Northern Nevada is mountain lion territory, Churchill County included. However, like most wild cats, mountain lions are solitary animals that prefer to remain unseen. If humans see them in urban or residential areas, they can threaten the safety of children, adults, pets, and livestock.
According to the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), mountain lions are about 3-4 times the size of bobcats and are the second largest North American wild cat. Adult mountain lions generally weigh between 100 and 150 pounds and are identified by their long tail, usually about one-third of their body length. These powerhouse feline animals tend to avoid human interaction, but that does not mean they do not sometimes travel through outlying areas near towns, farms, ranches, and other populated areas as they follow mule deer herds as they migrate to new grazing areas where the food is most plentiful.
As mountain lions have the most extensive longitudinal range of any cat species, they are willing to go great distances to follow their prey – and therefore hunt. While encounters with mountain lions are rare and the risk of an attack is extremely low, they can – and do, occasionally encroach on occupied areas, as was recently evidenced by an adult mountain lion on the outskirts of Fallon.
The Churchill County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a mountain lion in a tree in a residential area just off the Reno Highway on Tuesday, April 25. “Sometimes the beauty of nature and letting it roam unimpeded crosses paths with the need to protect the public,” said Sheriff Richard Hickox. “Most of the time in our area, interactions with wildlife deal with deer eating flowers, scaring drivers, or the more offensive olfactory assault created by a roaming skunk.” This time, however, it was something far more dangerous. “The situation presented obvious public safety concerns for those living in the area if not handled appropriately,” Hickox explained.
According to Stacie Orozco, the mountain lion attacked her daughter’s goats. “One was killed, and one was injured at the OK Mobile Home Park off the Reno Highway,” said Orozco.
Amiee Faulk, who owns the Arundell Lane property where the mountain line was perched in a tree, notified the sheriff of its presence. A nearby neighbor also saw the mountain lion from her porch the same morning, reported Faulk, “We believe it traveled up from the river.” According to Faulk, an area game warden, who would have been able to tranquilize and move the animal, was unavailable. “The cat was right above my horse pen,” said Faulk. “I had to move my horse to safety while a deputy protected me.”
Faulk was worried because the mountain lion was in a tree in an area surrounded by kids, pets, and livestock and appeared not to be scared or retreating. “There was a huge concern for the kids that live in the neighboring area, who walk by and like to come down and pet my horse after school,” Faulk stated. “As much as it is sad and difficult, they had to dispatch this lion. I hope this situation doesn’t come up again. Even if they were able to tranquilize it, it wouldn’t have had a safe landing and could have been easily injured. It’s just one of those really, really hard situations.”
Officers responded and reached out to NDOW officials hoping they could safely remove the mountain lion. Unfortunately, NDOW had no personnel in the area to assist, despite how urgently the sheriff’s office conveyed public safety concerns. “We strongly felt that the risk of leaving an apex predator, one that displayed no fear of humans, alone in a residential neighborhood was an undue risk to the public,” said Hickox. “As our efforts to have this situation handled with the possible removal of the animal by NDOW failed, the decision was made to protect the public and livestock in the area.”
The sheriff’s office contacted an experienced, licensed hunter with a valid Nevada mountain lion tag. NDOW later arrived on the scene and worked with the hunter to harvest the animal and ensure all data about the animal and the event was reported, explained Hickox, stating the hunter “dispatched the animal in a legal, humane, and ethical fashion.”
While many residents oppose the actions taken by the sheriff’s office and NDOW, others expressed support, noting the potential dangers mountain lions can pose to humans. According to Jaclyn Hughes, a mountain lion was trapped and killed in her backyard on April 26 after it killed four goats (two of her own and two neighboring goats). “Thank you, NDOW,” she said, who was not in favor of relocation. “I want my kids and pets to be safe in their own yard. This cat came into my yard three separate times to hunt - It was hunting. Because that’s what mountain lions do.” Hughes explained, “I chose my children’s life over a mountain lion’s.”
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