COUGAR SIGHTINGS; VALLEY RESIDENTS KEEP KIDS, PETS INDOORS IN FEAR OF CAT ATTACK.

Byline: David R. Baker and Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writers

With mountain lions prowling neighborhoods around the rim of the San Fernando Valley, alarmed residents nervously guarded their pets and children Thursday, suddenly reminded that their homes lie not too far from the wild.

Ravi Achar and his son, Chris, 12, worried Thursday when their Pekingese, Precious, left their Granada Hills home and could not be found. But to their relief, the dog returned home later in the day.

``She would definitely be a nice meal for a cougar,'' said Ravi Achar as the 15-pound dog played beside him in the driveway, which borders O'Melveny Park in Granada Hills, where there have been several mountain lion sightings reported.

``Definitely, we're going to keep the dog inside,'' Achar said.

Chris Achar said his teachers at Robert Frost Middle School have told him and his fellow students to be aware of the recent cougar reports in the neighborhood.

``They just told us to be cautious when walking home,'' he said.

But as Sheri Ruhl rode her mountain bike alongside her dog Baby near O'Melveny Park, she said, people always should be cautious here.

Ruhl, who lives a few houses away from the park, nestled near the Santa Susana Mountains, said humans have invaded the mountain lions' domain with the building of homes near hills.

``Look around here. These are mountains. This is their territory. They were here first. . . . Who are we to say they shouldn't be here?'' said Ruhl, who has lived in the neighborhood 14 years.

Wildlife researchers said the cougars probing the Valley's edge could be careless young cats who haven't yet learned to stay out of human sight. Or they could be hungry and looking to make a quick, easy meal of someone's pet.

``If a lion can get a dog that's just sitting there, why chase a deer?'' said Morgan Wehtje, a wildlife biologist with the state's Department of Fish and Game.

The big cats have been spotted at nine Valley locations this month, with six sightings on Wednesday alone. The locations trace a semicircular line around the West Valley's hillsides, from Granada Hills in the north to Tarzana in the south.

No sightings were reported Thursday, according to the city's animal regulation department. After failing to find a cougar spotted in West Hills earlier in the week, authorities were waiting for additional sightings before mounting another search.

Scouring neighborhoods without a specific sighting, officials said, would be a waste of time.

``These animals are very, very good at what they do, which is holing up during the day and hunting at night,'' said Richard Felosky, manager of the West Valley animal shelter.

The reclusive cats are usually so good at avoiding human contact that biologists view the state's mountain lion population estimate - between 4,000 and 6,000 statewide - to be little better than a guess. Of the 300 to 400 mountain lion sightings reported to the state's Fish and Game Department each year, many turn out to be hasty glimpses of bobcats or other animals.

Still, cougars remain a dangerous predator. In July, one killed a 4-year-old boy hiking with his family in Colorado. Mountain lions killed two California women in 1994 and attacked a biker in the San Gabriel Mountains the following year.

Biologists were unsure Thursday what brought the cats into the heavily populated San Fernando Valley.

``In all likelihood, it could be a youngster exploring territory and getting lost a bit,'' said Paul Beier, an associate professor at Northern Arizona University who has studied mountain lions in Orange County.

Young cats leaving the protective care of their parents will travel far from home to create their own territory, sometimes as far as 50 miles, Beier said.

``They really pick up and move, so they get to be in areas they're not really familiar with,'' he said. ``Usually, if you have one being seen, it's a youngster.''

Wehtje said cougars also learn that backyard pets can be easy prey. A domestic dog doesn't expect that anything might try to eat it and is therefore far less wary than the deer and other animals cougars stalk in the wild.

``The dogs are sitting ducks,'' Wehtje said.

Just ask Patricia Toro of Granada Hills. Tuesday night, her roommate found a mountain lion mauling her 9-year-old Shih Tzu, Paisano.

Thanks to a rock hurled at the cougar to scare it away, and some stitches on Paisano's neck and sides, the dog lived. But Toro now has to keep both the dog and her 9-year-old son, Giovany Kirakossian, indoors, for fear that the cat might come back.

``It's sad, because my son is very active,'' she said. ``He rides his bicycle all the time. I don't know how I'm going to keep Giovany inside.''

In 1996, similar attacks and sightings led to an unsuccessful ballot initiative that would have lifted a ban on hunting the animals. Robert Dugan, a district director for state Sen. Tim Leslie, R-Roseville, and key backer of the initiative, said the state still needs some way to manage the mountain lion population, which he said is growing and affecting other species.

``We have dwindling deer herds all over the state, we have lion sightings all over the state,'' he said. ``Management is needed.''

If you see a cougar

The following are some tips when coming in contact with mountain lions, according to the California Department of Fish and Game:

Never turn your back on a cougar.

Never run.

If you need to walk away, do so slowly, facing the big cat. Make lots of noise and look large by swinging your arms. Do not crouch down.

Make eye contact

CAPTION(S):

Photo, box, map

PHOTO Paisano the Shih Tzu recovers from a cougar attack with Patricia Toro, son Giovany Kirakossian and friend Brad Hoover, far right.

David R. Crane/Daily News

Box: If you see a cougar (see text)

Map: Cougar sightings

Gregg Miller/Daily News