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"Brave little dog"
Big Bear the Corgi fought off a mountain lion in Nevada County, but succumbed to his injuries.
Protect your family and your pets
• Keep pets secure either inside or in an enclosed pen.
Mountain lions tend to hunt at dawn and dusk.
• Do not leave pet food outside — it can attract mountain lion prey such as raccoons.
• Keep children close, especially at dawn and dusk.
• Do not approach mountain lions.
• Do not run from mountain lions. Running stimulates a lion’s instinct to chase.
• Appear larger than the animal. Raise arms, throw stones and branches.
• Fight back if attacked. Don’t act like prey.
• Never hike alone.
Source: Kyle Orr, California Department of Fish and Game
Mountain lions tend to hunt at dawn and dusk.
• Do not leave pet food outside — it can attract mountain lion prey such as raccoons.
• Keep children close, especially at dawn and dusk.
• Do not approach mountain lions.
• Do not run from mountain lions. Running stimulates a lion’s instinct to chase.
• Appear larger than the animal. Raise arms, throw stones and branches.
• Fight back if attacked. Don’t act like prey.
• Never hike alone.
Source: Kyle Orr, California Department of Fish and Game
A Rough and Ready couple is mourning the loss of their 4-year-old Corgi, Big Bear, who died this week after he was attacked by a mountain lion.
While attacks on humans are rare, pets and livestock make common prey for mountain lions, who are opportunistic hunters, said Kyle Orr, spokesman for the Sacramento division of the California Department of Fish and Game.
In 2007, seven depredation permits were issued in Nevada County to people who wanted to kill a mountain lion they considered dangerous. With those permits, two mountain lions were killed, Orr said.
In recent years, a mountain lion has been spotted near Nevada City’s Pioneer Park, in Grass Valley on East Main Street and in Morgan Ranch. More frequent sightings have occurred in the gated community of Lake Wildwood, where deer are plentiful.
The morning Big Bear went outside to relieve himself in the shrubbery and play with the neighbor dogs was just like any other, said owner Ken Malott.
When he returned home, it was apparent there was something wrong. He was bleeding from four large puncture wounds on his neck.
“He had a strong heart. He knew he was hurting and he had to go home,” said Malott, who estimates the little Corgi dragged himself an eighth of a mile home from where he was attacked.
After driving to a veterinarian in Loomis, the closest 24-hour facility, it was discovered that Big Bear’s injuries were caused by something wilder than another dog.
“They looked at the fang marks and said, ‘That’s not a canine bite. That’s a cat bite,’” Malott said.
That night, Malott and his fiancé, Anna Olrich, could hear the screams of a mountain lion.
“It sounded just like a baby crying,” he said.
An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions live in California, with as much as half of the state considered mountain lion habitat, Orr said.
A grown male mountain lion can reach 140 pounds and roams a territory bigger than 100 square miles, Orr said.
Where there are deer — the feline’s favorite food — mountain lions usually are not far away, Orr said.
Since 1890, 14 mountain lion attacks on people have been verified, six of them fatal, Orr said.
“Attacks on humans are extremely rare,” Orr said.
The most recent case occurred in January 2007, when Jim Hamm, 70, was attacked while hiking in Prairie Creek Redwoods in Humboldt County. His wife, Nell Hamm, saved her husband’s life by beating off the lion with a stick and trying to stab a writing pen into its eye.
Thursday morning, a group of 15 friends and family members gathered at Malott’s 10-acre parcel to say good-bye to their four-legged friend before laying him to rest.
“He was a brave little dog,” Malott said.
To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown@theunion.com or call
477-4231.
While attacks on humans are rare, pets and livestock make common prey for mountain lions, who are opportunistic hunters, said Kyle Orr, spokesman for the Sacramento division of the California Department of Fish and Game.
In 2007, seven depredation permits were issued in Nevada County to people who wanted to kill a mountain lion they considered dangerous. With those permits, two mountain lions were killed, Orr said.
In recent years, a mountain lion has been spotted near Nevada City’s Pioneer Park, in Grass Valley on East Main Street and in Morgan Ranch. More frequent sightings have occurred in the gated community of Lake Wildwood, where deer are plentiful.
The morning Big Bear went outside to relieve himself in the shrubbery and play with the neighbor dogs was just like any other, said owner Ken Malott.
When he returned home, it was apparent there was something wrong. He was bleeding from four large puncture wounds on his neck.
“He had a strong heart. He knew he was hurting and he had to go home,” said Malott, who estimates the little Corgi dragged himself an eighth of a mile home from where he was attacked.
After driving to a veterinarian in Loomis, the closest 24-hour facility, it was discovered that Big Bear’s injuries were caused by something wilder than another dog.
“They looked at the fang marks and said, ‘That’s not a canine bite. That’s a cat bite,’” Malott said.
That night, Malott and his fiancé, Anna Olrich, could hear the screams of a mountain lion.
“It sounded just like a baby crying,” he said.
An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions live in California, with as much as half of the state considered mountain lion habitat, Orr said.
A grown male mountain lion can reach 140 pounds and roams a territory bigger than 100 square miles, Orr said.
Where there are deer — the feline’s favorite food — mountain lions usually are not far away, Orr said.
Since 1890, 14 mountain lion attacks on people have been verified, six of them fatal, Orr said.
“Attacks on humans are extremely rare,” Orr said.
The most recent case occurred in January 2007, when Jim Hamm, 70, was attacked while hiking in Prairie Creek Redwoods in Humboldt County. His wife, Nell Hamm, saved her husband’s life by beating off the lion with a stick and trying to stab a writing pen into its eye.
Thursday morning, a group of 15 friends and family members gathered at Malott’s 10-acre parcel to say good-bye to their four-legged friend before laying him to rest.
“He was a brave little dog,” Malott said.
To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown@theunion.com or call
477-4231.
