Mountain lion leaves behind deer carcass

A deer carcass found July 14 in South Lake Tahoe. Photo/Toogee Sielsch

While mountain lions are not often seen in the Lake Tahoe Basin, they do live here.

El Dorado County Vector Control employees were reminded of this today when they found a deer carcass that was the work of a mountain lion.

The skeletal remains were found July 14 near Trout Creek right below Pioneer Trail in South Lake Tahoe.

Deer are a primary food source for mountain lions, though they will also eat coyotes and raccoons.

The last reported sighting of a mountain lion in the basin was summer 2013 in the meadow between Lake Tahoe Community College and South Tahoe Public Utility District. In 2008, a mountain lion was caught in the Tahoe Keys.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report