Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Mountain Lion Killed in Berkeley
Environment Anneli Rufus — Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 1:31 PM
Berkeley police located and shot a mountain lion in a Walnut Street front yard early this morning.
"On Tuesday morning 8/31/10 around 0213 hours, The City of Berkeley Police (BPD) and Fire Departments got a call from a community member reporting that there was a mountain lion in the area of Shattuck Avenue and Cedar Street," reads a bulletin from Berkeley Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Mary Kusmiss. “The first caller said that the animal was in the parking lot of the now vacant Elephant Pharmacy building.
"BPD called the Department of Fish and Game requesting their response and obtain guidance as to the Mountain Lion behavior and potential public safety threat.
"BPD Officers went to investigate and when they arrived, the Mountain Lion ran eastbound on Cedar street. The animal then ran southbound on Spruce Street and jumped the fence into the playground area of All Souls Episcopal Church and again jumped the fence into the rear yard of 1612 Spruce Street. BPD contacted the residents of that address sharing the situation and advising them to 'Shelter in Place.' Officers then set up a perimeter around the address.
"A short time later, the animal was spotted running through the western edge on the perimeter onto Oxford Street. BPD officers moved the public safety perimeter west as a result. The animal continued to move west and made its way to Walnut Street. The Mountain Lion was seen going into the rear yard 1634 Walnut Street. The residents of 1634 Walnut Street were contacted by BPD and they offered their residence and rear porch as a place in which to better locate the animal.
"The animal was found in the rear yard of 1634 Walnut Street. BPD Officers with Patrol rifle took two shots at the Mountain Lion. The Mountain Lion came towards them and continued into the driveway of the house directly north, 1630 Walnut Street, where it was dispatched by an officer with a patrol shotgun at approximately 3:26 a.m.
"A Warden from Fish & Game who arrived, assessed the Mountain Lion as a 90/100 lbs female and removed the body for examination and disposal. BPD contacted residents adjacent to the event location and ensured there was no damage to any property.
"Despite the sensitive nature of this event, we feel confident about the actions taken by the BPD Officers considering the totality of the events, when considering the densely populated area in which the animal was in, the homeless that sleep in the area, the overnight employees who clean businesses and the like, the adjacent schools and the northern Shattuck corridor. BPD believed that this Mountain Lion posed a significant public safety threat. BPD officers who have to dispatch animals find it challenging, but it is part of our duty to protect the community."
Comments (15)
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Have any of you bloggers ever heard of mountain lion attacks on humans? Yes, it does happen. And second question, do any of you bloggers eat meat, poultry, fish....or wear leather shoes/purse, etc.? Never mind, "they were here before we were!" How would you like it if your child or grandchild was attacked by one of these animals? Would you say tranquilize it and bring it back into the woods? And pet it and say "awww, the poor thing, it mauled and killed my family, ahhhh, awwwww".....yikes, what a weird group....
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OH how deeply sad. I remember vividly when the Palo Alto PD shot that poor young male out of the tree. It was filmed for all the world to see : http://www.ktvu.com/news/3314255/detail.ht… It was disturbing and heartbreaking. The kids in that neighborhood were very upset about the shooting... and the crazy adults told them "They did it to protect you." Which totally confused the kids. It did not make sense to them to have a beautiful living creature violently shot on their behalf.
As the more "intelligent" species we seem to think we are, it's up to US to be creative and learn to adapt to living in Mt Lion Country ! After all, we ARE in THEIR Territory... They were here FIRST. WE are the intruders.
With all those homeless starving suffering human beings on those streets of berkley I would have killed that cat on sheer principle as a means to feed the poor
In 2004, Palo Alto police shot a cougar in a residential neighborhood far from the hills where the animals typically live. Two years later, a Fish and Game warden shot a cougar that had wandered into a Pleasanton condominium complex.
Berkeley police called Fish and Game early Tuesday, Foy said, but wardens weren't able to get there before the animal was shot.
Police on their own
Wardens have a large area to cover and it can take them a while to arrive, so local police are often on their own, Foy said.
"In the case of this mountain lion that showed up in an area that was completely unnatural for that lion to be there, hopping from one backyard to the next, running through the church playground and the parking lot, it's a threat to public safety," Foy said. "We're very supportive of Berkeley PD's action."
Game wardens have some of the same problems as local police in dealing with a large animal, Foy said.
"We have some tools that are available that most police departments don't have," Foy said, "but they're not as accessible as you might think. Our wardens don't generally carry dart guns around or large nets or that kind of thing for wildlife captures."
Fish and Game officials add that tranquilizer guns don't always have the desired effect of bringing a big cat down. Tranquilizers don't take effect for up to 30 minutes, during which the animal can continue to roam and pose a threat to people, officials say.
MAYBE THEY SHOULD CARRY DART GUNS AND NETS, AND USE A LARGER DOSE YOU DEAD BEATS IF THAT IS WHAT IS NECESSARY.
The article states that the Berkeley Police contacted the Department of Fish and Game. Obviously, the DFG had someone on duty and this person should have taken responsibility for having the cat tranquilized. I don't expect the BPD to have the skills or equipment to tranquilize a cat but the DFG should. An incident like this took place a year or two ago in Sunnyvale (or somewhere close by) with the same result. Maybe Police should be trained in how to tranquilize these cats. It's becoming a regular problem.
There's goes a chance to reduce the deer population. I lived off Alvarado St. for years, and suffered a different kind of depredation - deer chomping my garden, I often prayed for a puma or a wolf to start thinning the herd around there.
I do regret the killing of the puma, it's a judgement call, not having been there, and not knowing the animal control resources available at that time, I wouldn't be so quick to condemn. This incident should be a wake up call to develop a planned win win response (puma lives, humans/pets live) next time this happens.
It will happen again, deer are a major prey and mountain lions have been spotted in the Contra Costa hills for at least 7 years. Let the death of this one female mountain lion move us to prepare to better deal with the next mountain lion sighting. Go Big Cats!
Creeps. Shame on Berkeley and I hope the city punishes the perps and doesn't buy their bogus rationale.
If the cops were able to follow the animal for so long they could have called for more help to tranquilize the poor animal. Shame on BPD. Looks like they needed a hunting event for the night while there were so many other things in Berkeley needing attention at 2am. Like.. theft, drugs, and so on.
Remember, before this was Berkeley it was all mountain lions land.
I agree that it should have been tranquilized. The entire town of Berkeley (I live in Chicago now) has always been seemingly in bed or off the streets by 9:30 pm and especally at 2:00 am...I've driven home in the wee hours up to my former home on Keith Ave and there was nary a soul...mostly the mountain mist and the woeful deer lingering on the winding and craggy roads....
Sorry, but I disagree with getreal. There are plenty of people in this area at 2-3-4am and that animal's behavior could not be predicted. It is sad and I feel badly for the animal, but BPD did what they had to do under the circumstances.
If the mountain lion was roaming around a residential neighborhood then it was a threat. It would have been nice to capture it and relocate it but that is not always possible. The situation was assessed and the necessary action was taken. I have been a life long resident of Berkeley and my experience with BPD has always been positive (although this can't be said for all local police depts.). I live in that neighborhood with 2 small children and applaud the police for keeping the neighborhood safe. It is a shame the animal had to die but wild animals (large predatory), are unpredictable, especially around densely populations of people. Thank you BPD for doing what was necessary.
Unfortunately, there were no Animal Control resources available at that time....I don't know about you, but I really, really wouldn't want to run into a mountain lion while taking out the trash some morning. A mountain lion in the city is very much a threat, to pets and people. And especially if daybreaks and you have traffic and people out and about, all of which can disorient and/or antagonize the cat.
Sorry, as much as one might like wildlife, all indications are that this was an appropriate response to the situation, despite the unfortunate outcome.
The police say it was a security threat at 2:13 in the morning? Let's be real. School is not in. Most businesses close at 8PM in this town, let alone having people around at 2 in the morning. Exactly how was this a public security threat at this hour? The police department's statement is thin and unsubstantiated. The should have tranquilized it. Not killed it. Shame on Berkeley Police!
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