Mountain lions terrorize California neighborhood, pet safety concerns rise

A community in Southern California is reporting an increase in mountain lion sightings, prompting rising concerns about household pets.

The latest sightings of baby cougars in Thousand Oaks come after a young man died following a mountain lion attack further north in El Dorado County back in March.

Speaking to local news outlet KTLA, residents said that the baby mountain lion was hungry and clearly searching for food as it prowled around their front yards, with footage captured on doorbell cameras showing a cat being chased.

“It wasn’t full size, so we had to re-look at it and zoom into it and stuff and then we realized, ‘Oh my God, it’s a baby mountain lion,’” Mark McGee told the outlet.

Those in the neighborhood said they had some concerns about safety.

Further north a few weeks prior in March, a 21-year-old man died after being attacked in Georgetown, making it the first mountain lion fatality in California in 20 years.

His 18-year-old brother called emergency services when the attack began, with sheriff’s deputies scaring the animal away with a firearm. It was too late to save the man, however.

Following the incident, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said that human encounters were uncommon, but can happen.

“First and foremost, our hearts go out to the families and loved ones affected by this tragic incident. Our thoughts are with them during this difficult time,” CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham said at the time.

The last reported non-fatal attack in the Santa Monica Mountains was in August 2021, involving a 5-year-old boy.

Residents of Thousand Oaks explained that mountain lion sightings were unheard of until a few years ago.

“We’ve been here since 1987,” Esther O’Connor also told KTLA. “Basically, the only wildlife we’ve ever seen, up until I would say a couple of years ago, were birds and squirrels and racoons, but never a mountain lion.”

Newsweek reached out to the National Parks Service for further comment on the movements of the animals in and around the Santa Monica Mountains.

On its website, NPS says that the park is home to a “stable” population of mountain lions, with Los Angeles being one of only two megacities in the world – the other being Mumbai, India – to have a big cat population.

It’s estimated that at any one time, there are between 10 and 15 adults living in the park, with cub numbers unknown.

The City of Thousand Oaks advises locals to not approach a lion or run from one. Instead, they are urged to stand and face the animal and make eye contact if possible, while making themselves appear as large as possible while giving the lions space to escape or leave.

Newsweek reached out to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.