Weirdness on the way up to Ridge

WINE TALK
1

They may have to update that “Beware of Rattlesnakes” sign…

2

Scary story. We live in the hills on the ocean side of the Santa Cruz mountains and have seen a few mountain lions but rarely more than a glance. It is very unusual to hear of an incident like this. I will have to check on the “beware of rattlesnakes” sign next time I am up there to see if it has been updated.

3

When I worked at Presidio of Monterey I once saw a mountain lion casually strolling through the NCO housing area up on the hill. I heard that they eventually killed the animal because he had killed a caged rabbit outside an elementary school in Carmel and they were worried about what else he might kill.

4

When I read the title of this thread…I opened it to see what “wierdness” is…

I now realize it’s “weirdness”…and that I had already heard of this story…

They aren’t nice animals, apparently, though I hadn’t realized they liked to eat humans, too.

5

Hiking in Berkeley some years ago, there was a sign warning of mountain lions. This was going uphill, only a mile or so from downtown IIRC…

6

Here is an interesting website if anyone is interested. You can actually track individual pumas and see where they go:

http://santacruzpumas.org/puma-tracker/

7

“Thanks” for pointing out the spelling error, Stuart. [snort.gif] Maybe I’ll finally learn how to spell “weird” correctly when you curb your profligate use of scare quotes. [wink.gif]

8

There are signs warning about mountain lions at many of the preserve entrances. They tell you pretty specifically what to do/not do, including (do) “fight back.”

9

“scare quotes”?? [scratch.gif]

wasn’t just pointing out your “error”, Harry…but how …your “error” made me more curious than I would have been.

10

I was just yanking your chain, Stuart. [wink.gif]

11

Thought maybe somebody got attacked by a wild animal near the Weir Vineyard.

HA HA HA HA, HA HA HA HA

12

I thought it was a Loch on the way to Ridge: Wierd Ness…and the monster got the kid.

13

Come to think of it, if this had happened on the way to Rombauer instead of Ridge, it wouldn’t be weird at all! [wink.gif]

14

You had that one in your back pocket from before you posted the story, didn’t you.

Well played.

15

So…what used to be the name of the wnry near where the attack occurred??? They made an outstanding BlackMuscat.
No fair using Google…that’s cheating.
Tom

16

Post of the year

17

Seriously, though, why is encountering a wild animal in its native habitat in any way “weirdness”?

18

I guess I don’t normally associate the “native habitat” of mountain lions to be that close to vineyards. Admittedly, two miles from the Picchetti Winery covers a fair amount of ground in that area, including a sprinkling of residential development, a commercial rock quarry, a recreational reservoir, etc. It’s not normally considered an area where mountain lions are commonly found, nor is it an area teeming with natural prey for such critters. Perhaps the drought has caused the mountain lions to stray into areas near vineyards. I used to live in that area, and the only carnivores I recall were the occasional bobcat or coyote. The winery itself is pretty low on Montebello Road, whereas Ridge is up there at 2,300 feet.

19

Harry, who is “they?” Explain yourself.

Just thought I’d join in the weird tone of the responses here.

20

Harry, how long ago did you live in the area? I guess because I lived most of my life in the area and have hiked most of the open space perserve in the area you may not know the area as well as you think. Mountain lions and bob cats and coyotes are all over the place not to mention the exploding deer population. The deer venture well into neighborhoods in Cupertino and Saratoga foraging for food. Reports of mountain lion sightings are common at Rancho San Antonio and I have seen bob cats and coyotes a short distance from the main parking lot. There is actually plenty of natural prey around Stevens Creek Reservoir with plenty of deer coming down from the mountains due to the drought, not to mention rabbits, squirrels, and other critters. My best guess is this attack was a combination of drought, over population of deer and mountain lions and parents letting their child get too far away from them on the trail.