I live in the foothills of Denver, in a forest. All houses in my neighborhood are on 2 - 3 acres. Mountain lions, bobcats, elk, etc... all come with the territory. 3 days ago a neighbor 5 houses up had 3 alpacas killed at ~5:00 AM by a mountain lion. IMO, it was mostly her fault for having the alpacas in a small pen and not locked up in a barn. They don't have nearly enough room to keep 3 alpacas, but whatever.

My issue is that my 12 YO son, who is in 6th grade, has to wait for the school bus at 6:25 AM at the end of my driveway, alone. This time of year it's pitch black outside at 6:25. The past few days I've gone outside with him with a bright ass flashlight and my P226 with a WML.

I know the odds of him being attacked are pretty low, but there's still a chance. Unfortunately we can't see the bus coming from inside our house, so he needs to wait at the end of the driveway, in the dark.

Any ideas for "protection", besides me waiting outside with him every day...or at least until it is light outside when we go back to daylight savings? I was thinking about getting some bear spray and mounting it to a post at the end of our driveway.

This was Nov 16, 2021 at my next door neighbors house.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 1967Goat,

Maybe have a small “Tough Shed” type building put in? It would also keep him dry in poor weather.

A vehicle he could wait in—?

What I’m not impressed with is the idea of giving him something with which to defend himself. Even if he could use something like bear spray (or a gun) to defend himself*, it would require a degree of situational awareness that most 12-year-olds, or most people in general, are unlikely to exhibit all the time. Further, if it’s really that dark, a mountain lion might be able to make an attack before it’s detected. (The last assumes I’m actually correct in my understanding how they often do attack.) If I’m correct, there might be little or no opportunity to use a defensive weapon.

* Not knowing anything about him, I can only base my question on what I know about other 12-year-olds and their capabilities.

Hate to say it, but the simple answer is I'd just wait with him, in your car or truck!

Yeah, I'm not real crazy about the bear spray idea, but it was all I could come up with. He definitely doesn't have the situational awareness.

Parking a vehicle at the end of the driveway is definitely do-able!

I think the shed/ shelter is the best idea, other than you just being down there with him. Most cats attack from cover, and I think if you look at the attacks on people that have happened you'll find that the victims never saw the cat coming. Those that fought the cat off were either not the primary target (walking a pet) or survived the initial attack from cover and were able to fight after the initial engagement.

How much cover is there at the end of your driveway for a mountain lion to use for stalking?
If there's bushes, trees, etc, might help to remove what you can.

I know here our school system uses an app that shows the location of the bus via gps.

That would help reduce the time at the bus stop thus reducing opportunities for attack.

Of course not guaranteed, but little cover for a cat to hide, then some noise would help.

Even with a shed or if a vehicle is parked there, one still has to walk to it. I see many that drive then sit & wait in a running vehicle.

Yes, odds are small, I do remember a young boy that was taken by a lion 25 years ago in CO. They were on a group hike of sorts & he simply drifted away from the main group. The story was in Reader’s Digest.

If you have the pictures in the neighborhood recently, I’d think some precautions are in order.

quote:

Hate to say it, but the simple answer is I'd just wait with him, in your car or truck!

^^^^^^
Or just drive him to school.

Or … take care of the cat.

I lived in Colorado for a real long time… Showed the builder of my home (and his buddy), huge mountain lion tracks in the mud. He didn’t believe that those were cat tracks … Told me that it was a dog.

So I walked them over to the next house being built, and showed him the slain, dead carcass of the full-grown mulie buck, dead in the mud. Those guys cleared out of there quick-like.

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
...

Even with a shed or if a vehicle is parked there, one still has to walk to it. I see many that drive then sit & wait in a running vehicle.

...

At 12 he is probably big enough to start a car and drive to the end of the driveway. When the bus comes, turn it off and lock it up (if necessary). Assuming a modernish vehicle, he could have his own key/keyfob that he just takes with him.

Or possibly an ATV, preferably with doors, but anything with headlights and a radio should let Mr. Cat know that he's not prey.

Help the neighbor get more alpacas to keep the mountain lion busy and fed.

I’m curious, what are the laws regarding protecting livestock?

Found an answer:

"According to state regulations, the state is liable for costs related to the death of livestock from predatory game animals, such as mountain lions. State regulations also allow landowners, livestock owners, their official agents, or officials from parks and wildlife to kill any predators, other than wolves, that attack and kill livestock.”

And from the same article it looks like alpaca are livestock:

“ After the lion made its kill, it initially left the area before returning to feed on the alpaca. When it returned, parks and wildlife staff were waiting at the scene to put down the lion.”

Link

I’d hang out with him.

I'm the first one to say "Buy him a .44 or a 10mm!" ?

Damn, you guys are slipping.

The car area would be excellent. Very safe, and he would have a head start on driving. I first learned to drive a stick in my GF's pickup, when I was 13, no big deal. Some sort of beater or trail vehicle would work, he is not going out on the road.

quote:

Originally posted by 1967Goat:

I know the odds of him being attacked are pretty low, but there's still a chance. Unfortunately we can't see the bus coming from inside our house, so he needs to wait at the end of the driveway, in the dark.

I think the easiest thing would be to put up a camera outside pointed in the direction of the bus and have a live monitor inside so he can wait inside the house until the bus comes.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

Hate to say it, but the simple answer is I'd just wait with him, in your car or truck!

^^^^^^
Or just drive him to school.

Screw that.

Homeschool. Best education decision we made.

If that is impossible, are there other kids getting collected nearby? Could you talk with the other parents about a group of kids meeting at one place, with rotating responsibility for the waiting with them parent?

Security camera where view of bus can be seen. Watch from inside

Wait with him or drop him off at school, even if it's early. As long as there's staff there, he should be good.

I wouldn't risk it.

Tony.