A video taken by a San Luis Obispo County resident and posted to the “Everything Atascadero” Facebook page captured a seemingly juvenile mountain lion briefly attacking a deer in Atascadero as it appeared to attempt to protect its fawn.
Mark Ouano, who took the video from the bank of a creek bed near Atascadero High School around 7:30 p.m. on July 31, said in the post the mountain lion attacked both the doe and its fawn.
“I was outside my house and I heard the sound of a deer crying,” Ouano wrote. “This is what I saw when I investigated.”
WATCH: (Video courtesy of Mark Ouano.)
“This is exactly what you want to see a mountain lion doing,” Brandon Swanson said, who is a wildlife biologist for the San Luis Obispo County office of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife. “It’s going after a deer, its natural prey base."
The doe managed to escape the mountain lion's grip and ran out of frame. Swanson said the mountain lion appeared to be young and it may not yet have learned how to be effective at hunting.
Ouano said in the Facebook post the mountain lion, which can be seen laying down following the brief encounter, went back to attack the fawn.
How rare are mountain lion attacks?
There have been 21 verified mountain lion attacks on humans in the state since 1890, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website tracking the encounters. Only three of those have been fatal.
“[Mountain lion] attacks (on humans) are pretty rare, but if you do encounter one, it's always: be big, be loud and don't turn your back,” Swanson said.
The most recent mountain lion attack on a human in California came in February of this year, according to the Associated Press. A 5-year-old boy was attacked on a hiking trail in rural Northern California. The boy sustained scratches to his face and suffered a fractured bone near his eye, according to the boy's aunt, but was otherwise OK.
(The California Department of Fish and Wildlife does not list this attack on its verified attack page. The last time the page was updated was May 2022.)
The search for the mountain lion was called off.
"Part of living where we are — we have so much green space around us — is we share it with mountain lions," Swanson said. "Basically, if you see deer there's a good chance there's a mountain lion that calls that part of its home. So, just be aware of that fact that we are in lion country here — we have to learn how to live with them.”
That same month on Feb. 11, a mountain lion attacked and killed a woman’s dog near Laguna Lake Mobile Estates in San Luis Obispo, prompting signs warning residents of mountain lions to be placed.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife sent the following statement to KSBY after the incident in response to a request for comment:
"CDFW will make an effort to trap, collar, and relocate the mountain lion to suitable habitat in a more remote setting. This is possibly the same mountain lion that has been seen in the area a couple of times over the past two months. It is believed to be an adult mountain lion. It’s also possible that there are two mountain lions in the area. San Luis Obispo is a mountain lion habitat... and generally speaking, wherever there are deer there are mountain lions... so the presence of mountain lions itself is not out of the ordinary.
"We’d advise anyone who lives in an area with mountain lions to be mindful of that fact and to take appropriate precautions... for example avoid recreating near open areas around dusk and dawn. If you walk your dog, perhaps go in a group."
That mountain lion was captured, collared and relocated in March.
In response to the attack, the City of San Luis Obispo published a page titled “We Live in Mountain Lion Country, Here’s How to Coexist With Them.”
A mountain lion was spotted in San Luis Obispo's Perfumo Canyon neighborhood in May, an incident that was captured by a resident on their home security camera.
The city asks residents to report any sightings or encounters with mountain lions to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife so the department can track and manage the population.
Swanson said that mountain lion sightings are appearing to become more frequent primarily due to the proliferation of home security cameras and other security systems. That, and, of course, just about everyone has a phone with a camera on them now.
"We are seeing more incidents but that's just because we can capture them now," Swanson said. "Personally, I’ve seen lions out in the wild … they're around.”
Tips for residents living in mountain lion habitat:
- Deer-proof your property to avoid attracting a lion's main food source.
- Remove dense vegetation from around the home to reduce hiding spaces.
- Install outdoor lighting to make it difficult for mountain lions to approach unseen.
- Secure livestock and outdoor large pets in sturdy, covered shelters at night.
- Always remember — mountain lions are wild animals and their behavior may be unpredictable (like any wildlife).
- Do not hike, bike, or jog alone. Do not hike, bike, or jog at dawn, dusk, or at night.
- Stay alert on trails. Keep a close watch on small children and off-leash pets.
- Never approach a mountain lion. Give them an escape route.
- Do not run. Stay calm. Do not turn your back. Face the animal, make noise and try to look bigger.
- Do not crouch down or bend over.
