Mountain lion attacks 6 year old boy, San Francisco Bay area

[pnwmom]

Hikers, be alert! (And think about carrying a big stick.)

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Mountain-lion-attacks-6-year-old-child-on-trail-5740141.php

Authorities were searching for a mountain lion that attacked a 6-year-old boy on a hiking trail near Cupertino on Sunday afternoon.

Hiking trails were closed after the agency received reports around 1 p.m. that the child was attacked about 2 miles from the Picchetti Winery at 13100 Montebello Road, said Sgt. Kurtis Stenderup, a spokesman for the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. The boy, who was not identified, did not have life-threatening injuries.

The boy was attacked "in an aggressive manner," then dragged through brush before family members came to his aid and fought off the mountain lion, said a game warden for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

More than 20 deputies, park rangers and officials from the Department of Fish and Wildlife were asking the public to avoid the area as they searched for the animal, Stenderup said.

SNIP

[REP]

1. Every time there's a mountain lion on my street, everyone tries to get a shot

with their cameras. There's one in the road at least once a month up here, but I haven't managed to get a photo yet ... too busy making sure I still have a chicken.

[Mercy_Queen]

2. Hikers should carry bear spray

And a .357 as a last resort.

[pnwmom]

3. That's what my husband said.

Though he never does either and he hikes every weekend.

Welcome to DU, Mercy_Queen!

[Mercy_Queen]

4. Thank you!

[DreamGypsy]

5. Picchetti Winery is only a few towns (Saratoga, Monte Serono) away from Los Gatos...

...every wonder why they named it Los Gatos?

Also not very far away from Jolon in Monterey County, near the south coast.

South Coast, the wild coast, is lonely.
You may win at a game at Jolon
But the lion still rules the barranca,
And a man there is always alone.

My name is Juan Hano de Castro.
My father was a Spanish grandee
But I won my wife in a card game,
When a man lost his daughter to me
I picked up the ace. I had won her!
My heart, which was down at my feet
Jumped up to my throat in a hurry
Like a warm summers' day, she was sweet

[Jamaal510]

6. Stories like these

are why you won't catch me hiking anytime soon.