ST. GEORGE – Officers responded to a report of a mountain lion with two cubs sighting Sunday in the area of 670 N. Circle and 400 West in St. George. Sunday’s sighting is one of many in the area and officials are urging residents to be safe and take extra care.
The large mountain lion, weighing approximately 90 pounds, and two cubs, weighing approximately 40 pounds each, have been seen in the area by several different residents over the last several months, the St. George Police Department said in a statement.
“They seem to be traveling up the cut in the cliffs just above this neighborhood to get in and out,” the St. George Police statement said.
Over the last few weeks, police said the mountain lion sightings have been more frequent along with evidence of their presence, including tracks left in dirt and yards.
“One of the area residents was working on his vehicle during the middle of the day,” the statement said, “and turned to see the large cat watching him from the rocks.”
The Department of Wildlife Resources are being alerted to this matter and police are urging the public take extra caution in these areas.
Staying Safe in cougar, or mountain lion, country
Whether you call them mountain lions or cougars, the names meaning one-in-the same, the big cats are exciting animals to see in the wild and rarely cause problems for humans. However, residents should know how to react if they encounter an aggressive cougar and the DWR offers the following tips:
- Do not run from a cougar. Running will provoke an instinctive prey response and the cougar may pursue you.
- Make yourself look intimidating. Make eye contact with the cougar, which cougars consider a threat. Make yourself look big by opening your jacket, raising your arms and waving them. Speak loudly and firmly to the cougar.
- If you have children, pick them up. Try to pick children up before they panic and run. When you are picking children up, keep eye contact with the cougar and try not to bend over too far or turn your back to the cougar.
- If you are attacked, fight back! Protect your head and neck, as the neck is the target for the cougar. If the cougar thinks it is not likely to win its fight with you quickly, it is likely to give up and leave.
Whom to call if you meet a cougar
If you encounter a cougar in a residential area, or if you have an encounter with an aggressive cougar, alert the Division of Wildlife Resources.
During regular office hours, call the DWR office closest to you. In St. George, telephone 435-879-8694.
When you call, a DWR employee will notify a conservation officer of your encounter or transfer you directly to law enforcement personnel. If the encounter or sighting occurs after hours or on the weekend, please call the police or 911, and they will contact a conservation officer to handle the situation.
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would it be ok to try and pet it?
It would also be nice of you to (if you can get her in your car) to take her to the Planned Parenthood facility for counseling, tubes tied and a wholesome recruiting environment.
Yes, I encourage you to do so.
I think this is inflammatory when it should just be cautionary. This cat has been in the area for a while, if it is the same one, and has never been a nuisance or a threat. She is training her young to find food and they should be moved…she should have been moved a few years ago but no one complained and she’s never hurt anyone. CHILL OUT reporter…there is no emergency here. People who have lived in the area for a while know it. I hope the cats are respected now that one person has alerted that the sky is falling….
My thoughts exactly. Thank you.
Cougars can be found at local gyms. They weigh more than 90 lbs and are meaner than any mountain lion.
the cougers I saw at the gym were way bigger than 90 lbs, way bigger!
Thank you for including information about how to protect ourselves, should we come into contact with these wild animals.
I thought this was an article about Hillary Clinton
that cougar may have been there for awhile without threat, but when its food source (wild or pets) dwindles, it will become a threat rather than starve. I lived in semi-urban cougar country for yrs … every few yrs when the deer/rabbit pop decreased, a cougar would snag a jogger, usually a lone female, or other easy human prey like children playing outside. the situation is not to be taken lightly … needs to be relocated now … safer for humans and cougars, too!
Bender likes to pretend he is at the top of the food chain. I’m with Deke, relocate this cat.
Helllllllllp Helllllllllp I tot I taw a puddy tat I deed I deed
Ha Ha funny zonkerb! I agree the best thing is to relocate this animal and her young. They are way too close to down town St George- both Bluff street and the blvd. These big cats are serious business. They DO attack and eat humans. They are not just alley cats. I would not want to encounter this animal in my yard, on my porch, or in my garage. A funny joke but not a funny situation. Case in point a friend in New Mexico walked into his green house and found a cougar eating his pet dog! My friend changed his under wear and then exercised his 2nd amendment right. The cougar skin now looks very nice on his living room wall.
We have a young one in our neighborhood, it has been seen many times sunning it’s self on rocks in the gully, but to my knowledge no one has ever made a complaint about it and it hasn’t bothered anyone. Live and let live.
I’m more worried about the mountain lion. Let it be or humanely relocate.
If you get eaten by one of these, you’ll wish you ate it first. Is that fur on your lips.
They are soo yellow! They can’t fight, run or play! They are wimps! They act tough till the going gets tough. Just let em be all live in Happy Valley please, please, please…
I think this cougar was, with its cubs, on its way to a latch-on gathering. Why should cougars be excluded from latch-on gatherings? They might want to share their latch-on experience in a group gathering
Hey I think it’s the same cougar I saw last Saturday night at the One And Only, leaning against the bar holding it up, with a drink in her hand. Cigarette dangling from her mouth, she asked me for a light. Wanted to know if I wanted to go prowling the neighborhood. No thanks I said, I just couldn’t get into associating with someone who looked like my grandma….let alone go prowling with her.
It has the same look in its face as do the women (cougars?) at the church singles dances.
The cougar is an opertunist. They will eat you in a second.
She’ll only come out at nights
The lean and hungry type
Nothing is new
I’ve seen her here before
Watching and waiting
Ooh, she’s sittin’ with you
But her eyes are on the door
So many have paid to see
What you think
You’re gettin’ for free
The woman is wild
A she-cat tamed
By the purr of a Jaguar
Money’s the matter
If you’re in it for love
You ain’t gonna get too far
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy
She’ll chew you up
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
She’s a maneater
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy
She’ll chew you up
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
She’s a maneater
I wouldn’t if I were you
I know what she can do
She’s deadly man
Amd she could really rip your world apart
Mind over matter
Ooh, the beauty is there
But a beast is in the heart
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy
She’ll chew you up
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
She’s a maneater
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy
She’ll chew you up
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
She’s a maneater
[Instrumental Interlude]
Ooooooooh
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
Here she comes
Watch out boy
She’ll chew you up
(Whoa-oh, here she comes
(Watch out) she’s a maneater
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
(She’s a maneater)
Ooh, she’ll chew you up
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
Here she comes, she’s a maneater
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
(Watch out)
She’ll only come out at night, ooh-oh
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
Here she comes
She’s a maneater
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
(She’s a maneater)
The woman is wild, whoooa
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
Here she comes
Watch out boy, watch out boy
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
Oh, watch out, watch out
Watch out, watch out
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
(Yeah, yeah) she’s a maneater
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
(She’s a maneater)
She’s watching and waiting, ooh-oh
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
Oh, she’s a maneater