[AZ-Observing] Re: Cherry Rd -Friday Night

 
Mountain lion attacks are pretty rare, though the annual occurances in  North 
America have increased significantly to about 4 per year  over the last 
decade. Of course, not all attacks are fatal. Between 1890  and 1990 in the 
U.S. 
and Canada, there were 9 human fatalities confirmed as the  result of mountain 
lion attacks. There were 7 fatalities during the decade  from 1991 to 2000. 
Historically, most attacks targeted children. More  recently, most attacks on 
adults happened while the person  was jogging. When you run, you look like 
dinner. Most experts agree, the  best course of action if you're lucky enough 
to see 
the mountain lion before it  pounces is to stand your ground & raise your 
arms to make yourself look  as big as possible (Don't run; that looking like 
dinner thing, again.) and make  noise.
 
As far as risk goes, mountain lions rank well down the list of causes of  
human demise. You're far more likely to die as a result of a bee sting, an  
attack from a pet, a lightning strike or even a wrestling match with a soda  
machine. That's right, you know who I'm talking about: the guy who loses his  
70-cents in the Pepsi machine and decides if he shakes the machine  vigorously 
he'll 
either provoke the release of his soda or of his change.  During the 20th 
Century, more people were killed as a reult of  crushing encounters with 
vending 
machines than from mountain lion attaks.  The lesson in this is, be careful 
where you snack ;o)
 
And while we're on the subject of exagerated risks, which includes the risk  
we face from thugs when observing out in the middle of nowhere--it's called 
"the  middle of nowhere" for a reason, I was surprised and relieved to read 
there are  no documented instances of any person being killed by a rattlesnake 
bite or a  scorpion sting in Grand Canyon. Before reading "Over the Edge: Death 
in Grand  Canyon," I was one of those guys who worried about snakes and 
scorpions whenever  I went into the desert. But according to the authors, there 
isn't 
one documented  case of a person being killed in Grand Canyon by one of those 
critters. The  greatest risk to life and limb we face while hiking in the 
canyon is human  stupidity. People die from attempting "river and back" hikes  
in 
July with only a pint of water and a candy bar for sustenance;  not from 
snake bites or scorpion stings.
 
But getting back to astronomy, if there are any documented instances  of 
people dieing while observing with their telescopes, I'd wager the majority  
would 
be the result of heart attacks. Most amateur astronomers are men aged 40+.  
And far too many of us are overweight and out of shape. So, what's my advice 
for  avoiding injury and death during a dark-sky observing session? A healthy 
diet  and regular exercise.
 
Bill in Flag
 
P.S. I encountered a Grand Canyon rattlesnake during my recent  trip to Clear 
Creek in Grand Canyon: _www.gcadventure.com_ (http://www.gcadventure.com) 
 
In a message dated 4/14/2007 1:12:44 PM US Mountain Standard Time,  
stan_gorodenski@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Hello  Jennifer,
It appears this is becoming a debate so let me put my 2 cents in.  I feel 
I have lived to an age older than you for two reasons, luck and  being 
aware of and being prepared for the unexpected. For example, when  age 14 
or so while butterfly collecting in a wash outside of Roswell, NM I  saw 
a mountain lion tail disappear over a bluff about a hundred yards from  
me. I was alone and this was not a hiking spot with other hikers that in  
itself would tend to scare away wildlife like this. Lucky for me it ran  
off instead of making me a meal. It was luck because now we read about  
hikers or bicyclists being attacked by mountain lions.  [snip]




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