Post by Logan on Apr 4, 2017 2:34:07 GMT -6
A mountain lion looks through the fence where the Trabuco Trailblazers 4-H group keeps their pygmy goats on Tuesday night. Eight goats were killed overnight Monday. (Winston Vickers, wildlife veterinarian with UC Davis Wildlife Health Center)
Mountain lion kills 8 pygmy goats raised by Trabuco youth club
SILVERADO – Members of the Trabuco Trailblazers 4-H Club discovered this week that eight of their prized pygmy goats had been killed by a mountain lion sometime late Monday night or early Tuesday morning, according to news reports.
One goat survived the attack, but was injured, said Winston Vickers, a wildlife veterinarian who was called out to investigate the area Tuesday.
Vickers, who has been studying mountain lions in the Santa Ana Mountains since 2002, said the mountain lion likely got into the pen where the goats were held through holes and gaps along the perimeter or roof. And that could have led to a frenzy, he said.
“They’re trapped,” Vickers said. “A common characteristic of cats in that situation is to go into a frenzy of grabbing every animal that runs by. It’s not unusual to have animals killed, it’s a behavioral characteristic.”
Read more: www.ocregister.com/articles/mountain-748048-lion-vickers.html