Almost 2,000 fliers distributed to educate public on mountain lions

March 25, 2009
Santa Paula Police Department

With ongoing reports of mountain lion sightings in residential neighborhoods that started more than a month ago, a Santa Paula Police Department public education safety campaign was launched Saturday with volunteers distributing informational fliers throughout areas bordering wild lands.

By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesWith ongoing reports of mountain lion sightings in residential neighborhoods that started more than a month ago, a Santa Paula Police Department public education safety campaign was launched Saturday with volunteers distributing informational fliers throughout areas bordering wild lands. Volunteers included SPPD Explorers and members of Citizens Patrol who gathered at City Hall to receive instructions on distributing the hard-to-miss yellow tri-fold flyer.Police Chief Steve MacKinnon made the decision to create and distribute the flyer, utilizing assistance from the Mountain Lion Foundation (MLF).On Saturday, Sergeant Jimmy Fogata told the approximately 10 volunteers that distribution of the 1,500 fliers - an initial number that MacKinnon said earlier was loosely based on REVERSE 911® calls made after lion sightings - could utilize mailboxes. “We don’t have time to answer questions” and distribute all the fliers, which, Fogata noted, hit the high points of safety and prevention included in MLF training received by SPPD supervisors on Thursday.“We want to go out, not knock on doors, just drop the fliers off.... If someone does ask questions, just tell them if they see a lion to call 911 immediately,” calls that Fogata said have been on the rise.Since the first incident of lion sightings in the city’s northern hillsides there have been about a dozen reports “from all over the city. Some were confirmed” by officers, while others were not.The SPPD has been working with state Fish and Game as well as the WLF, who, Fogata said, is puzzled by the influx of mountain lions into neighborhoods. The more the public is informed about mountain lions, he added, the better everyone can handle such sightings.
Distribution volunteers formed small teams: “Let the Explorers, the young ones handle the big areas,” said Fogata. “It’s a huge area to try to cover and we’ll do as much as we can.”Lieutenant Troyce Reynolds thanked the volunteers, but noted, “We don’t want anyone to overdo it.”Carolyn Tulberg said she volunteered when notified by the Oaks Neighborhood Watch. A CERT trainee, Tulberg said she has never seen a mountain lion, although there have been various reports of the animals in the Oaks. But, she added, when she returned from a recent trip out of town a neighbor informed her a “coyote had been in our yard.”Fogata said volunteers and police officers wound up distributing close to 2,000 fliers. “There were numerous people walking in the neighborhoods who asked questions” when they learned of the effort, and were “very pleased with the SPPD for going out and doing this. Everyone was very supportive and excited we were distributing this information.” Some residents told Fogata “they changed their walking routes due to their concerns and they were very happy to have the information on hand on how to deal with the lions.”The SPPD shot and killed a mountain lion cub February 17 on Dana Drive, an event Fogata said prompted the MLF training. “Mountain lions are beautiful to watch, but it can turn into a deadly situation” for pets and, in rare instances, humans. “These are still wild animals,” but with the training future kills can possibly be avoided, as “we now have more tools in our toolbox of how to deal with them.”Fogata added the brochures - titled “A Safety Alert for Santa Paula - Information on Mountain Lion Sightings” - are available at the SPPD Station and can be downloaded from the city’s website. The brochure contains valuable encounter safety tips, prevention methods to help keep mountain lions from entering private yards, and an eye-opening list of animal capabilities.The reason for the distribution is also included in the brochure, which stresses that if you see a mountain lion, immediately dial 911 and report the specific location and the direction of travel, if known.



Site Search

E-Subscribe

Subscribe

E-SUBSCRIBE
Call 805 525 1890 to receive the entire paper early. $50.00 for one year.

webmaster