PLACERVILLE, CA – For about 10 minutes on Monday, a family was stalked by an adult mountain lion on a bike trail east of Placerville.
On the afternoon of 1/11/21, The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office responded to 911 calls from a family walking on the bike trail east of Placerville. The couple who called 911 were walking with their two small children in a stroller and had their two small dogs with them. They were being followed by an adult mountain lion for about 10 minutes. The family and others who arrived were yelling at the lion, but it continued to follow them.
A deputy arrived and watched as the lion was pacing back and forth on the trail. The Deputy yelled at the lion which started walking toward the deputy instead of running away as a normal healthy mountain lion would. In a last effort to scare the animal away the deputy fired a warning shot into the ground in front of the lion. The lion continued in its path toward the deputy, further showing that it was not well and dangerous to the public. The deputy had no option other than to put down the animal. The single mountain lion was the only lion observed in the area during the event.
The mountain lion was taken by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for further study. It is important to note that mountain lions live throughout El Dorado County and should be allowed to live undisturbed.