Cougars Reported in Tarzana, Woodland Hills

Mountain lions were prowling San Fernando Valley neighborhoods again this weekend, bringing to four the number of big cats wildlife officials believe have been roaming the area in recent weeks.

One lion was apparently spotted twice this weekend in residential neighborhoods in the Tarzana hills north of Braemar Country Club, they said Monday. Another resident called police Monday morning with a sighting, still unconfirmed, in the 5800 block of Fairhaven Avenue in Woodland Hills.

Coming after more than a dozen sightings in two weeks, the most recent incidents renewed fears about the danger of a lithe, 150-pound predator stalking neighborhoods with pets and young children.

Libby Eglin caught a glimpse of the cat in Tarzana a week ago, its big tan head poking out of bushes near her driveway. On Saturday, her 22-year-old son went out to get the mail and halted in his tracks. The mountain lion was sitting in the middle of the driveway.

Eglin, a wildlife photographer, now keeps her camera--telephoto lens attached--by her bedroom window in case the animal should return. She is both excited and afraid, she said, at the chance of seeing it again.

“I’m very nervous right now,” said Eglin, 46. “Mountain lions are predators . . . We’re looking over our shoulder.”

But animal control officials said Eglin’s worries may be needless. Based on witness reports, the Tarzana cougar seems to be heading back for wilder territory, they said. And, officials suspect, so are the cougars spotted last week in West Hills and Granada Hills, including one that attacked a dog.

Since the middle of last week, there have been no new witness reports of the three cats seen loping through West Hills and Granada Hills. Witness reports also put the Tarzana animal on a course deeper into the Santa Monica mountains.

“They seem to be moving back where we want them,” said Dennis Kroeplin, the city’s wildlife officer.

Reginald Barrett, a professor of wildlife ecology and management at UC Berkeley, said such behavior is not unusual. Mountain lions are naturally shy. If the lions initially came down from the mountains around the Valley in search of new territory, they would continue their search elsewhere once they encountered humans, he said.

As a result, after a rash of sightings, the lions often vanish, he said.

“This kind of thing happens all over the state,” Barrett said. “They might be in one corner this month and another corner next month.”

Mountain lions, also called pumas or cougars, range vast territories in search of food, sometimes as large as 100 square miles. Since a 1972 law outlawed hunting them, their population has grown and scientists now believe the habitat is saturated, leaving no room for new lions.

That means the younger or weaker lions must roam further in search of range, bringing them into contact with humans. When such lions are captured, wildlife officials almost always kill them, even those that appear to pose no threat.

Putting them back in the wild would probably result in a fatal battle between two lions over territory, starvation for one animal or a return to residential areas in a renewed search for hunting ground, authorities say. Since a lion dies in any case, euthanizing the animal is simply more humane, they contend.

If people encounter a mountain lion, they should not turn their back or run from the animals, experts say. Instead, they should shout and slowly back away, always facing the animal. Also, it’s a good idea to carry a whistle to scare the animals, or wear and extend a large jacket to appear bigger.