Concern for a co-worker's safety

[Larry Jacks]

There's a news story (http://www.koaa.com/aaaaa_speacial_alerts/x471793606/Lion-on-the-loose-in-El-Paso-County) from just outside of Colorado Springs that a lion has been spotted on the loose. There is some debate about whether it's really a lion or perhaps a large dog (like a chow).

Anyway, one of my co-workers lives near the area where the "lion" was spotted. He rode his mountain bike to work today, so here's are the emails we exchanged:

Message 1: "Pray for Dan:
CSPD chopper to aid search for large African lion on the loose east of Springs
Per Dan “ I feel like a lunch box on wheels!”
Dan rode his bicycle to work today
Please pray for Dan as he peddles his way home today."

Message 2:
"The news reports that it’s either a lion or a large dog. No one seems to know for sure. This reminds me of a radio report I heard several years ago that a mountain lion was spotted on Powers near the K-Mart. I just happened to be passing that place and saw a large animal. It was a Chow."

Message 3:
"Lion chow?"

Message 4:
"At least the lion can use the spokes to clean Dan out of between his teeth…"

Message 5:
"And the bike tires will make a good chew toy…"

Message 6:
"I thought Dan was the chew toy"

Message 7:
"No, Dan would be the snack. A lion would run out of Dan fairly quickly. However, a lion (or large dog) could get hours of fun from chewing the tires. Wait a minute - is this a road bike or a mountain bike? I’m thinking about mountain bike tires. Road bike tires would do little more than clean the lion (or large dog’s) teeth."

Message 8 (from Dan):
"Your care and concern is warming the cockles of my heart."

Message 9:
"Are cockles chew toys?"

Sniff. It warms my heart to see so many people care about the fate of a co-worker!

[SciFi Chick]

I bet the coworker can find another way home if he's really worried. ;)

[A.DIM]

Well, it is after all, a dog eat dog world.

Er... a lion eat man world.

:D

[chrissy]

If any one had real cocerns over your co-worker then why don't they offer him transport home until the lion/dog is found, or are you having bets on when he is going to get pounced on?
Or would your concerns turn to worry when he doesn't turn in one day?

Meals on wheels I supose for the lion/dog! :)

[Larry Jacks]

Actually, another co-worker who lives near Dan offered him a ride but Dan turned it down. You have to understand how men (especially an office full of veterans - Dan is retired Navy) express our concern for one another.

[Kaptain K]

Ride offered.

Ride refused.

Now, it's Dan's problem!

[PetersCreek]

We don't normally have lions on the loose around here to worry the cyclists but a recent event shows that bears are another matter entirely (http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jun29/0,4670,GrizzlyAttack,00.html).

[chrissy]

He might have started the rumours off himself then , if he refuses rides home!
All the same he must be a fool, I have served too and I think if something was out there that would threaten my life I would like to be in a safe car.

[Larry Jacks]

We don't normally have lions on the loose around here to worry the cyclists but a recent event shows that bears are another matter entirely.

From the linked article:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A 14-year-old girl riding in a mountain bike race was attacked in the dark of night by a bear Sunday and severely injured, but she was able to make a brief 911 call that eventually resulted in her rescue.

The girl suffered head, neck, torso and leg wounds. She underwent surgery and was in critical condition Sunday afternoon at Providence Alaska Medical Center, police said.

Alaskan girls are tough*. I hope she pulls through.

*Several years ago, I watched a program about families who settled in the Alaskan interior, often with the nearest neighbor dozens of miles away. They showed one family that had a 16 year old daughter. She routinely took off in a dogsled for days at a time to run a trap line. I remember thinking, "This may be the only family in America that's more concerned their teenaged daughter might get eaten than get pregnant."

[01101001]

Wait until it pounces at least. San Francisco Chronicle: Search is on in Palo Alto hills for cougar that pounced on man (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/14/BAEG11OSHG.DTL)

Looking up, he saw the lion roll past him down to the creek, pick itself up and scamper away, Ryan said.

Authorities said the mountain lion was an adolescent inexperienced in hunting.

It was just practice!

[Swift]

There's a news story (http://www.koaa.com/aaaaa_speacial_alerts/x471793606/Lion-on-the-loose-in-El-Paso-County) from just outside of Colorado Springs that a lion has been spotted on the loose. There is some debate about whether it's really a lion or perhaps a large dog (like a chow).

Isn't a mountain lion (cougar) much more likely in Colorado than an African lion (not that cougars can't do some serious damage)?

As far as your co-worker, he just needs to ride with other people. Remember, you don't have to ride faster than the lion, just faster than your friends. ;)

[Torsten]

Text from a safety alert I received from a client this morning:


While locating a lot boundary in the North Selous area an employee was approached by an adult cougar. Luckily he was alerted to the approach of the cougar by the timorous chattering of a nearby squirrel. The employee scanned the hillside for the cause of all the excitement when he noticed a large cougar glaring at him from the shade of a nearby tree approximately 20-30 meters away. The direction of the cat was along the same route from where the employee had just come from, so he presumed that the cat was intentionally following him.

Once the cougar was aware that the employee was watching, it sat down and acted nonchalant. At this point the employee pulled out his bear spray, and grabbed a large stick. He tried yelling and brandishing the stick in what he hoped would be a threatening manner, but this had no apparent effect upon the cat. Thus began a bit of a stand-off. When the employee did try to back away, the cougar would go into a threatening crouch position, which caused the employee to stand his ground, yell a bit, and try to look big. This would cause the cougar to return to a sitting position. Eventually the employee was able to leave the scene, all the while with his eyes on the feline. The employee must have put on a good show, as the cougar did not respond with a crouch, or try to follow behind him. The employee made his way to his vehicle, about a kilometer away, stopping occasionally to make sure he was not being followed.

Recommended Preventative Actions:
1.
The employee reacted according to approved safe work procedures for cougar encounters, lessening the chances of an adverse situation to occur.

[PetersCreek]

Alaskan girls are tough*. I hope she pulls through.

Last I heard on the news, she was improving but had a long way to go. A tough girl to be sure.

Our old timers can be just as tough. A few years ago, a fellow of about 70 years was mauled by a grizzly. As badly as he was injured, the bear got it worse. In the midst of the attack, he somehow pulled his knife and killed the bear. Unable to walk, he then dragged himself something like a mile and a half back to the main road. I'm doing good to drag myself out of bed in the mornings.

It also turns out my dog is a lot tougher than we thought. Late last month, while I was out of town, my wife was in the garage when she heard a sound outside. Thinking it might be neighborhood kids in the driveway, she opened the side door to find herself maybe 3 feet from a black bear trying to raid our garbage. Each of them were quite surprised by the other and didn't move for what seemed like several long seconds. Enter the dog.

Now, our chocolate lab is a friendly, docile, submissive dog. Aside from nervous barking whenever the doorbell rings, he's never showed the faintest hint of aggression...until he saw that bear. My wife said his reaction shocked her far more than seeing the bear. He charged out the door with hackles up and lips pulled back so she could count every one of his teeth. He chased that bear down the driveway in the "butt-tuck" run that labs do, barking, snarling, and flinging spittle all the while. She thinks he even got a nip or two in on the bear's butt.

My wife said she actually felt sorry for the bear, even when the dog had gotten around him and chased him straight back at her. He was a young one, not a whole lot bigger than the dog and he was in such a wide-eyed panic, she thought he was going to soil himself any second. That's about when the dog cut him off again and sent him back down the drive for good.

[Larry Jacks]

The lion (if it isn't a dog) might've been illegally kept on private land. Personally, the picture looks more like the back side of a chow than a lion. Perhaps they'll find out soon.

As far as your co-worker, he just needs to ride with other people. Remember, you don't have to ride faster than the lion, just faster than your friends.

Dan rides to work a lot and is pretty fast. I don't know of too many other people who ride bikes that far to work. It's close to 30 miles each way.

[Frantic Freddie]

Lookin' at the pic I don't see a lion,the tail's wrong,looks like it could be a Chow or some other hairy dog.

Feral dogs can be more dangerous than cougars,hungry & not afraid of humans is a very bad combination.

[Neverfly]

Lookin' at the pic I don't see a lion,the tail's wrong,looks like it could be a Chow or some other hairy dog.

Feral dogs can be more dangerous than cougars,hungry & not afraid of humans is a very bad combination.

From the article:
A family in the area is missing its Great Pyrenees-type dog.

[slang]

San Francisco Chronicle: Search is on in Palo Alto hills for cougar that pounced on man

That headline isn't very suprising considering one other meaning of the word cougar, in which case the man probably wouldn't mind all that much. Board rules unfortunately prohibit me from exploring this angle on the story any further.

[chrissy]

It could be a mountain lion as their tails are thicker than the regular lion.

[01101001]

Wait until it pounces at least. San Francisco Chronicle: Search is on in Palo Alto hills for cougar that pounced on man (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/14/BAEG11OSHG.DTL)

On the other hand...

KPIX TV CBS Channel 5: 'No Evidence' Of Palo Alto Mountain Lion Attack (http://cbs5.com/pets/mountain.lion.attack.2.771162.html)

There was "no evidence of any such attack" that could be found, officials told CBS 5.
[...]
Fish & Game officials said the victim had no claw marks or torn clothing and they could find no physical evidence at the scene confirming the man's attack story.

It could have been one of those levitating, nonviolent cougars.

[Neverfly]

On the other hand...

KPIX TV CBS Channel 5: 'No Evidence' Of Palo Alto Mountain Lion Attack (http://cbs5.com/pets/mountain.lion.attack.2.771162.html)



It could have been one of those levitating, nonviolent cougars.

In the article, the man made no claim that he had been clawed. He said it knocked him down, but lost its own footing as well and scampered off after splashing into the creek below.
I find it unlikely, given that story, that there would BE much evidence. And he said there were no claw marks so why are they saying it didn't occur because they found no claw marks?

Seems silly to me.

[Torsten]

Lots and lots of cougar attack stories here (http://www.cougarinfo.org/attacks3.htm).

[Larry Jacks]

Well, Dan made it home ok. He rode his motorcycle today.

[Fazor]

On the other hand...

KPIX TV CBS Channel 5: 'No Evidence' Of Palo Alto Mountain Lion Attack (http://cbs5.com/pets/mountain.lion.attack.2.771162.html)



It could have been one of those levitating, nonviolent cougars.

Or, the man simply didn't realize the Mountain Lion was pouncing on the fly hovering over his shoulder, and not the man himself. ;)

ETA: The story of the epic struggle between Lion and Fly is as old as man. The subsequent roll down the embankment was, of course, the life-and-death fight between to two natural foes. The young lion was forced to scamper off when it realized it was losing the battle. Case solved.

[mugaliens]

Well, Dan made it home ok. He rode his motorcycle today.

If a lion can take down a 50-mph prey, it can probably take down a cyclist, or even a motorcyclist.

[Larry Jacks]

Most motorcycles can go a lot faster than 50 MPH.

[chrissy]

I think Mugs was meaning a pedal bike! ;)

[mugaliens]

Most motorcycles can go a lot faster than 50 MPH.

Not on the twisty roads in and around the 'Springs, nor through the 'Springs' infamous traffic issues.

[Larry Jacks]

The "lion" was spotted out around Calhan, about 25-30 miles east of the Springs. Lots of straight roads out there.

[chrissy]

Prime pouncing ground, especially if there is a hill and ground cover for it!
It wouldn't make any difference if the roads are winding or straight, all it needs is a bush to hide behind or a rock to jump off! ;)
Lions aren't that picky when it comes to a meal.

[Larry Jacks]

The search has been called off according to this report (http://www.koaa.com/aaaa_top_stories/x471793606/Lion-on-the-loose-in-El-Paso-County).

African Lion -- or a big dog?

Never mind. After a daylong search for an African Lion roaming eastern El Paso County as if it were the Colorado Serengeti, authorities are now saying the "lion" could be a big dog. Take a look at the photo--what do you think?

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado Dept. of Agriculture, CSPD helicopter, a bloodhound tracking pair and Cheyenne Mountain Zoo all participated in the hunt, which has been called-off. A family in the area is missing its Great Pyrenees-type dog.

Of course, if it was a lion, it might've eaten the dog.

Closer to my home, there's this story (http://www.koaa.com/aaaa_featured_stories/x506195204/Lions-and-Tigers-and-Bears-Oh-my) today:

Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh my!

A young bear was spotted in a tree in Colorado Springs, near Acdaemy and Kelly Johnson. Wildlife officers chose not to tranquilize him because they were concerned that he would run into traffic. Instead, they harassed him.

Michael Seraphin of the Colorado Division of Wildlife said, "The hope was to try to haze the bear to get it heading west. It worked, the bear left and went west, but unfortunately in the process ran into a door at the store." Circuit City will be getting a new glass door. Imagine that call to the insurance company.

The bear cut through a neighborhood as it headed west, with wildlife officers warning residents as they went.

That happened a little over 2 miles from my home. Fortunately, it ran away to the west and I live northeast of where it was spotted.

[chrissy]

looks like a mountain lion to me! :)

Are you sure you don't live in OZ and your co-worker travels down the yellow brick road ? OH my! ;)

[Larry Jacks]

We're half expecting a tiger to escape from the zoo tomorrow.

[chrissy]

and the tin man to escape from the can factory, and maybe join up with the scarecrow too!

[Swift]

We're half expecting a tiger to escape from the zoo tomorrow.
Oh my!

[mfumbesi]

We're half expecting a tiger to escape from the zoo tomorrow.
That would probably make for a better news headline..."Man eaten by a Wild-Tiger" than say "Man eaten be a stray dog".

[Jens]

Text from a safety alert I received from a client this morning:


The employee reacted according to approved safe work procedures for cougar encounters, lessening the chances of an adverse situation to occur.


Got to love that bureacratese!

"An adverse situation to occur". How is that different from "being attacked"?

[Tog_]

One thing about big cats attacking motorcycles that I dont think was taken fully into account:

Link (http://www.partiallyclips.com/pclipslite.php?id=1544)

(Small cartoon, safe for work. Others on that site have some language issues)

[farmerjumperdon]

Fear of vacumms, and the ability to mispell thongs. The 2 things that unequivically seperates humans from all other aminals.

[Torsten]

Got to love that bureacratese!

"An adverse situation to occur". How is that different from "being attacked"?

Yes, given that the rest of the text is written with a more colourful choice of words than we usually see in these kinds of notes, (e.g., "Luckily", "timorous chattering", "put on a good show"), I would have expected it to end with something like "being eaten".

[BigDon]

In the article, the man made no claim that he had been clawed. He said it knocked him down, but lost its own footing as well and scampered off after splashing into the creek below.
I find it unlikely, given that story, that there would BE much evidence. And he said there were no claw marks so why are they saying it didn't occur because they found no claw marks?

Seems silly to me.

Nev, this time of year the roads in that area are that dust that holds a track well. There were no tracks on or around the road. Scattered oak and tarweed and dry grass and dust. No complete canopy. A non-hunter will never fool a professional tracker with false big cat claims.

[01101001]

A non-hunter will never fool a professional tracker with false big cat claims.

And Fish and Game went all CSI on the report and analyzed the shirt worn during the attack: no cougar hair, no mountain-lion saliva, no puma-claw rips, no panther-tooth tears.

It looks like it's piling up now.

Palo Alto Online: Man who reported lion may be fined $10K (http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8724)

Hiker could be charged with false report, pay for investigation

The man whose reported weekend mountain-lion attack in Palo Alto's Foothills Park was found "unsubstantiated" by state officials may have to pay for the subsequent two-day investigation, Palo Alto police Agent Dan Ryan said.

Police may charge the man with making a false report, pending additional interviews today (Wednesday) or tomorrow, Ryan said.

Now that hurts.

Edit: Update, Palo Alto Online: No fines for hiker who cried 'lion' (http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8737)

Earlier, police said the Portola Valley resident could have been fined the estimated $10,000 cost of the investigation, if it were determined he had made up his story.
But the hiker "stuck to his guns" in an interview Thursday, insisting he had been attacked, Ryan said.
After consulting with the Santa Clara County district attorney, police decided there was not a strong enough case to charge him, according to Ryan.