Wildlife of Henry W. Coe State Park
Beechey Ground Squirrel · Black-tailed Jackrabbit · Bobcat · Coyote · Mountain Lion · Mule Deer · Raccoon · Striped Skunk · Valley Pocket Gopher · Wild Pig
Mountain Lion
Felis concolor
It is rare for anyone to spot a mountain lion at Coe, though alert hikers have a better chance of
of seeing tracks such as this one photographed December 1979 in
Soda Springs Canyon.
To get a better idea of how large it is, compare the same track with the
photographer's pocket knife below.
Photographs copyright © by Dave Hildebrand.
Used with permission.
Mountain lions are also known as cougars, pumas, or panthers.
They feed primarily on mule deer, though may occasionally eat
a pig or smaller mammals.
One has been seen as close to Coe Headquarters as the
Corral Trail, but generally they stay away from people. They are
potentially dangerous, but no one has yet been attacked at Coe.
To minimize such a possibility, do not run alone within the park (or if you do,
stick to roads with more visibility and don't run during the morning or
evening hours when cougars commonly hunt). A large running mammal,
including a human, could set off an instinctual attack response in the
lion. Do not leave small children unattended when you are away from the
developed areas.
If you are fortunate enough to see a lion, you will usually get one of two responses
from it: It will either run away or simply watch you with curiosity. Never run away from
it. Any lion can outrun you and running could trigger an attack when none was
otherwise forthcoming. Do stand tall, if you are not already standing, pick up small children,
and, in general, act neither like prey (running in fright) or like an enemy (being hostile toward
the lion when the lion wasn't acting aggressive). In other words, display confidence!
In my over nine years residence at the park I had only four sightings (though I'm sure they saw me much more often). The first time was just a glimpse. A large mammal walking the road ahead of me at twilight near Bass Pond. About the same instant I spotted it, it looked back and saw me, then ran. This happened so quick, that the only reason I know it was a lion is because of its large size, a blunt face that distinguished it from a coyote, and the long tail.
The second (and third) time was on the east side of the park, also at twilight. There were not one, but two lions on the dam of a pond next to Kaiser -Aetna Road. They didn't seem to notice me; they didn't seem to liker each other, there was a deer snorting up the hill, and (as I found out a few minutes later) a group of wild pigs just over the dam—so they had other matters of concern.
The fourth and last time was on the north end of Blue Ridge, also at twilight. As I walked south down the road on the ridge top, I saw a cougar perhaps 100 yards ahead walking up the road. We both stopped when we saw each other. I talked to it, it looked at me curiously, then casually stepped into the bushes. I continued on my way past where it had been, stomping my feet a bit louder, swinging my arms, and in general trying to look and act like an unpredictable hominid which just might injure any foolish cat. I never saw it the rest of the hike.
—Lee Dittmann
Henry W. Coe State Park, California
An unofficial website created by Lee Dittmann
and published by Mindbird Maps & Books
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