal's transient nature and availability of prey in the area, he said.

He dismissed the supposition of some Elfin Forrest residents that the 2007 wildfires had pushed the animals into their neighborhood.

"We get calls about mountain lions on a weekly basis," he said, referring to the calls the department fields from wide swaths of the state. "People are seeing them, but whether you're going to see them again next week, a year for now or never again, who knows."

Contact staff writer Sarah Gordon at (760) 740-3517 or sgordon@nctimes.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.