Mountain Lion Snack - Deer Bones

So, I have been mentioning for over a year now how I am regularly finding mountain lion tracks on my runs, and a couple weeks back I caught my first glimpse of a local lion. Well, yesterday, I went a step further...I found a victim of the moutain lions, or should I say, I found the leftovers of a meal, a full grown deer. Click here to see the exact location on Google Maps. Amazing.




The video above shows me finding the bones as I find them. I was filming a new trail that I was on. I was following deer trails that criss-cross the hills near where I live. I finally got on a ridge and was heading towards the summit of a hill. Then I literally stumbled upon the scene where a deer met its fate. No corporation or government was involved. Nature 101.

After finding the bones, I decided to bring the antlers home. Its life was not in vain. It lived free until it died and its skull serves as a symbol of the wild mountains that surround us here in Los Angeles, wild mountains that invite us to share in the beauty and mystery of nature...if you can muster the courage to venture into them.

This is the ONLY mountain lion sign I have seen in the Verdugo Mountains.
It is at the entrance of the Whiting Woods Trail.

Sign Reads: Mountain lions are important members of the natural community and may be found in this area. Although these animals are seldom seen, they are unpredictable and have been known to attack without warning.

Keep children close, as mountain lions seem to be especially drawn to them. Avoid hiking alone. Make plenty of noise while you hike so as to reduce the chances of surprising a lion.

New addition to my new place, look in loft window...see? (added Sept. 30, 2008):

From Weathertop Farms, Shadow Hills, California

BFT