Residents Worried After Mountain Lion Spotted In Placer County
FORESTHILL (CBS13) - Foresthill residents are not quite comfortable with a cat lurking around, because this kind can rip apart any animal in an attack.
"I don't think ill be out tonight sitting around. I think I'll stay in," said resident Claudia Bennett.
Placer County deputies tell CBS13 that someone in the Foresthill neighborhood called 911 to report a mountain lion on a rooftop.
Another neighbor told CBS13 he saw tracks, but deputies say they didn't find the feline.
"I've never seen them on the property but we've seen them within a mile of here," said resident Jim Bennett.
It's no surprise to Jim and Claudia that mountain lions are roaming.
In fact, Sunday morning outside Nevada City, a camper was attacked, thrashed, had his bones broken and his clothes and sleeping bag ripped and bloodied.
This isn't the first attack the residents have heard about.
"Yeah, I guess we could say we've had experience," said Claudia.
They're son's teacher was killed by a mountain lion in 1994 while she was jogging the American River Trail.
"I used to take my grandkids on that walk all the time, never think anything of it but sometimes you get wake up calls," said Claudia.
That wasn't the only sighting.
"We had a friend that rides horses and had a mountain lion jump at her horse," said Claudia.
"They're territorial and we have to be aware that even though you haven't seen one they're probably living in the zone," said Jim.
People who live in the area clearly know they live among wild animals that may be a threat, but the Bennett family says the benefits far outweigh the risk.
They enjoy the forest at its finest and count on their big dog Dudley to scare off the predators.
But for now, they'll take precautions into their own hands.
"I wouldn't want to take a walk right now, even with my dog. I wouldn't want to take him on a walk," said Claudia.
