Mountain Lion Seen Attacking Deer
Jan 12, 2007. At about 9:15 am, Mark Stromberg was walking from the Hallisey House to the office, along a path where the new phone line goes; parallel to the entry lane. The account:
"I first saw a deer rush across the trail and into the opening. Three young males had been spending time near the entry gate, as there are several oak trees in the area dropping a massive load of acorns, rather late in the season. Looking through the opening of the trail in the forest to the field, up on the shoulder of the hill I could see a mature (3 point?) buck rolling on the ground with a lion holding onto the neck. They rolled together several times and after about 3 large flips from one side to the other, the deer remained on one side and did not move. The lion was gripping the neck and shoulders. They were head to head, with bodies at a right angle.
Not wanting to disturb this, I walked back down the trail, crossed the creek and emerged on the high ground just south of the first (lower) creed crossing on the entry lane. Walking through the brush along the creek was pretty noisy. As I emerged from the roses, snowberries, poison oak and sedges, the deer rushed out of the forest and turned to run uphill along the road, followed closely by the lion. They emerged from the forest just at the top of the hump between the two cement creek crossings and ran up the road. Whipping its long tail, the lion left large gouges in the loose leaves with paddle-like, black, dirt-stained feet. As it was so cold, I did not bring my camera on this day, but if I had, I could have taken a photo of the lion chasing the deer next to the sign on the entry lane advising visitors that mountain lions are present.
I retrieved my camera and drove up to get our current field assistants (Ryan Drobek and Bridgett Piculell) and we went out to see if we could find the lion again. Wet blood stood out on the leaves and grass where the deer and lion had struggled. They left deep rips in the soil and tufts of deer hair. Air temperature was about 20 deg F the previous night and the ground was still frozen so tracking was difficult. We did track them about 50 yards north but lost them when they re-crossed the creek and entered Pierson field north of the original struggle, and headed up Haystack Hill".
Chris Counts featured parts of the story in the January 26 edition of the weekly "Carmel Pine Cone". Click here for a reprint.
Jan 12, 2007. At about 9:15 am, Mark Stromberg was walking from the Hallisey House to the office, along a path where the new phone line goes; parallel to the entry lane. The account:
"I first saw a deer rush across the trail and into the opening. Three young males had been spending time near the entry gate, as there are several oak trees in the area dropping a massive load of acorns, rather late in the season. Looking through the opening of the trail in the forest to the field, up on the shoulder of the hill I could see a mature (3 point?) buck rolling on the ground with a lion holding onto the neck. They rolled together several times and after about 3 large flips from one side to the other, the deer remained on one side and did not move. The lion was gripping the neck and shoulders. They were head to head, with bodies at a right angle.
Not wanting to disturb this, I walked back down the trail, crossed the creek and emerged on the high ground just south of the first (lower) creed crossing on the entry lane. Walking through the brush along the creek was pretty noisy. As I emerged from the roses, snowberries, poison oak and sedges, the deer rushed out of the forest and turned to run uphill along the road, followed closely by the lion. They emerged from the forest just at the top of the hump between the two cement creek crossings and ran up the road. Whipping its long tail, the lion left large gouges in the loose leaves with paddle-like, black, dirt-stained feet. As it was so cold, I did not bring my camera on this day, but if I had, I could have taken a photo of the lion chasing the deer next to the sign on the entry lane advising visitors that mountain lions are present.
I retrieved my camera and drove up to get our current field assistants (Ryan Drobek and Bridgett Piculell) and we went out to see if we could find the lion again. Wet blood stood out on the leaves and grass where the deer and lion had struggled. They left deep rips in the soil and tufts of deer hair. Air temperature was about 20 deg F the previous night and the ground was still frozen so tracking was difficult. We did track them about 50 yards north but lost them when they re-crossed the creek and entered Pierson field north of the original struggle, and headed up Haystack Hill".
Chris Counts featured parts of the story in the January 26 edition of the weekly "Carmel Pine Cone". Click here for a reprint.
posted by Mark Stromberg at 4:02 PM
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