Northern California property owner locking up livestock after mountain lion attacks
LOOMIS — Neighbors in one Northern California community are on edge after several attacks on livestock from a mountain lion. One 8-acre property has had the cat return several times, killing a few goats.
Winter Holloway, who owns property in the Placer County town of Loomis, said her goats are part of the family.
Holloway showed CBS13 where she found mountain lion tracks on her property. She said the conditions of the goat carcasses were a sure sign of a mountain lion.
The area is rural, but still a residential neighborhood.
"I think the cat should be trapped and relocated to a less populated area," Holloway said. "We do have houses close together. We have kids, we have livestock, you know? I don't want to see the cat killed."
A spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife explained that these aren't the right circumstances for a trap and relocation.
"Relocating a single mountain lion isn't going to make the problem go away," said Caitlin Roddy of Fish and Wildlife. "Either they eat goats and sheep somewhere else or it comes right back."
Holloway said she is taking extra security measures like installing motion lights and locking her animals in at night.
"We're also coming out with our guns at night and in the morning, just in case," she said.
The property owner has concerns for her daughter and other small children in the area. Mountain lions are protected from hunters in California.
"Mountain lions very rarely attack people, but everyone should be vigilant knowing they live in an area that has mountain lion activity," Roddy said.
Holloway added that she's not just losing money when a goat is killed.
"Mine are hand-raised. They're our babies and they also perform a function," she said. "I have eight acres, so they serve as my fire prevention. My daughter falls in love with every single one of them, so there's that heartbreak."
Fish and Wildlife officials say the only acceptable time to shoot a mountain lion is in self-defense or by catching it in the act of killing. The Holloways are locking up their animals at night and are hoping the cat goes back to eating deer instead of the neighborhood pets.
