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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 2, 2010 - 01:58pm PT
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Landscape with Lions...
or my return home after a couple of weeks on the road.
I had just returned form a workshop in Santa Fe, NM, in 510OW and doing the Friday evening bay area "road warrior" thing making my way back on I-580 when an unnoticed telephone call deposited itself in my vmail "in box."
Had I heard the phone over the roar of the TDI engine at 80 mph and blasting iPod I would have been humored by the calm voice of Debbie, at 8:30 pm, alerting me: "dear, you might find a lot of police and fire trucks in front of the house, don't worry, it's because a mountain lion is hanging out in our backyard."
I pulled into the driveway without any knowledge of this message, but everyone had left, Debbie was on the side yard calling her cats, it all seemed pretty normal.
"Did you get my phone message?" she asks, "No, I wasn't expecting any from you so I wasn't listening for it," I thought I had felt the silent alarm buzz my belt...
She relayed the whole story... she is always out in the yard, thinking about what to plant where... her goal is to have a lot of it be "habitat," natural looking and providing a place for the local suburban wildlife. Mostly we had thought this was raccoons and feral cats, so she was a bit surprised after climbing to the top of the slope that marks our back line to peer into the eyes of a mountain lion, Puma concolor laying in the Grevillea, not too far below her... big animal, roundish ears...
she retreated to the house and called animal control.
The entirety of the Livermore and Alameda county task force converged on our house, including ride-alongs... apparently it was a slow night this Friday. She was getting the "sure sure little lady" bit from the Livermore police, the guy from the California Fish and Game spotted a large warm object with his infrared goggles at about the same time one of the Livermore cops shined his flashlight to reveal two very large, well spaced-apart glowing eyes which provoked a "whoa!" from the cops, everyone beat a hasty, MontePython-esque retreat...
Basically no one wanted to deal with it at night "gee, would you mind if we just left it there and come back in the morning?" the Fish & Game guy asked... Debbie said sure...
...eventually she got her cats in, almost all of them, the calico "Olive" was the last but even she relented eventually. Around 8 am this morning they all came by to check it out:
still not too sure, they were packing heat.
No lion... it had moved on... the Animal Control officer said they had a report at 2:50 am of a lion on East Ave. a couple of miles away. Everyone was relieved that there was no lion in our backyard anymore, that the lion was apparently ok.
Debbie figured that the big noise she had heard at 6:30 am Friday morning was the beast making its way into the backyard. She presumes that it stayed there the whole day, she noticed it only in the evening, though she and the cats had been out and about in the yard. Kinda cool...
...I kidded her about winning, posthumously, an award for "best suburban habitat landscape," and about the apparent fact that all the cats know to come to our yard... doubt we'll ever get a bigger feline visitor again...
It might take a while for the domestics and ferals to calm down (the two girl cats are hiding under the table in the garage, not that interested in going in the backyard).
Anyway... fun to live in "wild California"
so much for sleeping in...
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Obviously it was an ambassador from the east wanting to know when you're coming to balch camp, and why you haven't been there, yet!
Very cool post, Ed!
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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To meet a big predator that way is an unforgettable experience. It looks at you... You know it could kill you in an instant and there is absolutely nothing you can do to save yourself... And, for whatever reason, it decides "Not now."
It's humbling.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Well put, ghost!
Though you haven't met Debbie.
WoW! Ron!
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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The radio program that Ed was listening to when Debbie called:
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Pretty cool Ed,
I like it that a major predator can live side by side with humans without much confrontation. It is a little scary but very cool.
Zander
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Why lions are such a problem:
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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What would develop if only Ed would just let it happen:
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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What was happening over in Kensington while Ed and his people were fighting lions:
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Trad climber
Will know soon
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Nice story Ed !!! Peter is back and in grate form......or maybe lynnie is back and can enjoy the taco again til the next job presents.
We had a mountain lion sunning itself on a boulder near our home awhile back. When it saw us it ever so subtly eased off the rock like butter melting on a pancake and in a breath was no where to be seen.
So Ed, what about the waterfall in your home ? :D
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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My encounters have all been live and let live, but this would be a very good time to reread our own, Anne's tale of her interaction, earlier this year.
I'm diving in for the link, iPhone remote, anyone got it handy, feel free to post!
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Thanks Ed!
Y'all should know, that Anne, contrary to what first impressions might indicate, is tougher than Precambrian granite, and could wrestle any large cat (let alone any mere man) into the dirt!
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 2, 2010 - 04:18pm PT
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the waterfall was more like a fountain, a leaky pipe spraying up under the foundation and dripping down into a puddle.. which has been disconnected by a local plumber...
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cleo
Social climber
Berkeley, CA
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Yea, up at LBNL, there are apparently 3 lions hanging around where I go collect data from 6 sensors... in the hills and brush. There was a giant lawn-mowing goat herd there recently, several deer and turkeys, and recently... the distinct scent of dead animals... in several places!
Here's the email they sent us yesterday!
"Occasional sightings of mountain lions around the Lab are not unusual; however, due to a recent series of incidents, it would appear a mother and two juvenile mountain lions are spending more time in the area.
In addition to the sighting and killing of a male lion in north Berkeley on Aug. 31, two young lions were sighted, and a dead deer and goat were found, near Building 85 last week. A dead fawn was found on Monday near Building 64, and multiple sightings of a female lion and her offspring were made earlier today."
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Hi Ed. Good story!
I'm wondering how large your yard is anyway? It certainly doesn't look like a suburban lot or Debbie is a real genius with landscaping.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Y'all should know, that Anne, contrary to what first impressions might indicate, is tougher than Precambrian granite, and could wrestle any large cat (let alone any mere man) into the dirt!
That's a thing we say, usually about others. Sometimes we think it of ourselves. But there's no truth in it.
The big ones, the tigers, polar bears, lions, jaguars... you cannot wrestle them into the dirt. Sometimes you can surprise them into leaving you, but if they really want you, you are theirs. It doesn't matter if you are strong, or tough, or fast.
I can't speak for anybody else, but it certainly changed my view of my place in the world. I think Ron is saying much the same thing. I'd be interested to hear Debbie's thoughts on it.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 4, 2010 - 01:50am PT
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She has been thinking about it for a few days... basically she feels lucky to have seen a lion that close, fortunately for her, she was on the hill above it, about 10 feet away... she thinks it was a juvenile just looking for a quiet place to wait out the day, she had no fear at all at the time and never felt in danger... I think she actually considers it quite privileged to have been there.
Once in a lifetime encounter, most likely...
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