A WELL MEANING HAND

In 1987 a young, about six month old, mountain lion was hit by a vehicle on the 118 Freeway near Kuehner Drive. A good Samaritan motorist stopped when he saw the downed cat. It was unconscious but still breathing. He loaded the animal onto the passenger seat of his car and drove to the Rancho Sequoia Veterinary Clinic. Having explained the situation to Dr. Stan Kunin, the gentleman stated that he wanted the mountain lion “fixed up” so that he could keep it as a pet. Dr. Kunin pointed out the obvious. The big cat was a wild animal and could never be trusted, and it belonged to the State of California. The two proceeded to the parking lot - Stan with a syringe containing a tranquilizer suitable to the task - where they discovered that the mountain lions had regained consciousness and was apparently very upset. In fact, it had thoroughly trash the interior of the good Samaritan’s automobile - having shredded the upholstery, the headliner, etc. It had been hit by a vehicle and locked in an automobile in the middle of the city. At this point the good Samaritan no longer wanted the mountain lion, and had begun to think about just what he was going to say to his insurance agent. (I have always imagined that he would begin by saying, “Well, there was this mountain lion.”)

Fortunately, the good Samaritan had the key. However, one could not simply open the door and let it out. There was the safety of pets, small children and just about everyone else to worry about. In the end, the door was opened, and the cat was tranquilized by the hand of Dr. Kunin. Unfortunately, the mountain lion succumbed a few days later to its vehicle-inflicted injuries. Mountain lions are not good judges of traffic and tend to cross freeway lanes at a dead run, hoping for the best.

I have often wondered what would have been the outcome if the cat had awakened while being driven down Los Angeles Avenue by the good Samaritan. Would the driver have to stopped before exiting?

The next day developer Brian Catalde of Paragon Homes encountered what must of been the cat’s litter mate wandering along Kuehner Drive north of the freeway at about 1:00 p.m. - alone in the world. A few minutes later, when City planner Wolf Ascher and I met Brian, he was somewhat excited.

(This story is repeated and somewhat modified from one which was included in Simi Valley: A Journey Through Time (1997), page 327. It is my favorite mountain lion story - I retell it often.)

                                                                                    Mike Kuhn

10-27-04