Mountain lion reportedly sighted on Tubbs Hill
A sign telling visitors about a mountain lion sighting is posted at the east entrance to Tubbs Hill on Tuesday.
COEUR d’ALENE - The city of Coeur d'Alene has posted signs around Tubbs Hill warning people that a mountain lion was recently spotted in the area.
Monte McCully, city trails coordinator, said Tuesday that the sighting was reported June 1.
“Several people saw it,” he said.
The big cat was also reportedly seen Sunday morning lounging on the lawn of a home near 13th and Ash Avenue in the Sanders Beach area.
A dead deer, partially eaten, was found on Tubbs Hill during a trail project Saturday, McCully said. A dead fawn was also found. Both had been dead for some time, he added.
Scat found on Tubbs was believed to be from a mountain lion, McCully said.
He said it was the second reported lion sighting this year, with the first around April.
One Sanders Beach resident said he walks his dog often, so he would have to be on alert.
“I might have to start carrying pepper spray,” he said.
The popular hiking hill next to Lake Coeur d'Alene receives thousands of visitors every spring and summer.
People heading up the east trailhead to Tubbs paid little attention to a flyer with the words "Public Advisory" followed by "Mountain Lion Sighting Reported in the area of Tubbs Hill."
Mountain lion sightings are not uncommon in North Idaho.
In years past, cougars have been reported in Daltons Gardens and on Canfield Mountain.
In November, a Dalton Gardens resident reported they believed a cougar had killed a deer on their residential property.
Another Dalton Gardens resident who lives a few blocks from Canfield Mountain reported finding a dead deer with bite marks in his backyard in mid-October.
T.J. Ross, Fish and Game spokesman in the Panhandle Region, previously told The Press that cougars are known to prowl around Dalton Gardens at night and early morning.
According to the Mountain Lion Foundation, Idaho has about 2,000 mountain lions. Cougars avoid people and attacks are rare, the foundation reported.
The city offered a few tips for cougar encounters:
Stop. Never approach a cougar.
Stay calm. Do not run.
Make yourself look large. Face the cougar.
Fight back if attacked.