("Never work with animals or children" - W. C. Fields)
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Alley Cat
I recently read a short news article about some residents in La Crescenta, CA who had seen two mountain lions sauntering down their suburban street. With some scoffing, I thought "When will these city dwellers ever learn? I know we all love a good story, but you just don't look out your front window and watch mountain lions hanging out together in subdivisions!" Sure they were misrepresenting a couple of coyotes or bobcats, I still sent the article to my friend Matt, figuring he would get a good scoff out of it, too.
Matt said "I know the hiking trails around there - let's go put your cameras up and see what we get!"
And so, with apologies to the residents of the Verdugo foothill communities, (and some delicious humble pie) I give you:
The Verdugo "Mountains", if you can scoffingly call them that, make up an area of about 14 (count 'em) square miles. Ringed with houses and freeways, entertaining hundreds of hikers and mountain bikers daily, and host to a few radio towers, one would think it could never support much wildlife. Certainly not a large predator. Absolutely not TWO large predators.
One would be wrong, again.
When setting up the cameras, we followed this parallel set of tracks for over half a mile. Two individuals currently reside here! We think they are Station Fire refugees. Hopefully they can tolerate each other long enough for one of them to be able to return to suitable, recovered hunting grounds in the San Gabriels.
The area is home to several bobcats as well.
Matt said "I know the hiking trails around there - let's go put your cameras up and see what we get!"
And so, with apologies to the residents of the Verdugo foothill communities, (and some delicious humble pie) I give you:
The Verdugo "Mountains", if you can scoffingly call them that, make up an area of about 14 (count 'em) square miles. Ringed with houses and freeways, entertaining hundreds of hikers and mountain bikers daily, and host to a few radio towers, one would think it could never support much wildlife. Certainly not a large predator. Absolutely not TWO large predators.
One would be wrong, again.
When setting up the cameras, we followed this parallel set of tracks for over half a mile. Two individuals currently reside here! We think they are Station Fire refugees. Hopefully they can tolerate each other long enough for one of them to be able to return to suitable, recovered hunting grounds in the San Gabriels.
The area is home to several bobcats as well.
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