Five reported attacks on deer have occurred in the Big Rock and Carbon Mesa areas of Malibu over the last six weeks, sparking neighborhood concern.
Up to this point, it is unclear what type of predator killed the deer, although speculation has led some to theorize it could be the work of one or more coyotes or potentially a mountain lion.
Residents, however, should not be too concerned about the risk of mountain lion attack, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).
“Human beings are not on their menu,” said Rebecca Barboza, a wildlife biologist for the CDFW, who added that the general rule when face-to-face with a mountain lion is to make oneself appear larger than the animal. Additionally, according to her knowledge, the CDFW has never documented mountain lion attacks on people in groups.
Rich Davis, a Carbon Mesa resident of 50 years, found a partially eaten deer carcass in front of his home two weeks ago, with a leg and hip joint in the front yard of the residence, entrails on the driveway of the home and a ribcage found later in nearby bushes.
“There were signs of a scuffle,” Davis said. “There was dirt knocked into the driveway from my garden.”
Davis suspected it was a stealth, quiet attack.
“We would’ve heard coyotes if they were coyotes,” he said. “If it was a coyote or a pack of coyotes because they make a noise if they’re feeding…and our dog didn’t get upset, meaning the kill must’ve been very quiet.”
According to Barboza, this is not an indication that coyotes were not involved, as they, like many predators, will silently stalk their prey before springing into an attack.
The CDFW has been made aware of the string of killings, although its representatives have not had the opportunity to examine the animal remains. Barboza discussed characteristics of mountain lion killings compared to those of coyotes.
“Coyotes prey on smaller animals – rodents, reptiles, ground nesting birds, pets – not to say they wouldn’t attack a deer,” said Barboza, before adding that coyotes often hunt in packs, while mountain lions almost always hunt alone.
Barboza emphasized the fact that wild animals do not have one uniform predatory method that would definitively indicate whether or not the deer were killed by coyotes or mountain lions. However, there are general techniques that vary between the two species that could give clues as to which one carried out the attacks.
“Most predators start with internal organs,” said Barboza.
But not coyotes. While coyotes and other canines will “gnaw on large bones right away,” felines such as bobcats and mountain lions are more meticulous with their dissecting, first suffocating the victim before eating soft-tissue organs.
Mountain lions “almost always start with entrails first,” said Barboza, before they go on to bury other remains under leaves or debris to return to later.
Of the dead and injured deer that have been spotted in Malibu in the past weeks, three appear to have been killed within four days of each other, from Thursday, Feb. 14 through Sunday, Feb. 17. According to various reports from residents, the deer carcasses were found with organs and entrails spread across roadways and other body parts in nearby bushes or otherwise hidden.
“A lot of innards on…pavers and copious [amounts] of blood” in a driveway alerted neighbors in Big Rock of a deer slain on the morning of Feb. 14, according to an email Trudy Buck sent to neighbor and Big Rock Newsletter editor Jo Drummond.
Drummond began to collect information on the slayings, coming up with the total of five over the course of January and February.
Included in her count was another deer, whose body was seen on Seaboard Road in Big Rock. Earlier in February, a badly wounded deer was sighted in Big Rock and Animal Care and Control was called. The first was a dead fawn discovered five weeks ago.
Although it cannot be proven one way or another if these attacks were caused by mountain lions, Barboza provided advice for Big Rock and Carbon Mesa residents on ways to keep mountain lions at bay.
“The most important thing to recognize is they do live in mountain lion habitat,” said Barboza. The best ways to keep mountain lions out of residential areas are to make sure that their primary prey, mule deer, are not attracted to the area, she said, suggesting that removing things deer are attracted to and even changing landscaping to add plants that deer don’t like could be options.
Even if it was a mountain lion that killed the deer in Malibu, the big cats don’t stay in one area for very long. With habitat ranging for hundreds of miles, mountain lions generally keep moving so as to not deplete a food source, according to Barboza.
There have been no reports of dead deer in the area since Feb. 17.
If you are to see a mountain lion, reports can be sent to the regional headquarters of the CDFW.