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California park closed after hiker claims mountain lion attack
A man's report that a mountain lion attacked him Wednesday when he tried to pet one of the cougar's cubs led to the closure of Southern California's Limestone Canyon and Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park and the temporary lockdown of a nearby elementary school.
- By Mike Anton and My-Thuan Tran, - Los Angeles Times-Washington PostNews Service
- Published: 23:59 August 7, 2008
Los Angeles: A man's report that a mountain lion attacked him Wednesday when he tried to pet one of the cougar's cubs led to the closure of Southern California's Limestone Canyon and Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park and the temporary lockdown of a nearby elementary school.
But after scouring the area for several hours, state Fish and Game officials called off the search for the lions because they found no evidence - raising suspicions among authorities about whether the attack took place.
Authorities are investigating the report by Kevin Lassiter, 47, of Foothill Ranch, California, and are consulting with experts to determine whether the scratches on his arm were really made by a mountain lion.
"We are not saying it didn't happen," said Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino.
"But according to Fish and Game, it is an unconfirmed incident."
He added there have been recent sightings of cougar cubs in the area.
Not advisable
If Wednesday's incident is verified, "what he did is not an advisable thing to do," Amormino said. "He can consider himself an extremely lucky man."
After Lassiter was treated at a hospital, Amormino spotted him lying in some bushes behind a department store near the park. Paramedics were called and treated Lassiter, who complained of feeling faint because of low blood sugar.
Although mountain lions that have contact with humans "are generally put down," Amormino said cougars that attack when provoked are behaving naturally and aren't considered an immediate danger.
"Our No 1 priority is public safety," he said. "But even if the mountain lion incident did happen the way the man says it happened, that lion is not a danger to the public."
Signs throughout the park warn that mountain lions live in the foothill wilderness. In 2004, a mountain biker was killed and another severely injured by a cougar in Whiting Ranch. The death of Mark Reynolds, 35, of Foothill Ranch, was the first in Orange County history.
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