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
On three different occasions this summer I’ve seen deer in that general area, most probably coming over the Eastern slope and down through High Meadows.
Deer have been sighted several times on Sawmill Road, too, this summer. Generally, if there are deer, there will be lions.
The last two light winters have helped the deer herds by reducing normal winter die-off numbers, also, forest thinning and the Angora fire has opened large areas for new vegetation growth, all contributors to an increasing migratory deer herd. Cat’s follow deer, they will eat coyotes and raccoons if given the opportunity but, their main prey are deer, by the time the snow falls my prediction is numerous sightings this summer, we’ll see…
I’ve lived here in South Shore for over 23 years and only seen a buck up on Kingsbury one time. In the 15 years in Meyers…never once. I sure hope to never encounter a mountain lion.
Saw a deer running behind our place on ski run Saturday night. A very rare site.
Last year I saw multiple deer at the top of Kingsbury. A few on the Rim Trail near stagecoach, and 3 of them in a yard near 207/Tramway. Hiked up to a ridge south of Genoa Peak last May and saw plenty of deer droppings and some mountain lion tracks.
I saw a deer crossing EB Rd on my way to beach the other day. My hubs saw lions on Red Lake Peak, my son’s friend saw them by Barton and we’ve seen tracks in our North Upper Truckee neighborhood in the woods closer to river.
About a month ago, I watched a mountain lion slink into the trees on the NE side of 50, just before Sawmill pond. I have lived on the Western slope since 1991 and have only seen one before that. Cool!
We live in Christmas Valley. We see deer quite often, usually at night. (We have a motion light outside our bedroom slider.) We have seen mountain lions about five times, although not yet this year. They come in daylight, usually in the morning.
At least something is getting a deer in this area. I rarely see them and surly not in hunting season.
I saw Sasquatch run across Fountain Place Rd the other day when I was on a mt bike ride.
deer cross the carson crest with in the boundaries of heavenly all summer an show signs of rut during fall. I cant even begin to count how many deer I have seen up there. no cats though.