Mountain Lion Spotted 3 Times Near UCSB
Photo: John Palminteri / KEYT
Update by edhat staff
Another sighting of a mountain lion was reported around 8:00 a.m. Thursday near the West Campus Children's Center by UC Santa Barbara, reports John Palminteri.
By edhat staff
UC Police are alerting residents of a mountain lion sighting near the Devereux Lagoon on Tuesday, reports KEYT.
The first sighting occurred on Tuesday near Campus Point around 4:30 p.m. The second sighting was around 2:00 p.m. Wednesday near the Devereux Lagoon. Both areas are close to Isla Vista, bordering the UC Santa Barbara campus, and filled with people walking, running, and biking.
UC Police officers searched the area while UC Santa Barbara posted signs and sent out emergency alerts.
As mountain lions are nocturnal animals, experts state it's unusual for them to be out during the day and they could be sick or searching for food. Experts also say if you come close to a mountain lion, do not run away, but make a lot of noise instead and make yourself appear as big as possible.
There were also two other mountain lion sightings reported at Allan Hancock's Lompoc campus over the past week, reports KEYT.
32 Comments
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Sep 18, 2019 10:07 PMTrue it is. I've seen a mountain lion coming from Robin Hill Road passing over to South La Patera twice! And no, it's not a bobcat. This is a puma with a three foot long tail that is 3-4" thick and about 3-4' long! Called Fish and game to report it but they were incredulous towards me regarding the possibility.
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Sep 19, 2019 12:39 AMYPYETR. Funny you should go on about the cat's tail. My mountain biking boyfriend once had a Mountain lion jump across his path up at Knapp Castle. Boyfriend really couldn't get over the length and breadth of the lion's tail. He still mentions that awesome tail every once in a while.######## I was walking at dusk this evening with my two dogs when darkness fell quite quickly. Out in Goleta. I was keeping an eye out for Mountain lions and Coyotes. Must have had a feeling about the lions, because that was before I read these Edhat reports.
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Sep 19, 2019 09:14 AMKind of surprising that they were so incredulous when you called them because last year there was a mountain lion spotted downtown on Laguna. After that sighting, Fish & Game should realize that mountain lions can be spotted in places other than their normal habitat.
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Sep 20, 2019 11:23 AMPLEASE do NOT call Fish and Game when you spot a mountian lion unless it is very obviously sick or struggling. We don't need to report sightings to them every time, they usually muck it up and end up euthanizing the animal for dumb reasons.
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Sep 20, 2019 11:24 AMThis land IS their normal habitat. They were here first. Since Santa Barbara is nestled right in the pocket of the mountains, it is completely normal to see one every now and then. Consider it a magical lucky sighting! They are shy and elusive and don't want to be near humans, mostly looking for water or food. Attacks are extremely rare! Extremely.
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Sep 18, 2019 10:29 PMRight around July 4th - 6:30am (ish) Cathedral Oaks and Glen Annie intersection. We saw a mountain lion (about 100 yards away on Glen Annie) saunter across the road. Looked big and healthy to me (no way it was a bobcat). Magical.
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Sep 18, 2019 11:04 PMI wonder if it got drunk and fell of the cliff before staggering over to the lagoon.
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Sep 19, 2019 12:25 AMI hope for the best for them. Recent S. CA mountain lion news:
(Political support and more: http://mountainlion.org/)
=================================================================
My heart is bleeding still for
https://ktla.com/2019/09/10/simi-valley-man-charged-with-fatally-shooting-mountain-lion-p-38-in-the-head/
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mountain-lion-dies-rat-poison-20190430-story.html
And these, so recent:
seems there's an untagged one that chased P-61...
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/09/07/mountain-lion-struck-and-killed-on-the-405-freeway-in-the-sepulveda-pass/
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/09/13/mountain-lion-struck-and-killed-on-5-freeway/
Our too late solution:
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/08/25/87m-wildlife-bridge-over-101-freeway-enters-final-design-stage/
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Sep 19, 2019 06:58 AMCA's protection of the mountain lion has to end. In addition to being an immediate threat, the numbers are far too high, they are decimating the deer population...u know, all the bambies you'll like to gush over everytime someone post a picture. Same with the coyotes, they are not cute, they are dangerous wild animals and should not be allowed free range
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Sep 19, 2019 10:04 AMWhat is your beef with a tiny piece of functional nature in our midst? Killing all of the wolves and grizzly bears wasn't enough for you? If you live in a house where you can actually see these creatures, I'm willing to trade my downtown house with you. My biggest threats are rats eating out of my garden and my dogs getting skunked every now and then.
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Sep 19, 2019 12:00 PMActually, I think you are wrong about that. I read that on the East Coast, the deer population is exploding because the numbers of mountain lions are declining. And I don't CA has all that many mountain lions anymore because humans are encroaching on their territories. They need a large territory.
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Sep 20, 2019 11:21 AMAre you KIDDING, oops?! As an avid conservationist with a focus on big cats and predators, I can tell you that you are dead wrong. In fact, we need to be stepping UP protections for these animals. Coyotes are not in danger, and their populations are swelling, but mountain lions need our protection and we need to build wildlife crossings for biodiversity. If you think they are decimating the deer population you are wrong there too. Mountain lions play a crucial role in a healthy eco-system and actually deer thrive when mountain lions thrive. Lions take out the weak and diseased deer. Read up.
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Sep 19, 2019 07:17 AMIt'll be well fed in IV.
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Sep 19, 2019 07:24 AMCougar looking for her cub in IV, no news here... was this a confirmed big cat sighting or just a bobcat? Leaning towards the latter if no official confirmation from authorities.
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Sep 19, 2019 12:23 PMIt was confirmed by an Audubon naturalist. They don't put out official warning signs on based on hearsay.
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Sep 19, 2019 07:53 AMGet back to the hills cool cat before some knuckleheads panic.
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Sep 19, 2019 07:56 AMI wonder if this is why we have not heard coyotes around the Dos Pueblos High/Ellwood neighborhood for quite awhile . . .
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Sep 19, 2019 08:33 AMLots of tasty rabbits and squirrels around here. It will join the bobcats, fox and hawks at the wildlife delicatessen around Devereux Slough, Coal Oil Point Preserve, NCOS and Ellwood. No Bear yet.
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Sep 19, 2019 09:39 AMPresumable the same cat was seen at Campus Point and then again near Devereux? Meaning it probably traversed IV beach several times? Wow. Making out on the beach takes on a whole new level of excitement.
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Sep 19, 2019 11:29 AMNot surprised to hear of one at the beach. When we were doing the bridge into Gaviota State Park in 1997 the campground host had one walking down Gaviota Creek to the beach and back upstream almost daily. This was immediately adjacent to where the 9 year old boy was attacked in March of 1992 on the park trail from the overlook. There is a permanent warning sign on the bluff trail entrance now after the father sued the State Parks.
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Sep 19, 2019 12:50 PMRed Creek, great point. There’s been a population explosion of rabbits and squirrels in the upper east, so I imagine the populations are increasing elsewhere. I’d expect more predators moving in from to backcountry to feast on the critters in our neighborhoods. The creeks are like highways to them.
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Sep 19, 2019 01:17 PMLikely and adolescent male in search of his own territory. Adult Mountain lions generally know to avoid us killer humans.
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Sep 19, 2019 01:17 PMself-edit: *an* (not "and")
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Sep 19, 2019 03:00 PMProbably a bobcat.
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Sep 19, 2019 09:05 PMI came upon a mountain lion in the same area at dusk in November of 2017 - it was in the UCSB research meadow on the Ellwood side of the lagoon and I managed to snap an admittedly fuzzy picture. I'm a local trail runner and have seen several bobcats and coyotes on my runs and I'm certain this was a mountain lion (you can see the tail in the pic!). I sent the picture to CA Fish and Game and Noozhawk and never heard back.
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Sep 20, 2019 07:22 AMI was down there yesterday and did not see the cat. But one crossed my path in the mid-upper reaches of Tuckers Grove. They were here first, and before the Chumash came over the Siberian land bridge. We should appoint the lions kings and queens of the realm and the humans can step back. #ecotopia
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Sep 20, 2019 10:55 AMHere kitty kitty.
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Sep 20, 2019 11:14 AMI find it sort of funny that some think people spotting a mountain lion was really a bobcat. BIG difference.
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Sep 20, 2019 11:25 AMThey are incredibly beautiful. I hope this cat gets back away from people asap. People harm. Stay safe kitty.
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Sep 20, 2019 01:41 PMMountain Lions are soooo beautiful! Tell me if you also saw this, please. I think it was about 16 years ago, summer, in the Central Library. Zoo To You had a baby Mountain Lion and a baby bear. They put them together on a table. They started playing with each other, fell off the table and when landed on the floor they never stopped playing. Even as they were falling. It was adorable! Did anyone see it with me also?
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Sep 20, 2019 02:56 PMI saw one in my backyard in Buellton a few weeks ago. At first I thought it was my cat, and called it but it took off running. I realized it was much bigger, it's tail was super thick and long and it was taller. I thought I must've been imagining the size, but then saw my cat sleeping on the couch and realized it was more than twice as big. My cat is a siamese/grey tabby mix and looks a lot like a little one.
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Sep 20, 2019 03:11 PMOops, this was meant to be a reply to someone else's comment about how big their tails are. Not meant to make it about my experience in a totally different area. Sorry!!