SAN DIEGO — Alpine, CA -- A viewer sent CBS 8 a video showing the moment a mountain lion attacked a deer on the side of the road.
When Buddy Wilkerson was driving to work Monday in Alpine, he came across something he’d never seen in person before.
“I pulled up a little closer to get a better view and sure enough, the mountain lion started to drag the deer off the road, and then they separated and both took off,” said Wilkerson. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
It happened on the outskirts of Alpine next to the Cleveland National Forrest on Japatul Road.
“I’ve never even seen one in the wild and I’ve lived in East County my whole life, so it’s kind of an exciting experience,” said Wilkerson.
Four miles away, 23-year Alpine resident, Elisa Peskin, lost two of her beloved goats to a mountain lion just a couple of weeks ago.
“It’s devastating, it’s heartbreaking,” said Peskin. “These were goats that I’ve hand raised since babies, they’re your pets, you know, they definitely hold a place in your heart.”
In the past three years, Peskin has lost nine animals and made several reports to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Recently, she encountered a mountain lion stalking her goats while she was on her ATV, and it wasn’t scared of her.
“I had full lights, screaming at it, shouting at it, driving towards it, and it was not in the slightest scared or threatened by me,” said Peskin. “It just casually kind of moved off.”
Meanwhile, Wilkerson is used to seeing wildlife in the area, but he’d never seen a mountain lion firsthand before.
“We see wild turkey, we see deer, we see coyotes, bobcats, but that’s the first time I’ve ever seen a mountain lion in person, and he was right on the road,” said Wilkerson.
No one with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife was available for an interview, but they did tell CBS 8 that what Wilkerson captured on video is not considered unusual behavior as the area is typical mountain lion habitat and deer are one of their most common prey.