| From: Robert Dowell Yesterday, my dog Siggy and I were walking along the main path on my land, which is 36 acres of old growth forest at the top of Palomar Mountain, when I happened to see a mountain lion just after 7 pm walking directly towards us in the middle of the same path. This was just after I saw a deer grazing in an adjacent open pasture to my left and took a picture of it, so my cell phone happened to be out and still in camera mode. The mountain lion and I stopped at the same time, facing each other, and I told Siggy to stay and spoke to her in a loud and intense voice so that she would look (and keep looking) in my direction and sit still, while also scaring the mountain lion away. Siggy was between me and the mountain lion, but facing my direction, so she never saw it, but it saw us – which is clear from the pictures. I kept Siggy looking my way because she probably would have chased the mountain lion had she seen it, as she always does for squirrels, birds and deer. And she is so intense every time she does this! Once the mountain lion and I were stopped and facing each other, I managed to get a few quick pictures of it (and Siggy, who was still facing me) before it turned and ran up the hill (it blinked first, hahaha), toward where my mountain car was parked. Then I went the opposite way and had Siggy walk with me, keeping her close, while pulling my horn and pepper spray from their holsters on my belt, and removing their safety features. For now, I kept my knife in its holster which, along with the horn and pepper spray, is always on my belt when I walk the land in case Siggy and/or I are ever attacked by a mountain lion. The difficulty was that I didn’t want to keep walking the land in case the mountain lion decided to stalk and attack us, but it had turned and gone up the hill toward where my mountain car was parked. So we walked up the hill to the car and I blew the horn once while talking loudly to Siggy in an attempt to not surprise or startle the mountain lion. Just as we got to my car, Siggy suddenly chased something for about 200 feet until I was able to call her back. It might have been the mountain lion, but I didn’t see what she had chased into the trees. What a wonderful experience, seeing a mountain lion in the wild for the first time, and on my own land – something I had been hoping for since moving up here a few years ago. And while it looks somewhat like a ghost in the cell phone pictures, I could see the mountain lion with my own eyes just as clearly as I could see my own dog Siggy. A little earlier on the same day, Siggy and I were surprised by a large great horned owl on the floor of the forest that was right near us, and it flew away with such a large wingspan. We walked around the land until we found it again on the branch of a tree enjoying the sunshine. What a magical land. |
Palomar Mountain News 
If you see the lion first you usually have no worries. It’s the lion you don’t see that would be more of a problem. They’re ambush hunters. I’ve heard a soccer horn usually works but I keep a stout black oak walking “club” with me and have a permit to carry a pistol as well. I watched one kill a deer in my yard and it left a lasting impression on me.
Glad you and your dog are safe.
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By: Frank McCarthy on July 12, 2023
at 10:37 pm
Hi Robert!
I enjoyed very much reading the story about Siggy and the Lion that was posted on the Palomar Mountain News, and looking at the pictures you took of them. That must have been quite exciting but scary at the same time.
I lived in Palomar Mountain for 10 years and, l can agree with you, it is quite a magical place. All those beautiful trees! And, the owls; I miss it very much!
Thank you for your story; you write very well too!
Esther.
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By: Esther Krouse on July 12, 2023
at 9:02 pm