San Mateo County sees increase in lion sightings

More puma sightings have been reported in the past year in San Mateo County, including an unconfirmed sighting in San Mateo in the area of Parrott Drive and Alameda de las Pulgas at the end of December, although the increase in sightings is likely due to changes to habitats and human behavior rather than puma aggressiveness. Around 90% of mountain lion sightings in California are false, making the reported San Mateo sighting in the Parrott Drive area unlikely, according to McDonald. Pumas choose habitats for cover first to protect themselves, then for the prey. The animals want to remain solitary and away from humans.

Large wildfires in the Santa Cruz Mountains have also recently displaced some pumas from their habitats, while more people are hiking on trails during the day during the pandemic, which leads to more sightings, McDonald said. People are spending more and more time on trails because they can’t do much else, which also affects pumas’ movement.

“There’s a lot of stuff shifting over the last few months that really has led to some just unusual sightings in different areas, but nothing concerning or alarming,” McDonald said.

Development in the South Bay and along the Peninsula is also encroaching on puma habitat, creating habitat fragmentation for pumas. Although humans and pumas’ relationships have improved in the past few years, issues over livestock protection, fear and poaching can occur.

“You’re always going to have people who are driven by fear, and they don’t really want to understand, or they don’t understand. So we work with them to communicate the greater reality to them of what is happening,” McDonald said.

BAPP has hosted education programs in communities like La Honda in southern San Mateo County, an area with a rich mountain lion habitat. The community was in fear and thought it saw more mountain lions than were actually in the area, so BAPP did a study to help the community understand the numbers. McDonald said understanding pumas and relieving people’s fears about children and pets being harmed helps with coexistence.

“There are all kinds of ways of preventing mountain lions from coming into your yard or being around your property. However, if you are at the urban edge, in good mountain lion habitat, you can’t expect mountain lions to know you don’t want them there,” McDonald said.

People can use fences, sounds or lights to keep pumas away and prevent deer from visiting. Deer also visit properties that are irrigated or are cultivating landscaping. Pumas tend to follow deer and other food sources, and deer patterns often drive puma movement. McDonald tells people that it is unbelievable that people don’t see more mountain lions given the close proximity of humans, which is a direct indicator of how hard they work to avoid humans.

“They are afraid of humans. They have no interest in interacting with us,” McDonald said.

Mountain lions are territorial and tend to occupy a large territorial space alone, and there are not as many mountain lions as people think. Many times the same mountain lion will show up several times on a camera.

“They are solitary animals unless they are in a family group or mating. Once people get that and it resonates, they really calm down because there has been a lot of communication that’s pretty erroneous about these prides of lions, which just is not happening. It’s not how they move or live,” she said.

BAPP plans to work with communities in the Pacifica, El Granada and Half Moon Bay area in the future because of land near puma habitats. Those communities are seeing more mountain lion movement because of good prey and cover, and several puma family groups have been in secluded watershed areas for years. Residents along that corridor have been supportive, and BAPP wants to work with developers to have mechanisms to support lion movement to prevent barriers that could create habitat isolation or islands. McDonald said mountain lions cross Interstate 280 to likely follow deer, which has led to more sightings in Hillsborough.

“We work with a few residents in Hillsborough. They are all pretty stoked about it because they have cameras out. We work with them on the data, and they are just kind of fascinated by it,” McDonald said.

The wildfires, increasing urbanization and more people out during COVID-19 on trails can have a long-term effect on mountain lions in the Bay Area. Their three major habitats in the Bay Area are the Santa Cruz Mountains, the largest and healthiest habitat, the ecologically diverse East Bay and the North Bay, the smallest habitat. McDonald wants to see some restrictions on using trails at night, so mountain lions can have time alone. The Santa Cruz Mountains and San Mateo County area’s local populations face a genetic decline due to habitat isolation from Highway 101 blocking crossings down south over into the East Bay. McDonald believes the Santa Cruz mountain population needs an overpass, likely across Highway 101, to maintain connectivity with different populations to increase genetic diversity.

“We don’t have that many lions in the Bay Area, so we don’t want to see the decline get to an irreversible stage,” she said.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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