Is there more than one mountain lion prowling in Apple Valley?

For the second spring in a row, a mountain lion has been spotted roaming an Apple Valley neighborhood, with a big cat also spotted across town.

The Apple Valley Sheriff’s Station reported that at 11:29 p.m. on Wednesday, they received a call of a full-grown mountain lion in the front yard of a residence in the 12000 block of Tamiani Road.

The area is east of Kiowa Road and between Pah-Ute and Bear Valley roads, and near Apple Valley Fire Protection District Station 334.

The caller reported that the mountain lion tried to attack their pet cat. Deputies responded but were unable to find the mountain lion.

A Facebook post on Tuesday by one Apple Valley resident included a predawn Ring photo of a mountain lion lurking near their front door near Kiowa and Bear Valley roads.

Tuesday’s sighting location is less than a half-mile from the mountain lion spotted on Tamiani Road.

Sheriff’s officials also shared a surveillance photo, taken earlier in the week, of a mountain lion in the front yard of a home on Chiwi Road.

The area is north of Highway 18 and west of Apple Valley Road, and about eight miles from the mountain lion sightings on Tamiani and Bear Valley roads.

On Thursday, another Apple Valley resident told the Daily Press that over the weekend they sighted a mountain lion near the intersection of Japatul Road and Esaws Avenue, north of Hwy. 18.

The Japatul Road area sighting is roughly 5-miles from Tamiani Road sighting.

Authorities are uncertain if the mountain lion sightings are the same animal.

Other big cat sightings

In May 2021, predawn video surveillance captured a mountain lion near Skyline Ranch Drive and Sitting Bull Road, between Apple Valley and Kiowa roads, according to sheriff’s officials.

Last year’s mountain lion sighting near Sitting Bull Road is less than 2-miles from the animal spotted this week on Tamiani Road.

In February 2019, photographer Tishia Morrison used her camera to capture an image of a large mountain lion while driving near Kiowa and Tussing Ranch roads in Apple Valley. Authorities searched for the cat but never located it.

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Soon after Morrison photographed the cat, Hesperia officials reported the capture of a mountain lion in a neighborhood near Danbury and Temecula avenues.

The capture involved Hesperia Animal Control and California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials, who tranquilized the animal and transported it to the local mountains, the city said.

Also, in February 2019, state Fish and Wildlife officials removed an ill female mountain lion that had taken shelter in a family’s garage in Lucerne Valley. Officials later euthanized the animal due to its poor health.

In September 2015, former Lucerne Valley Leader editor Peter Day photographed a mountain lion after it climbed up a 35-foot-high power pole south of Cougar Buttes on East End Road.

Mountain lion behavior

Several studies from Colorado State University and Colorado Parks and Wildlife found that mountain lions moving into populated areas are driven mainly by hunger.

While a mountain lion can become hungry at any time of the year, the cats go more extended periods between making kills during the winter and through late spring, when wild prey numbers are lowest.

April and May are when conflicts between mountain lions and humans may be the highest, mainly because the animals become so hungry that they many use backyards for hunting for food, studies showed.

U.S. Forest Service safety tips

• Do not approach a lion. Most mountain lions will try to avoid a confrontation. Give them a way to escape.

• Do not hike, bike, or jog alone. Stay alert on trails.

• Avoid hiking or jogging when mountain lions are most active (dawn, dusk, and night).

• Keep a close watch on small children.

• Off-leash dogs on trails are at increased risk of becoming prey for a mountain lion.

• Do not run from a lion. Running may stimulate a mountain lion’s instinct to chase. Instead, stand and face the animal. Make eye contact.

• If you have small children with you, pick them up if possible so that they don’t panic and run.

• Although it may be awkward, pick children up without bending over or turning away from the mountain lion.

• Do not crouch down or bend over at any time. In the presence of a mountain lion, a person squatting or bending over resembles a four-legged prey animal.

• Do all you can to appear more prominent. Raise your arms. Open your jacket if you are wearing one.

• Throw stones, branches, or whatever you can reach without crouching or turning your back.

• Wave your arms slowly and speak firmly in a loud voice. The idea is to convince the mountain lion that you are not prey and that you may be a danger to it.

San Bernardino County safety tips

• Don’t leave your children, cats, or small dogs unattended.

• Don’t feed or otherwise encourage a lion’s dependency on humans.

• Don’t feed deer as the food will attract mountain lions.

• Clear unnecessary brush and woodpiles from your home to reduce hiding places.

• Feed your pets indoors or pick up uneaten food once your pet is finished.

• Put trash out on collection days at the latest opportunity.

• Have adequate fencing to keep your pets in and wildlife out.

• Install motion sensor lights.

• Vaccinate pets for rabies.

Report all sightings to the Apple Valley Animal Shelter at 760 240-7555. The after-hours emergency line is 760-961-6001.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Mountain lions sightings reported in Apple Valley neighborhoods