Video of several mountain lions roaming through North Bay neighborhood draws mix of awe and alarm

Some west Sonoma County residents are on high alert after several mountain lions were seen on camera walking through a neighborhood last week.

Outdoor home security cameras caught the mountain lions, a mama and her offspring, wandering around a home nestled in a hilly, forested subdivision of Monte Rio on video on Jan. 21.

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Residents Rick and Nancy Lopes, who shared the videos with The Press Democrat, said they were awoken just before 3 a.m. by their phones alerting them that movement had been detected on the outdoor camera. Nancy Lopes said the animals were first spotted on their cameras walking by the home’s front entrance under the deck before they jumped the fence and took a lap through their backyard.

“They were just walking circles in our yard, making themselves very comfortable,” she said. “It was thrilling, it was exciting, it was scary.”

It was the first time they’ve seen mountain lions in 15 years of living in Monte Rio.

The couple said they looked out their windows but only caught a glimpse of one of the mountain lions in the dark. The animals finally moved away when the couple turned on their outdoor lights.

The videos followed a similar sighting on Jan. 19 at another property in the neighborhood that caused alarm among residents like Robert O’Shaughnessy, who first alerted The Press Democrat to the animals.

O’Shaughnessy, who said he’s only seen one mountain lion in the 12 years he’s lived in Monte Rio, first saw the videos of the animals in a neighborhood group chat.

O’Shaughnessy said his initial reaction was excitement, followed by trepidation.

“It’s like a wildlife safari outside the window,” he said. “It was only later talking to neighbors where people were expressing fear, and (asking) should we be afraid?”

The biggest concern among neighbors was for the safety of their pets, O’Shaughnessy said, though at least one neighbor recalled the fatal New Year’s Day mountain lion attack on a hiker in Colorado.

RELATED: California is natural habitat for mountain lions. Here’s what to do if you encounter one

Quinton Martins, the principal investigator for research project Living With Lions, said in an email to The Press Democrat the videos are reminders that people in Sonoma County “live in lion habitat.”

Living With Lions, a collaborative project between conservation group All Hands Ecology (formerly Audubon Canyon Ranch) and wildlife research and advocacy company True Wild, studies the behavior of mountain lions by collaring them and tracking them as they roam throughout the North Bay.

The security camera footage, Martins said, is an encouraging look at a mountain lion successfully rearing her offspring, which he estimates are about a year old, based on the cats’ size.

“In our area over the past 10 years, about 80% of these kittens have not made it to this age,” he said. “And as such we don’t often see many young that age with mom.”

The largest threat to young North Bay mountain lions comes from the retaliatory killing of mountain lions who prey on unprotected livestock, as well as disease and car strikes, Martins said.

Martins, who is also managing partner of True Wild,  said the mountain lions in the videos were “looking good” and “cruising through the neighborhood,” and that while they are opportunistic hunters who will kill cats, opossums, racoons, bobcats and coyotes, their primary food is deer, making up 75% of their diet.

“Coexistence can be achieved by avoiding conflict in the first place,” he said. “Keep your pets and livestock safe and these cats will focus on natural prey.”

In addition to providing landowners free advice on how best to protect their livestock, Martins said that as part of his work with True Wild he is available to help locals if they have a mountain lion issue or concern and can be reached at truewild.org/contact.

The county is home to about 75 mountain lions, based on estimates from habitat models, according to Sonoma County Regional Parks.

On its website, the agency shares advice on what to do if residents encounter a mountain lion:

– Don’t panic. Mountain lions do not want to attack anything that looks big enough to hurt them, so raise your arms, spread your jacket, appear large, stand close to people.

– Don’t bend down or crouch and don’t turn your back on the mountain lion. Do not run, to avoid triggering their hunting instinct, which is to chase.

– Talk to it loudly; mountain lions typically avoid the sound of humans.

– If attacked, fight back, punch, hit with hands, bottles, sticks or packs. People have successfully fought off mountain lions.

Additionally, people are advised to be cautious between dusk and dawn when mountain lions are most active, to pay attention to warnings of sightings and to avoid approaching dead animals in brush that may be a nearby mountain lion’s meal.

Mountain lion attacks on humans are incredibly rare, experts say, with fewer than 50 verified attacks in California since 1890, according to the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife. Of those, six have been fatal.

“The cats can’t avoid being close to development” Martins said. “But they still appear to avoid people as much as possible.”