Mountain lions prove rare wildlife sighting for Bennett Valley residents

Three mountain lions captured on video congregating around a spring-fed pond in Bennett Valley near Annadel State Park mark a rare sighting of the normally solitary animals in a group setting.

But state wildlife officials who reviewed the video said Tuesday there is no reason for the public to be unduly alarmed by the cougar confab.

The thirsty cats most likely were a mother and her two nearly grown cubs, who may already have gotten the boot since the video was taken Oct. 30 and are now having to fend for themselves.

“They’re probably staying with mom a little longer than nature would have them stay,” said Janice Mackey, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The images were captured at about 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 30 by a Bushnell video camera with an infrared sensor mounted to a tree on property off Bennett Valley Road, near the Woodside Estates subdivision. The property’s eastern flank abuts Annadel.

Reached by phone Tuesday, the property owner asked that he not be identified because he feared endangering the lions by drawing attention to the pond’s specific location.

He said the camera has captured a lot of wildlife in six months since it started recording, including coyotes, bobcats and foxes, as well as three mountain lions that the man believes were members of a different family than the one that showed up at the pond nearly two weeks ago.

“I love it,” the man said. “This is nature at its best.”

The video became the talk of the Woodside Estates neighborhood after it was circulated via social media and email.

“Nobody is particularly worried about it,” resident Bill ?Finkelstein said. “The reaction is more along the lines of, ‘Cool, great video.’?”

Mountain lions have been spotted in the area before, including, Finkelstein said, last year near the intersection of Ponderosa Drive and Birch Drive.

He said some neighbors speculate the cougars may be behind a rash of recent pet disappearances. The missing include cats that mostly live outdoors.

A Sonoma County health official on Tuesday said there hasn’t been an increase recently in the number of reports of animals being harmed by cougars in the Bennett Valley area.

Bordered by three significant mountains and Annadel, the valley is an attractive place for mountain lions to roam and search for deer, their preferred source of food. A single lion can roam up to 400 square miles. But seeing one of the animals up close is a rare event.

“They’re elusive, quiet ?and solitary animals,” Mackey, with Fish and Wildlife, said. “Mountain lions live on the urban fringe, and nobody notices them.”

She advised people who spot ?a mountain lion or signs of ?one to take precautions that include not leaving pet food outside at night, trimming vegetation to reduce hiding places and locking up pets and livestock for the night.

If confronted by a lion, experts advise people to stand their ground and face the animal while making noise and making yourself look as big as possible. Throw rocks or other objects at the lion.

“They don’t want anything from people. They want to drink and hunt,” said the property owner who captured the cougars on video.