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Jul 14, 2008 11:09 am US/Pacific
Trapper Hired To Find Palo Alto Mountain Lion
PALO ALTO (BCN) ―
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Animal control officers at Palo Alto's Foothills Park following a weekend mountain lion attack.
CBS
A federal trapper was in Palo Alto Monday searching for a mountain lion that attacked a man in Foothills Park around 4 p.m. Saturday, police Agent Dan Ryan said Monday.
There were two mountain lion sightings Saturday, one at the Enid Pearson Arastradero Reserve and one at Foothills Park, where the cougar attacked a man in his 50s, Ryan said.
Wardens from the state Department of Fish and Game came to the region Saturday and brought the trapper in on Sunday.
The trapper is using dogs to trace the scent of the mountain lion and setting baited traps to try and catch the big cat, Ryan said. As of 9 a.m. Monday there had been no sighting of the animal.
The mountain lion will most likely be euthanized if caught, Ryan said. Because the animal attempted to attack a person, it is considered a threat, he said.
The victim who was attacked by the mountain lion is in good condition, Ryan said. He was walking on a trail in the northwest corner of the park when the lion, estimated to be around 5 feet long, jumped on him from behind and caused him to fall about 15 feet down a hill where he collided with a tree.
The mountain lion also lost its balance and tumbled down the hill into a creek, where it ran away from the hiker, Ryan said.
"He was damaged from the fall, and rolling into a tree, but he wasn't scratched or injured by the cat at all," Ryan said of the hiker.
This was the first reported mountain lion attack in Palo Alto, although there have been numerous residential sightings, Ryan said. Anyone who encounters a mountain lion should make loud noises to scare the animal away and try to appear larger in size by waving arms or holding up a jacket.
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