Ledger-Dispatch

By Bethany A. Monk (bmonk@ledger-dispatch.com) =

A mountain lion was found dead Saturday = after a=20 vehicle reportedly struck it. The lion may have been the one = residents=20 reported seeing near Sutter Creek and Ione last month.

Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger=20 Dispatch
A mountain lion was struck = and killed by a=20 motor vehicle in the southbound lane of Highway 124 Saturday evening, = according=20 to a report from the Ione Police Department.

Officers found the = carcass=20 of the female cat the following morning, and concluded that, based on = evidence=20 at the scene and the animal's physical injury, the lion was hit by a car = on=20 Saturday. The lion, most likely, died immediately upon = impact.

The=20 California Department of Fish and Game removed and disposed of the cat = after=20 receiving notification of the incident. Local police believe this may be = the=20 same mountain lion that was sighted last month near Howard = Park.

The=20 territory ranges of these predators vary based on many habitat factors, = but it's=20 likely several Ione residents had sighted this cat, according to the = report. "It=20 is also probable (but not definitive) that this cat is the hunter that = routinely=20 encroached on the south Ione city limits near Howard Park and the 300 = block of=20 Church Street," the report states.

On Aug. 29, Amador resident = Arlene=20 Quackenbush called the Ledger Dispatch to report that her husband, Kevin = Quakenbush, has spotted a mountain lion at about 4:15 that morning on = Shake=20 Ridge Road near Sutter Creek. Quakenbush was in his car when he saw the = lion,=20 which was about eight-to-nine feet long, come within about five feet of = the=20 vehicle. Quackenbush was unharmed.

Early last month, rumors of a = mountain lion or cougar killing a man in Ione were dispelled after local = law=20 enforcement and medical personnel responded to a South Church Street = residence=20

Aug. 9. Responders found a deceased male at the residence and = contacted=20 the Amador County Coroner's Office, which assumed the investigation. The = cause=20 of death, according to the autopsy, was acute artery thrombus, a natural = cause.

Ione Police Chief Michael Johnson told the Ledger Dispatch = at that=20 thime that there had been two mountain lion sightings in the=20 area.

According to the Department of Fish and Game's Web site, = mountain=20 lions are quiet, solitary and elusive, and usually do not come in = contact with=20 people. "Mountain lion attacks on humans are extremely rare. However, = conflicts=20 are increasing as California's human population expands into mountain = lion=20 habitat," the site states.

The department recommends the = following tips=20 to help stay safe in mountain lion country:

- Do not hike, bike = or jog=20 alone.

- Avoid hiking or jogging when mountain lions are most = active -=20 dawn, dusk and at night.

- Keep a close watch on small = children.

-=20 Do not approach a mountain lion.

- If you encounter a mountain = lion, do=20 not run. Instead, face the animal, make noise and try to look bigger by = waving=20 your arms; throw rocks or other objects. Pick up small = children.

- If=20 attacked, fight back.

- If a mountain lion attacks a person, = immediately=20 call 911.

Mountain lions can be found wherever deer, their = primary prey,=20 are found, according to the Web site; more than half of California is = mountain=20 lion habitat. For more information, visit=20 www.dfg.ca.gov/keepmewild/lion.html.

Bethany A. = Monk