Chief among the suggestions, along with the ever-present heed to remain calm: Do not turn, and do not run.
Instead, pick up any young children off the ground, and do anything possible to make yourself appear larger than you are - for instance, hold a coat over your head.
“We've had an increase in the deer population,” says Germaine White, information and education specialist with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, “and where the deer go, the predator follows the prey.”
The other reported mountain lion sighting, over the weekend, was east of the municipal Polson Bay Golf Course.
White said tribal game wardens were unable to locate the mountain lions, and encouraged any future sightings to be reported directly to tribal dispatch at 675-4700.
Mountain lions' “generally secretive and solitary nature is what makes it possible for humans to live in mountain lion country without ever seeing a mountain lion,” Stacy Courville, CSKT wildlife biologist, says.
But much of the Flathead Indian Reservation is prime mountain lion habitat, he adds, and all suitable lion habitat is considered occupied.
The Tribal Wildlife Management Program uses infrared camera stations to monitor wildlife populations on the reservation, and each of the stations has documented mountain lion activity.
Additional field studies have also shown mountain lions using riparian corridors in the Mission Valley, including Crow, Post, Mission and the Flathead River.
If a mountain lion behaves aggressively even after a person has followed the suggestions to remain standing and facing the animal, Courville says the person should speak loudly to the lion and attempt to arm themselves with a stick or large rock.
If the lion still attacks, fight back, Courville says, and do your best to remain upright.
People who live in mountain lion country should take a few precautions as well, according to the tribes:
Teach children what to do if they encounter a lion, and closely supervise youngsters playing outdoors.
Do not attract wildlife, especially deer, into your yard by feeding them or putting out salt.
Remember that small pets or livestock - house cats, small dogs, rabbits, goats and sheep - are all easy prey and can attract mountain lions. Pet food left outside can lure them as well.
Remove hiding cover for lions around your home. It doesn't mean removing all vegetation, the tribes say, but you should be able to see wildlife that enters your yard.
Mountain lions, Courville says, “generally will be most abundant in areas with plentiful deer. Lions are typically most active around sunrise and sunset, when deer are most active.”
Mountain lions are a protected species, and hunting them is currently prohibited. Prompt reporting of sightings to the tribes will help CSKT wardens and biologists properly remove a lion from a populated area.
Here, kitty
If you see a mountain lion in the Polson area, promptly report it to Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribal dispatch by calling 675-4700.
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