Nongame Wildlife Program
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CDFW Nongame Program
1812 9th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 445-0411
Trends in Mountain Lion Encounters
The California Department of Fish & Wildlife logs hundreds of Wildlife Incident Reports annually related to mountain lion sightings. On average, fewer than three percent of these reports result in a mountain lion being identified as an imminent threat to public safety and killed under the CDFW's Wildlife Public Safety Guidelines.
The vast majority of these reports (79 percent) are resolved by providing information about the natural history and behavior of mountain lions. Another 18 percent of cases are legitimate threats posed by mountain lions that can be resolved by modifying human behavior. (Percentages are based on analysis of five years' worth of data.) Below is a breakdown of the mountain lions killed for public safety reasons from 2001 through 2008.
- 2008 - 381 incidents/3 Safety
- Kern 1 unknown
- Orange not reported
- San Diego 1 male
- 2007 - 392 incidents/6 Safety
- El Dorado 1 female
- Humboldt 1 male
- Merced 1 male
- Orange 1 male
- Santa Barbara 1 female
- Yuba 1 male
- 2006 - 464 incidents/9 Safety
- Alameda 2 males
- Lassen 1 female
- Nevada 1 female
- Plumas 2 female
- San Bernardino 1 unknown
- Santa Clara 1 unknown
- Shasta 1 female
- 2005 - 556 incidents/5 Safety
- Butte - 1 female
- Fresno - 1 female
- Plumas - 1 female
- Riverside - not reported
- San Luis Obispo - 1 male
- 2004 - 717 incidents/13 safety incidents
- Alameda 1 male
- Butte 1 male
- Fresno 0 taken
- Humboldt 1 male
- Mendocino 1 unknown
- Napa 1 male
- Orange 1 male
- Santa Clara 1 male/1 female
- Siskiyou 3 female/1 unknown
- Tulare 1 female
- 2003 - 419 total incidents/3 safety incidents
- El Dorado 0 taken
- Sacramento 1 male
- Tuolumne 1 female
- Orange County 1 female
- 2002 - 444 total incidents/14 safety incidents
- El Dorado 1 male
- Los Angeles 1 female
- Mendocino 1 male
- Merced 2 females
- Monterey 1 female
- Riverside 1 male
- San Luis Obispo 1 unknown
- Siskiyou 2 males, 1 female, 1 unknown
- Stanislaus 1 male
- Tuolumne 1 female
- 2001 - 469 total incidents/15 safety incidents
- Calaveras 0 taken
- Humboldt 1 male
- Lake 1 female
- Los Angeles 1 male
- Nevada 1 male
- Orange 1 male
- Plumas 1 female
- San Bernardino 1 male
- San Diego 1 female
- Shasta 1 male
- Siskiyou 1 male
- Tuolumne 0 taken
- Ventura 1 male
updated March 2009