At the entrance of a park in Orange County last week, I encountered a sign warning of mountain lions (of which, I posted a picture on this happy Corner). I didn’t take the sign terribly seriously, I’ll admit, assuming that it had been posted by the city of Irvine at the urging of overzealous lawyers. A medical doctor writes to disabuse me:
I’ve lived in Orange County 33 years and ran the local trauma center
for years. We are very familiar with lions and I have treated a
number of people who tangled with them. Most are small children.
Casper’s Park is or was closed to children under 12. Recently a woman
mountain biker was attacked. A companion and a passerby pulled the
lion off her. Her husband fainted when he was allowed to see her in
the preop room at the hospital. She’s recovering. When the helo was
looking for the lion that day, they discovered another body nearby. A
man who had been partially eaten and hadn’t yet been reported
missing. That was about 2 miles from my home.
Next time I visit the glorious County of Orange, I’ll either refrain from jogging in this particular park or jog one whole heck of a lot faster.