Mountain-lion fears afflict Silicon Valley millionaires

[question everything]

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Mountain-lion fears afflict Silicon Valley millionaires

Atherton's police chief says an e-mail campaign by a retired self-defense center founder has stirred up worries.

By GARY RIVLIN
The New York Times

ATHERTON – You would think that if you plunked down $10 million for a home, including millions to buy three adjoining properties, you could count on a little freedom to roam.

But then the occasional mountain lion traipses across your land and, if you are Barbara Proulx, you feel trapped, afraid to let your two young sons out by themselves because of the dangers lurking outside. Proulx and her husband, Tom, a founder of the software firm Intuit, even have a three-hole golf course on their 10-plus acres, yet in recent months it has gotten far less use than in the past.

(snip)

They are hardly the only ones in Silicon Valley feeling like prisoners in multimillion-dollar homes. In recent months, there have been a few publicized mountain lion sightings up and down this peninsula just south of San Francisco, especially in the area's rural, most upscale neighborhoods, out of the reach of most beyond venture capitalists and those who have grown outlandishly wealthy working for some of Silicon Valley's star companies.

(snip)

More than a matter of man versus nature, the battle over the Silicon Valley's mountain lions is pitting human against human. Wildlife experts say that residents are overreacting to the presence of a stealthy animal that has been part of the California landscape for as long as there has been a California. They say that mountain lions - also known as cougars - present an infinitesimal threat, especially if people avoid behavior like jogging alone at dawn or dusk close to the reservoir on Atherton's western border.

But residents here pay a lot so they can raise their children far from the grime, grit and two-legged predators, and they seem to resent the animals' presence.

(snip)

http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/08/28/sections/news/focus_science_environment/article_652224.php

[fortyfeetunder]

1. Boo effing hoo

Like who encroached on who's land? And they wanted to get back to nature? Right, well they take the real as well as the beauty.

Cry me a river, where do they think animals are supposed to live?

Mountain lions don't know the difference between a deer and a millionaire's kid, they are all just meat to them!

[question everything]

7. "Let me tell you about the rich..."

"Let me tell you about the rich. They are different from you and me."

--F. Scott Fitzgerald

[Solly Mack]

2. If I moved into a bear cave I'd expect to see bears

Same when you move into the lions den...expect to see lions.

I'm on the side of the animals.


I've lived around mountain lions and bears and I adapted to the animals environment.

[leftchick]

33. exactly Solly

save the cougers! Get rid of the stupid human beings!

[H5N1]

3. Bastards: keep your filthy hands off my mountain lions!

Thank You.

[DBoon]

4. The mountain lions don't care how wealthy you are

rich or poor, your children are all just a meal.

Note to Silicon Valley millionaires: Despite what you might think, you are not on the top of the food chain.

[earth mom]

6. Good one!

:toast:

[Desertrose]

5. Shall we start a pity party?

Oh those poor rich buggers....


My heart is really with the mountain lions having their homes taken away so millionare's & their kids can play.


feh. no pity.

[kestrel91316]

8. Heck, we've got what looks like a breeding population of them

in Topanga Canyon, suburban Los Angeles. A client of mine and her BF had a VERY close encounter with a lion that was obviously stalking them about 3 months ago, very near human residences. They didn't see it until they were within 10 ft of it, and it just sat there staring intently at them, wouldn't scare off.

When they lose their natural fear of man, LOOK OUT. I predict a human lion attack or fatality in Topanga within 3 years. You heard it here first.

I am thrilled to see the darned things breeding and thriving, but we need to teach them to fear man again. They advocate rubber bullets and large rocks and aggressive behavior to achieve this. Unfortunately, then they will hide and seeing them will be rare again........

Edit to add: another client of mine saw a lion CUB in this same area a year or two ago.

[annabanana]

11. "teach them to fear man"

and vice versa, presumably. Let those kids know how to not look too much like lunch..

yikes..

(Long Island's biggest wildlife problem?...too many deer, and an occasional rabid raccoon or opposum....)

[Jade Fox]

19. Unfortunately, mountain lions and humans don't co-exist well.....

Children simply do look like lunch to them. And like most big cats, they
attack from behind.

So many places have an overpopulation deer. Its too bad they can't be
shipped in to provide natural prey for the lions.

[annabanana]

20. whumph.. you can have them!

they eat everything and people get killed when they jump into the roads

[Benbow]

22. Unlike fish and human beings - remember the Chimp saying

humans and fish could co-exist peacefully?

Sorry, couldn't resist it.

[Jade Fox]

29. Bush said that? Why am I not surprised.

Isn't he in Idaho right now attempting to co-exist with some fish by
have his paid companions kill some of them, so he can claim to have
been fishing like the manly dude he is?

[Lexingtonian]

15. wowsers.

Topanga Canyon. Lots of nice and munchy domestic pets within range there, I bet.

I used to see occasional ones in the front range of the San Gabriels...from a distance. Got followed by a coyote on Mount Wilson once, which was roughly at the time those joggers got killed by lions in Orange County. I think they're going to have to keep on moving more of them out of SoCal into the Rockies or Cascades. Those 30x30 mile hunting territories they occupy around L.A. fill up pretty quick. Especially when the fires come and annihilate one or another as a hunting ground.

We've had them reappear here in Massachusetts in the past year or two- the National Park Service pretends that the pictures are of bobcats. Yeah, "bobcats" almost two feet high at the shoulder and rounded ears.... (It's a little like the "brown bears" seen in Hoopa Valley that seem a little big and dark.) There was a 'mythical' breeding pair/family of mountain lion at the Quabbin Reservoir for decades that the NPS pretended didn't exist either; now there seems to be a bit of spread as the deer populations recover.

Wilderness...one great North American virtue is to have some true love for it and accept its dark heart, which I am not aware of any other peoples being anywhere near as intelligent about or tolerant of. Some in this land have believed it to contain salvation in great measure. But it's not true for many Americans, either, and the most sensible have always loved and valued the edge of the wilderness- wisely don't challenge it to reveal all of its wonder and horror in a hard way by plunging into it rashly. But some invariably are driven to going too far beyond the edge.

[blindpig]

34. Re: Eastern Cougars

The bureaucrats at Interior have feared the Eastern Cougar since the inception of the ESA. Enforcement of the Act along the length of the Appalachians would be a nightmare of epic proportions: the numerous small holders, powerful economic interest(coal!) and generalized regional hostility to outsiders are a recipe for a perfect storm. Thus the deep denial, no administration wants that ugliness.

A buddy of mine saw a cougar in a wilderness area in NC about 10 years ago.

[roguevalley]

36. they'll kill them. money trumps conscience. we have bears up the

wazoo here, big grizzlies. Some idjits want them all dead so they can go jog. Assholes.

[stubtoe]

9. If you want to live in nature ....

expect wild things to be there!

[question everything]

12. Welcome to DU, stubtoe

:toast: :bounce:

[stubtoe]

25. Thank you!

much appreciated.

[progressivebydesign]

10. Atherton. Where the cop cars are VOLVOS! I kid you not!

I'm not sure if it's still the case, but their entire fleet of cop cars were Volvos. I found that hilarious.

I have nothing against the affluent... I was affluent once myself. But.. these people that build these monstrosity compounds in the wilderness then complain that there are animals there, are pretty effin clueless. They should either move, or buy a few dogs that can accompany them on their damn private golf course. Dogs can smell the cougars immediately... and the family can scurry their precious asses back into the safety of their 10,000 sq ft houses.

[question everything]

13. Hey, what do you have against Volvos?

Ours is a 1993 wagon and is doing fine, thank you. It replaced our 1982 wagon.

And we have no idea where to find another roomy wagon like that when it is time to replace this one. SUVs are out of the question.

And no one is doing a tight U-turn like this one.

[TX-RAT]

38. "Hey, what do you have against Volvo's?"

Tax money from Americans going to by Imported fleet vehicles. We can't do it at city level, we can't do it at state level and we can't do it at federal level. I'd like to know how Simi Valley pulled it off. Hell of a way to support you domestic industry's.

[havocmom]

14. building in wilderness & complaining there are animals - we have them here

in Montana too. The county government in Bozeman had to publish a little pamphlet explaining facts of live to those moving there to 'escape the city and crowds'. Seems many of these folks looking to change their lives were getting all tense about:
Snowstorms which sometimes make travel difficult
Power outages after storms
Deer eating their petunias
Bears eating their berries
Mountain lions eating Fluffy the runt dog

People come to 'escape' what they left but then expect here to be just like there. They want 'wide open spaces and freedom' but they also want everything to be 'taken care of'. Makes ya wanna scream: "Grow the fuck up! There is always a price to be paid. Shut up or don't come."

And I love how nature likes to remind spoiled brats that they are not the boss of everything. Good to be humbled now and again. Makes one more appreciative.

[XOKCowboy]

17. Same here in the mtns west of Denver

They come in and build these mini-mansions on the side of the mountains then complain because the fire department won't/can't come up the winding roads to save them. The county has also put out bulletins to new residents telling them basically the same thing as you pointed out. You can't shoot the deer because he's eating your flowers, mountain lions eat small animals left outside, we don't plow your driveway when it snows, etc. Still they bitch and sue whenever nature bites them in the ass.

[smirkymonkey]

16. Atherton? Isn't that where mega-Bush supporter Charles Schwab lives?

Bwhahahhahahh! :evilgrin:

[TheCentepedeShoes]

18. So, they didn't "intuit"

that there might just be some native creatures abiding in the natural setting they covet? Too effin' bad, boo hoo. Doesn't sound too wise to me.

[maveric]

21. Reminds me of how millonaires in La Jolla wanted to kill the sea lions

who take residence by La Jolla cove. They wanted to hire someone to kill them, or drag them out to sea.
Duh! Sea lions would just swim back to the cove!

[Cleita]

23. I never get it. People move out into the rural areas to

get away from the city and then they want to kill everything around them instead of adapting. How much range do her kids need to play in that she can't fence in a play area to keep them safe while they are outdoors? This also keeps them safe from stray dogs, racoons and other animals you may not want them interacting with.

Also, predators come out at dusk to hunt. Kiddies and pets should be indoors by then. If you come face to face with a cougar, never look small. It's easy enough to chase them with a large stick and a lot of noise, however, you probably will never encounter one during the day because they prefer to remain hidden. This works for bears too. The no jogging at dusk and dawn is a good rule too.

Deer can also attack you if you threaten them. When they start banging one of their hooves and hissing at you, it's time to go the other way.

Wilderness 101.

[question everything]

26. You mean "bambi" can be mean? say it ain't so, please (eom)

[Cleita]

28. Actually Bambi's mom if you get too close to where

she's hiding her fawn. I also saw a buck once chasing a rather large dog.

[Xithras]

24. Idiots. I've been toe to toe with a mountain lion

Within five feet anyway, which is about as toe to toe as I'd like to be. And I was alone. In the woods. You know what happened? It growled at me and RAN OFF!

Mountain lions aren't stupid, and they don't like to attack or even be seen by humans, and so realistically they pose no danger to us. These people have a better chance at being hit by lightning while walking to their pool or golf course than they do getting attacked by one of these.

Now, if they have any pet dogs or cats, they may want to consider keeping them inside, and if they have livestock an electric fence is HIGHLY recommended, but this paranoia about them attacking people is just that.

[ck4829]

27. You dudes have a lot more to fear than Mountain Lions

There is this guy.

[question everything]

30. Who's he? Looks like he stepped straight from Masterpiece Theatre (eom)

[ck4829]

32. Max Zorin - Tried to flood Silicon valley in a Bond movie

[Blue_Tires]

31. Christopher Walken? n/t

[flygal]

37. Hey - our next President of the United States

http://www.walken2008.com/

[question everything]

40. He actually looks normal and sincere

As opposed to his usualy creepy self..

[Deja Q]

35. I remember when Silicon Valley was the technological mecca...

Now it's nothing but mc-mansions and haughty-taughty attitudes.

[ecoflame]

39. Natural fear of 'man'?

These are one animal without any natural fear of 'man.' They are not only fearless but ferocious. Up here, we don't mess with 'em - AT ALL.

I don't care what you paid for your home, you encroach into THEIR terrority, be prepared to cope with THEM.