Tag Archives: Berkeley mountain lion
In memoriam: Berkeley’s mountain lion
Some Berkeleyans, saddened by the mountain lion shot by police early Tuesday morning, have established an informal memorial to the animal at Shattuck and Cedar.
As Berkeleyside has reported previously, wildlife experts say that the Berkeley police had little choice but to shoot the animal. Tranquillizers are not readily available, even for Fish and Game patrols, and a tranquillized animal can become an even greater danger.
An open letter from Zara McDonald, executive director of the Continue reading »
Mountain lion calls swamp police, including 911 calls
The shooting of the Gourmet Ghetto mountain lion has provoked enormous debate here on Berkeleyside. It has also generated a wave of calls to the Berkeley Police Department.
According to Sergeant Mary Kusmiss, the BPD public information officer, many calls have expressed “gratitude and sadness”, but there has also been “outrage” and “many whys”.
There has also been “screaming abuse and name calling”, as well as “a whole myriad of other creative ideas and commentary”.
The problem for … Continue reading »
Why the Berkeley mountain lion was not tranquillized
Our story yesterday, about the Gourmet Ghetto mountain lion which was shot and killed at 3.26am on Walnut Street, elicited unprecedented interest from Berkeleyside readers. Many of the commenters on the story wondered, in particular, why the police officers shot the lion, rather than tranquillize it.
According to Fish and Game warden Patrick Foy, there are very few instances where tranquillizers are an option with mountain lions. “When the animals are bounding over fences, as happened in Berkeley, … Continue reading »
Mountain lion tours Gourmet Ghetto
A mountain lion was reported wandering through North Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto last night, and after a pursuit by Berkeley police was shot at 3:26 a.m. on Walnut Street.
According to Sergeant Mary Kusmiss, the first reports of the mountain lion were received shortly after 2 a.m. A community member reported seeing the animal in the parking lot of the now empty Elephant Pharmacy. When police arrived to investigate, the mountain lion ran east up Cedar Street, jumped a … Continue reading »
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