There have been at least two spottings and maybe as many as five of mountain lions in San Bernardino County in the last five weeks.
In late March, what was reported to be a mature mountain lion was seen, at what was estimated to be an eighth of a mile distance, in Chino Hills State Park.
This week, there was photographic confirmation of what was at least a single and maybe actually two fully grown mountain lions some seven miles apart in Apple Valley on Sunday April 24 and Tuesday, April 26. The following day, there was another sighting of a mountain lion slightly more than a half mile away from where the second sighting in the town occurred.
Sightings of mountain lions in metropolitan settings are extremely rare. Less uncommon is the migration of the big cats into out-of-the-way sites at the periphery of urbanized places and more rustic districts.
Chino Hills State Park, which embodies an undeveloped swathe of land at the confluence of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, lies at the southwesternmost tip of San Bernardino County in the Chino Hills, and involves Santa Ana Canyon within the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. It is not unheard of for mountain lions to come into that area. The cat seen in March was at an elevation slightly above the hikers that spotted it while they were hiking on Bobcat Ridge Trail.
On or around April 15, a Mountain Lion was struck and killed on the 60 Freeway near Diamond Bar, which is contiguous with Chino Hills but lies across the Los Angeles County Line.
On Sunday, April 24, a photo was snapped of a mountain lion in the yard of a home on Chiwi Road in Apple Valley.
More than seven miles away, on early Tuesday morning, April 26, a doorstep Ring camera caught the image of a large adult mountain lion in the front yard of a home near Kiowa and Bear Valley roads in Apple Valley. The evening of the following day, Wednesday April 27, the Apple Valley station of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department received a call at 11:29 p.m. which reported a “full-grown” mountain lion had ventured into the front yard of a residence in the 12000 block of Tamiani Road, which is roughly 0.55 miles from where the previous sighting occurred.
Unknown is whether the mountain lions seen were the same cat, perhaps two or even three. Sleek and agile, the average mountain lion is roughly 8 feet from nose tip to tail end. They weigh, on average, between 125 to 150 pounds.
Mountain lions are most likely to appear in areas inhabited by humans, if indeed they do show, in the spring. In the winter, they are in their element in wildlands because winter conditions give them an even greater advantage over their natural prey than in other seasons. They come into areas inhabited by humans in spring because the animals they normally eat become scarce in their natural habitat during that season. At such times, they will victimize domesticated animals that are available and vulnerable. Appearances in summer come about, usually, because water sources where they live – mountainous areas and rugged deserts – have dried up.
Mountain lions do not have a strong sense of smell and rely upon keen eyesight, in particular their acute night vision, and their extraordinary hearing to hunt. This makes them most active at night and in the early morning. Known as ambush hunters, mountain lions are adept at concealing themselves in dense vegetation or available crevices such as those between boulders in nature or in hiding places of opportunity in areas built up by man. After patient and silent stalking, they will engage in a lightning fast surprise attack in which their sharp claws and powerful jaws play a prominent role.