Mountain Lion Spotted in Amador City (Can't relocate it, can't kill it)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

By Jim Reece/Amador Ledger Dispatch : Dr. Jeanie B. Nugent, a Sutter Hill chiropractor, said Wednesday that a mountain lion has been sleeping in a tree in the backyard of her Amador City home, on the east side of Highway 49.

She said the big cat has been chasing neighbors' cats and has taken up residence in her big oak, sleeping hours there. She first noticed it when the lion actually jumped from out of nowhere, possibly the tree, chased a neighbor's cat and actually brushed past her leg. She spoke with the California Fish and Game Department, which said there is not much they can do besides shoot the lion if it is dangerous or damages property. She said she would rather have it relocated and does not want the animal shot, but the department said they cannot relocate problem lions.

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The mountain lion is a protected mammal, since the 1990 state-wide passage of Proposition 117, creating a law making it illegal to kill the cats. The law, section 4800 of Fish and Game code, can only be changed by a four-fifths majority of the Legislature.

The law carries penalties of up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $10,000, or both, for unlawfully killing a mountain lion. It is enforced by state wardens. In a legally justified killing of a cat, she said, self-defense or the defense of others must be proved.

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